How To Spark Your Energy With Food As 'Medicine'

Let thy food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. Hippocrates

First, let me just remind you, Hippocrates was alive in a very different world than we are today. He’s an ancient Greek physician who lived during Greece's Classical period and is traditionally regarded as the father of medicine (in case you weren’t aware).

He wrote that infamous quote in a time when the world was very different. At a time when most people attributed sickness to superstition and the wrath of the gods, Hippocrates taught that all forms of illness had a natural cause. His writings of the time were used to form what is known as the Hippocratic oath. Today, many medical school graduates still recite modern variations of the oath. Essentially, first do no harm and a focus on prevention.

Today reading that quote may mean something entirely different because of how the world currently is. So let’s unpack it a bit, shall we?

Food is powerful medicine. It is energy as well as information. Every molecule that exists in your body was created from the food you eat, the water you drink, the air you breathe. You quite literally are what you eat, drink, breathe and assimilate.


Most people are super confused about how to eat right to be healthy these days. I believe it should be simple. Whole foods or foods in their natural unrefined forms are what your body needs to maintain and build optimal health.

It’s only complicated because our modern day culture has created a whole new form of ‘food’ over the past century. So you and I are further removed from knowing clearly what a whole or real food actually is. Our current food system is not designed for health, neither is our medical system.

Coming to terms with the concept of 'food as medicine' can be very confusing. Especially because we (culturally speaking) only take medicine when we are already sick. In light of that, we don’t fully understand the concept of prevention in this day and age.

I don’t know about you, but I grew up eating mostly processed foods.

Food made in a factory or a commercial farm focused on producing mass quantities of food versus raising sustainable, ethical, quality foods just like nature provided up until commercialization.

As a kid raised in the 70’s, I never really knew how good my body could truly feel. I did struggle with my health as a child, but I’d wager a bet most people would have said I was relatively healthy.

With that in mind, our culture has not only lost touch with what foods are real and the best quality for optimal health. We have lost touch with what it means to be truly healthy and thriving.

The evidence is obvious, just look at disease rates and how they have sky-rocketed since the 70’s when I was born.

If you are running on empty like I was as I’ve shared my journey with you up to now, it might take some time to repair your body. However, it IS possible. It starts with a mindset to love yourself and plenty of education on whole real nutrient dense foods.

When I started my journey towards true health, I chose to see my food as my medicine.

Now, I’m not here to write an entire book on a healthy diet, I’d rather share more about how to create a healthy relationship with food. I’ve seen over the years both in my own health and my clients that it’s harder to cultivate an honest relationship with food and your body. Many people argue about the nitty-gritty details of what real natural foods or diets are the healthiest or best choice. That is only a small fragment of the bigger health picture.

I’d rather teach you how to get to know yourself. How to take a balanced approach to food, so you don’t become a raging food zealot, like I once was, using food to try and control how I felt.

Let me set you free. There isn’t one single perfect diet or approach to healing.

There are just too many moving parts for that to be possible. I personally recommend starting with an organic, whole foods diet as a starting point. Make the switch and stick with it and then refine it to meet your personal health needs.

And yes, you may actually need support in figuring out how to refine what you specifically need to eat to heal. Please first just realize that lasting dietary changes take time.

Nourishing yourself is a process. Making small changes, such as switching from commercial rancid vegetable oils to the best quality oils and fats can be enough of a benefit to begin with.

You don't have to make big sweeping changes like I did that summer of 2009, where I gutted my pantry started over and never looked back. Just keep taking steps towards choosing real, organic, local, ethical foods that Mother Nature provided us as close to it's original form as possible.

One of my favorite resources to guide you in making the best choices with recipes and shopping lists is Real Plans. It's a no brainer in my opinion. I recommend it to all my clients when starting out. Shifting your food choices takes a bit of effort on the front end, but so does any habit or life change. With Real Plans you will have so much support right at your fingertips (literally, cause you can download their app to your phone).



To help you even further in using your food as 'medicine', especially if you are new to real food, here are some posts I've already written about diet and mindset:

• How To Streamline Meal Planning To Save Time & Energy
  
• How To Ditch The Perfect Diet Mentality For Good
• How to Create a Healthy Diet that You Actually Enjoy
• How to Honor Your Hunger & Stop Feeling Deprived
• How To Use A Mind-Body Journal To Become An Expert Of YOU
  
  
  

Now I would love to hear from you. Do you view your food as medicine? Have you made the switch to REAL food? Feel free to share in the comments!