Eat Up!

I have just watched an excellent programme about a group of diabetics who chose to take themselves to a vegan 'camp' to try and heal themselves of this debilitating disease. They also had a host of other problems such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. They were away for a month. After 1 week of a raw vegan diet most of them were able to stop their medications. By the end of the month, they had all (except 1) lost weight, regained health and vitality, and their bloods were all within normal limits without medication. The exception to this was a type 1 patient who was able to drastically reduce his insulin. It also transpired that one other patient who completely reversed their diabetes was told by his GP when he came home that it wasn't type 2 diabetes as they had originally thought, it was type 1. So he had reversed a disease, thought to be incurable.("Simply Raw Reversing Diabetes in 30 days" www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pjkC71exKU)

It's amazing what our diets can do! It is a subject I am fascinated by. I believe that we can heal ourselves by eating properly. I also believe that our western diet is killing and mutating our bodies. The proof is all around us. Despite wonderful advances in technology and science our health is becoming worse. Obesity, diabetes, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer's and heart disease are all top killers in our society. Our health services are buckling under the strain that these diseases are putting on them. The future prognosis is scary, a quarter of the UK population is obese, including children. Sadly we now regularly see a plus fit size in children's clothing. 

Fat in a London sewer. Now imagine your arteries!

Cancer, heart disease, stroke rates are also on the increase. The way we eat is also affecting out environment.The growing demand for food and animal fodder is having huge consequences on climate change, marine life and pollution and there are calls from the EU and WHO to reduce this trend.

It's not easy to change a lifetime of bad habits. My own cancer story has really shaken me up. I want to try to change the future poor health outcomes for me and my family. I thought I ate reasonably healthy, but let's be honest, most of us have treats every day. Junk food has invaded our lives in the form of so called convenience. What's so convenient about cancer?

The truth is we have all been duped by big business. Sugar, fat, dairy, refined white foods or to be more precise, nutritionally deficient foods fill up our cupboards. We are a nation addicted to junk foods. And sadly, it is a situation created by fast food retailers, supermarkets and commercial agriculture to keep us addicted and consuming. Don't worry though, if you get sick, which you will, your doctor will ensure that you have all the right medications to keep you ticking along for another few years to consume some more. Thanks for that big pharma!

I really do get angry when I see people dying of malnutrition and parasitic diseases in some countries, while others put on programmes of people overindulging just for fun. Corruption and greed have created this dichotomy and it is a sad reflection of the social culture we find ourselves in and one completely avoidable. I get angry when I know that we are being 'fed' a bunch of lies in the guise of consumer choice when most common diseases are preventable through proper nutrition.                                       

So what's the truth? Well that is not an easy question to answer. Every day there is a new piece of research to tell you what to eat, or not. How much to exercise, or not. What drugs will help your symptoms, or not. The truth is hidden somewhere under it all. It's hard to see, you have just got to push your way through the misinformation and use your common sense. Jamie Oliver has been telling us about what is in junk food for a while now. And don't forget Gillian McKeith and her now famous phrase "you are what you eat". If we look to other countries and cultures where the rates of these killer diseases are very low we find that they eat a wholefoods, plant based diet. To put more simply, they don't eat white refined crap, they eat less animal products and use the whole grain and plenty of fruit and veg. (http://www.apocp.org/cancer_download/Volume9_No2/d%20351%20Filiz%206C.pdf)

 The World Health organisation recognise this and recommend a shift to this type of diet to reduce the global obesity crisis and other diseases (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/).

So why am I telling you all this? Well I guess it's my way of trying to bring some awareness to our 'sick' problem and also it is an introduction to my own nutritional journey which I am travelling. Let's all try to be more conscious about what we are eating. Now that my chemo has finished, I will be getting back to eating better and nagging you all out there to do the same!