I just returned from attending EXPO East, a giant natural products convention in Baltimore. The first item I tasted was pureed baby food made from boiled, strained vegetables and fruits (but not mixed together) created by a mom (naturally). It was pretty good! I walked the aisles tasting gut- blasting tonics, fermented juices, root based beverages, mushroom teas and numerous probiotic foods that promised to help clean out my stomach and intestines.
I sipped paleo coffee mixed with butter to add “necessary fat” and sampled plenty of reduced fat foods. I nibbled on fiber rich bars and smoothies offering to “help me go.” I tasted foods promising to help boost my energy and others that would soothe and relax me. Foods were GMO free, gluten free, sugar free, additive free, but thankfully not taste free. “Clean” was the buzzword, as in “clean eating” and “clean living” because it appears most of the world is living on the dirty side.
The jumble of jargon can be confusing. Clean living starts with simplifying. ID 99075078 © Arloofs | Dreamstime
I believe in clean living to stay healthy, as in stop eating junk food and toss out anything laden with chemicals whose names you cannot pronounce that you put in your body or on it, or use in home or yard. But, I don’t believe we should be led into believing our bodies are necessarily dirty and dysfunctional. Digestion is natural and what we put into our body at one end eventually comes out at the other. That’s elimination for you. It stinks and that’s a good thing. But, ever so naturally, at EXPO East I even discovered a product to deal with the stank: Poo Pourri Potty Potion.
There are plenty of self-help health experts telling us we need to spend money on special products, diets and procedures to cleanse and detox our bodies. Okay, sometimes we may need a little help. But with the right diet, regular exercise and sleep and less stress, we can live a clean life without spending a fortune. Some of the healthiest people I know, who never seem to see a doctor or complain of an ailment, eat and drink as they please. The one thing they all seem to have in common is they seem very content and enjoy life to the fullest with purpose and joy and without negativity.
I’ve seen plenty of people committed to eating a clean diet who are still tying to clean out the negative thoughts and self-doubt in their brains. Maybe clean living starts by focusing on positive thoughts, strong self-worth and treating yourself and others with care and dignity. This means being less self-critical and also less critical of others.
What comes out of your mouth should be as clean as what you put into it. #FearlessFabulousYou
