Healthy living about balance, not just food

By Sarah Blackwell

There is more to leading a healthy life than just the food you eat.

Myself, partner Fred Bellefeuille, and our three children have been changing the way we eat and live for the past two years.

“After I had my heart attack in January, 2012 I realized that I wanted to continue giving my boys the knowledge about hunting and fishing that I grew up doing,” says Fred. “ I have such a strong desire to instill in them so many things about life and survival.”

We had started our family’s journey  into eating a whole foods, plant-based diet after my diagnosis with cancer in December 2011.  We prepared new meals with fresh vegetables and started off slowly by integrating one green smoothie into my each day, and introducing these smoothies to the children once I found the right combination of fruits and veggies.

“I always thought that I ate healthy because I ate whole wheat products, set limits for myself and the children on sugary treats and even limited the amount of days we ordered take-out. I now realize that my understanding of healthy eating was the best I knew at the time, but was not ideal for preventing cancer.

Good health is more than just the foods you put in your mouth to nourish yourself.  Food is actually secondary when it comes to creating good health for yourself.  It is all the other components of life that feed us in a primary way.

Our Anishinaabe teachings of the Medicine Wheel confirm the importance of nurturing and tending to all aspects of our lives: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.  If a person does not make daily conscious effort to create balance in these four areas, then sickness and disease can occur.

The cancer diagnosis wasn’t just a result of the food I ate.  I also led a very stressful life with limited time for myself doing things that nurture my spirit.  I started to knit for the first time in my life after my diagnosis and then realized how much I was neglecting my body, mind and spirit for many years.  I now know after my research that cancer cells will thrive and duplicate in a stressful internal body.

Fred also realized that his life habits also contributed to his heart attack.

“In addition to eating out and not making thoughtful food choices, I also led a stressful life with lots of work- related travel, and limited time with my family doing things that were good for my family and made me feel good about being a father and husband,” he says.

As a family we have changed how they eat and what we eat, but also the way we spend out family time.  I home-school the children,  and have integrated into our routine field trips to local farms, where they learn about growing food, fair treatment of animals and the importance of getting to know local farmers.

We’re learning about preparing food, foraging for wild edible plants, sprouting, raw foods, baking without sugar and so much more.  We’re also learning how food contributes to health and wellness.

Fred and I now understand the importance of taking time to nurture ourselves  and allow the other to take time biking, roller blading, doing yoga or working out at the gym so that the balance can be maintained.

We also get to spend time together without the children, which is something we never did before. In order to take care of our children we need to take care of ourselves to be good parents. It’s all about balance and seeking ways that will help bring us all balance as a family.

If you would like to follow our journey as a family you can find me on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/SarahBlackwellHealthCoach