The One About the Boob Tube

Everyone has a doctor in him or her; we just have to help it in its work. The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. Our food should be our medicine. Our medicine should be our food. But to eat when you are sick, is to feed your sickness.

Hippocrates

I think it's a very interesting idea that food should heal all illnesses.  In fact I think often that food is a direct link to health and wellness.  When I was pregnant with little honey bunny, I had gestational diabetes and was instantly thrown into a world of nutrition, calorie counting and carbohydrate controlled mayhem. Already interested in nutrition, I learned quite a bit about how food works in the body.  This was my first introduction into "preventable and lifestyle diseases".  Gestational Diabetes was not my fault.  My body produced a hormone in the placenta that blocked insulin production so I had to have some help until I gave birth.  However, this was the tip off that my body had the genetic predisposition to getting Type 11 Diabetes later in life.  Luckily, I have been able to fight off this horrid disease but the rest of the ailments that plague most people in their 40's on up have been knocking on my door for awhile and I have learned that the same rule applies.  Eat your veggies.  Simple as that.  We can eat to cure.  We can eat to live.  We can not only stop and prevent but actually halt and reverse disease by eating broccoli.  Think about that.  I mean really think about that...by eating a healthy plant based diet, you can get rid of high blood pressure.  You can remove plaque from your arterial walls.  You can unlock the magic keys in the pancreas that block insulin.  You can change your cellular structure to prevent certain types of cancer.  Really.  Really?  Yes Really.  Did you know that you can also get rid of sinus problems and acne and acid reflux and hot flashes and eczema?  Did you know that with a plant based diet you could save the environment and the health care crisis AND stave off impotency (in both men and women?)  

So what is the deal with not doing this?  Well I can tell you why it is hard for me.  It's hard for me because I spend way too much time thinking about food.  I have gone to the other side of the Hippocratic philosophy to the point where food is my addiction and instead of eating to live, I live to eat.  I live to eat all the wrong things.  I have an addiction.  And it is food.  Food used to nourish my soul and then it served as a friend and a lover and now it is really just a totally abusive spouse.  I never learned to use food as it should be used.  I fight almost daily doing it to my son.  It is a constant struggle to outwit, outplay and outlast my food cravings.  I have all of the red flags and tell tale signs of a personality disorder when it comes to food.  I crave potato chips and french fries when I start to feel anxious.  When I am sad or depressed, I start to go looking for ice cream and brownies.  When I am bored I want some kettle corn. When I am really pissed off, I want McDonald's.  When I am really happy, I want to go get a bunch of sushi and crab spring rolls.  And when I am feeling all of these I want to drink.  Lots and lots of wine.  Sometimes margaritas.  I look forward to all of the holidays so I can buy fun holiday cookie makings and special yummy breads and all kinds of fattening desserts.  It doesn't occur to me at this time to think of all of the awesome vegetables and fruit that will be in season or the incredibly fun activities that take place each season.  

Does it really just take a twist of the brain to start thinking like that?  Do you have to practice healthy habits of the mind, just like you have to practice everything else.  What if I worked daily on the practice of every time I thought of food, unless I was really hungry and it was time to eat, I forced myself to think of something else, more healthy or more spiritual or more funny or more touching?  

One of the things that works for me is to turn off the tv.  I have noticed that since I work from home, when I actually stay at home and don't venture to the library or to a coffee shop, I have to leave the tv on for some mindless company.  Well that mindless company most often turns into a distraction which puts me on the couch with some food and diet cokes and then that usually turns into an unplanned nap which then turns into fat assness.  So if I turn off the tv, I am acutely aware of going to the fridge and eating something that is not planned.  Somehow the tv gives me super invisible powers and I don't have to actually see or feel myself hitting the sectional with bags of crap in my hand.  The problem is, turning off the tv

So by changing one thing - maybe I have given the bad food a little less power and the veggies some time to do their work.  Maybe by instead of obsessing over every calorie I put in my mouth, by changing a behaviour I am taking more control over my addiction.  Maybe I can learn to eat to live instead of avoiding the fact that I am living to eat.  "To eat when you are sick is to feed your sickness."  Uh huh - got it.