“Let thy medicine be thy food and thy food be thy medicine” - Voltaire.
How do you approach food? Creatively as a piece of art or is it the last thing on your “important” list. Consciously or unconsciously? Many of us plan our day around work not our personal well being. There is an abundance of food, spices, and flavors available to us to create meals that support our body, mind and spirit. The research consistently shows that eating a plant based diet decreases the risk of many “dis-eases”. As for processed foods, they are consistently associated with increased risk of “dis-ease”.
Pleasing your senses enhances digestion. Our taste buds love to be tantalized like our heart. Spices enhance flavor and have healing properties by decreasing inflammation, anti-oxidant activity and anti-cancer to name a few. Our visual sense enjoys the presentation, that aesthetically pleasing look before you take your first bite. Our tongue touches the food and the consistency may change our perception of the meal. The natural aroma of the food received by your nose should bring a smile to your face while informing the digestive system of the necessary enzymes needed to properly digest and absorb the meal. The person making the meal and their mood (vibrations) can affects the food. If you have ever tried to recreate your mothers favorite meal without luck, it is simply missing your mothers love carefully stirred in with each ingredient. Some spiritual traditions will only eat raw food or food cooked by a yogi for this reason, low frequency thoughts added to the meal while cooking can make it more difficult for a yogi to maintain their high frequency spiritual work.
What we eat is a foundation for health and longevity. Optimal health is the goal most clients expect from this office. Many years of working with clients and reading research has opened my eyes. Working with people who are strict vegans cooking from scratch to those who frequent fast food establishments or those who struggle to eat healthy due to emotional triggers requires individualized plans that meet your unique needs and take manageable steps. This is the key to successful plans that are a joy to follow.
The guidelines designed for a client are further tailored to your immediate situation, for example if you are on chemo your dietary needs are not the same as a person training for an ultra marathon. If you are allergic to any of the big 5 (dairy, eggs, peanuts, soy, wheat/Gluten) you may have additional challenges. If you are a young person working out daily verses a healthy person in their 90’s your nutritional needs are as unique as you are. Emotional issues may also need to be addressed. Anorexia, bulimia and obesity are prolific in our country and may trace back to childhood issues. Strict diets or fasting could trigger emotions and careful consideration of the individual is necessary in food plans.
The amazing news is that each day and each meal you have a choice. Food facts empower you to consciously shop for your physical body not your emotions or old patterns. Here are a few general guidelines that across the board lead to a healthier body, mind and spirit:
Eat for your current situation. As explained above, our nutritional needs change based on our current situation, state of health, and goals.
Tantalize your senses. Enjoy the myriad of flavors, tastes, and colors mother earth provides. Work with spices, herbs, sauces, and foods that naturally digest well together. Be playful with flavors (bitter, sour, salty, sweet and spicy).
Eat mostly nutrient dense foods that give to the body and are easily digested.
Eat for your body not for your emotions.
Eat mostly plants.
Eat local and organic when possible.
If eating a 4 legged, Consider the ethics of how the animal was treated, fed, medicated and how it was butchered. The energy of the animal is the energy we receive.
Eat consciously, preferably while seated and in a relaxed state.
Eat with gratitude.
Learn from Joy not suffering.
If you would like to explore your relationship to food and health in a deeper way, schedule with Dr. Porter here