“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food,”
– Hippocrates the founder of Western medicine.
Hippocrates’ belief was that all illness stemmed from a poor nutritional diet and eating habits. If we changed what we put into our body, our health could be restored.
Over the course of time, society has moved away from using food as a source of preventative medicine. In contrast, pharmaceuticals and band-aid solutions are reactively used to fit illness, instead of combatting poor eating diets. Today’s diets are unbalanced and are loaded with nasty fats, refined sugars, processed ingredients and packaged foods. By depriving the body of fresh whole foods, our functional areas lack the essential nutrients they require to function.
Our bodies consist of over 50 trillion cells and every cell in our body requires nutrients to operate correctly and in order for it to thrive, it needs to be loaded with the right kind of fuel. Whole foods aid our body in the healing processes at a cellular level, allowing you to fight off external hazards, illnesses and infections.
As a nutritionist, I see more and more people suffering from niggling colds and flu symptoms every day. I am constantly saying, “Go home, eat three raw cloves of garlic, drink plenty of filtered water, fresh lemon juice and have a big bowl of homemade chicken soup, rest, and come back to me.” Amazingly, most my clients come back within 24 hours saying their cold has miraculously disappeared – go figure. It’s astounding to hear that people don’t have these basic food items in their diet already, scary. This is a little reminder how foods can play huge a role in healing the body.
At Health Space Whole Foods, Potts Point, our vision is to help guide you to make small changes to your everyday life. We want you and your family to feel healthy from the inside out.
Here are 5 quick and easy tips to help you get some medicinal foods back in your life:
- Eat seasonally – the way nature intended
- Ensure each meal is 60% plant based – such as a diet rich in vegetables, fruits and wholegrains
- Get to know medicinal foods. Use vitamin C rich foods when run down
- Where possible use foods over supplements to help treat chronic conditions
- Remove any food you feel your body reacts to. If you feel bloated after eating bread, then it is time to change your habits!
Go on try it, it is easy – your body will thank you for it!
