Processed food is poisoning you physically.

Processed information is poisoning you mentally.

-Noah Houisman

If you read yesterday's email you know I was hanging out with my friend Noah. He dropped so many knowledge bombs that I was struggling to keep up as I wrote them down in my notebook.

Out of everything he said though, my favorite piece was the one above.

1. Because it speaks of so much truth.
2. The statement is so simple, yet the problem is extremely complex because there is no one size fits all scalable solution.

The truth is, if you eat highly processed, high sugar foods...it literally will lead to poorer decision making and the ingestion of processed information that is 100% not optimal for you living a great life.

I will do my best to make a simple solution for you though. A lot of people focus on what is the "right" way to eat, rather than an easier way to look at it... "what not to do." There are many "right" ways to eat depending on your goals and your personal health. However, many people can agree on the "wrong."

1. Eat less sugar. Be conscious of your sugar intake. In today's world, humans are over consuming a ridiculous amount of sugar and it is causing an extreme amount of health complications.
2. Drink less calories. Aka don't drink soda (even diet!!! Diet soda is fucking terrible for you too!), or other drinks that are filled with ingredients that add nothing to you other than future health problems.
3. Reduce your eating out. Not only will you save massive amounts of money ($$$ which you could use on organic grocery store food / massages / sauna sessions / other preventative health measures), but you will also save your heart & gut health. Restaurants are renowned for using cheap ingredients and oils to fluff up their margin, but also fluff up your tummy and internal organ inflammation. ***I am not saying never go out to eat, I love a great restaurant experience from time to time. Make it a celebration though, not your weekly norm/staple.***

(If you have questions on what "to-do" rather than what not-to-do, reach out to me individually. Nutrition is an individualized practice and is different for everyone, so I did not want to provide blanket statements. Fun fact that I rarely tell anyone, I am a certified nutritionist through NASM).

You need to think of your body like a luxury car. So many people are driving around with vehicles that they put premium fuel into, yet they don't do the same with themselves. It makes no sense at all! If you are ingesting the wrong things, it will impact your mental state, and therefore have an impact on how you are deciding to read/listen/interpret the processed information that is being fed to us by the media and other sources.

In terms of processed information, here is what I want to tell you...

When it comes to the media and what you see on TV/NEWS,

NOBODY HAS YOUR BEST INTEREST IN MIND!!!

They have THEIR best interest in mind.

Repeat that to yourself.

So the next time you get heated over the news, a TV segment, a social media post... recognize that no one out there has your best interest in mind. Only YOU can determine what is best for you and those around you. Anything you see or hear from the TV/news stations is ultimately attached to $$$ in some shape or form. And when things get attached to $$$ they typically have an agenda attached to it.

For this reason, I typically get all my information from podcasts/books/FREE email newsletters that give unbiased information for me to interpret and learn from.

I ultimately make the decision on what to "listen" to or not listen to. Rather than it being force fed into me and causing me to lose site of my reality.

So ask yourself...

like with processed food, are you shopping for your information in the discount aisle filled with steroids/pesticides/chemicals? Or are you eating an organic/whole foods diet of info?

This is your food for thought for today. #punintended

I hope you choose what you ingest wisely after reading this. Both with your mouth, and with your mind. :)

Happy Saturday!!!

#thriveon

CJ

p.s. today I am grateful I played sports throughout my life. Playing sports lead me down the rabbit hole of self optimization and learning about what is best for our body and minds. I will continue to do research on this topic for the rest of my life, in hopes to help others optimize themselves as well. Also, I am thankful I found something I am extremely passionate about early on in my life. Many sadly don't find a similar passion for themselves. Something I am also hoping to help others with.