Food As Medicine.
Food is the fuel that your body runs on. Every cell, tissue, and muscle in the body is comprised of what you eat. What you eat directly affects the health of microbiome or the trillion of helpful bacteria that lines the gut. Inflammatory foods cause damage and inflammation to the gut and microbiome, which can lead to a variety of health disorders such as leaky gut syndrome, chronic inflammation, irritable bowel syndrome, and depression. Be intentional and discerning with the foods you invite into your body. Your physical and mental health depend on it!
Gluten, dairy, sugar, and GMO foods can wreak havoc on the body. If you are curious and motivated to look at your diet, you may consider eliminating them. Commit to removing the food group for 30 days and then, at the end of 30 days, assess how you feel. Throughout the process record data such as bowel habits, gas, energy level, mood, libido, temperament, quality of sleep, and skin appearance to help you get a full picture of how the food affects your mental, physical and spiritual self.
GLUTEN
Gluten is derived from the Latin word glue. It is known for its natural adhesive abilities. When digested, gluten has a glue-like quality and easily clumps together, forming a mass which can disrupt the environment of the digestive tract. The undigested mass sitting in the intestines can prompt the immune system to launch an attack on the specialized cells of the intestines, resulting in an inflammatory response. Gluten consumption can lead to a wide spread of health issues that affect every organ system, including nasal congestion, coughing, sneezing, asthma, as well as anxiety, constipation, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome and leaky gut syndrome. Anything that is made from wheat, barley, rye, faro, kamut, couscous, wheat berries, spelt and triticale contains gluten. Read the labels when buying packaged or prepared food to make sure it is gluten-free. Foods that typically contain gluten include:
🙅♀️Cereal
🙅♀️Pasta
🙅♀️Baked goods
🙅♀️Crackers Condiments Cold cuts
🙅♀️Meat substitues
🙅♀️Canned soups Beer
🙅♀️Drink mixes
🙅♀️Candy bars
🙅♀️Pretzels Chips
Dairy
Most American dairy is filled with hormones and pesticides. Our bodies, from an evolutionary perspective, where not meant to digest milk regularly. Typically, the body stops producing large amounts of lactase (the enzyme that breaks down sugar in milk) between age two and (when the infant is weaned.) Consuming dairy can cause concerning physical symptoms ranging from headaches, allergies, runny nose, a decrease in energy, irritable bowel syndrome to increase in insulin like growth factor (IGF) which is a cancer promoter. Casein is a protein found in dairy products. It is linked to an increase in inflammation and to schizophrenia and depression[i].
SUGAR
Eating sugar causes your blood sugar to increase, often giving you a “sugar high”. After the initial “high” your blood sugar and mood will crash as insulin works to move the sugar out of the bloodstream and into the cells.
Engaging in this “sugar high”, followed by a crash regularly, can lead to brain fog, fatigue, irritability, cravings, sadness and moodiness. Sugar is eight times as addictive as cocaine. When ingested sugar spikes blood sugar and lights up the addiction center of the brain. Overtime these frequent crashes can lead to depression, infertility, type two diabetes, acne, impotence, heart disease, cancer and dementia[ii].
GMOs
GMOs stands for Genetically Modified Organism. GMOʼs are organisms that have specifcally had their DNA modified for a specifc purpose. In the United States a lot of farmers use GMO seeds to address challenges with weeds and insects that affect their crop yield. These farmers promised using GMOʼs would lower the use of pesticides and water used in crop yield. An examination reported by The New York Times compared farms in American vs farms in Europe (where GMOʼs are banned). This study revealed that farms in the USA were using 21% more herbicides than when the GMO crops were introduced, while farms in Europe were using about 65% fewer insecticides and fungicide. What does this all mean? Foods that are made from GMO crops have higher percentages of pesticides and herbicides. Pesticides like Monsantoʼs Roundup has been proven to have negative eects on the environment, farming communities and is a known carcinogen. Avoid packaged foods. If you must consume them, make sure that they are not made from GMO ingredients[iii]. The top four GMO ingredients are:
🙅♀️Felid corn and corn derived ingredients
🙅♀️Soybeans and soybean-derived ingredients
🙅♀️Sugar
🙅♀️Vegetable Oils
For more information on foods that are genetically modified check out and to familiarize yourself with the “Clean 15” and “Dirty Dozen” visit Environmental Working Groupʼs website as non GMO foods can also be covered with pesticides, fungicides and herbicides.
Focus on meals that are made from whole foods and are nutrient-dense. Health-promoting foods will be foods that are fresh or fermented. When you eat foods that come from the earth you will begin to heal your body. When you cut out gluten, dairy, sugar and GMO’s your body will recalibrate and start to crave foods that are health-promoting and restorative to the body. The body is so wise, we only have to learn how to listen to it.
FOUND THIS ARTICLE HELPFUL?
🥑Email it to a friend.
🥑Tell me your biggest takeaway/ what your going to implement onIG
🥑Feeling overwhelmed? Check in with your body. What is present for you in this moment?
🥑What is your intention for nutrition? What is your relationship with your food?
🥑After you eat a meal, how do you feel?
Do you have “chronic” or persistent health issues? Have you been told that you have an auto-immune disease and that you need medication for the rest of your life? Do you constantly have a runny/stuffed nose? Are you always tired and in need of a tissue? Making a radical change and cutting out food from your diet will only happen when your motivation for change is greater than the fear of changing. Get clear on how you view food and your relationship with it. What is your intention when eating? The answers will guide you to what your next steps will be.