As we go through life, there comes a time when something is "not right" and yet we can't put a finger on it. Medically, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong, yet we don't feel like our best, or how we used to feel.

At this point, people need to step back and look at their eating habits.

Yes, "habits" is the optimum word here because over the span of a lifetime - whatever our age - we build a list of habits and customs that consists of the kinds of foods we eat and when we eat them. We are eating the way we learned to eat from our parents, who learned from their parents, etc. Cultures, regions, income levels and even traditions have dictated our food intake. Have you paid attention to what this food has done or is doing to your body? Food and eating seems to only get attention with two questions: When do we eat? What are we having?

When we eat without much regard for the content, toxins enter our systems and slowly, but surely, erode the cells within the body, just as rust corrodes an iron pipe. This erosion becomes apparent when we start to feel unwell, or the body breaks down and it manifests itself as a disease.

The human body cannot use a large percentage of the foods we take in because of the food's condition - this is the body's worst enemy because it has to work extremely hard to digest and extract as much nutrition possible from what it does not recognize as food.

Over the last generation, food has changed dramatically to include herbicides, pesticides, GMOing, shelf savers, life expanders, sprays, etc. These chemicals are ingested with the foods we eat, and our bodies pay the price. Chemicals begin to take their toll on the body at a relatively early age, although we are unaware until later. It is the "silent death" of the cells within the body. Gradually, we feel "not up to snuff" and try to find out why we don't feel good anymore.

Our diet needs to change. Organics, cleanly grown and cared for, are the answer. Though more costly, they offer more nutrients, which means we don't need to eat as much to fuel the body. Organic food contains none of the chemicals, but all the nutrition.

Food needs to be alive and nutritious so the body can digest and use the nutrients to re-build corroded cells. Preferably, these foods will be uncooked - this is when the nutritional values are highest. When cooked, food loses its nutrients and the body cannot use it. It is dead. No life to feed the body means it needs to expel the foreign substance quickly so it does not damage the body. Sounds like a lot of work - and it is, which weakens the body more each day.

To find out what's going on in your body, visit a reputable alternative health practitioner who can test your body and find out what is lacking in nutrition and what poisons are lurking inside. Your diet should be examined and changed, where required. The body needs to be in a "cleaning mode" to remove toxins, so it can repair and rebuild.

When the energy in the body builds, we feel better. Excess weight around the mid-section starts to disappear and the tummy will recede. Heavy chemical conditions are hard on the lower organs of the body because they become smothered.

When you start to feel better, you will look better and people will begin to notice these positive changes.

Good food can change not only a body, but the outlook of the person as well. Try it! Your friends and family will notice.

Elyse Nuff is a Whol-istic Healer who works with live raw foods to clean and create optimum health within the body.

SENIOR LIVING VANCOUVER - May 2009