We Are, Indeed, What We Eat!

Food As Medicine.

If I told you that by giving up 2 staples in the standard American diet you may be following, you could possibly reduce your risk to more than 50 chronic, disabling, debilitating, life altering diseases, would you do it?

My grandma used to tell us, “You want to grow up strong and healthy? Eat what I am putting in front of you! We are what we eat, don’t you know that?”

It turns out, she was right. More and more studies are demonstrating that the leading causes of death in the western hemisphere such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes, are all related to bad eating habits. And that health is intrinsically a part of eating the right foods.

Obesity in the western hemisphere is on the rise, so is all the other diseases mentioned before plus autoimmune diseases, polyps, fibroids, and many more.

Berkeley, Harvard, and Princeton Universities have published studies on the relationship of junk foods and childhood obesity. But that is not all, the food we feed our families in our own homes, if we do not understand their origin, qualities, properties and optimum preparation and use according to the organs they are related to, may cause just as much harm.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints received by revelation a health code in 1833, known as the Word of Wisdom where Its members are counseled to abstain from alcohol, coffee, tobacco and other harmful substances. But, also they are told to eat meat sparingly, and only in times of need and cold, as well as to make their diet mainly of fruits, vegetables and grains. Those who adhere to this law, are promised health in their bodies, wisdom and knowledge, as well as strength. Unfortunately, not all adhere completely to it. Most of us are quick to reject an invitation to drink a martini, yet a Krispy Kreme donut is another thing.

Members of the Seventh Day Adventist church, on the other hand, have a similar health code but their members follow it more closely than their Mormon friends, and as a result are among the healthiest and long lived people in America.

Taoism, is a Chinese religious tradition which stresses the importance of living in harmony with the Dao or Way ( Path) and the importance of allowing the flow of energy in humans, plants, animals, galaxies, the universe, in one word, everything, to journey through our bodies unimpeded. This, is accomplished by peaceful means, simplicity, by moving less and relaxing more, by exercising wisdom, recognizing that everything has an opposite, by allowing ourselves to remain stationary and calm.

Nutrition based on this philosophy encourages the free flow and circulation we should seek to maintain healthy bodies.

Presently, the food industry has us hooked in sugar, vegetable oils and lots of meat. Processed food is designed to look and taste good, but it is lethal. By learning as much about nutrition as we can, we become empowered to make our bodies strong and healthy.

Through my studies in Traditional Chinese Medicine, I learned how important it is to even know how to eat and savor our food. In our overstressed, overworked, over busy society, we eat while driving, while answering phones, while making business deals, while watching television, while cleaning our drawers, or doing laundry. We eat standing up or walking, as well as sitting. We eat all we can eat, even when it makes us sick later, or go into fad diets that promise quick weight loss which comes through harming mainly our pancreas, liver and kidneys.

So, how do we break this vicious and potentially lethal cycle? By eating real food for starters. Everything that the earth produces, that grows from the soil, was put there, “ for the use of man.” It is up to us to use it wisely.

We eat then, food that is fresh, we eat it without processing, and cooking it and mixing it correctly, we eat it in moderation. We eat foods in their seasons. In spring, we eat foods that strengthen the liver and gallbladder and are green in color, come from young plants and are fresh and light to allow the yang to ascend. Things like basil, fennel, marjoram, kale, beets, carrots, sprouts, mint, lemons, strawberries, peaches, cherries and cereals among others are some of the foods we should have been eating since March 20th and before summer starts.

We stop drinking milk from other animals. “If it is not your mother, it is not your milk,” were the warning words of one of my professors. I remember we all laughed when she said them, but have you stopped to think that we are the only mammals that after being weaned from our mothers continue to drink milk, and from other animals? Not even the calf continues to drink milk from the cow forever. Think about that.

We also sit down to eat, put everything away, and really look, taste, and savor what we are putting into our mouths.

In 2013, a report from Credit Suisse’s Research Institute showed that if we give up refined sugar and dairy, the risk for diabetes, heart disease, obesity, chronic inflammation, high blood pressure, kidney damage, metabolic syndrome, cognitive decline and/or dementia, fatty liver, osteoporosis and many more diseases decreases.

We can do it. We can start breaking the cycle of self destruction by becoming informed and making healthy choices. We can plan ahead and take care of the awesome bodies we were blessed with. We can gift the universe the best of ourselves by being the healthiest we can be. We only need to start, and start now.

This is just my opinion...

As a single woman, a Mormon and a Western/ Chinese doctor