Posted: Tuesday, March 8, 2016 10:24 am
Many health professionals, including myself, are guilty of constantly telling others what not to do, what not to eat, and what not to drink. I wanted to share something with you that is not about giving up something. It is about adding something. For a change, concentrate on healthy things to add into your diet instead of things to take away from your diet.
Food is extremely important for well-being, to add vitamins, minerals and all kinds of nutrients to help our bodies function at an optimal level. Food also provides us with calories which give us the energy to be active as well as the energy to carry out bodily functions. I totally agree with the saying that food is medicine, certain foods can help heal our body and certain foods can harm our body.
I recently asked my daughter Emily Kopek to help me with a video for my wellness portal. Emily is a physician assistant, who works with Knox Wellness in Knoxville, Tennessee. Emily practices functional medicine, which has been around for some time. It has been popular on the West Coast and is now gaining ground on the East Coast. Functional medicine focuses on prevention, gut health and nutrition-based counseling. Seventy- five percent of our immune system lies in our gut. Many professionals that practice functional medicine believe that by maintaining good gut health (encouraging good bacteria in the gut) we can prevent many auto immune diseases as well as many other chronic illnesses.
Emily recommends the following foods to promote healing and to reduce inflammation in the body.
>> Leafy Greens: Spinach, kale, broccoli, mustard greens, Swiss chard, cabbage, Romaine lettuce and iceberg lettuce are all examples of leafy greens. Leafy greens are full of phytonutrients, (also referred to as phytochemicals), which are compounds found in plants. They have health-promoting properties including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, fight off infections and liver-health-promoting activities. They are also full of vitamin A and C which help bring healing to the body.
>> Wild Caught Fish: These are super high in Omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids help to reduce inflammation in the body and promote healing.
>> Seeds: Pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds are all full of omega 3 fatty acids which reduce inflammation and they are also full of fiber. Fiber helps to rid the body of toxins by keeping your bowels regular.
>> Pineapple: Bromelain is an enzyme found in pineapple. It is used for reducing swelling (inflammation) especially of the nose and sinuses , after surgery or injury. It can even be extracted from pineapple and put into pill form. It can be found at our local health food store.
>> Fermented Foods: Examples of fermented foods are yogurt (choose plain yogurt to reduce sugar content, and add your own fruit or honey) sauerkraut, kefir, kimchee and Kombucha. They bring good bacteria to the gut to help fight off inflammation and improve the immune system,
To learn more about functional medicine or a holistic approach to your well-being, you can contact Emily at Knox Wellness.
Linda Stollings is owner of fitPrescriptions, a corporate wellness health coaching company. Email her at lstollings@fitprescriptions.com.
