The start to a discussion on nourishment
By Justin and Clara Hamel
The start of a new year is often a time for people to reflect on and take steps to improve health and wellbeing. One of the biggest steps in doing so is reassessing what we put into our bodies, so we would like to focus on nourishment and what that means. We intentionally chose the word nourishment (not diet) because we need to start changing our relationship with food; part of that change needs to start with how we think of and label food.
Food is vital to our survival. At its best, it nourishes us, gives our body essential vitamins and minerals, provides us with the energy to maintain and detoxify our bodies, and helps us to thrive. At its worst, it can strip our bodies of nourishment, introduce toxins into our systems, promote inflammation and cause a multitude of serious health issues. These health issues include obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, auto-immune disease and hypertension. These health issues listed can dramatically change with the right nourishment.
To illustrate this, imagine you are given a car that is yours to drive. You will depend on this car for years to get you from point a to point b, but it is the only car you will ever have and there are no replacement parts. It is likely that with this knowledge many people would be meticulous with maintenance. They would regularly change the oil, use quality fuel, and make sure the tires are regularly balanced and rotated. The analogy may seem obvious — our bodies are the car. We are given one body with no replacement parts, so why not provide it with the highest quality fuel.
We can begin fueling our bodies in the right way with a few simple steps. The first and most important step you have no doubt heard before.
Eat more fruits and vegetables.
Did you know that in longevity studies, it was the main dietary correlation across all societies with the longest living and healthiest populations? For those who followed a plant-based diet in these populations, it was noted that obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, auto-immune disease and hypertension were almost non-existent.
We are not advocating giving up meat, but we are certainly advocating decreasing meat or focusing on high quality grass fed/free range meats, and replacing refined carbohydrates with nutrient dense fruits and veggies. Try substituting beans into dishes to replace meat. You can get a similar amount of protein with 20 times as much fiber, twice as much iron, eight times as much calcium and magnesium, and no cholesterol at a fraction of the cost.
Remember that changing what you eat does not have to happen all at once. Start with one small step and incorporate an extra serving of fruits or vegetables into each meal, or have a nutrient-dense fruit and veggie smoothie or salad for one meal each day.
To do more research on this topic yourself, we highly recommend the book “How Not to Die” by Michael Gregor, M.D. He includes so much amazing research and all the proceeds of his book go to nonprofits. Also, “The Longevity Diet” by Valter Longo, Phd has a lot of great research and information. If you prefer to watch a documentary, try The Game Changers or Forks Over Knives.
