What Are You Consuming? series

Published May 11th 2026

What Are You Consuming? series: The 5 Areas of Mindful Consumption for Whole Health series-part 1

When most people hear the word consumption, they immediately think about food. While food is important, mindful living goes much deeper than what is on your plate.

Every single day, we consume: food, information, emotions, environments, relationships, and habits. All of these factors shape our overall wellness. At GRID Holistic Living, we believe whole health requires balance between:

• SQ (Spiritual Quotient) nurturing purpose, values, peace, and inner wellness,
• EQ (Emotional Quotient) understanding emotions, stress, relationships, and emotional habits,
• PQ (Physical Quotient) caring for the body through movement, nutrition, rest, and healthy routines.

True holistic living happens when all three areas work together or aligned. This Mindful Monday, GRID Holistic Living jumpstarts a series "What Are You Consuming?" Today, we explore one out of the five areas of mindful consumption that can improve your whole life. Here at GRID Holistic living we ascribe to Your Body, Your Choice as it relates to making intentional food purchases for your consumption.

Mindful Food Choices (PQ)

Food is more than fuel. Food is information for the body. What we eat affects our digestion, energy levels, inflammation, mood, sleep, and immune health. Highly processed foods often contain excess sugar, sodium, unhealthy fats, and additives that may negatively affect long-term health. In contrast, whole foods and fermented foods when consumed helps support gut health and overall wellness.

To commence this reflective process, intentional and mindful eating means slowing down and asking:

• Is this clean food?
• Is the food processed with integrity?
• Is this nourishing or harming my body?
• Does this food give me energy or drain me?
• Am I eating because I am hungry or emotionally stressed?
• Do I need to adhere to the three meal per day concept?

This is where GRID’s PQ (Physical Quotient) becomes important. Caring for the body is an act of self-respect for your temple. Once you have made the choice for an overall healthy approach to living, you can begin to take small steps toward a Holistic lifestyle. Simple changes today, pays off large dividends tomorrow. So, what are some actions you can commence now? GRID listed a few practical steps for your consideration:

• drink more water (without drowning yourself)
• eat more fruits and vegetables,
• reduce then work towards eliminating processed foods,
• eliminate fast-foods purchases as an economic option.
• or learn food preservation methods like fermentation and join the GRID family the 1st Sunday of every month for our Fermenting 101 virtual classes.

Small choices create lasting change. Changing negative eating habits today, can save you time and money. Learn to respect and honor the one temple you've been entrusted with. If you have some recommendations, join us on GRID Holistic community and share your thoughts. 

Scripture for Mindful Monday: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 

References

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Author.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (2024). The nutrition source: Healthy eating plate. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/

Mayo Clinic. (2024). Stress management. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management

National Institutes of Health. (2023). Social media and mental health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.nih.gov/

World Health Organization. (2023). Healthy diet. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet