Food vs Medicine

Inspired by yesterday’s talk on gut health with the oracle that is Wendy Budd, I’ve been pondering why people are so dismissive of dietary changes when it comes to healing themselves. It’s something I often think about.

‘Diet’ seems to be something that is predominantly associated with losing weight. But I always view diet with the analogy of a car engine. If you put diesel in a petrol car, I won’t run properly. I don’t see how our bodies are any different. Food is our fuel. But we barely even eat proper food these days…

I see so many people who live in poor health and are constantly medicating just to function. Sadly, this seems to be the norm. And it pains me to see people I know and love in this situation, especially children.

You may think that sounds a bit judgey, but it’s not their fault. It’s a system by design. If you’ve even done a little research, you’ll know that the food industry and pharmaceutical industry are intrinsically linked. It’s not a conspiracy theory, it’s a fact. And as a mainstream human living in this world, we’re indoctrinated into this system. It’s very hard to break free of these beliefs we’ve been taught for generations. It’s none of our faults. Processed food is addictive. ‘Real’ food is getting less and less accessible. And the doctors are here to ‘fix’ us. That’s just the way the world works right now.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not anti-doctors or western medicine. They absolutely have their place. If I need surgery, I’m grateful for the surgeons and nurses and anaesthetic and pain relief. If I need medication for a specific condition, then I’ll take it. If I need a vaccination to keep myself safe from disease, I’ll have it. I’m honestly grateful for modern medicine.

My challenge is that there is so much that can be healed without medication. And there is so much that can be prevented through good diet. But people just don’t seem to believe it…

Is it actually that they don’t believe it, though? Or is it that they don’t want to believe it? Because changing our diet takes significant effort. Changing our diet means forgoing simple pleasures. Changing our diet means admitting that we have autonomy over our bodies.

And herein lies the problem. There tends to be an inherent societal belief that our bodies are somebody else’s problem. That it’s our entitlement to have a doctor fix us when we’re unwell. We are so far removed from knowing our own bodies, that we have no idea where to even begin with healing ourselves. So we just take the pills. Because we trust that somebody else knows our body better than we do. We’ve lost total connection with ourselves and our instincts.

This is one the most challenging and most incredible things that I’ve learned through yoga…how to know my own body.

But our capitalist society doesn’t want us to know ourselves. Because the moment we reconnect with our own bodies, we start seeing the world in a different way. We start exploring our own methods of healing. We start being conscious about what we allow into our bodies. And we stop buying into junk food and pharmaceuticals. Well, at least for the most part. Nobody is perfect, and I bloody love a McFlurry!

Side note: As I’ve been writing this, I’ve just received a call from my daughter’s new school asking about her sugar-free diet. They’ve asked me to provide evidence as to why she’s on a sugar-free diet. It’s such an alien concept that I wouldn’t want my children to eat sugar. They were baffled about how they’d reward her, because they usually reward children with sweets, ice cream or hot chocolate. They had no idea how they were going to provide a lunch for her. Why even is there sugar in school lunches?!?! We know that sugar is bad for us. We know that sugar feeds cancer cells. We know that sugar causes weight gain. We know that sugar corrodes teeth. We know that sugar causes hyperactivity. We know that sugar spikes insulin levels. We know that sugar causes inflammation. We know that sugar is more addictive than heroine. These are all scientific facts. Sugar is poison. So why are we so insistent on treating our children with poison?!?! I don’t want my kids to have the same addiction to sugar that I have. I don’t want my kids to struggle with their health and their weight.   I don’t want my kids to be disrupted by sugar highs and crashes. I don’t want my kids to be unable to regulate their behaviour. I don’t want my kids to be unwell. I just don’t want my kids to have sugar!! What’s the big deal?! Arrrgghhh….rant over.

Tell me your experience of diet…

Tell me your experience of medicine…

What do you believe?