Food as Medicine?
Dr. Bradley Shepherd is a chiropractor practicing in Las Cruces, NM. Dr. Shepherd specializes in preventing, diagnosing, and treating conditions associated with the neuromusculoskeletal system while improving each patient's functionality and quality of life. Conditions treated include sciatica, neck pain, and arthritis... more
Before modern medicine, humans have had to rely on nature to stay healthy and treat disease. We have had to eat foods that benefit us, and avoid foods that hurt us. It has been increasingly difficult to do this in our modern, fast-food, convenience-food world. We have an abundant supply of food, so why has the rates of diabesity, heart problems, cancer, and other health problems increased?
I think there are many reasons for this, but the reason I want to talk about today is the food problem. Americans eat. A lot. (excuse my grammar). We don't always eat what is healthy, because our lives are incredibly busy. We don't grow our own food. We rely on others to provide it. Some of those others may not have our best interests in mind when it comes to food. They will provide us with fast, easy meals, rather than nutritious meals. There is a place for that, but when it becomes the norm, we get problems.
Most Americans don't eat enough vegetables, especially the dark green leafy vegetables that have incredible benefits to our overall health. We, instead, rely on fast food or convenience food to stave off the hunger. This works in the short term, but in the long term, we end up starving our bodies of essential nutrients that keep our bodies working in tip top shape. This increases our chances of heart problems, brain problems, digestive problems, and other problems like diabetes, stroke, and cancer. We eat too much sugar, which dramatically decreases the strength of our immune systems.
My challenge to you is to look at your diet and make one small change today. Try limiting your sugar intake. Stop drinking soda. Limit the number of energy drinks you use. Snack on a vegetable instead of potato chips or tortilla chips. Start taking a whole food supplement. Talk to your health care provider for other advice, and make sure you are getting your annual checkups.
Small changes over time can make a big difference.