What did you Eat today?

Chances are if you ate anything today then you are amongst the lucky ones.

Those of us that can still afford food don’t have much of a right to complain about the rising costs of gas and food. Trust me, back in college I knew what it was like to collect a pile of change so I could buy six Top Ramen for a dollar, and then put the remaining $1.87 in my car and hope it was enough to get me home.

The rising costs of food and gas have so many of us stressed right now, but instead of focusing on the negative, let’s take a moment to focus on the positive. If you can actually afford food AND gas then you are officially one of the wealthiest people in the WORLD! That is right. Most people in the world don’t even own cars. If you are reading this off a computer that you own, then you are at the top 1% of the world’s wealthiest population.

“I am too blessed to be stressed.” I often remind myself.

The premier blogging social network on the internet, Blog Catalog, has put together a worldwide event with Amnesty International today called “Blogging For Human Rights”. Thousands of bloggers will be writing about Human Rights today. Since I often blog about food and water, I thought I would take a moment to express some gratitude that my friends, families, patients, and readers even have food and water.

We might complain about BPA in our plastic water bottles, chlorine and aresenic in municipal supplies, and our water maybe isn’t as clean or great as it could be, but we still live in a country where clean drinking water is available free to everyone. People don’t often get sick and die from a contaminated water supply in America.

We are also blessed to live in a country where people can go to a homeless shelter or food bank to receive meals. Many of my homeless patients tell me that they actually eat pretty well most of the time, as long as they are organized and have their spot at a shelter. Also thanks to the “Meals on Wheels” program, sick patients on Medicaid that can’t leave their house can have food delivered to them.

I know complaining about America, our President, the war, the current presidential candidates, food and gas prices are all hot topics right now. But, before you open your mouth to complain about what you don’t like, or what we don’t have, pause and think of all that we are so blessed to have.

“I am too blessed to be stressed.”

We live in a country where the majority of people’s basic Human Rights such as food, water, shelter, and safety are being met. It may not be perfect, there are still plenty of hungry families and homeless starving children in America, but this is still not a third world country. Our country is working hard to keep us and the rest of the world safe from terrorism. Our country is working hard to provide everyone with equal rights. Equal opportunity. The American Dream.

With that being said, if you were lucky enough to eat today then perhaps you might be motivated to make a few healthy changes that could make a difference in your life and the life of another:

• Pack up a box of food for a family in need or a homeless shelter. Maybe consider getting rid of ALL of the boxed and processed foods in your cupboards and switch to a Whole Foods Diet of vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and free range organic meat, if you can afford it. Your body and the environment will thank you!

• Maybe, just maybe you could start an environmental exercise program and just walk or bike more for transportation, think of all the money you could save on gas to donate to your favorite Human Rights organization!

• Perhaps you could just quit drinking coffee and start sponsoring an orphan in a third world country, for that “price of a cup of coffee a day”.

• Maybe even think about kicking that EVIL diet pop habit and donate the money to a person in need that cannot afford to buy pointless food with no nutritional value that is systematically destroying their health.

• Why stop there? What if we all quit buying empty calories in the form of McInflammation, and saved so much money on our health care issues that we could afford to sponsor an entire village, and pay for all of their college…(ok maybe that is a bit of a stretch, but fast food really is the demise of health care in America).

• If you want to lose weight, consider giving up dessert and donating the money saved to your favorite charity. Sometimes we are motivated to care for others more so than ourselves, and this is the perfect opportunity to use that paradigm to everyone’s advantage!

Hopefully, if you decide to do anything today in honor of this Human Rights movement, please just take a moment to pause and be thankful for all of the Human Rights that you do have.

~Dr. Nicole Sundene

Naturopathic Physician

http://kitchentablemedicine.com

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