by Dr. Michelle Irwin

We have all heard the phrase, “You are what you eat” but what does that really mean? It is a literal phrase; within 7-10 years we have all new cells that have been made from the foods we eat. You may have noticed in your lifetime that every decade we feel a little different, this is why. If we are eating whole foods full of vitamins, enzymes, and phytonutrients, our cells are strong and full of energy, but if we eat empty calories with little nutritional value, we are left feeling sluggish and bloated.

It was Hippocrates in 400 B.C. who said, “Let medicine be thy food and let food be thy medicine.” Our body is made to work with the world around us and the world around us provides the body with what we need to grow and be healthy. Food is the primary, vital necessity for every living organism. We are reminded of this by hunger pains daily. Our body tells us of the need for vitamins, proper sugars, proteins, minerals, and water through these pains or urges. The problem is when we eat foods that are lacking in these vital nutrients, we eat more and more causing weight gain, bloating, sluggishness, and general ill feeling. This is why it is so hard for many people to feel healthy even when they are working out or doing fad diets. Giving our body what it needs helps us feel satisfied and energetic with less.

Our food requirements as we know them today are based on what we used in our past as medicine. These foods are loaded with highly nutritional compounds that when ingested, become the base of good health. The pharmaceutical industry knows this and uses chemicals extracted from plants and the compounds they can reproduce as the base for their products. This is because our body is designed to use the metabolites of the food we eat to prevent and cure various diseases. These metabolites include polyphenols, flavonoids, steroids, alkaloids, polysaccharides, and so much more. We use all of these to build cell walls, cell matrix, and proteins. When we provide the best building materials, we get the best products.

Something else to think about is truly figuring our whether you are hungry or not. One thing that is often mistaken when we have pain in our stomach is that it wants food, but what we really need is water. Waiting until we feel thirsty to drink water is late in process, by this time we are entering a state of dehydration. Drinking water with good mineral content can help us understand what foods our body needs instead of just filling the void.

Think about what you want your next decade to be in life and start collecting and growing the best cells for that future today. Small things done today make the largest impact on our future.