Food is Medicine and the Epitome of Self-Care

The research is clear, optimal nutrition has a profound effect on disease prevention and health promotion impacting quality and length of life. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. promotes a diet full of nutritionally dense foods including fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy, whole grains, and lean protein such as poultry, seafood, beans, peas, nuts and soy. In addition, the FDA recommends ingesting less than 10% of our intake in the form of added sugars and saturated fats and reducing sodium intake, while also reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption. Similarly, we are advised to consume enough calories to fuel our body’s functions and allow for regular exercise and activities of daily living, but not consume calories beyond that as this increases the incidence of obesity which is highly correlated with disease and early death. To move ourselves towards accepting and integrating feeding practices that optimize health we need to reframe our understanding of food ingestion as a form of self-value and self-care.

We care for ourselves by choosing things that don’t hurt us; for example, we don’t jump into speeding traffic, take in harmful substances, or expose ourselves to dangerous situations—similarly, poor food-oriented habits will cause disease and disability, it is just a matter of when and how dramatically we will suffer. The human body is designed to withstand and survive therefore poor feeding habits—including large quantity and poor quality of food—can destroy us a bit more slowly than perhaps stepping into traffic.  The mind is powerful and can be trained to move us towards things that benefit us—it begins with the knowledge of life-enhancing feeding behaviors wrapped up in a desire to treat ourselves fairly and with compassion. If we pause before interacting with food and reflect on what we ingest, why, when and to what benefit through the lens of prevailing self-care, we can develop a habit of treating ourselves well and viewing food as an implement for optimal health.

The nutritional and caloric recommendations to prevent cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline are the same, highlighting the symbiosis of the mind and the body.  Food is medicine—it can improve our immune function, promote muscle and bone health, reduce inflammation and help us maintain appropriate body mass. We have what we need as nutritional knowledge is free and available, the mind is a wellspring of power, the ability to pause can be learned and practiced, and a well-cared-for body can be a source of overall strength and resilience. May we take hold of our opportunity to be well, fully acknowledging that life is a blessing and health cannot be taken for granted.