Food. We eat everyday, and often take for granted the habits and relationship to food we have accumulated over our lifetimes. We learned these habits originally at the knees of our parents. If their knees never saw the inside of a kitchen, then it’s likely we will be reluctant to cook, slow to understand how food affects us, and more likely to simply replicate the behaviors of these guardians.

Yet more and more information emerges from new studies regarding the necessity of a conscious, clear and pro-active relationship to the food we eat. That makes it sound a bit like a political quest, doesn't it? More complicated than you can take, given at the end of a work day, or work week, those bags of cookies, or packages of chips may be the only reward you can identify in the immediate sense. Even if you only occasionally indulge in Junk food, in fast food, in cheap products with a quick sugar return, the comfort these items can bring resounds clearly in your body, and your mind.

Those occasional junkets into snack food, the odd meal taken from a drive-through window are not the stuff of a complete physical break-down. It is the daily pattern that makes the body strong, or weakens our physical health until we find one day some auto-immune disease or some terminal illness is all our focus around food, life and sustaining life.

Before the situation gets to the point of dire consequence, take stock: what is the average daily diet like in your world? What do you put into your mouth? How often do you use a "chew on something" as a physical release for tensions and emotional upset? Then look at what is actually going into your body.

Three or four small changes, easily made, to the daily diet make a huge difference in how we feel both now, and what our general health will be in the long run. Here are those three or four small changes.

The first most important change is water: clean, pure, fresh water and lots of it! Most of us are moderately dehydrated and do not even register the symptoms as belonging to something simple, like drinking more water. Headaches, fatigue, irritability, even the health of the nails on our fingers, may all be the result of moderate dehydration. Drink more than eight, eight ounce glasses of water, especially in the beginning. It takes eleven to twelve months to re-hydrate from the usual form of dehydration. How much to drink is a simply measured: half the number of ounces to your weight. So if you weigh 150 pounds, drink 75 oz. of water daily. Soon you will recognize the change in how you feel, and the water will become a natural part of your diet.

Next, remove all refined sugar. Read labels on all canned and frozen produce. Read all labels on cartons, packages etc. Learn about what food is likely to contain refined sugar.

The next ingredient to absolutely avoid is MSG. Monosodium glutamate, along with all Hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, are neuro-toxins. They conglomerate in the brain, fairly immediately after ingestion. Some people experience headaches, dizziness or a buzzing feeling in their heads or parts of their bodies right after eating anything with either MSG or hydrolyzed veggie protein in it. These are responses to how the additives affect your physical body. Having no response however does not mean you are not affected: you just haven't noticed it!

Making these few changes will change your shopping pattern. Taking time to read carefully the labels on everything you are about to purchase ensures you have the most choice in getting the best food for you and those you love. Certainly, you are all worth those few minutes.