Food is Medicine
Introduction |
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I remember when my pastor said the last time he took drugs was in 1997. Since then, he hasn’t been sick. He has always been strong and healthy by God’s grace. I decided to practice my own faith to see if I could stay at least a year without taking any drugs.
Within that one-year interval, I did feel feverish, but I would try to shake it off by doing some exercises. This fever kept coming once in a while, but I tried as much as possible to avoid taking any medication. In my heart, I knew I was sick, but I was just trying to exhibit faith.
In the ninth month, while at work, I just fainted. Faith wasn’t strong enough, and I was rushed to the hospital to take a drip.
I know you will be wondering, how does this story have to do with eating healthy? Well, just relax and read till the end! But before doing that, let me invite some people to the contest: @lovelystar, bonaventure24, and @bossj23.
Do you believe that the foods we eat have medicinal value? |
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Well, the reason I brought up that story was because I saw something that changed my mind about the food we eat. During one of my postings at my workplace, I was assigned to work at my pastor’s house. I was to take inventory of the foodstuff and drinks that came to the place every day.
Working in his house gave me access to some places, including his kitchen. My pastor has three intercontinental chefs who cook for him, and their food is of world-class standards. The good thing about everything is that what he eats is what all his family, staff, and visitors eat.
The food is so nutritious and has the required balanced diet. Eating such food, I don’t think there is anything in this world that will ever make you fall sick. Throughout my three months working in his house and eating those beautiful meals cooked by those chefs, I don’t think I even had a cough or sneeze, let alone a fever or falling sick. I was as strong as a horse.
Although I’ve been posted out of his house to another location, I finally realized that the food we eat has its own medicinal value in our body and helps build up our immune system.
Give 5 examples of foods that you consider to be powerful "medicines" for the body, and what they do. |
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- Garlic: Garlic is one popular ingredient that has medicinal effects on our body. It lowers blood pressure and boosts the immune system. In fact, during the Covid-19 period, my aunty would always force me to take it raw, telling us how it’s a cure for all diseases. I wonder where she got that analogy from.
- Vegetables: We have a soup in Nigeria we call vegetable soup. It’s just vegetables alone, cooked very little to retain the nutrients. These vegetables contain high vitamins and minerals which build bones, improve digestion, and support antibodies to fight against germs.
- Turmeric: Turmeric leaves are mostly used as spices in food, especially in curries. They are believed to have antiseptic properties that help reduce symptoms of colds, jaundice, and even intestinal worms in the body.
- Ginger: Ginger is another spice used a lot in foods because of its medicinal qualities and benefits to the human body. It improves digestion, lowers blood sugar levels, and reduces the risk of chronic diseases in our bodies.
- Fruits: help in maintaining a healthy skin. I noticed it when I was at the pastors house. I ate lots of carrots and in return I noticed lots of drastic changes in my skin and my complexion became lighter than usual. The vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in fruits help maintain healthy skin.
How can we use food in our daily lives to keep healthy? |
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Eating a balanced diet all the time will keep us healthy; not eating the same particular meal every day.
Staying hydrated by drinking water will also help the metabolic system in the body. A lot of people ignore drinking water or take very little amount. They are unaware of the dangers this causes in the body.
Always eat naturally grown foods free from all those chemical fertilizers. It is much more nutritious for the body.
By eating the usual three square meals and not skipping any of them.
Eat healthy snacks like groundnuts, fruits, and yogurt, and avoid all this junk food.
Do you think it's important for schools to teach about how food can be like medicine for our bodies? Why? |
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My time in the pastor’s house made me reminisce about my experience when I said I wanted to embark on a journey by staying a year without taking any medication. I just knew that faith alone wouldn’t be able to do it but healthy food would.
An average Joe’s food in Nigeria is majorly carbohydrate, and in my own case, I was always eating “Garri and soup” (Garri is ground dried cassava). It got to a point where I couldn’t stool again because the Garri had made it so strong. In the end, I landed in the hospital.
Poverty has actually played a major role in the choice of food we eat. But if every school can employ a “food and nutritionist” who will educate students on the type of food to eat, the sickness rates will be at a minimum level. A lot of people are obese or suffering from kwashiorkor or one disease or another because of the kind of food they eat.
These days you will see younger ones suffering from high blood pressure because of their weight that’s affecting their heart. It was never so. Even the food we eat these days is filled with too much fertilizer and chemicals, which are harmful to health. But with a food and nutritionist in our schools, they can direct us on the type of food to eat that supports physical growth and development.
Educating students about the health benefits of different foods increases their awareness and understanding, empowering them to make informed dietary choices.