A 2013 international study punctuated our health dilemma. According to a January 2013 report from the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, although America spends more on health care than other wealthy nations it ranks among the least healthy of all industrialized countries. This has to lead us to rethink our approach to disease treatment and prevention.
I believe healthy eating is the best medicine on the planet! No, I am not suggesting we rush accident victims to a organic restaurants rather than an emergency rooms. Nor am I saying that doctors aren't best qualified to treat acute illnesses. What I am saying is that there will be few illnesses to treat when more of us adopt Healthful Eating-styles.
In his groundbreaking book, The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge brilliantly demonstrates the challenge we often have with connecting outcomes to the actions that cause them. He emphasizes the general problem we have with identifying cause and effect relationships when it comes to complex systems and complicated problems. This natural weakness is one of the reasons so many people fail to connect poor health with their poor eating.
Because our bodies are so adept at compensating for poor nutrition, in the short-term, we often ignore the signs of declining health until major illnesses occur. For example when one receive the life shattering diagnose of a major disease it is common to think and speak like it is something that has come upon them suddenly. The truth is that many major diseases take months, years, and even decades to manifest.
When bombarded with unnaturally high level of sugar and other toxic substances our bodies automatically go about the business of detoxing. Likewise, when faced with a limited supply of micronutrients from food our bodies automatically take steps to synthesize most required micronutrients from stored materials. Because our bodies do not shutdown when confronted with nutritional challenges there is rarely any thought given to the impact of how we eat or for that matter how we feed our families.
There is substantial research that suggests that heart disease, diabetes, and cancers, to name a few of the leading causes of death, develop over time as a result of controllable behaviors. In other words, direct links can be made from our daily lifestyles and many diseases. However, because the connections are part of a complex system and occur over time they are easily ignored.
I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who said an "Apple a day keeps the doctor away". To everyone who has discovered the importance of Healthful Eating and are enjoy vigorous lives relatively free of disease - congratulation. To everyone else, I encourage you to take the advice of Mr. Franklin and recognize that Food is Nature's Medicine!
Shedric is an author, speaker, and master chef. As former Vice President of Culinary Research and Development for The Olive Garden Restaurants and former Culinary Development Director for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines he acquired amazing insight into what drives us to eat beyond to point of health.
His blog at http://www.HealthfulChef.com has been applauded for its cutting-edge commentary health, weight loss, and disease prevention. In his bestselling book, The MicroNutrient Solution: Healing, Healing, Vitality, and Weight Loss God's Way, he exposes the most common diet myths that stand in the way of great health and weight loss.
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