Making sensible food choices are essential to a healthy body. It can all seem overwhelming at times so just remember the basics! :)

Natural Foods: Minimally processed foods that do not include ingredients such as refined sugars, refined flours, hydrogenated oils, food colors, sweetners, milled grains, or artificial flavorings.

When optimizing a natural food diet sea salt should be used in place of table salt (this can be bought iodized) and raw honey, sucanat, stevia, or maple syrup should be substituted for white sugar.

Many natural food proponents argue diets high in refined ingredients promote obesity, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

Whole Foods: Minimally processed and slightly refined or unprocessed and unrefined. Typically these foods do not contain added salt, chemicals, fat, or sugar. The widely accepted description for a whole food is any food that offers a complete balance in nutritional value while in its natural state.

It is important to note that whole foods are not necessarily organic and organic food are not necessarily whole.

Whole foods are quickly absorbed and easily assimilated by the body. These foods are high in nutrients and therefore though to promote health due to their natural source of vitamins and minerals.

Organic Foods: Grown without the use conventional pesticides, human waste, sewage sludge, artificial fertilizers, and processed without food additives or ionizing raidiation. In addition, antibiotics and growth hormones are NOT used on livestock.

The production of organic food is legally regulated and most countries (including the United States, Japan, and the European Union) require organic certification to market food as organic.