Growth

Welcome to the age of enlightenment with all its mind-boggling technological advances. There’s an abundance of anything you want to know by researching the information highways. Perhaps for this very reason there exists some confusion since an abundance of subject matter will include conflicting or contradictory statements. Yet, something very basic hasn’t penetrated a large segment of the American population. It’s an understanding and appreciation for nutrition as it relates to the health of the human body. I still shake my head when I hear questions like this:

“Do you think nutrition could make difference in my condition?”

“I’ve had all the chemotherapy and radiatio
I can handle. Do you think B vitamins would hurt me?”

“I’m pregnant and was told I can take Tylenol. Would taking something natural instead cause me problems?"

“Will any of these herbal teas make me retain water?”

“Do you know if there are any risks or side effects that I can expect from eating foods that are high in magnesium?”

Like vegetation in a field, there will be different rates of growth based upon a number of conditions. So it is with people—when conditions are right, we grow and flourish while other times the growth process can be slow or stunted. This can apply on all levels--physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

Obviously, we have grown up in a century where synthetic chemicals have pervaded all we know. There are 100,000+ already in existence with several thousand added each year. Of that total number, less than 3,000 have been adequately tested for safety. With this realization, we need a shift in conce
s. Side effects and risks would logically accompany what is unsafe.

Hippocrates said, “Let food be thy medicine.” He obviously saw the ingesting of food as a necessary requirement for wellness. After all, we do eat to live. It is not a difficult process to connect the dots from the ingesting of food to stay alive to seeing that the quality of this fuel would have a major impact on health. Malnourishment brings a lowered immune function, and when deficiencies persist, symptoms and conditions of imbalance get our attention. Our cells require high-quality or optimum fuel to function well. Is it such a stretch for us to see that nutritionally depleted and unsafe foods (highly-processed, pesticide/herbicide-laden, irradiated, genetically-modified, enzyme-deficient, artificially-dyed, chemically preserved and overcooked) were not the “medicine” Hippocrates intended? Wisdom and disce
ment are needed when choosing foods since man alters the food chain.

In our growth, we have begun to understand the necessity of organically grown foods. As with all aspects of life, integrity is the key. Finding out that growers have put toxic melamine in soy feed which is fed to organic chickens is an example of profit before integrity. We have a lot at stake when we come to understand the importance of food to health. Let us as enlightened consumers make a difference by demanding clean, wholesome food for life and health.