We all recognize that a healthy diet, as well as proper rest, exercise along with lifestyle changes are essential in maintaining good health.
However, do you know that many traditions go above and beyond this, and make use of certain foods instead of medicines to treat physical and mental health issues and practice this method for hundreds of years?
Specific food items are able to be used for:
* Enhance mood
* Enhance sleep
* Enhance ability to cope with life’s challenges
* Reducing inflammation in the internal organs.
* Manage diabetes
* Lower cholesterol
* Balance hormones
* Reducing cravings for food.
* Increase the strength of your immune system.
So How Does Food Influence Health?
Food is the fuel you use to fuel your body, just like gasoline for cars. Similar to how your car performs optimally with a particular kind of oil, the body functions exactly the same way, so that it performs at its best by fueling it up with healthy and whole-foods.
If the food you consume regularly are low in nutrients, e.g. include artificial colours, chemicals such as preservatives, additives and trans-fats, as well as highly processed the body can start to suffer from dysfunction and this can cause negative health effects as time passes.
While they can negatively affect your physical well-being, research has revealed that processed foods can also influence your mental health and, more importantly, your mood, your emotions, and ability to deal with the demands of life. Each meal you eat can affect how you feel in one way or the other.
It’s normal for people to turn food into an emotional aid. This creates an awkward situation in the sense that eating processed, chemically-loaded foods has been proven to decrease our capacity to deal with stress, and can also trigger craving for food.
When it comes to Traditional Chinese Medicine, they employ Food as Medicine. Therefore, based on the physical or emotional symptoms you’re experiencing rather than prescribing medications, they might prescribe herbs or specific recipes or foods. If, for instance, you’re seeking food for self-soothing you, they may suggest specific vegetables, beans and spices, such as pumpkin, adzuki beans cinnamon, which will help to nourish you Earth elements and satisfy your hunger within you. If you’re struggling with insomnia, they could suggest black sesame seeds in addition to several other food items that can help you heal.
The concept of ‘Food as Medicine’ is, however, more than what you consume because stress can have significant effects on the speed at which your body is able make use of the nutrients found that are present in your food. Thus, activities to reduce stress, like yoga, tai chi mindfulness, meditation etc, can be combined with improving your mental as well as physical well-being.
Once you understand how food can be healing and heal, every meal you are able to select a diet that boost your energy, well-being and mood!
If you’d like to know more details on how I can help you to harness nutrition’s healing properties to boost your health, boost your energy levels and establish more harmonious relationships with your body and food and mind, please get in touch with me via my website: Healing Nutrition Coach.
I am Rosanna Commisso who is the founder of the Healing Food Coach.
Utilizing using the Pantry Makeover Program, Emotional eating coaching and healthy eating workshops. I help women who want for a change in their health, both physical and emotional health and develop an enlightened relation with food, and body.
