5 Ways Powerfoods Help Us
You may have powerfoods in your kitchen right now and dont know it.
By eating powerfoods everyday you can energize and balance your body without costly vitamins and medical bills. Foods affect us on many levels and understanding these factors can help you make better health choices.
Before understanding the power of the foods around me, I was unhealthy, unhappy and confused. Constant visits to doctors and health food stores had little effect on my deep fatigue and constant hunger. That was 30 years ago when Western nutritional science was not as advanced as it is now.
It was the 5,000 year old Chinese herbal knowledge that made the difference for me. Using specific foods and food combinations to feed specific systems and create balance brought me back to the energy and joy I had as a teenager.
Since then I learned from all cultures. The message is always the same: Food can heal. Food can be your medicine. Food has POWER!
5 Sources of Power for Powerfoods
1. Broad chemical influences on the body.
These include:
- Alkaline-forming vs. acid-forming
- Organic vs. chemical-infused
- Raw vs. cooked
- Gluten-free vs. gluten-containing foods
- Complex carbohydrates (smart carbs) vs. simple sugars (dumb carbs)
- Whole vs. processed
Each of these factors has multiple influences on the body and a person will respond to these differences depending on their predisposition and levels of health.
Powerfoods are almost always whole but not necessarily gluten-free, raw or alk! aline.
2. Specific Chemical Needs: The GAP Theory
Each food has different levels of specific nutrients. If a person has a particular need for a nutrient it will affect them greatly. Powerfoods tend to have very high levels of certain nutrients.
For example: suppose a person has a strong need for vitamin C. It is winter and she is not eating enough fruits and vegetables. An orange has vitamin C, so mandarin oranges that are popular around Christmas, have just the right chemistry to feed her immune system and prevent a cold.
3. Genetic Influences of Food
Scientists have been debating for years what is more important: your genetics given to you by your parents or your upbringing. It turns out that the two are combined. Your environment activates the expression of your genes. This is very powerful.
For example research has shown that a diet high in omega-3 fats reduces the expression of the Alzheimers gene APOE4. We can sidestep bad genes by eating healthy.
