A diet high in natural foods has many benefits, from reducing the risk of disease and obesity to the vitamins and nutrients that natural foods contain that can aid in the healing of certain health conditions or diagnoses. Using natural foods in our diets is vital for Americans to become as healthy as possible. Once optimum health is achieved, maintaining such a diet is just as essential to stay healthy.
Natural foods must be included in our diets to Make America Healthy Again, especially when standard-of-care treatments for specific health conditions fail. Looking beyond basic medication and other alternative treatments and moving toward a diet rich in natural foods.
Any medication that effectively treats a health condition can stop working for different reasons, including when the manufacturer changes the inactive ingredients. Artificial sweeteners are triggers for IBS, and when the manufacturer replaces natural sugar with artificial sweeteners, that can cause an IBS patient to have an increase in symptoms.
Americans need to be aware of any changes in their health, especially while under a doctor's care for disease or illness. If symptoms of any health condition increase or new symptoms arise, it is important to inform our doctors. We have the right to be heard, and our doctors must be willing to review our current treatment course and make changes if necessary.
At the same time, we need to be aware of the effects the foods we eat have on our health, and if we notice any health problems that may be related to the foods we eat, we need to be willing to change our diets to keep us healthy. Many natural foods may heal one health condition but exacerbate another condition. Foods full of soluble fiber, such as kidney beans, or foods tolerable with a condition such as IBS may cause colitis flare-ups. When we experience something like that, it is a good time to look at our diet.
Education about the benefits of a natural foods diet for healing or managing disease and the role foods play in all areas of our health is vital. We should understand how the foods we choose to eat impact our overall health so that we can make better choices about what we put into our bodies.
The use of additives in many foods on our supermarket shelves has risen drastically since the middle of the 20th century. The Food Additives Amendment of 1958 was enacted to ensure the safety of new additives to our food supply. Many look at the role additives play in our foods as benefits, as in the case of food preservatives, which prolong the shelf life of those foods. However, additives have many adverse effects on the human body. By eliminating as many food additives as possible from our diets, with the goal of taking them out of our diets, we greatly benefit our health and reduce the risk of some diseases.
Natural food choices are available from many sources. Today, in America, we are fortunate to have healthy options at the supermarket and a wealth of information and recipes available online. Many communities around the country are also blessed with farmers' markets for fresh produce and farms that raise livestock and sell meat.
Dr. Mark Hyman is credited with the following: "Think about it: If there is a 'health food' section in the grocery store, what does that make the rest of the food sold there?" The whole grocery store should be comprised mainly of foods that enhance our good health and work to keep our bodies operating in optimum condition.
Food can fuel our bodies, heal, and manage some health conditions. However, food is often used for comfort, to satisfy cravings, and in social situations such as parties. Several items on the store shelves appeal to our sense of taste, smell, sight, and desire to snack. Occasionally, those foods may be fine for snacking, but if we change our view of and relationship with food, we can opt for healthy options instead.
Learning to make educated food choices not only makes us feel more confident in our ability to become healthy, we can forever change how we feel—both physically and emotionally. However, that has to include education from our doctors about natural foods and the potential dangers of a diet full of foods with additives. Especially true for those who don't have the option of treatment with medications, natural foods can play a huge part in managing or healing some health conditions or diagnoses.
Conditions such as arthritis, chronic pain, and colitis can benefit significantly from incorporating a natural food diet into one's lifestyle. Finding natural foods with anti-inflammatory properties and changing our diet is an excellent start to healing the gut and reducing symptoms such as joint and chronic pain.
Many different cultures use natural foods as staples of life. Through the use of seasonings, methods of cooking, and preferred foods, they all have one thing in common—their diets are predominantly natural foods-based. Indian cuisine is one such anti-inflammatory diet—from dhals to curries to methods of preparing foods and the ingredients used; a diet rich in Indian cuisine can lead to lower inflammation in the body. Many of the spices used are high in anti-inflammatory properties, like turmeric, ginger, garlic, and coriander—and lentils are an excellent substitute for kidney bean-type legumes.
Foods that are beneficial for reducing inflammation in the body include those rich in vitamins, omega-3 fats, spices, fiber, fresh fruits, and vegetables—and a diet low in dairy and sugar. Many of the additives in our foods today contribute to raising inflammation in the body. Following an anti-inflammatory diet can make it possible to manage a disease without the use of medication.
If we can consume a diet of natural foods and healthy eating habits, we can potentially lower our risk of disease. Using healing spices to flavor our foods instead of foods that are full of additives for flavor makes it that much easier to maintain a healthy diet throughout our lives.
