How many of us understand the healing benefits of food?
Why do we see more and more diseases? Now I am not speaking of infectious diseases. I am talking about autoimmune diseases, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, and many others. I believe there is an underlying culprit to why these diseases are more prominent than ever, and…
it lies on our plates.
You may not know my personal story. But, I believe it is a common one amongst most Americans. As a result, our diet isn’t something we think about as a young child. You eat what others eat around you. We don’t know what we don’t know. Your eating habits start as a baby by what foods you are fed. The typical American diet consists of copious amounts of sugar, processed foods, fat, and salt. All of these are actually put in our processed foods for the taste, the taste to crave more.
Physical appearance:
Most of us look at someone’s physical appearance and assume that they are healthy if they are thin. I always believed I was a healthy person because of this myself. But, in reality, we can have a war happening right inside our bodies and never even know it.
This is my reality. I found out I had colon cancer at the age of 51. I had always been mindful of my weight and how I looked physically. Unfortunately, as I look back now, I wasn’t in tune with signs that my body was giving me. At the age of 25, I had my first colonoscopy. I had blood in my stool, and my doctor wanted to check it out. “Everything was fine,” I was told by my doctor, which at the time was true. But, why didn’t I worry about having the same symptoms for over two decades that came and went? Why? Because I was told, I was fine. So I don’t believe I mentioned my issues again to my doctor. And, he never asked me again if I still was having problems.
For two decades, I had spells of bleeding and mucus in my stool, bloated belly, spasms of my colon, and my gut feeling tender. I never told anyone about my issues, and I suffered in silence for years. Sadly, this could have cost me my life. Back then, we didn’t have google to search our condition. But, there is no excuse now not to have some understanding of what your body is telling you.
With technology as advanced as it is, you can request a colonoscopy very easily nowadays. You can read about what to expect when having a colonoscopy here.
https://healthyeahlife.com/whattoexpectwhenhavingacolonoscopy/
So what was causing my IBS?
I will call it that even though it has never been my diagnosis. Can the food you are ingesting be harmful? I didn’t eat the healthiest as a child or as an adult. But I did watch my weight. I was very aware of the stigma of being overweight. The word “diet” was something you did to lose weight. You never thought of it as your lifestyle and that your health could suffer because of your eating habits.
What if your body doesn’t like the foods that are being put inside of it? After years of causing inflammation inside my body, I decided to take action. For about three years before my cancer diagnosis, I was on a mission to find out what was going on inside me. But, I do have to tell you, I never thought for one instant I had colon cancer. I do believe now that the years of neglect of feeding my body foods that caused inflammation are what caused my cancer.
On my journey, I want to share with you how you can regain your health.
Eat clean:
You need to eliminate the foods that are causing inflammation inside your body. It is screaming at you to take notice. You must eat whole foods. Avoid processed foods, sugars, and unhealthy fats. Trust me; your body will thank you for it in the end.
Heal your gut:
You will need to heal your gut after the years of trauma you have caused it. Challenge yourself to eat clean for 30 days. Only eat whole foods. Keep a daily journal of health, list all the foods you have eaten that day. You may also want to keep track of how you felt so that you are aware of any signs your body is giving you.
What to eat:
I suggest you eat low amounts of meat (if any) and eliminate dairy, processed foods, and grains. Eat fruits and vegetables for 30 days. This will take effort, and you must keep any temptations out of sight. Do not allow yourself to get hungry. Eat when you are hungry and eat until you are full. Trust me; you can’t eat a plate of broccoli like you could a plate of spaghetti. If you are unsure of what eating whole foods are, let me explain it. Another trick to know if something is healthy is, are the ingredients, go for the least amount of ingredients. If you eat an apple with homemade peanut butter, you have two ingredients, an apple and peanuts blended into peanut butter. There are some delicious recipes online that you can make to help be creative with your meals.
After 30 days:
Introduce one food back into your diet at a time. I suggest taking the slow route and adding only one food every 3-4 days. Take notice of how you feel after eating that food. It may take up to 2 days to notice if it bothers you or not. Again, when introducing foods back, make sure they are whole foods. You may find you have an intolerance to dairy by testing to see if milk or cheese bothers you. Or, you may find you have an intolerance to gluten. I personally do not believe we should be consuming grains in the form of wheat, which contains gluten. Which is what most bread, cereals, and crackers are made of. Gluten has become more and more problematic for most individuals.
So again, test your body to see what works and what doesn’t work for it. Remember, your body is different than someone else’s. Trial and error will be your friend for a while. Once you have felt the physical difference of eating a healthy, whole diet, you will never want to go back.
Above all, I know you can heal yourself of chronic disease by diet. By eating right, you are on the right track to healing your body through food.
She is passionate about helping others understand their body.
The key to figuring out why you feel the way you feel is to take a more significant look at what is going on inside you & even around you, and then ask questions!
She is excited to help & support you on your journey of optimal health and wellness!
