Change is Coming: Food as Medicine

Over the weekend, we went to an event I found on Eventbrite. I have been wanting to be more social while learning so this has been a wonderful way to do that. I am more interested in places that are free or close by. We found this Dinner with the Doctor series discussing food as medicine. We had a lovely dinner and presentation and met wonderful people that were also there for the first time. Overall very successful and I want to share with you what I got out of it. The doctor is associated with the American Collage of Lifestyle Medicine. Lifestyle Medicine ‘is an evidence-based approach to preventing, treating and even reversing diseases by replacing unhealthy behaviours with positive ones.” There are 6 areas where lifestyle medicine focuses on to improve health: Physical Activity, Manage Stress, Relationships, Sleep, Tobacco (cessation of) and Healthy Eating. Recently, I have been feeling like a change is happening. It’s the feeling I get when new things are happening and I am challenged with old ways of thinking, doing (habits) and feeling frustrated with excitement, hope and growth.  For over a month, I’ve been feeling the slow effects of change. In this new way of thinking, one of them has been inconsideration of what I put in my body. I have been thinking about how I think of my body and my relationship with it. I am now thinking of how I take care of it, including ingestion. Studies have shown that plant based diets attribute to healthier bodies. It never occurred to me to consider food as medicine, until now. Food packs in a lot of what we need and part of a result of living this way is being off medication. This I am definitely on board. Growing up I was always given supplements. I hated all kinds – liquid or capsule. I hated that taste of the pill going down my throat. To this day, I still do. If I have to do it, I prefer a smaller pill but none at all is best. I don’t take vitamins from a bottle like I’m told I am supposed to. Though I do have effervescent tablets of vitamins which I occasionally have with my water. It is definitely a great alternative. When I was recommended to take medication for my depression it was disappointing and I hated it. After a couple of years, I made the decision to be off of it. Now when I think of the life I want to live, I do see myself happier, healthier and vibrant. So I definitely am interested in changing my lifestyle. Slowly and surely (don’t call me shirley).  I can see how other elements of my lifestyle can attribute to a positive outcome like good sleep habits, movement, relationships etc. These are also things that they teach are good for you whenever you go through self-care, therapy, GP suggested, any overall good health practices. I share all this because I think it is important one sees that there are suggested ways of being that can support a healthy life. The next move is actually sticking to it and that is the work I am in. So I metaphorically bought the plane ticket, now I have to actually ‘pack my things’ and get myself to the destination. Destination: Healthy Lifestyle. Some questions to consider:

1. What is the lifestyle I want to have? What are the benefits of that life? How much do I really want that? If I have apprehensions, what are my mental blocks?
2. What is a small step I can take to get me one day closer to that goal?

I know that change is not easy. In most cases, I have made a change and reverted, made adjustments to change positively and revert again. I also know that digging deep to figure out what is really holding me back has helped. Not an easy road but a struggle I am familiar with that feeling. Note that familiarity to a struggle isn’t always bad. It can be an opportunity for me to recognize what I liked or didn’t.  I can adjust the method. Let me know what you think of this.