You are what you eat.

Hello!  Yes, it's been three weeks.  Last time I blogged I mentioned how it had been two weeks and now here I am, and it's been three weeks.  Oh well. 

So it's Saturday night and I've just finished week #6 of school!  I can't believe how fast time is going by and I'm happy to report that I'm happier than ever.  I'm in an amazing program and I'm learning such wonderful things.  I've been trying to decide what to blog about recently and I just finished watching a great documentary called Food Matters.  And of course it was only appropriate that in my Biochemistry class we just finished discussing how you really are what you eat!

Not to go all scientific on you here, but quite simply your body is constantly performing all of these crazy, very impressive chemical reactions.  And when I say "all", I mean a bunch.  Thousands.  And not just one at a time.  Multiple reactions are happening in your body (and mine for that matter) as we speak.  Or as I type =).  Anyways, it's really quite miraculous if you think about it.  I'm not talking "religious" miraculous either.  I'm talking your body has the innate ability to do all of this, without you even thinking about it!  How cool is that!?!

So if your body has this innate ability to carry on all of these amazing reactions, your body should have this innate ability to heal itself, right?  Right!!!  So when it comes to fueling this amazing machine also known as your body, what you put in it is what you're going to get out of it.  Pretty simple.  You wouldn't put maple syrup in your gas tank and expect to be able to drive your car down the street now would you?  Of course not!  So why do we put so many chemicals, additives, etc in our bodies and wonder why we feel so bad (not to mention the climbing rate of disease in this country)?!? 

One thing I just loved loved loved about this documentary is how it discussed vitamins and minerals as a part of our diet.  I've been learning over the past few weeks how many of these vitamins are co-factors and precursors for all of these wonderful reactions going on in our bodies.  Simply stated, you need vitamin C, vitamin B, zinc, magnesium, calcium, etc (the list goes on and on) for your body to carry out all of these amazing functions that we hugely take for granted on a constant basis.  But wait, won't you get all these vitamins and minerals in the food you eat?  The answer is yes.  But how many of us can be honest that we are eating the correct foods so we do get all of these goodies down our pipes?  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say not many of us can.  I'll be the first to admit that my diet is not perfect, and that's okay.  The important thing is to be aware of these deficiencies, and to take some accountability for our own health. 

Please take these questions to your doctor.  Demand answers.  Stop being a patient.  I know that sounds funny, but when we think of ourselves as being a "patient" I'd bet most of us feel as if we are not in a very empowered state.  Reality check here.  YOU are paying the doctor.  Or in some cases, you are paying your insurance company to pay the doctor, or sometimes you are paying both (just to cover the bases here!) and you should view yourself as the client.  The health industry is a service business.  The doctor should be serving you.  You should get answers from your doctor.  You're paying them right!?!  To be honest with you, if you are seeing a doctor that cannot answer your questions about nutrition, vitamins and minerals, I'd be walking quickly (okay, sprinting) out the door.  It would be nice to think that your health care provider payed attention and learned about all of these mechanisms and how they work in our bodies in medical school.  But what I'm starting to find out is that most medical students are not learning about nutrition in medical school.  Some of these classes are offered as an elective and are labeled "Alternative".  I find this hard to figure out, because if something is proven with basic scientific evidence I'm not sure I'd be labeling it "Alternative".

And the best part here...if your current doctor cannot provide that service for you, FIND ANOTHER DOCTOR!!!  There are doctors out there that will provide you with answers and will provide you a great service.  You might have to do a little work to find a good doctor that can provide you the service you deserve.  But hey, how many of us will drive all over town looking for the perfect pair of shoes?  Come on, this is your health we're talking about here!!!  I'm working as hard as I can to be able to be that kind of doctor.  Because I'm passionate about this.  Because it's cool.  Because gosh darn it we all deserve that kind of health care.  But it starts with you.  Be accountable and responsible for your body.  When you eat at a fast food restaurant and you feel like crap, stop wondering why and do something about it.  And please don't go searching for a magic pill that will only suppress and temporarily "cover up" your symptoms.  Let's get to root cause of all this madness.

I'm pretty sure I could do a blog series about all of the wonderful information covered in this documentary.  I definitely encourage everyone to watch it.  It is available on Netflix.  Or you can visit the website to learn more.  I promise I'm not getting paid to write about this (though it would be nice, being a poor medical student and all!) I just really thought it was wonderful and empowering information.  They also talk about Dr. Hugh Riordan, the founder of the Riordan Clinic in Wichita.  Most Wichitans know the clinic as the "funny looking white domes at 96 and Hillside."

http://www.foodmatters.tv/

Also, I would love any feedback about this post.  This is a wonderful topic to discuss/debate and I'd love to visit with anyone and everyone about it!