Let Food Be Thy Medicine

I remember growing up on spaghetti and Salisbury steak dinners. Cereal was a staple breakfast choice. As soon as I started to live on my own, I survived on packaged ramen noodles and found countless ways to make them more exciting, usually loading them full of cheese or adding chopped up hot dog in them.

Then, I became pregnant when I was 18 years old and started to fall into that matriarchal mold that my mother and her mother lived, so I learned to cook a few things that became my staple dishes, which included pasta with cooked frozen vegetables, mayo and a can of tuna. I too made loads of spaghetti.

It wasn’t until years later when a friend of mine informed me about high fructose corn syrup, and then later introduced me to a book called The China Study, that led me down the path of a plant-based whole foods diet.

My transition to the vegan lifestyle was gradual, first cutting out red meat, then chicken and fish, then cheese and dairy. It was the cheese that was the hardest thing to give up. I hadn’t realized how dependent I had been on cheese!

I started to feel changes in my body – had more energy, felt lighter on my feet, and my skin started to look better and become more clear. Over time, my eyesight started to improve and I no longer needed as strong of a prescription for my contacts and glasses.

I became an absolute believer in the vegan diet and continued on that for years. I ate all the meat substitutes, tofu and anything packaged that said ‘Vegan’ on the label. I thought I was eating healthy because it was all vegan but I didn’t realize until much later that I was living on highly processed foods, which eventually led me to illness and injury.

My body wasn’t getting the proper nutrition and nourishment it desperately needed. I was also vigorously exercising at that time, training for races and was gradually depleting my body. I assumed if I just increased my protein intake (ie. Vegan protein powder) and started taking supplements, that would do it. But the issues persisted. I was getting injured all the time and even started to gain a little weight. I eventually discovered more and more about the problems with processed foods and adopted a whole-foods, plant-based diet. I cut out all the processed garbage and ate as simply and naturally as possible. The new clean way of eating made me feel so much better and ignited something in me that made me want to learn more and more so I started down the path of Ayurveda.

I read books and attended workshops to learn more about the mind, body and spirit connection. I was hooked and it all just suddenly clicked for me. I could feel my new, passion-filled health journey begin!

We are all so uniquely different. It’s absolutely amazing that as the human species, there is still so much variance from one individual to another, not only in our personalities, but our physical makeup, our genetics and the way we thrive in different environments. What works for one person, may not work for another.

I eventually learned that my body is constantly changing, and its needs are constantly changing. What works for me one moment, may not work for me the next day, the next month or next year. Sometimes I need to eat fish, or sometimes I need a good bone broth. Sometimes I need a day of wonderful juice concoctions. I eventually started to have issues with gluten so I needed to back off from eating that.

Our bodies, our minds and our spirit are all connected. We are one with everything so it’s important to intuitively feel into that and discover what works best for you, and to realize it is always changing.

Learn to embrace food with reverence, gratitude and love. It is all energy and what you consume truly does matter.

Food and plants are healing. There is light and wisdom in the plants and herbs that grow from Earth. Start viewing them as your ally and begin a new relationship with your food. There’s truth in the phrase, “You are what you eat.” Become a positive reflection of the food you eat!