The
Power of Food
As a nation, we are
obsessed with food. Fast-food restaurants and their
billboards clutter our city streets. Volumes have been
written on the topic of food. Newsstands are littered
with magazines about it, and there is even an entire
television network devoted just to food. We savor it,
discuss it, and even plan our lives around it. And we
consume a lot of it. In the process, we've also
managed to supersize our health risks dramatically
over the past few decades.
The kind of food eaten
has nearly as big an impact on health as the amount --
and sometimes more. In fact, much of the malnutrition
in the world can be attributed to unhealthy food or
consumption of "empty calories" (highly
processed foods lacking important vitamins, minerals,
and other essential nutrients). Though it may seem
surprising, many obese individuals are actually
significantly malnourished.
But foods have both
the power to harm and the power to heal. Understanding
both sides of the equation is important. Rather than
allowing food to have power over you, you can create a
winning partnership with it. Proactive cancer
prevention shifts the energy, placing emphasis on
healthful fresh and whole foods packed with essential
nutrients, turning calories into cancer-fighting fuel.
Utilizing foods as
powerful tools for cancer prevention requires that you
look beyond one of your most basic senses -- taste.
You need to evaluate food not just on its quick-fix
satisfaction factor, but on its nutrient value as
well. And as you get accustomed to healthier foods,
you may be pleasantly surprised to find that you come
to appreciate their flavors more than old, unhealthy
standbys -- and not just because you know they're good
for you!
Sometimes what we
ingest has clear ramifications. If you drink coffee
daily, think back to a time when you tried to give it
up or had to do without. Remember the headache? Have
you ever experienced heartburn after too many pieces
of pepperoni pizza or constipation after eating too
much cheese? The good news is that this dynamic works
both ways. You can prevent ill effects by avoiding
certain foods, and even better, you can enhance your
health by making certain food choices.
Some foods contain
significant nutrients that help keep your body healthy
and operating at peak capacity. Eating a healthy diet
will give you the fuel you need to maintain an active
pace and prevent illnesses, including cancer. While it
is true that different people have different dietary
needs and that what is healthy for one person may not
work as well for another, there are some common
denominators.
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Continued >>
"An
apple a day keeps the doctor away"
[If the doctor is cute, who cares about the fruit..LOL]"
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