The Nutrition Prescription
By RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR
Stress -- all of us know -- is a major obstacle to living. It is an impediment to eating well; it also affects what we "chomp."
Managing stress has a positive impact inasmuch as disarming its stranglehold is indispensable when making effective changes in life.
If stress is one big trigger for over-eating, and also for eating poorly, there are certain diets that also undermine one's self-value, and the will to be well… in mind and body.
As well-being medical pioneer Edward A Taub catalogues: "Diets put you under so much mental and emotional stress, they have a built-in mechanism for failure!"
Stress begins in our mind, all right. Which does not necessarily mean that there aren't other situations that trigger stress. However, the fact remains: it's our own mental and emotional response to them that “engineers” most of the damage.
The best way to respond to stress is by cultivating a strong mind that has the wherewithal to protect you. Which also explains why a new blueprint of 21st century medicine, to combat stress, is related to nutrition. Of nutrition not just as a vital foundation, but a viable roadmap that puts you in control, so much so stress would no longer govern you and/or what you eat.
As Taub eulogises: "Healthful, high-energy foods can help you in dealing with stress." But, one ought to know how to separate the chaff from the grain. If you thought of fudge cookies as your common weapon against stress, then you're fighting a losing battle. However, if you thought of nourishing your body with fresh, high-energy, fibre-rich food, during stressful events, you'd remain in control, and also give your body and mind the power to resolve them.
Stress makes us susceptible to illness and disease; it also diminishes the body's amazing ability to heal itself. It weakens our body's immune system; and, if it persists, it makes our defence mechanism vulnerable. Sadly, there isn't a vaccination against stress. But, what we have is something that is available within us…
Its only side-effects, as Taub again envisages, are wonderfully positive. Because, protection against stress lies between your two ears!
The idea is simple; it is also profound. Balanced energy inoculates us against stress. Food is more than just vitality. It is energy-medicine, at its best. But, the bottom line, as Taub emphasises, is: "Everything in moderation, including moderation."
The novel strategy dwelled upon, you'd agree, is the best way to balance your body, and your life.
But, how well do we all know that dietetics, or nutrition as medicine, has not been given the attention it richly, and logically, deserves in our medical school curriculum and healthcare system.
HealthPrism’s natural medicine therapist and writer Loredana Ortiz presents, beginning with this issue, a fascinating new column, “Lora’s Ark,” on healthy living and eating.
Her clarion call: it is high time sound nutrition is given its due to revitalise our thoughts and, in the process, help us live long and lead fulfilling lives.
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