Food IS Medicine!

I was recently on a trip to NJ.

A guy named Sanjiv in my group told me he was recently diagnosed with diabetes.

At the break, he pulled me aside and said "do you think I NEED to go on medication or can I cure this without?"

I said, "Sanjiv, medication won’t cure anything.  It is like a Band Aid on the underlying problem.  Food IS medicine.  Exercise IS medicine.  And combined, they can cure your diabetes."

Now, and this isn’t putting "blame" on him because he was completely unaware of how to eat to better control his blood sugar.  Sadly, he said his physician simply told him to "eat less and start exercising."

Brilliant advice.

During our conversation he was eating a bagel with jelly, had a plate with banana slices and some dried granola and was washing it all down with orange juice.

Loads of carbs, which are exactly what he doesn’t need.  Very little fiber (which would help), zero protein (this would help too), and no healthy fats (so would this).  He just wasn’t aware.  Yet.

And, sure, there’s some controversy over whether diabetes can be "cured" or just "controlled" — but we’re of the mindset that type II diabetes can be cured

Again, Food is Medicine!

Outside of the diabetes, let’s look at this a little more closely.

It’s interesting that the majority of people suffer from diet dependent disease.  Does that then mean it’s possible to prevent disease through diet?

We think so.

For example, one recent study showed 100% of people don’t get the recommended amount of omega-3 fats. Yet another showed omega 3 insufficiency (less than optimal intake) is the 2nd leading cause of dietary related mortality!

A simple problem that eating more fish — or, better — replacing less healthy protein options with fish, could "cure."

Other studies, too many to count, show that including more veggies and fruit in the diet can lessen the risk of cancer, heart disease and others.

Replacing low fiber, processed carbs with their high fiber counterpart could also lower the risk of disease.

Standing vs. sitting can prevent disease.  A recent study showed too much sitting leads to heart disease, cancer and depression.  Sitting. Something we all do way too much of day in and day out.  Simply replacing that habit with more movement – get up once per hour and move for 5- 10 minutes – in addition to structured exercise can cure (or prevent) disease.

Diabetes is one great example – one of the scariest diseases, but at the same time one of the easiest to control.

So, yes, there you have it.  Food IS Medicine.  Exercise IS Medicine.  They are the two most powerful "drugs" in the world.  Changing habits on both fronts will also cure the modern day health care crisis.

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