Beyond the Calories: Getting Micro

What does it actually mean to use food as medicine?

We’ve all heard the adage “Let Food be Thy medicine and medicine be thy food” by Hippocrates. Maybe it’s plastered on the wall of your local smoothie joint.

But what does that actually mean!? Great question, glad you asked.

When I was in college, I had to take an exercise and nutrition class. That professor still haunts me to this day. I remember him teaching the class that it doesn’t matter what you eat, as long as you stick to the serving size. He would eat a bowl of fruit loops sticking to the serving size and was able to manage his fit physique. On top of that, he made claims you could get all the nutrients you ever needed from processed foods such as sugary breakfast cereals because they are fortified (fortified with synthetic nutrients that our body cannot access… BUT that is another story).

I KNEW, I knew I knew I knew in my heart of hearts this was bullshit. But he did look fit, and people listened.

This perfectly represents the current attitude around food. We’ve deduced food to its calories and macronutrient makeup (those fats, carbs, and proteins). We’ve somehow been a part of a twisted narrative that what we’re eating doesn’t matter as long as we’re not eating too much, you know… keeping those calories in check. Or maybe upping those proteins if you’re trying to build muscle. AND MIND THE FAT, or be a keto legend and eat all the fat.

Our food conversations have become confusing; there are so many dogmatic opinions out there and mounds of misinformation. We’ve all got diet brain, and it’s hurting us—physically and mentally. My heart aches thinking about the things I’ve done to my body in the name of diet culture.

Here’s the deal: our health is on the decline despite an increase in spending on medical expenses, the latest technological advancements, and pharmaceutical discoveries. 36% of deaths in the United States each year are from Heart Disease, fully preventable with diet and exercise. What about cancer? Diabetes? Obesity? Mental Health? Autoimmune Disorders? All. On. The. Rise.

We’ve forgotten one very important thing in the last couple of hundred years—Let Food Be Thy Medicine, and Medicine Be Thy Food.

Food eaten has the power to invite health or hell into our bodies. Our health goes beyond calories and macronutrients. Yes, you can maintain a nice physique zeroing in on those aspects of eating, BUT does that mean you’re healthy? Body in Balance? Out there THRIVING? Or does it mean you look good (by Western Standards)? Long story short, it doesn’t. You can be a skinny mini and get an autoimmune disorder; in fact, most autoimmune disorders manifest in very skinny women. Body size does not equate to health.

That’s why our conversation needs to shift from this macro view, to start looking at what food really does for our body. (Our bodies which are technically made of… food) It provides us with the micronutrients responsible for all of our bodily functions. Have you ever stopped to wonder what the hell is going on inside your body? The body has a host of functions it carries out all day every day. Our body is responsible for two functions at its core: building and detoxifying. Both of which take key nutrients. You know the vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and such. Maybe you’ve heard of some like: magnesium, zinc, vitamin B, selenium, vitamin C, amino acids. Well, there are hundreds of others, and our body uses each one in a unique way to fuel a process. Whether it’s the magnesium our brain needs to communicate with our neurons or the essential fats your body needs to power your brain and make your hormones. That’s putting it in pretty simple terms. Our body needs micronutrients to perform its functions, most of which many of us couldn’t name if we had a gun to our head.

Our bodies are working hard, very, very hard. The ‘fuel’ you’re feeding them matters.

Proper Food For You means providing your body with the raw materials it needs to build the house (Aka your body). If you give your body poor materials, the house is going to start springing leaks and needing major repairs. If we give our body the good materials, well, our house is strong, healthy, and stable. It’s in balance.

And when it’s not In balance is when we invite states of ‘dis-ease’ into our lives.

When we shift our mindset around food, we can shift our lives. It’s not about depriving you of the foods you love; it’s about not depriving your body of the foods it needs! Food sustains life, all life. It matters.

Food gives us life. If we eat food with no life in it… Well, we’re going to be cutting into our life.

I’m going to say it again: we are in a health crisis. Treating food as a unit of energy we don’t want to get too much of because we’re afraid of being fat Is Not Serving Us. We need to shift our mindset to one of empowerment where we ally with food to best serve our bodies the life it deserves.

It’s absolutely beautiful that we need to rely on food to give our body what it needs to be well. We are perfectly suited to this natural world, and it shows when we look at an apple and see that it provides us with essential nutrients we need to survive.

Food is medicine; treat it like such by fueling your body in the way it deserves.