For years, I've been trying to convince people I love and care
about and a few who were just acquaintances, that food can heal. So far
no one has quite believed me. I wouldn't say that I've given up on
spreading that truth, I've just decided to go about it a different way.
Our
health care system is broken. Our food system is broken. Our society
has moved so far away from real food and real health and toward
convenience packaged as "convenience foods" and medicines, that it's no
wonder most people including doctors and other highly skilled
professionals are so out of touch with the healing power of real food.
Rather
than try to convince you that food can heal your ills, I'm going to
suggest that it's worth just seeing if it can make you feel better.
Whether or not you believe food is going to actually cure you, the right
foods aren't going to hurt you. Maybe you're experiencing emotional or
physical stress. Maybe you're battling a serious illness such as cancer
or auto-immune dysfunction. What do you have to lose in changing your
diet? What if it just makes you feel better as you deal with your
particular challenges? Most medicines today come with a long list of
side-effects and warnings. Many cancer medications are still
experimental. Medicines get stacked on to combat the side-effects of
other medicines. By making simple changes in your eating habits, you can
ease the effects of the medications you choose to take.
I
personally know four people who have cured their advanced cancer or the
advanced cancer of a loved one through nutrition and supplements alone -
no surgery, no chemo. I personally know twice as many who have died of
cancer or complications from cancer after using conventional treatments -
surgery, chemo, radiation, etc. That's a small sampling of people, but
enough to convince me personally that it's worth looking into more
deeply.
Here are my basic recommendations to help you feel better
when facing the smallest to the biggest challenges in life, emotional
and physical:
1. Hydrate - Drink one quart of pure water for every
50 pounds of body weight. If you weigh 150 pounds, drink 3 quarts of
water a day. If you are a coffee or tea drinker, add a cup to a cup and a
half of water to that total for each cup of coffee or tea that you
drink.
2. Eat lots of greens - Greens like kale and spinach are
considered super foods because of the many vitamins, phytonutrients and
antioxidants they contain. At each meal, make sure your plate is at
least 50 percent vegetables and most of those vegetables leafy greens
(broccoli, kale, spinach, Swiss Chard, Brussels sprouts) - not iceberg
lettuce!
3. Cut out flour and sugar. These two are sure to slow
you down. Cutting out flour and sugar means cutting out most, if not
all, processed and packaged foods. There are so many other delicious
foods to eat! Replace that bread with an extra helping of vegetables.
Instead of cereal or toast for breakfast, try a smoothie with plain
yogurt, fresh or fruits and some greens. Add more greens as you get used
to the taste. You can also cut out the yogurt and just blend fruit and
greens. If you must eat bread, go for sprouted grain, flourless breads
like the ones you can get from Food For Life.
When craving sugary
sweetness, discover the natural sweetness of fruits and vegetables. The
cravings will go away! Just give yourself a week or two. And please
don't switch to sugar substitutes! They are just as harmful to you, and
some more harmful, than sugar. If you must, use a little raw honey or
maple syrup.
4. Eat fermented vegetables - This is an acquired
taste for some. When we first started eating real fermented sauerkraut
eight years ago, my husband couldn't stand the smell of it. I'd open the
jar, scoop out everyone's servings and close the jar as fast as I
could. It took a little time, but we all love it now and don't mind the
smell at all. In fact, different blends of vegetables with a little
garlic smell great! If you learn how to ferment vegetables yourself,
this is a very cost effective way to get your organic vegetables in.
Fermented vegetables are packed with vitamins, fiber and enzymes that
help with digestion. They are also loaded with beneficial bacteria to
help keep your gut flora in check.
5. Eat certified organic
vegetables and fruits and grass-fed meats as much as possible. Do
whatever you can to reduce the amount of pesticide residue you ingest.
Also, unless you're eating organic, you can't be sure that you're not
eating genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The point here is to
reduce your body's intake of chemicals, growth hormones, antibiotics,
and other potentially harmful substances. You want to keep your system
as clean as possible.
6. Consume raw, organic dairy. Milk, cheese,
butter. Full fat and raw. Milk is a live food. It's important to get to
know the dairy farmer you buy from and get to know the laws surrounding
raw dairy in your state. I grew up on regular, store bought milk. Now, I
only drink milk raw. It tastes better, feels better in my tummy and
doesn't leave the scummy feeling in my mouth. If you don't like the idea
of consuming raw milk, I recommend cutting milk out of your diet or
consuming just organic, plain yogurt. That is at least free of added
sugar and full of probiotics.
For some of you, this may be
overwhelming... too many big changes. As I always recommend, make just
one change at a time if it's too much for you at once. Others will find
it easier to just make all the changes whole hog. There are always ways
to improve your diet. There are always healthier alternatives. Don't
expect your doctor to know about healthy food choices. This is an area
where you have do some of your own research and cut through the
misinformation to get to the truth.
I hope that some of you will
give this a try. Give yourself a month and see how you feel. Try one
change and add another a week or month at a time. Maybe do it just for
you and add in your other family members as you start to feel great!
Find a way to get to better health.
I'm here to support you in
your journey! I always welcome your comments and questions and encourage
discussion among my readers. Please leave your comments below, and I'll
personally respond as soon as I can.
Biographical Note: I am a
cancer survivor who came through an easily cured cancer treated with
surgery and radiation in 1998. I didn't know any of what I know now. I
felt a constant malaise for three years after until I changed my diet. I
do know that if I ever have cancer again, I will not go through
chemotherapy and radiation. I will turn to food and my mind to heal
myself.
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