Food synergy – the key to health and wellness

Food synergy – the key to health and wellness

food-salad-healthy-vegetablesFood Synergy describes the way whole food, when consumed, provides a complex mixture of nutrients that work together in combination with your body to create powerful health benefits.

I’ve been learning a lot about the important role food synergy plays in our health. We’ve been taught that healthy eating is an easily solved mathematical calculation – simply consume the amount of nutrients based on the FDA’s % of Daily Value. If you prefer to eat foods void in nutrients (such as processed foods) or you dislike veggies, simply take a vitamin. Nutrition has become ‘medicalized’ as we reach for that perfect supplement to “cure what ails you”. The truth is, that’s not enough.

Here’s the problem with the “pill popping” kind of thinking: (more…)

Healing inflammation with food

Healing inflammation with food

Your diet plays a critical role in helping your body to heal.

Your diet plays a critical role in helping your body heal.

Inflammation is part of our body’s natural immune response, the first line of defense in protecting our bodies from invading organisms that enter our system through wounds or by contact with viruses and bacteria. Inflammation tends to attack the weakest organ system first, depending on genetics and/or pre-existing health conditions.

When inflammation gets out of control and does not heal, it creates a constant irritant that can result in different types of health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease. Autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and polymyalgia rheumatic, are also associated with chronic inflammation. In addition, inflammation can damage the body’s immune system as it continues to mistakenly initiate an inflammatory response even when there is no apparent need, such as in asthma, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. It is not surprising that, according to the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, “Inflammation has long been associated with the development of cancer.”

Fortunately, there is something we can do to reduce inflammation and help support our body’s healing process that does not require expensive drugs or surgery. (more…)