Nutrition-based Medicine

We literally are what we eat—our diet affects everything! Overall nutrition and lifestyle predisposes us to, or protects us from, many chronic disorders and diseases. The disease/diet science and nutrition professionals have particularly made a connection to include, but not limited to, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, inflammatory disorders that include fibromyalgia, arthritis, high cholesterol, learning disabilities, cognitive disorders, skin disorders, etc. Healthy eating equates to consuming the right quantities of foods, from all food groups, in order to facilitate wellness, which leads to a healthy life. The term diet is too often used loosely to mean some dietary regimen for losing weight. However, diet simply means what food we eat in the course of a 24-hour, one week, or one month, etc. period.

A good diet is a nutritional lifestyle that promotes good health—in other words, nutrition-based medicine. A good diet must include quality natural food without chemical additives and several food groups because one single group cannot provide everything the body needs for good health. In addition, I guarantee you if you ate, for instance, oatmeal every day your body will eventually reject it by manifesting symptoms of one form or another from indigestion and heartburn to an allergic response. When rejection occurs, most often you don’t connect the cause of those new symptoms unless food rotation has been part of your natural health enlightenment.

Health Thru Education™
Heath education for the consumer has become more important because specific disorders cannot be alleviated or reversed if certain genres of foods contain chemicals known to be detrimental to the health of the individual. For instance, we know scientifically that the genre of foods in the nightshade family accelerate an inflammatory condition. I’ve dedicated the last twenty years of my professional life in educating my clients, readers and students about the health-depleting effects of nightshades—a perfect example why many inflammatory conditions do not improve in spite of medications and/or natural remedies/supplements. Nightshades contain an alkaloid chemical known as solanine or solanaceae from the solanum genus. Cholinesterase, an enzyme found in nightshades, originates from the brain and is responsible for the flexibility of movement in the muscles. Solanine, present in nightshades, is a powerful inhibitor of cholinesterase. In other words, its presence can interfere with muscle movement—the soft tissue pain and stiffness often manifested when it interferes with muscle movement. Since nightshades also affect tendons and ligaments (not bone) it explains why those with fibromyalgia must avoid this family of foods. Those with fibromyalgia especially must avoid these foods for at least 90-days in order to benefit from the reduction of inflammation and pain. The challenge lies in that many foods, especially gluten-free foods, contain potato starch as a replacement for the gluten. This is why learning what to look for and becoming a “label-reading sleuth” has become vital in order to overcome and to avoid nutrition-based disorders. You can keep throwing drugs and/or supplements at an inflammatory condition but without dietary modifications, you are only dealing with symptom-care, not health-care through nutrition-based medicine.

Nutrient-rich Foods
Because what we eat matters, it is also important we understand which foods are nutrient-rich, meaning they give us “more bang for our buck.” This chart will help you select the most nutrient-rich and begin your new year by supporting your health in “food as medicine.”

Consider reading Dr. Gloria’s book, Pain/Inflammation Matters, regarding the health-depleting effects of nightshades and 30 nightshade-free recipes available on her website. You can obtain the paper version simply for the cost of postage (about $5), contact Natural Rejuvenation Solutions at 888.352.8175.