Foundational Body Building Blocks

Let’s make good food the true building blocks of our bodies! Just like building a house — when you use the best materials, you create the strongest, healthiest home.

I’ve never been on a diet because I don’t believe in short-term fixes. Real change has to be a lifestyle shift with permanent results. That said, I do live by some simple guiding principles.

My food philosophy is this: Eat as natural and as local as possible. There is no single diet that fits everyone. 

Here’s what guides me personally:

1. Your body knows what it needs. When you’re truly in tune with your body, you’ll know what it’s asking for. Listen to it!

2. Choose foods with their natural molecular structure intact. Your body can digest and eliminate these effectively. Overly processed foods — even ones labeled “healthy” — become unrecognizable to the body and can cause damage.

3. Your nutritional needs change with your environment. Where you live on Earth, the climate, and the seasons all play a big role in what your body requires. People in cold climates need different foods than those in tropical areas. Eat as locally as you can.

4. Eat a wide variety of colorful foods. This gives you a full spectrum of nutrients. When your nutritional needs are met, you naturally crave less and are less likely to overeat.

5. Be vigilant and think critically. Don’t jump on every new study or trend you see. Soy and whole-wheat are great examples of heavily marketed foods that aren’t as healthy as we’ve been told. Research from many different sources, check in with your heart, and trust your intuition before adopting anything new.

Foods to Eliminate (or Greatly Reduce) and Why:

Pasteurized Dairy

Try to reduce or completely eliminate pasteurized dairy from your diet. Modern commercial dairy has often lost its nutritional value and can do more harm than good.

Factory-farmed cows are frequently diseased, genetically altered, pumped with antibiotics and hormones, and produce milk that’s high in pus, chemicals, and omega-6 fatty acids. The dead bacteria in the milk can trigger allergies, and dairy is quite acidic to the body. It’s also a source of concentrated cow estrogen that can disrupt our endocrine system.

Interestingly, countries with the highest dairy consumption often have higher rates of bone problems — dairy isn’t the best source of calcium for strong bones as we’ve been led to believe.

If you do choose dairy, opt for products from healthy, grass-fed cows — though it can be hard to know for sure.

Corn

Organic, naturally grown corn is generally fine in moderation — it’s high in fiber and some nutrients, but it’s quite starchy. I love those little Vietnamese imported mini corns!

However, avoid GMO corn products like high-fructose corn syrup, dextrose, corn chips, breakfast cereals, and corn oil. These can spike blood sugar and make weight loss more difficult. Commercial GMO corn also damages soil and uses heavy amounts of toxins, which eventually affect our health.

Soy

Avoid GMO soy and most soy products. It has been heavily marketed as a health food, but many studies raise concerns. Soy contains xenoestrogens (synthetic estrogen-like compounds) that may affect thyroid function, breast health, fertility, and prostate health.

Traditional Asian diets use small amounts of fermented soy (like miso, natto, and tempeh), which is very different from the large quantities of unfermented, processed soy common in Western diets. Fermentation creates beneficial probiotics.

Sugar

Highly processed sugars come in many hidden forms. Here are some to watch for: beet sugar, brown sugar, buttered syrup, cane juice, cane sugar, caramel, castor sugar, confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, dehydrated cane juice, fructose, fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate, galactose, glucose, glucose solids, golden sugar, golden syrup, granulated sugar, grape sugar, high fructose corn syrup, honey, icing sugar, invert sugar, lactose, malt, malt syrup, maltodextrin, maltose, mannitol, maple syrup, molasses, muscovado, panocha, powdered sugar, raw sugar, refiner’s syrup, rice syrup, sucrose, treacle, turbinado sugar, and yellow sugar.

Highly Processed Foods

For me, the biggest issue with highly processed foods is that their natural structure is damaged or altered. The food becomes “dead” — stripped of natural fibers, enzymes, and life force. Your body doesn’t recognize it as proper building material.

Even foods labeled “healthy” can fall into this category. When you keep this principle in mind, it becomes much easier to decide what truly serves your body.

I love dōTERRA’s Lifelong Vitality Supplements because they’re made from whole foods in their natural state.

Conclusion

Once you understand what to look for and what to avoid, eating well becomes much simpler. This isn’t about complicated rules — it’s about returning to what God intended for us in the environment where we live.

Use quality, real, living foods as your building blocks. The closer the food is to its natural state, the better it supports your body, weight, energy, and spirit.

Consider your climate and location. Eat what grows naturally around you and process it as little as possible. Do your best without stressing over perfection.

Pray over your food, give thanks, and trust the process. Healing happens naturally when we nourish ourselves with love, light, and real food.