Nourishment
So I realize that my blog is mostly about food and recipes. Why? Proper nutrition is essential to everyone's good health, especially those with a chronic or autoimmune condition. If you are not eating properly, any medicine, whether it's Eastern, Western, natural, pharmaceutical, etc... can only help so much. I realize more each day the negative effects of some of the staples in the standard American diet, (SAD), like dairy and sugar. And vegan alternatives to dairy can also have negative effects. From an Eastern perspective for example, ice cream is cold and sweet, no matter what kind of milk it is made from, (cow, coconut, almond, soy, etc..). Our digestive tracts work best with warm, cooked, easy to digest foods and beverages. This is why you don't see salads, raw vegetables or dairy in traditional Chinese cooking and why they drink a lot of hot tea. Obesity is much less common in Asia than in the West, so obviously Asians eat healthier. And Western science is starting to "discover" that many diseases are rooted in the gut, whether or not the patient has digestive symptoms.
Food is just one way we nourish ourselves. Other important ways are proper rest and sleep, exercise, drinking quality water and fluids, breathing clean air, positive self talk, "forest bathing" and the people we choose to be around.
