Why Synergistic Nutrition & Lifestyle Habits Work, While Pills & Diets Don’t
Why Synergistic Nutrition & Lifestyle Habits Work, While Pills & Diets Don’t
Is it Normal to Feel Bad?
My Clients always tell me “I didn’t know how bad I felt until I knew what it felt like to feel good!”. We’ve come to accept so many health issues as “our norm”. We think it’s our destiny to have the ailments we do, that it’s just what happens to us. Some such prevalent, run of the mill complaints are fatigue, depression, excess weight, brain fog, bloating, headaches, joint pain, itchy skin, sweet cravings, sleeplessness, and constipation. Doesn’t paint a pretty picture of our normality, does it?!
What’s Causing Our Sub-optimal Health?
Why are we sick? What’s causing this sub-optimal health? Could it be the polluted environment we live in? The fact that we’re breathing in car exhaust fumes and industrial pollution? Could it have something to do with the fast, convenient, fried, fatty foods that dominate our daily diet? Could it be the preservatives and chemicals in canned and packaged foods or the pesticides on our fruit and plants?
Perhaps it’s due to the meat we eat from animals which are fattened with steroids and pumped with antibiotics to stave off disease from their filthy, overcrowded conditions? How about the level of sugar and artificial sweeteners we expect our bodies to simply pump out endless supplies of insulin to deal with, or the genetically modified foods we think our digestive systems have suddenly adapted to process? This is without even considering our abuse of alcohol, tobacco or prescription drugs!
What are the Consequences of Our Pill-Taking Culture?
It’s so easy for us to ‘deal with’ these annoying everyday complaints by taking a pill or going on a diet. Rather than deal with it, we choose to stick a band-aid on the issue. The warning bells are blaring at us, but we don’t go to look for the cause of the fire. We simply try to shut the door on it. Guess what? We haven’t quenched the fire but simply acquired temporary relief. Behind the scenes, our inflammatory fire is burning stronger than ever, as we continue to feed it with the foods and lifestyles which fuel this toxic acidity.
Soon after, we start to notice even more restrictive health conditions arising. Perhaps a chronic disease hits. We’re told by our doctor that we now have heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, an autoimmune disease, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disorder, or one or more of a long list of serious issues. So we take more pills, and the vicious circle continues.
Choose to Nourish Health and Starve Disease
What if the foods we eat, which I refer to as our “secondary food”, contained all the nutrients that it used to during the times of our ancestors? What if we ate more whole foods that we can pick, hunt, or fish, rather than those with a list of ingredients the length of our arm, half of which we cannot pronounce? Imagine if we worked towards promoting health by increasing our intake of foods rich in healthy fats, good protein, and nutrient dense complex carbohydrates. What if we chose enzymatic, energy rich fruit and vegetables, rather than dead food like chips and baked goods? We really are what we eat.
To support the miraculous powers of healthful foods on creating energy and wellness in our bodies and minds, we can also look for ways to help create an anti-inflammatory, health-promoting environment in our lives. Implementing methods of managing stress, perhaps through meditation, energy healing or exercise is a great place to start. Improving sleep quality, regular movement and surrounding ourselves with positive, uplifting people are key “primary foods” which nourish us. There are so many other ways for us to promote health and stave off disease. This is only the tip of the iceberg!