The Big Question Your Doctor Should Be Asking
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
—Hippocrates
Food is medicine.
There’s no denying it, but with so much fluff—fad diets and hype—in the media, it’s hard to navigate exactly what to eat.
Most doctor’s knowledge of nutrition barely scratches the surface and it likely doesn’t extend beyond the USDA’s food pyramid. Medical school spends very little time educating doctors on the fundamental foundation of good health—food.
Why is this a problem?
If the person guiding you in your pursuit of wellness doesn’t understand the very foundation of health or how to leverage food as medicine, then there is little hope of being offered anything more than a fad diet or worse yet, a pharmaceutical.
From a wellness perspective, this is a problem because the fad diet and the pharmaceutical doesn’t return you to optimal health. They both mask symptoms rather than address and heal the symptoms.
Just as we are all individuals, health too is bio-individualized. There are “healthy” foods that work for me but might not work for you and your unique constitution. Wrong food choices for you can contribute to digestive issues, fatigue, increased inflammation, low mood, and even autoimmune disease. In terms of symptoms it might look more like: anxiety, depression, fatigue, infertility, heavy periods, IBS, joint pain, and more. The right food choices for you can help replenish and restore deficiencies as well as improve digestive issues, fatigue, low mood, hormones, etc.
If your doctor isn’t asking you about what you're eating then it’s time to find someone who will. You shouldn’t have to live plagued by symptoms that can easily be addressed through diet.
START HERE:
Work with a qualified Integrative Health Practitioner to create a bio-individualized wellness plan.
Add more fruit and vegetables to your diet. Can you add one extra cup every day this week? Then next week add a second cup and so on until you’re eating 7-9 cups of fruit and vegetables every single day.
If you’re eating fish, make sure it’s wild caught and low in mercury.
Start swapping out fats for better, healthier choices such as avocados, nuts, and first pressed extra virgin olive oil.
If you’re a meat eater, do your best to purchase pasture-fed, organic meat.
I am passionate about educating and empowering clients with a food is medicine mindset. My passion is helping women with hormonal imbalances, anxiety, depression, and other hormonal-based issues to optimize their health and mindset with delicious and nourishing meals.