Food is Poisonous – Food is Medicine
What do you two eat?
This is the question we get asked the most!
Before we tell the food we eat, we need to understand that food can make us sick or well depending what it is. We are not talking about eating spoiled food, although that will make us sick. There is a definite connection between the food we eat and the diseases we get. Food is poisonous refers to poor food slowly causing disease. Food is medicine means our food can heal us. On our Heartiness Approach website we have an entire section that covers the food-disease connection.
The food we put in our mouth is the fuel that runs our body. When we carelessly put processed food in, our body has to use it whatever way it can. When we put a piece of fudge in our body by itself, our body perceives it as negative nutrition. It has to pull from other nutrients in our body to process a lump of fake food which will help create triglycerides and the dangerous type of cholesterol.
In the same manner that drugs affect our body, food does also. Food comes with vitamins, minerals, and nutrition to make our bodies run. Poor food, brings poor consequences. Real food, brings great consequences.
Our body requires protein. Our cells structures are made up of mostly protein. Protein is essential to produce hormones, antibodies, enzymes and neurotransmitters. The protein we eat is broken down into amino acids during digestive. Amino Acids are the building blocks of the body. There are non-essential and essential amino acids. The essential amino acids cannot be made by the body and must be provided by the food that we eat. Without protein our body wears out because there is nothing to repair and build up. When we are torn down more than built up we develop disease.
Our body requires fat. We have thrown out the old school of thought that we need to eat low fat everything to be healthy. In fact, it is by eating low fat food filled with sugar that diabetes, obesity and heart disease is so high. This is a complicated topic and will be addressed in another article. But for now, know that good fats are required by our body. Fats are essential for the absorption of Vitamin A, D, E, and K. Fat is essential for brain function.
Our bodies require carbohydrates which is starch and sugar to receive the energy necessary to move our body. If we are very active, we need more carbohydrates. If we are sedentary we need less. Carbohydrates are pervasive in the processed diet. The carbohydrates we eat should be real food, such as fruits and vegetables.
Our body requires vegetables. The more colorful equals more vitamins and minerals for to our bodies. Non-starchy vegetable can be eaten as much as we want.
These four types of food are the backbone of what we eat.
What we do not eat anymore
This food was poisonous to us.
- Foods we have eliminated are partially hydrogenated oils, refined sugar, refined flour, refined pasta, refined rice, vegetable oils, soybean oil, soy lecithin.
- Chips and tortillas cooked in safflower oil, sunflower oil, or canola oil.
- Crackers with these oils in them or hydrogenated oils.
- Ready to eat cereal. Not even kashi, not any of the other so-called “healthy” ones. They all contain products we don’t eat
- Store-bought bread. (Exception to the rule, we were eating Dave’s Killer Bread and Ezekiel bread which was sprouted but now that has been replaced.
- Ketchup filled with sugar and chemicals
- Mayonnaise with the wrong oils. Beware, even Kraft, that says it is Olive Oil Mayo has canola oil in it.
- Store-bought salad dressing unless you can actually find one that has no soy or canola. Good luck. Once in a while we find one, but we mostly make our own.
- Most recently we are eliminating whole wheat and changing to Einkorn Wheat.
- Pasteurized milk
- Freezer meals of any kind
- Fruit yogurt or low or non-fat yogurt.
- Non-organic vegetables, berries and apples
The list continues to grow, however more stores are trying to carry the proper food. Many of the national brands have bought out the smaller organic brands and are changing the make-up and packaging slowly hoping we don’t notice. Beware. Research. Read. Listen.
What we do eat
This food is medicine to us.
- We eat real food. Real food comes in its own package
- We eat brown rice.
- We eat quinoa.
- We eat organic popcorn.
- We make homemade yogurt or buy Fage yogurt full fat.
- We eat pasture raised, grass fed chicken, beef, pork and lamb.
- We eat wild-caught fish.
- We eat a lot of eggs. They are pasture raised eggs. We find a farmer that raises their chickens the way we would with organic feed and free range.
- We eat raw cheese without yellow dyes.
- We make our own ricotta and mozzarella cheese.
- We eat food that comes in its own package – Fruits, vegetables and eggs.
- We drink raw milk.
- We eat pecans, almonds and cashews without any oils. Just plain and when we can get them raw we do. We have tried soaking them and drying them but have not had luck with the taste and texture afterwards. We know they are better for you soaked so we will continue to try.
- We now eat fermented cabbage and kefer water for our gut.
- We cook with coconut oil, olive oil and butter. Occasionally we use avocado oil. There are no other oils found in our home.
- We love soup and have a soup about every 10 days.
- We eat a lot of eggs.
- We eat salad for breakfast.
- We make our own marinara sauce from our tomatoes.
- We eat breakfast everyday knowing it is the most important meal of the day.
- We eat a snack around 10 AM.
- We eat lunch which includes greens, protein, a non-starchy vegetable, and a starchy vegetable for our carbohydrate.
- We eat another snack around 3 or 4 PM.
- We eat a lighter meal for dinner.
- All meals and snacks consist of a real protein, real carbohydrate, non-starchy vegetable and a good fat.
Food is Poisonous – Food is Medicine.
When we put food in our body that is refined, full of sugar, and has damaged rancid oils, full of preservatives and pesticides we are, in a sense, poisoning our body with slow progressing disease. Remember food is poisonous.
When we put real food in our body that is full of variety with proper oils and fats, eliminated added sugars, filled with fresh vitamins and minerals we are healing our bodies and in a sense, providing the medicine needed to be free of disease. Remember food is medicine.
We know there are always outliers. There are often some disease that creeps in without the ability to stop it. But by eating real food, we give ourselves an amazing start.