Why would an image consultant like me take the time and effort to share insights into healthy nutrition? The answer is because the results of good nutritional intake show up through an improved body figure, healthy skin, better digestion [which hopefully only you know about], and best of all you feel – and everyone sees – a significant improvement in your energy level and focus.

No doubt a lot of us aim to do the right thing when it comes to eating healthy. But over the weekend, my partner Kevin and I took in the documentary film Food, Inc. We now swear we won’t ever look at American food in the same way.

Both of us have been giving ourselves what you could call physique makeovers by changing the way we eat and revving up our workout regimens. Since taking ourselves to task, we’ve gotten in great shape, and lost significant weight relative to our proportions and ages. But even with our newfound ways of looking at food and how we eat it, we were aghast by the film’s many points about the American food system, as we know it.

Kevin and I have moved away from eating processed foods and doing so has helped us to lose weight. We avoid most starches, breads, potatoes, rice, and corn. But corn is broken down and is in so many food items, as Food, Inc. makes abundantly clear. We were shaking our heads at how many ingredients are created from corn. It’s become the centerpiece of the American diet, but it does not have to become the centerpiece of yours.

Corn, however, was practically the centerpiece of Food, Inc., because of its pervasiveness in the American food system. In fact, we really learned a lot about the corn-beef connection that will have you thinking about your diet once you read this.

Cows are meant to feed on grass, but big cattle companies are not feeding cows grass. They feed cows cheap corn to fatten them up. Cows cannot digest this corn, and as a result, corn fed cows are prone to illness. How do you suppose ecoli bacteria get into the food supply? This is how. The way to avoid this is not to avoid beef, but to buy grass-fed beef. My St. Louis friends may not like this, but the folks at Monsanto have essentially genetically engineered all American corn to be made of their seeds and have created a “cash cow” unlike no other – literally.

So even when we think we’re eating healthy and doing the right thing, we have more to learn. Here’s an illustrative story Kevin and I recently read about an American woman’s experience of going to live in Germany that makes the point:

This woman was concerned about living in a country known for its meat-and-potatoes diet and that she’d gain a significant amount of weight. She ended up living in Germany for several years, and during that time she met a man and they married. While living in Germany, she actually lost weight eating the local diet and her husband’s weight remained steady. Eventually, when the couple moved to the United States, both of them gained significant weight without altering their diets. What she learned was that the food they were eating was processed differently, highly salted, laden with sugars [high fructose corn syrup, etc.], and that is was fatty.

One of the people who really influenced Kevin and me on our journey toward personal wellness is an old neighbor and friend, Richard Nikoley. He writes a very informative blog about eating natural foods and I highly recommend reading up on his posts for more information because he’s so passionate about this topic. It’s particularly changed his life like it’s changed ours. And if you haven’t gotten the hint to get out and see Food, Inc., it’s a must.

Your personal and professional image is created by more than just how you dress. It also develops based on what you eat and how you care for yourself. You can make a difference in your image, one bite at a time.

Designing and managing your image is the secret science to your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.