Bani Hari, well known for her “Food Baby” online persona, knows firsthand that changing her eating habits can help change a person's life and health for the better.
As a young woman, Hari has been diagnosed with a series of health conditions and needs to remove her appendix, she said. While she recovered from surgery, Hari began studying nutrition and finding out what she was eating.
Starting with artificial food dyes and processed foods, Hari's health was in turn after cutting out certain things from her diet, she told Fox News Digital. (See the video at the top of this article.)
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“I've dropped all of my prescription medications. My asthma has gone, my eczema has gone, and I'm starting to look like another person,” she said.
“All the inflammation from my face and under my eyes has disappeared, and the people around me who grew up with me couldn't believe in transformation.”
Vani Hari, a food activist who helped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nominate for HHS secretary and wrote under the name “Food Babe” and wrote under the name “Food Babe.” (AP Photo/Ben Cartis)
Today, Hari maintains her “Food Babe” blog, publishes several books, and is passionate about improving the American food supply. She recently appeared in several rows behind Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Capitol Hill hearing as a candidate for President Donald Trump's HHS secretary.
In an interview with FoxNews Digital, North Carolina-based Hari shared the following advice on how others can start their health and wellness journeys they experienced years ago:
1. Read the ingredient label
“You have to understand what you're eating,” Hari said. “And if there's an ingredient there, if you don't understand it, look it up.”
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She said it's important to “be able to understand what you're putting on your body.”
She said, “If we realize that most of the chemicals in processed foods are there to improve the revenues of the food industry and not improve health, we automatically start making better choices.”
2. Take “ownership” of your food
Hari advised to cook at home and avoid consuming misprocessed items or including avoidable ingredients.
“Let's regain ownership of your food and start cooking at home,” she said. “I really understand what items you put in your body.”
Cooking at home will help you know exactly what you're eating. (istock)
What's more, cooking at home doesn't mean people “outsource to the food industry” to choose what to eat.
3. Find a cleaner alternative
Throwing away your favorite foods can be difficult, but there are alternatives, Hari said.
For breakfast grains, Hari recommended buying a “natural version” of the existing grain.
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“That's the first step,” she said.
Another item that's a simple swap? Tip.
He bought the brand “doesn't have MSG and artificial food dyes,” Hari said.
And to satisfy his fast food cravings, Hari suggested making fries at home with beef tallow and an air fryer.
“They're tasty,” she said.
4. Keep things simple
“Whenever possible, choose real food, one iconic food,” Hari said.
“Today, there are so many swaps to become a better brand for you, as we were used to it today, from very highly processed materials,” she said.
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Hari hopes that the US food industry will be forced to quickly comply with similar regulations as other countries.
“Americans are tired.”
“I think the food industry has noticed that they are no longer allowed to use materials that are not used in other countries,” she said. “Americans are tired.”
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Americans “want the same safe ingredients these food companies already think about how to make,” she said.
5
According to Hari, go to the local farmer market and look out for certified organic food.
Farmers' markets can be a great source of organic produce. (istock)
With organic foods, “we eliminate hundreds of chemicals allowed in traditional foods,” Hari said.
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“There are over 10,000 chemicals in the US, and there are only a few hundred in other countries,” she said.
