Americans spend more on health care yet are becoming more sick, taking more prescriptions, and losing vitality. Why? The current medical model in the United States treats symptoms with drugs or surgery rather than finding root cause of what the body needs to be healthy. Without finding and resolving the problem, the system creates lifelong drug dependency and more illnesses. How did that come about?
Medical schools are heavily supported by the Pharmaceutical Industry, so doctors are not taught nutrition, which is the foundation of health, nor how to make nutrition recommendations. Concurrently, since the tobacco companies were forced to label those products as unhealthy and addictive, they got into the processed food production to create addicted repeat customers in that manner. The good news is more people are taking responsibility for their well-being and are educating themselves on how to support the body’s innate ability to heal.
Did you know our immune system is primarily in the gut, and that 80% of chronic disease is caused by poor diet? We need more whole plants. The current recommendation has risen to eating 9-13 cups of fruits and vegetables a day. Vitamins will not take the place of a healthy diet for our bodies are made for food, and is stressed by man-made chemicals or fractured, isolated vitamins that over time can be harmful. There are tens of thousands of phytonutrients in each plant that works synergistically in our body, helping it to assemble more of the nutrients the body needs. Here are four tips for a healthier diet:
Read Labels. Avoid processed sugars (they have so many names), artificial chemicals for flavoring, extended shelf life, seed oils. If you do not recognize the ingredient, your body won’t either! To make it easy to know what to avoid, there is an app, Yuka that by scanning the bar code reports the positive and negatives and score, (including cosmetics and hygiene), and can suggest better alternatives. If you don’t have it in your home, you won’t eat it!
Choose Organic Whenever Possible. Organic plants have not been stressed by toxic chemicals, so have more nutrition helping you to feel satiated. Follow the Environmental Working Group’s annual Dirty Dozen guide when you shop or go out to eat. It lists what foods to only eat organic, and which foods are not as contaminated so you can go conventional.
Eat the Rainbow. No one food has all we need. Each has its own benefits so fill your plate with colors, half of a meal being raw plants for their tens of thousands phytonutrients, enzymes and fiber which are also lacking in the Standard American Diet (SAD). It’s not just an apple a day that will keep the doctor away, we need 9-13 cups of fruits and vegetables daily for our body to defend, repair, build and maintain health. Studies have found that those who get a strategic blend of fruits and vegetables every day will help turn off the bad genes and turn on the good ones! For an easy way to make sure you are eating the rainbow with a strategic blend of plant powders in capsules to keep them at maximum potency check out how to get that boost,
Plan Your Meals and Snacks. Green smoothies make a good breakfast, just make sure your protein powder doesn’t include whey and the mix is made from plants not chemicals (Ensure, made by a pharmaceutical company is one of the worst one can drink!) and is certified to be pure. Cut up carrots, celery, cauliflower for an easy to grab snack—they keep well in a sealed mason jar. Think of fruit as “fast food.” Create a rotation of instant pot or crock pot recipes. Meal prep for the week and put ingredients in a Ziplock so they’re ready to cook. Make a big batch of soup or stew to freeze (I love souper cubes!) to have on hand. If you want help with meals, consider a meal delivery service (here is a robust review of many meal delivery options from Dec. ’24 by Good Housekeeping—the only one they did not mention that we have enjoyed is Pete’s Real Food which one can see meal choices based on your dietary preferences.)
People are sick and tired of being sick and tired. We are seeing the beginnings of the movement to, Make America Healthy Again to assist us in build a solid foundation of health every day by banning some of the same toxic ingredients that Europe did a long time ago. Yay!
This saying is true: We are what we eat!
The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness, and assurance forever. Isaiah 32:17
SINCE 1979