By MOLLY PEPPO
I strongly believe in the power of nutrition to change our daily lives. I've found it to be the surest way to take responsibility for one's own health and well-being, prevent disease and optimize energy levels. Balanced diet and nutrient-dense choices enable individuals to recover from nutritional deficiencies that can restore health for even chronic conditions. While each person is individual and nutrition needs to be designed accordingly, everyone is capable of learning how to feel outstandingly healthy and energetic at all times.
In the past year, I've watched the power of nutrition and a nutrient-dense diet achieve many goals including breaking sugar and caffeine addictions, parasite cleansing, dissolving kidney stones, preventing bone loss, rejuvenating the liver and gallbladder, resolving symptoms of attention deficit disorder, normalizing digestion and resolving allergies and asthma.
The power of nourishing your body with a balanced diet rich in plant-based fats, oils and proteins, and high fiber foods packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants is supreme.
Rates of disease and cancer are alarming. The beef industry is destroying the environment and every commercial on TV encourages viewers to fix problems with medical drugs and processed and fast foods instead of examining the real issues—a planet out of balance and corporate greed. The real answer is to turn off the TV (though I admit to an "America's Next Top Model" addiction) and protect the planet by paying attention to what you eat and drink.
Ten recommendations for 2008 to supercharge your health:
1) Add more plant-based foods to your diet. A properly balanced plant-based diet has been shown over and over in studies to prevent cancer and diabetes. You don't have to deprive yourself of proteins. Simply add to each meal foods such as broccoli, apples, pumpkin seeds, olive oil, walnuts and beans.
2) Eat raw chocolate. A source I like is sunfoodnutrition.com. Raw chocolate is the highest food on earth in antioxidants, as well as being high in vitamin C and magnesium. It's extremely energizing and uplifting.
3) Read healthfreedomusa.org and learn how to protect your health freedom and why it is in jeopardy.
4) Subscribe to and read a balanced, informative nutrition newsletter. A good one is mercola.com, which does a good job of explaining the nutritional inconsistencies found in the media and gives unbiased, to-the-point advice.
5) Replace mercury fillings in your teeth.
6) Install a water filter in your home and stop buying bottled water.
7) Eat organic, not only to restore and maintain the health of the earth's top soil, but to reduce your exposure to pesticides and insecticides, which are known cancer-causing and neurotoxic agents.
8) Avoid fried foods and hydrogenated oils such as mayonnaise and margarine, which are linked to cancer and liver degeneration. Choose organic, cold-pressed olive, flax, hemp and coconut oils instead.
9) Realize and understand that most news on diet and nutrition is a disease- and fear-focused entity controlled by powerful corporate interests, aiming to confuse you and convince you that medical drugs, meat, dairy and processed foods are the answers to health, when really they lead to its destruction.
10) Do not eat genetically modified foods. Top culprits are canola, soy, cottonseed and corn.
Focus on promoting health through awareness and nutrient-dense, vibrant foods and environments and usher in each new year with more and more energy, health and happiness.
Molly is a nutrition consultant specializing in restoring bodily health to optimal functioning, through nutrition and muscle testing the body to pinpoint and correct imbalances and weaknesses. E-mail questions or comments to mollypeppo@mac.com
