Last week I got an email from a co-worker. She had a funny story to share that would make me go, "But, of course!" I couldn't wait to hear what she had to say, so I called her right up.
She knows my life story and how I have healed myself through diet and lifestyle changes and now she has her own version.
She has been struggling with tendonitis in her knee for a year and a half. An avid athlete, she has seen doctors, physical therapists, done exercises and taken medication, but nothing made it better. The one thing she didn't think to look at was her diet.
Seemingly unrelated, she decided to do a detox, which meant eliminating a handful of food groups from her diet (mostly dairy, sugars and junk foods). Within 10 days, her tendonitis was almost gone. Cleaning up her diet did more for her tendonitis than any doctor could do in 18 months.
Excuse me while I step up onto my soapbox.
Your body is amazing machines. It is smarter than any computer ever invented. Your heart beats the correct number of beats per minute. Your pupils dilate and constrict automatically. You breathe, often without thinking about it, and your lungs filter out the carbon dioxide. Your body regulates your temperature to 98.6 degrees and raises it when it needs to. Your digestive system is able to break down anything you give it, pick out the nutrients that are good for you, and expel the rest. All the while, you just go on living. Pretty amazing to think about, isn't it?
But machines get bogged down. It's like putting the wrong gasoline in your car. It might run for a while but, eventually, it's not going to work so well.
When you have aches and pains, it is your body screaming that something is wrong. Whether an inflamed knee, high blood pressure or IBS, it is best to seek a doctor's care to help figure out what is wrong, but don't just figure out how to alleviate the symptoms. Figure out what is causing the symptoms. It is often diet-related.
Food is medicine. Food heals.
Medication works systemically and we are always sure to ask doctors what the side effects will be. Food works systemically, too. What are the side effects of the food you are putting in your body? Our blood, skin and even bones regenerate multiple times in our lifetime and everything we put into our mouths literally becomes our bodies. We truly are what we eat. The next time you are worried that your skin is looking old, your joints are hurting or your digestion is off track, ask yourself, what are my skin and joints made of and what challenge is my digestion having to deal with?
As you think about your own body, think about the little bodies living in your house who still have growing bones and brains. Giving their physical make up the right composition from the start is an amazing gift you can give them!
It really makes you think.
Always consult your doctor before making any major lifestyle change, whether diet, exercise, supplements or medication.
