Confused on what to eat?

There is so much information out there about what is good for you and what is not. So many people have so much to gain or loose based on what you put in your body. Who do you trust? Who can you listen to for good solid information? Well I will tell you who not to listen to and that is the food industry. I think it's pretty obvious they want to make as much money off you as possible and that means producing cheap food and keeping you eating as much of it as possible.
Now my philosophy on food for the past few years has been to eat your food as close to the way God intended it as possible!
Recently I have been really thinking about what that means to me and to the food we all eat on a regular basis.
Now some things are obvious to stay away from but others that I previously thought were ok I'm starting to rethink. I know to stay away from ingredients I can't pronounce(even though even I do get the occasional convenience food.) I know that processed meats(bacon, lunch meat etc) are not good for you.
However what if you start to look more closely at the food industry. If eating as close to the way God intended includes how it is grown prepared and made, then most of the food we eat should not be eaten. Do you think God intended chemical fertilizers and pesticides to be sprayed on our foods? If so why would He have had natural solutions to these problems from the beginning? Do you think He meant for livestock to be crowded, mistreated and fed an unnatural diet?
When you go against the laws of nature and against what God intended there are serious consequences the biggest one being either loss of nutrients or down right harmful results.
So what does this mean? What can we eat? Well ideally you would grow your own food but most of us have many factors in the way of that although I feel everyone can at least plant a couple of veggies and some herbs. If you can not grow your own the next step is to buy the bulk of your foods from local farmers that do not use chemicals in the growing of their food. Meat should be free from antibiotics, hormones and should be fed a natural diet(cows were not meant to eat corn they were meant to eat grass) chickens should also have access to grass and just because it says free range does not mean that they do. Free range only means they have limited access to outside which could be as little as a dirt yard! Once again if you are buying local you can ask them or even go and see for yourself. If not buy pastured eggs and chicken yes they are more expensive and yes it is worth it.
Unfortunately not all areas have good availability. In that case you must be very careful in choosing your grocery store and just because it is a health food store does not mean everything they have is good for you. If you have the money to buy organic buy it as often as possible! If you have a limited organic budget stick to buying the dirty dozen organic. If you simply can not afford organic or the availability in your area is bad wash very well and peel the items on the dirty dozen list when possible. As far as meat good quality meat that is healthy is expensive. Buy quality meat if you eat meat and just eat less of it. This is your health and the health of your family the fact that you like burgers should not play into this. Yes you can still have burgers but beware of the meat you are buying. Again ideally you would buy local but if you can not make sure it is hormone, and antibiotic free and all red meat should be grass fed! I eat very little to no meat during most weeks now and am thinking about cutting down even more.
Now I do not think it is wrong to eat meat 1 Timothy 4:4 tells me that everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,
so meat in and of itself is not wrong to consume however I just don't trust the people producing the meat so I'm choosing not to eat it unless I know where it is coming from and what is in it.
All this can get very confusing some times and it's hard if everyone in the family is not on board. Keep trying it is a process and a journey for you and your family.
I have been so proud of my husband. He used to have to have meat with almost every meal and dinner was not dinner without it! He over the past month has eaten meat maybe three times and feels great!! He is mostly eating vegetables and has some whole grains to go with it.
Next week I will talk about the cost of eating healthy vs the cost of not eating healthy if you have any input or stories you would like added to it please let me know. ie if you have diabetes let me know how much you spend per month on meds doctors etc