Gauri Rokkam
Popping pills (medication) has become the answer to all ills in the society today, seeking out quick solutions for our health challenges. We get a myriad number of products & procedures which claim quick fixes to any condition, be it obesity or any chronic disease. Every pain/disorder is now considered a separate health issue to be dealt with. Supplementing some extracts seems to be the solution for every deficiency. Should we look at the human body in bits and pieces and treat them in isolation? Should we look at food as separate nutrients & consume them as extracts to gain health and to prevent disease?
As each decade passes, we learn more and more about the complexities of the human body and nutrition and their interaction.
If one of our organs isn’t doing well, it’s only a matter of time before other organs experience declining function.Of course, the reverse is true as well. Just as the performance of one member of a sports team can affect the performance of other teammates, the health of each organ in our body has an ongoing influence on every other part of our body.
Similarly with food each nutrient interacts with other nutrients. Knowing this, it would be unrealistic to exclude any nutrient, or to prescribe a single nutrient for the treatment of a specific disease/deficiency. There is no substitute for whole foods which contain hundreds of health promoting substances, the importance of which we have yet to discover. More importantly, they all work in synergy to produce health benefits and cannot do that in isolation.
For example: Whole tomatoes are better than isolated lycopene, and tomatoes eaten with other nutritious vegetables are even better than whole tomatoes. It’s about the big picture – it will do us good, and is tastier too.
We do not need one diet for preventing heart disease, a second diet for preventing diabetes, a third diet for preventing obesity, and a fourth diet for preventing cancer. Changes needed in the foods we eat move in the same general direction for all the above said diseases: decreased intake of sugar, salt, animal foods, and processed foods, and increased intake of health-promoting, nutrient-rich foods like whole grains, legumes, nuts, fruits, vegetables and greens, as close as possible to their natural form.
The best way to improve the health of one area of our body is to work at promoting good overall health by choosing nutrient-rich foods, getting adequate rest, being around fresh air and sunlight, being physically active, and striving to be emotionally balanced.
Prevention of chronic diseases calls for a greater focus on health-promoting foods and healthier ways of living that can be followed and enjoyed day after day, year after year.
Here’s what all of this boils down to: it’s impossible to cure an ailment or have overall health with just one specific remedy or just one food supplement.
Gauri Rokkam, is Holistic Nutritionist & Yoga Therapist