Choose A Fork!

I watched that much-talked about documentary, “Forks Over Knives”, the other night.

Basically, it presents a scientifically-sound argument for a diet based on whole foods, illustrating their incredible healing properties. (The array of fruits and vegetables out there contain more than 25,000 vitamins, minerals and enzymes.)

It’s a very hopeful message at a time when more and more Americans are being diagnosed with catastrophic illnesses, many of which can be linked to diet. That’s because not only can eating well prevent serious disease, in many cases it can even reverse what deterioration has already occurred.

Whoa! If that’s true, then why would millions of people depend on a cascade of expensive pharmaceutical drugs to keep their sick bodies functioning? That doesn’t make any sense.

Actually, it does.

We can all sit and nod in agreement about the importance of eating good food, but applying that is altogether different.

No one wants to be sick. But the complicated lives most of us live often just siphon off what little motivation there might be to make lasting changes. Factor in a food industry that cranks out products with virtually no nutritional value and addictive ingredients that stoke the furnace of inflammation, and it can seem like a losing battle.

After all, we’re talking about a very, very large group of people who are sick, and they’re also tired.

The documentary interviewed a few of the more chronically ill. Their blood labs basically read: Change or die! (Maybe not tomorrow, but it was in the cards at some point!)

So what did they do?

They started eating mostly fresh, whole foods.

They rid their cabinets of sugar, fats and salt; and they either eliminated, or cut way back on dairy and meat products. They got their protein mainly from sources like beans, nuts and whole grains. (That’s not to say that eliminating dairy and meat should be the course for everyone. You may well decide your body type needs those particular food sources.)

But for the people interviewed, after just eight weeks the results in their blood labs were dramatic. They had literally vacuum-cleaned their arteries!

You’ll say: “… but most of us can’t get from here to there.”

That, of course, is a personal belief, and beliefs are very powerful.

But so are fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes (beans) and nuts! Once you make them the underpinnings of your diet, you might just have a very different view of what you can and cannot do.

(Those with serious or chronic conditions should only reduce their meds under the direction of their physician. Your family physician can be your partner in helping you reach your health goals.)