Secondary Food

‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’ Hippocrates

Food can either nourish and heal you or kill you, but the choice is yours.

We live in a world of postmodern nutrition, where our food significantly differs from what our ancestors ate.

When people ask for advice, how to deal with symptoms such as eczema, allergies, acne, bloating, etc., my first question is, ‘what do you eat?’ And the most common answer is – ‘my diet is good, I eat healthily, I buy organic ready meals’.

Well, this doesn’t say much about what they eat. It says a lot about our perception of what food means to us. We talk about diets or lifestyles, how not to eat this or that, the latest food trends, the latest diet.

Rarely do we talk about the importance of balanced meals, the macronutrients, the micronutrients or the different food groups.

So what are macronutrients, micronutrients and food groups? Do you know the differences between these three?

Nowadays, Many people do not differentiate between these three terms.

What does a well-balanced meal mean?

It means that all three macronutrients are included in each of your meals. Each of these groups plays an essential role in your body to help it run smoothly. Macro- and micro-nutrients are vital for organ development and function. Each cell in our body needs them for healthy reproduction, growth and maintenance. They are essential for resistance to infection and disease, the ability to repair injury or damage to the body as well as working efficiently and high energy. When we don’t feed our bodies with the proper nutrients, we can impair these bodily functions.

Although we might not have signs of illness, that doesn’t necessarily mean we are healthy. Sometimes our body will just be showing us a variety of symptoms not typically related to illness or disease.

Nowadays, we don’t always get all of our nutrients from our diets as the food we eat is either overcooked, cooked at high temperatures, processed, grown in soil which is depleted of its natural nutrients (thanks to modern farming) or is sprayed with various pesticides, faster-growing solutions or genetically modified. All these processes destroy vital nutrients required for our body to function correctly.

‘Your body’s nutritional needs are as unique to you as your appearance is’ Phyllis A Balch

I like this quote as it talks about our biochemical individuality – bioindividuality. Meaning, we all are individuals and have different needs for the correct amounts of the proper nutrition to maintain a harmonious balance in our body, improve our health and prevent diseases.