Food For Thought

In an earlier post I mentioned that eating and breathing are the only two ways that we get more qi (energy), blood (nutrients), yin (coolant) and yang (heat). Of course, this is from a Chinese medicine perspective, but even from a Western perspective this is an obvious truth. Take for instance this story from NPR that discusses a study on the molecular turnover in your body. It says:

"In a year 98% of the atoms in us now will be replaced by other atoms that we take in, in our air food and drink...So that means 98% of [you] is new every year. So this is the very profound rule of nature, 'You are what you eat.'"

(To listen to the whole story click the listen button on the top of this page:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11893583 )

So why then is it such a foreign concept to many of us that how and what we eat and breathe is a really big deal!? If you stopped eating fast food, processed foods and other not so good for you foods and replaced them with whole foods just think of the difference it could make in a year--98% of you would be made from healthier building blocks. Or, if you want to think of it from a traditional Chinese perspective, the energy, nutrients, coolant and heat in your body would be not only higher quality, but also increased!

And if these four things are the foundation for everything we need to do: from thinking to sleeping, reproducing to aging ... Just think of what a difference you could make. The implications are profound: by eating better you could improve your egg quality for fertility, decrease insomnia or lessen anxiety. By breathing deeply you could improve digestion, decrease pms or have fewer hot flashes. In short, you've got nothing to lose and everything to gain!

As a specialist in fertility I am often faced with the difficult dilemma of, "but I'm not getting any younger!" While I know this is true, my response is always ... but you could be getting healthier! I absolutely believe this to be true.