Check It Out: Food is your natural medicine

By Joan Janzen

Thomas Edison once said, "The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition." We're beginning to see evidence of that happening today.

Once again I listened to Dr. Suneel Dhand and Dr. Peter Chiotellis offer nutritional advice. They advised their listeners to avoid consuming carbs and sugar for breakfast, which includes flavoured yogurts and a lot of the bread we eat.

"What happens is you have a blood sugar crash and you're hungry again," Dr. Peter warned. "You have to be careful, especially if you're already inflamed." The doctors described typical breakfast foods such as muffins, pancakes and processed cereals as desserts in disguise.

"We live in a country where we have food that travels very long distances, so it's pumped full of preservatives. Flour is so bleached it has to be enriched back with vitamins," Dr. Peter said. "It's crazy what the food industry has been able to get away with." Bread should only have three or four ingredients, but this isn't the case if you read the ingredients on the bread you purchase.

A question they posed is, "Are you getting enough antioxidants?" These are powerful compounds, predominantly found in colourful vegetables and fruit. There are thousands of chemical reactions in the body, and the by-products of those reactions are free radicals. Free radicals are very damaging to your body and are implicated in inflammation, many disease processes and aging.

"The best thing you can do to neutralize those free radicals is to consume antioxidants as much as possible," Dr. Suneel said. One cup of blueberries contains more antioxidants than five full servings of fruits and vegetables. Red peppers are another good source of antioxidants.

"Free radicals really destroy the health of the lining of the blood vessels. It has implications in heart disease and high blood pressure," Dr. Peter added.

Another important message they relayed was regarding the problem of dehydration. "I would say 99 percent of my patients are dehydrated," Dr. Suneel said. "If you're at the point of feeling thirsty, your body is actually already profoundly dehydrated."

Dehydration has huge implications in regard to damage to kidneys, as well as a drop in blood pressure causing you to feel dizzy when you stand up. Dehydration also amplifies the side effects of medications.

"If you're dehydrated you're probably not getting electrolytes, which are important for muscle function and heart muscle function," Dr. Peter warned. "You can add electrolyte solutions to water."

They also stressed the importance of protein consumption. "Older people are really short on protein; it's a universal problem," Dr. Suneel observed. "Ideally half your plate should be protein and half antioxidants. Carbs should be last." Protein maintains muscle mass, reduces falls and prevents you from feeling weak.

Dr. Josh Axe also talks about the importance of nutrition on his podcasts. He said inflammation is the common root of almost every chronic disease today: heart disease, arthritis, Alzheimer's, colitis and more.

"Most people are trying to reduce inflammation with supplements rather than with food; however, food will reduce inflammation far more than any supplement ever could," he said. "Sixty percent of people who die early die from inflammation."

Healthy fatty acids are critical when reducing inflammation, and fatty fish like salmon, sardines and mackerel are the best sources.

He listed extra virgin olive oil as the most healing oil out there, and advised his listeners to take two to four tablespoons per day.

Berries such as tart red cherries are another powerful food that actually turns off inflammatory genes that can be linked to cancer and heart disease. Consuming green leafy vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and kale causes your body to receive benefits for days afterwards.

"Your body is constantly reducing inflammation when you eat these anti-inflammatory foods," Dr. Josh said.

Fermented foods such as sauerkraut and plain yogurt were on his list of healthy foods. "Fermented food seals leaks," he explained. "Your gut lining is one cell thick, and when it gets leaky, fragments of the bacterial cell wall slip into your blood and your immune system treats every one as an invasion."

He described herbs and spices as having powerful anti-inflammatory powers. "Combining certain spices together can improve absorption. Here's a tip that can improve your life. Turmeric with ginger or black pepper, for example. You can add the combination of these spices to your foods or drink it as a tea," he said. "Curcumin hits more inflammatory pathways at once than almost any compound we know."

History teaches us that when you consume something with a warming spice, it improves circulation and helps get out to every area of your body.

"Gram for gram, dried herbs and spices are the most antioxidant-dense foods on earth," he concluded.

A long time ago this reminder was quoted by Virgil, "The greatest wealth is health."

Dr. Suneel reminded his listeners that your body is your temple. "Food is your natural medicine and let medicine be your food."