Nutrition as Medicine for Balancing Weight Part Three

Before moving onto the main subject matter for this third part of the series, I want to include a few afterthoughts about supplements. First, some people tell me that they hate taking 'pills.' I understand that, as I myself am not in favor of it. However, let me suggest that 'pills,' to me, denote medications. As I don't do well with medications of any kind, I am truly not into 'pills.' That said, most supplements come in pill-like form. However, I tend to think of these as capsules and tablets. Why am I making such a big distinction between these terms? Well, the reason is simple really. On one hand you have medications. Medications are meant to be taken after a serious imbalance in the organism has occurred (illness). These medications are lab-created chemicals, and they can be toxic and have myriad side effects. Prescription and over-the-counter drug use accounts for over a hundred thousands deaths in the US every YEAR. There are many more adverse effects, many of which result in permanent disability. This is something the FDA and the AMA are not too keen for the average person to know, however, it is easy enough to verify. Here are some links to check out: http://www.cancure.org/medical_errors.htm This site lists research cited from the Journal of the American Medical Association. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/prescription/etc/links.html This site gives a lot of useful information about the FDA as well as the prescription statistics. Please note that I gave you two fairly conservative sources to check out. There are many other sources out there which claim that the toll of prescription drugs is far higher than this. Yet the FDA , the CDC, and the WHO are not waving these reports under your nose are they?

Now, contrast this to the vitamin/mineral and herbal supplements that come in tablets, capsules, tinctures, syrups, tea bags and so on. If there is ever a problem that occurs with these, you can bet the media frenzy will run for weeks. Remember the guy who drank 16 cups of Kava Kava tea in a short amount of time then got behind the wheel of a car and had an accident? (I think I might have an accident if I drank 16 cups of ANYTHING in a short amount of time and got behind the wheel of a car---because I would have to pee so bad I wouldn't be very focused on the road!) Or, how about the big stink over the Ma Huang issue? Of course, those particular herbal weight loss supplements were highly concentrated, and contained only a few constituent parts of the herb. Furthermore, the tablets were being taken in amounts far over the recommended dosage. A small number of people had adverse effects, so ALL Ma Huang supplements were pulled, even those from other companies that had small amounts of whole herb blended with other ingredients. It is simply ludicrous, the double standard here. [Note: herbalists know that the whole herb usually contains components that balance or mitigate the effects of the 'active principles' of the herb. When you isolate one or two active principles and concentrate them, then you are more likely to have these kinds of problems.]

By and large, the supplement industry does a much better job of self-regulating quality and safety than the FDA does with the pharmaceutical companies. Supplements are generally nutrients, or nutritive in nature, and are mostly intended for strengthening and supporting the body systems from a preventative position, rather than from a palliative or remedial position. As such, supplements are closer to food than to 'medicine.' Herbs, for instance, are nutrient-dense. In folk medicine, herbs were often taken as a 'tonic' which means, to tonify or tone up. In other words, they were meant to boost and strengthen the system with an infusion of concentrated nutrition. Of course, if someone did become ill, herbs were used to address this as well, before chemical drugs came into virtually exclusive use. Still, the way the herbs were used is different than the way drugs are used. The herbs were there to support the body in its healing. The drugs are often there to wage war on some pathogen or, in the case of chemotherapy, against the body itself. Of course, I am speaking generally here and there are always nuances in any position. My intent is simply to look at the 'frame' around the concept of 'pills' and 'supplements.' There is a place and a need for prescription medicine. However, what we see currently is a nation of drug pushers and drug addicts, and I don't mean the guys in the 'hoods' and the junkies in the flop houses.

None of us wants to be on a lot of medication, but given that we are likely not getting the nutrition we need from our food sources, we might want to consider doing some research into the idea of supplementing with additional sources of concentrated nutrition. If you don't like tablets and capsules, try some of the tinctures and other liquid or chewable forms, as well as tea bags, and so forth. This now brings me to the subject of food as medicine from a more direct perspective.

If you look at your food as the 'medicine' the body needs to correct any imbalances that have occurred, you want to make every single thing that goes into your body count for the max. Consider that you can now get pomegranate seeds fresh and ready to pop into a lovely mixed salad. These are loaded with powerful nutrition. You can find ground flax seed to sprinkle on your cereal, or goji berries to mix into your trail mix. We now have available so many different foods with high nutrient value that are available in health food outlets. Many of these things come from out of the country. Get out of your usual drab produce sections and get adventurous. You can find flourless bread made from sprouted grains and baked at low temperature to preserve more of the awesome nutrition in anything sprouted. You can find freshly ground organic Brazil nut butter to spread on it, which is loaded with selenium, one of the most seriously missing nutrients from the US diet. Eating high fiber whole foods is the best thing you can do to get back into control of blood sugar issues which arise from eating highly refined white flour products and other high glycemic foods (which cause the spiking blood sugar issues which can lead to binging and so much more). Seaweed is a great source for those trace minerals that we need and have a hard time getting in the 'Standard American Diet' [SAD].

Before you put something into your mouth, ask yourself, 'Does my BODY need this? or do my emotions want this?' Nowadays, there are even healthful alternatives for sweets and desserts. If you are going to have something along this line, why not at least opt for something which also brings some nutrition with it? The biggest issue here is being willing to get out of the 'same old' routine which has created the imbalance in the first place, and be willing to explore, be an adventurer, and see what else you can find to nurture, nourish, and support your body so that it can get on with helping you get rebalanced. The choice is yours. Einstein said you cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it. We also cannot attain our perfect weight with the same diet that created the obesity. Be willing to change. Be willing to get excited about the opportunity to learn to love food that is delicious AND healthful. Your body will thank you for it.