Getting sick is an inconvenience for anyone, but it’s especially hard on business owners. When so many people and so much of the daily operations or your business depend on you, you just can’t afford to miss work.

But entrepreneurs don’t just need to keep from taking sick days. Building a business takes creativity and innovation, and it’s hard to tap into that when you’re constantly feeling sluggish, tired, or weak. So many people go through life at less than 100%, often resorting to doctors who prescribe hormone therapy or medication, when all they need to know is one simple thing:

Food is Fuel. It’s Medicine. It’s Healing. It’s not just calories.

Athletes have always known this. Look at the way Olympians and professional athletes eat when they’re training and competing- every food is consumed intentionally, for a specific purpose. Even the way they eat during their off season is better than the way most of us eat when we’re really trying to be healthy!

You can even follow a dietician’s recommendations by getting the right balance of fat, carbs, and protein every day and staying within your healthy calorie limits, but there’s more to it than that. We have to understand that our bodies are finely tuned machines, built to function at peak performance when we care for them properly. Just like a sports car will function worse and worse if you consistently put cheap gas and low-quality oil in it, our bodies will get laden with junk – and start to show it – if we eat poorly.

A teacher friend was recently telling me that , though she stays healthy, many of her coworkers get sick constantly. When she asked one of them why she’s always sick, her coworker responded, “Because I’m around kids all day!”

“So am I,” my friend told me, “but I don’t get sick because I eat real food.”

Real food. That’s the key for anyone who wants to perform at their best, mentally and physically. It looks a bit different for everyone (you might do fine with gluten, where it would stop me in my tracks), but a variety of foods as close to their naturally occurring state are the best fuel for the human body. That means organic, unprocessed foods from primarily local sources.

Everyone- not just business owners- should consider the long-term effects of their diet. While it’s nice to feel healthier day-to-day, making some changes in the way you eat could help prevent many of the illnesses that affect so many Americans like coronary disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Whether you run a business or a home, being at your best isn’t just about feeling great today, but about being there for the people who need you for many years to come.