Food – Your miracle medicine

 

I took the title of this post from a book I read back in the mid 90s: Food – your miracle medicine, written by Jean Carper. That was almost 30 years ago now, how time has flown! The book struck a chord with me and changed the way I looked at food completely.

I completely changed my diet, not that it was bad, I just reduced certain things and increased others.

The main changes I made were reducing the amount of red meat I consumed. I wasn’t eating excessive amounts, but maybe more than I needed to. I also started to eat a lot more fish. Why? You may ask. The answer is simple, the way they effect the body on a cellular level.

Excessive red meat intake has been linked to several health issues including heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure and kidney stones. On the other hand a little red meat each week does have great benefits: High in iron, which improves oxygen movement in the bloodstream and a good source of protein that also carries vitamins and minerals. I was mostly eating Beef and occasionally Lamb too. I will only eat red meat around twice a week now and always try and get lean cuts where possible.

Oily fish such as mackerel, sardines, salmon, and tuna have many health benefits. Among those are:

• healthy heart function,
• anti inflammation,
• reducing the risk of cancer,
• Macular degeneration prevention,
• reducing bad fats in the body

There has also been links made to eating fish often and the reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia. A good reason to tolerate the stink of fish, I’m sure you’ll agree!

The spice of life

Another thing or things, that are very beneficial to health are spices. Certain spices, namely Turmeric, have been used for thousands of years in medicines as they have a great effect on inflammation. Inflammation is a natural response in our bodies that is meant to help us fight infection and recover from extreme conditions or trauma to tissues and bones. Excessive inflammation over time, leads to more serious issues such as heart disease, strokes, and that horrible word, cancer. Eating certain spices such as turmeric, cumin, pepper, chillies, garlic and ginger will help reduce inflammation and thereby reduce the risk of these nasty afflictions. Good news for the curry lovers out there, as most curries contain some, if not all, of these spices.

So food is so much more than just tasty and filling, it’s a natural medicine, both preventative and remedial, when used in the right way.

We are so lucky to have so many food combinations available to us. So why not get adventurous and try using some exotic ingredients. There are recipe ideas all over the internet and in most good health magazines. Spices, vegetables, and fruits are all beneficial in their own ways, and when added to clean protein sources you are close to having a near perfect and super healthy diet. But everything in moderation.

The bottom line is if you want to be healthy, you have to eat and live healthy. It really is as simple as that!

To get an idea of your ideal calorie click here to see what your daily allowance should be