Eating for health

Every day our body breaks down and rebuilds itself. It is absolutely incredible in that whatever it does - it does with the aim of repair and healing. Even things that at first glance seem contrary to health - like insulin resistance, the build up of plaque in the arteries, excess fat accumulation - are all adaptive responses with the aim of protecting us. 

When repairing from daily wear and tear or healing from an illness, the body needs raw materials. It gets these from food. The quality of the raw materials we ingest play a huge role in how well our body is able to do its repair and healing job.  Food is not just calories or something we have to do to get buy. Food is building blocks. 

The body will always do its best - but it can only do so with the resources it has at hand. Bad food choices that don't provide the raw materials and energy in the right amounts make us sick. The good news is that the opposite is also true. The body is incredibly resilient and adaptable. As soon as it is given the right raw materials in the right amount it jumps on the case and repairs itself. 

We cannot always have direct control over our stressors and attackers - a nasty boss, the kids fighting, fine particles in the air we breathe, or the latest virus. However, more often than not, we do have direct control over our food choices. And that can be incredibly powerful. It can play a major role in how well we deal with all these stressors. 

Even when ill health is already present, in whatever form, we can always optimise how we eat to help the body deal with illness. 

  • Anxiety and depression can be alleviated when we eat in a way which helps raise our happy neurotransmitters (serotonin and dopamine) and lower our stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline).
  • Cancer can be prevented or stay in remission when you eat in a way which deprives it from its main fuel source (you guessed it - it is glucose!) and strengthens your immune system to keep it at bay. 
  • Sore muscles, achy joints, weakening bones can all be helped by providing the micronutrients needed for their growth and repair and keeping the acidic/alkaline balance of the body so that it is not forced to compensate by drawing the minerals out of your soft tissue and bones.
  • Gut issues and acid reflux can be calmed when our friendly gut bacteria (aka our second brain) are being kept happy and well nourished by the prebiotics and probiotics in our food.
  • Even neurodegenerative diseases of ageing can be made easier to live with, delayed and perhaps even prevented when the body is given the right raw materials.

The list goes on and on ... you get the idea. There is always something we can do, optimise, tweak. 

The goal is not perfection or finding a magical cure. Nutrition is not necessarily the "be all and end all" that will cure all of disease. BUT it is an incredibly powerful lever, over which you have direct control and which - when used wisely - can certainly lead to better health and a better quality of life

Would you like to give it a try?