Food IS Medicine!

There are so many reasons why we should pay attention to what we eat. The processed foods many of us consume regularly may be convenient and tasty, but they compromise our health. I’m Wendy Corr, and in today’s Wellness Tip, we’re going to highlight the idea that the food you eat can affect your health even more than the medicines you take.

The food we eat gives our bodies the “information” and materials they need to function properly. If we don’t get the right information, our health declines. If we get too much food, or food that gives our bodies the wrong instructions, we can become overweight, undernourished, and at risk for the development of diseases and conditions, such as arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease.

The most comprehensive research ever undertaken about the relationship between diet and the risk of developing diseases is described in book The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell. The author’s conclusion? If you want to be healthy, change your diet.

Whole foods contain substances that work together to enhance the benefits of the individual nutrients – and may be far more effective than supplements that just deliver one or two. For example, when you eat a whole orange, you are getting the fiber, satisfaction, fullness, flavor as well as Vitamin C and potassium.  When you take a supplement, you only get that specific nutrient, without the synergistic properties that are only expressed when you eat the whole food.

Something that isn’t generally known is that genes do not determine diseases on their own. Genes function only by being activated or expressed – it’s a field called epigenetics. Nutrition plays a HUGE role in determining which genes, good and bad, are expressed. So diet can truly influence whether or not you are afflicted by diseases like diabetes or cancer! In fact, experts have proven that nutrition can actually reverse disease in later stages, as well as preventing disease in its early stages.

Just keep in mind that good nutrition creates health in all areas of our lives – all the parts are interconnected.

Thanks for tuning in to Wellness with Wendy! I’m a certified holistic nutritionist, a mom, an entertainer and a radio personality – so finding balance is the key to my life. For more health and wellness news and advice, follow my blog on mybighornbasin.com. See you again next time for Wellness with Wendy!