by Dr. Michael Court
There are many benefits to a locally grown whole food diet. Locally grown food is fresher when it gets to the consumer. The food sits on the truck a shorter amount of time and therefore has more nutrients. Whole food is in its purest, simplest form and provides the most nutrients. Processing may make food last longer, but it steals nutrients from our food that we need to stay healthy. A whole food diet is the wisest and healthiest choice you can make to provide good nutrition for your family.
The bad news is that much of the food we buy comes from soil that is nutrient-depleted due to the methods of modern agriculture. Our soil is becoming depleted of the essential nutrients needed to grow nutrient-rich foods. Our soil becomes “exhausted” due to the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In the book “Empty Harvest,” Dr. Bernard Jensen and Mark Anderson make the case for the importance of keeping our soil alive and full of nutrients because it significantly affects the health and well-being of the human race. Our food can only provide the nutrition that is present in the soil. Depleted soil produces an empty harvest.
When working in alternative health, a person begins to make some observations about how to stay healthy and what makes people sick. One thing I have noticed is that many of the healthier people who come in for our health analysis eat a diet based on whole foods, exercise doing something they like, and generally make their health a priority. On the other hand, some of the unhealthiest people have an internal stressor related to our food, water, or air supply that is keeping them from getting well. They struggle to get well due to nutritional deficiencies from eating a diet of processed foods or have a buildup of toxicity from heavy metals or chemicals.
Beginning to move to a locally grown whole food diet is smart for anyone wanting to maintain their health. Organic is best because it eliminates pesticides and harmful fertilizers from your food supply (and your body).
Just like processed foods can be incomplete, the synthetic supplements consumers buy at the store can be doing them more harm than good. Many people have no idea that most supplements that are sold commercially are synthetic (manmade) chemical extracts that are really incomplete parts of food. Nowhere in nature do we find vitamins in the same form as on our store shelves. Because they are incomplete, your body has to take the missing parts from your internal reserves in order to process and use the synthetic vitamin you are taking. Using synthetic supplements is kind of like eating processed foods. They may be cheap, but over time they cause a deficiency in the co-factors, enzymes, and essential minerals our bodies need. This leads to loss of energy, to less resistance to disease, and eventually to ill health.
Just like eating an orange is better than drinking orange-flavored drinks, using supplements that are ground-up organic, whole food that is concentrated makes the most sense. Whole-food supplements are in a form (ground up whole food that the body is designed to use as fuel) that is easier for the body to use to heal itself. Because they are concentrated, you can get more nutrition in a whole-food supplement than you would typically eat in a day.
The adage “You are what you eat” is true. Small permanent changes in your diet and your supplements can make a huge difference in your daily health. For some people, they have no idea how to do this on their own. How do I get off Mountain Dew that I know is killing me? What change can I make with my busy lifestyle? Where do I get the information I need? The best choice for restoring your health is to work with a health care practitioner to help you transition to a locally grown whole food diet and a personalized, clinically designed nutritional program.
Dr. Michael Court, a local naturopath, practices at Chippewa Valley Wellness with locations in Chippewa Falls and Altoona. For more information, see cvwellness.net or call 715-723-2713.