Food 'really' is Medicine

Dear Friends,
Today drug companies invest billions of dollars in new drugs and pharmaceuticals in a vain attempt to alleviate the worlds ailments, much of which are diet and lifestyle related. While I wouldn't want to see a herbalist if I broke my arm, evidence builds that food is truly our best medicine.



Food 'really' is Medicine


"Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food." Hippocrates (1460 - 1370 B.C)....Wow, what a statement for that time! This guy really knew his stuff.

Over the past decade, science has begun to unveil the secrets to lasting health through the discovery of a vast array of plant chemicals called phytonutrients; found within raw, whole and unrefined plant foods. For many years science has been focused on reductionism, that is, isolating nutrients in food and studying their individual potential alone. Research now shows that these compounds do not work effectively in isolation. In fact, it's quite the opposite. They work in concert, like a symphony. This is the concept of synergy, meaning, the whole is greater, than the sum of all parts.

Plant chemicals work together in an efficient relationship with our bodies to maximize health and minimize disease. Unfortunately, these synergistic compounds are heat sensitive and even though cooking will cause some nutrients to be more bioavailable, many are damaged, consequently loosing their protective powers. This is all the more reason to eat as much RAW, unrefined plant foods as possible, each and every day.

With over 15,000 different phytochemicals documented in the plant kingdom to date, here are just a few reasons to eat your fruits and vegetables just like your mother told you to.

• Sulphoraphane, found in broccoli, cabbage, kale, carrots and other vegetables, stimulates a cell's production of protective enzymes that inhibit tumor growth
• Indoles, found in cruciferous vegetables, have been shown to cut the risk of breast cancer by triggering enzymes that break estrogen into a harmless form, rather than the form linked to breast cancer.
• Lignin's found in flaxseeds have extremely strong anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-cancer properties.
• Allylic Sulfide, found in garlic and onions, interacts with enzymes and detoxifies carcinogens from the body.
• Flavonoids, found in almost every fruit and vegetable, keep cancer-causing hormones from attaching to cells.
• Ellagic acid, found in raspberries, strawberries, walnuts, pecans and cranberries, has reduced the number of tumors by about half in rats exposed to chemicals that cause throat cancer.
• Glutamine, found in cabbage, plays a major role in building and maintaining the immune system.
• A study in the Journal of Nutrition found that Soy protein significantly reduced bad cholesterol in diabetic patients.

New plant-chemicals are being discovered all the time in natures pharmacy. The most exciting part about fruit and vegetables is what we don't know about them yet! Food can be as powerful as medicine or it can be as toxic as a drug. We can choose to either eat something that is processed and completely nude of nutritional goodness, or conversely, you could choose to eat one of a multitude of extraordinarily nutritious plant foods. It takes about the same amount of effort to put either two in your mouth! The choice is yours.

Sean Kirsten 6/2/2011


Sincerely,

Sean Kirsten
Transformation Health