What’s On Your Menu?

The subject of what we should eat to ensure a healthy life, is so complicated that in 2021, we still don’t have all the answers.  All that we can say for sure is that there is a direct correlation between what we put in our mouth and both our mental and physical health.

There are some very important variables to consider when making decisions on what to eat.  These include:

• Your age
• Your gender
• Your ethnicity and in particular your genetic heritage or your DNA
• Your lifestyle, especially, how much physical and/or mental activity you do in a day
• The medications you take (as well as things like cigarettes, alcohol, and recreational drugs).
• The times of day that you eat
• The current health of your body (for example, if you are ill, injured, etc.)
• Your desire to change your current weight, whether it be weight reduction or gain

As humans we are designed to be able to process a large variety of substances through our digestive system.  This is one of the factors that has allowed humans to survive, as  a species, for so long!  However, we cannot escape the fact that some substances are more beneficial to others and some substances, are so bad that, they create a destructive patterns in our bodies.

We know that some substances are clearly detrimental to the health of most people.  They  are commonly called “poisons” and widely publicised as such, to ensure that people do not eat them by mistake.

Other than water, unfortunately, everything else that we could eat, is not necessarily universally “good to eat” for everybody.  To make matters more complicated, humans have changed their food production practices and their food products over the centuries and what might have been good for us at one time may well be very poor today.  For example:

• Meat products, made from animals are now being fed with different food and in modern farming practices, supplementation is added to the animal’s diet.  These have a direct effect on the processed meat composition¹.
• Vegetable products where there are now genetically modified (GMO) versions, are designed to enhance their disease resistance, prolong their freshness and enhance their flavour, to name just a few reasons for their introduction.  However, the new plants have potentially unwanted side effects in addition to the original good health benefits.  Many studies shown that there are tangible adverse side effects to both the environment and to those eating these foods².

Some foods are good for you in small doses and can be damaging in larger doses.  Some are good if you do a lot of physical activities and yet harmful if you live a sedentary lifestyle.  Some foods are harmful to certain people and yet completely harmless to others.

Deciding what and when to eat, to improve health and wellbeing,  is no longer a simple decision, or something you can determine by researching on Google!

Fortunately our practitioners in our clinic are able to help sort out some of this puzzle and point you in the right direction.  They have a good educational foundation, in relation to foods and body biochemistry and can understand the effect that most food and edible substances have on various parts of the human body.  Careful history taking and evaluation of your lifestyle and diet may help to determine whether there are   specific adverse reactions to some of the foods that you may currently be eating.

Chiropractic is a lifestyle that involves all aspects of wellness, including exercise, nutrition, personal development, and stress relief.  We encourage you to ask your chiropractor for help in deciding what to eat with the goal of improving your overall health.  With unique advice, tailored specific to your body, they are well equipped to point you in the right direction for better health.

References

1.  Diet and Genetics Influence Beef Cattle Performance and Meat Quality Characteristics

2.  GMO Dangers: Fact you need to know.  (This site references other sites and gives a great overview of the GMO problem.)