"Let Food Be Thy Medicine"

By: Roben Clark

Did you know the body is its own defense and healing mechanism? But, healing and sickness prevention will not occur if what goes into your mouth does not serve to prevent or minimize symptom of disease and sickness. According to Karger (2012), “Human health has begun to face a new type of crisis, particularly in developed nations. In previous centuries, the greatest risks of mortality was attributed to infectious disease. Now, chronic metabolic disease is rapidly growing as a more significant concern. Our most serious concerns are the diseases that arise from how we live.”

While your blueprint (DNA-inherited genes) remains the same, factors such as nutrition (what, when, and how you eat and drink), how you feel, what you think and believe, what you do, and what you perceive, can change the way certain parts of your DNA are read and implemented – or not. Some scientists say less than 10% of human disease is a result of genetic destiny. However, genetically healthy individuals still experience health problems: from heart disease to diabetes, to cancer and other degenerative diseases.

Food has the greatest impact on the human body. The first impact of food is the information it brings to the cell level, changing its behavior – for better or for worse! For example, a good response such as foods rich in soluble fiber aid in eliminating toxins, cholesterol, and excess hormones from your body and strengthens your immune system by helping beneficial bacteria grow in the gut. Or a not so good response like refined sugar binds to cells and triggers a reaction releasing irritating chemicals causing swelling and autoimmune conditions.

So you see, nutrition – whether good or bad – switch our genes on and off. With nutritional therapy, you can learn how to switch off the bad genes, optimize health, improve symptoms, and minimize sickness. Even if you do have genes that predispose you to certain health problems, from cancer to obesity, you can keep them dormant or counteract their activity by improving your nutrition, your habits, and how you live, thus changing your life! Remember, every person is different and therefore requires a different set of nutrients and a unique program of lifestyle requirements to contain all necessary components for a balanced and thriving life. In the infamous words of Hippocrates, “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.”