In 1973, when Gordon was a research fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health and began to become interested in alternative therapy, he met the Indian osteopath Sheima Singh, a naturopath, herbalist, acupuncturist, homeopath and meditator. He became Gordon’s guide to the frontier of healing. Together with him, he prepared dishes that hit his taste buds, raised his energy level and mood. A quick breathing meditation Singha learned in the Indian mountains pushed him out of his fear and anger.
But shortly after meeting Sheim, Gordon suffered a back injury. Orthopedists gave terrible predictions and prepared him for an operation, which, of course, he did not want. Desperate, he called Sheima.
“Eat three pineapples a day and nothing else for a week,” he said.
Gordon first thought that the phone had gone bad, and then that he was crazy. He repeated this and explained that he was using the principles of Chinese medicine. Pineapple acts on the kidneys, which are connected to the back. It didn’t make sense to Gordon then, but he understood that Shayma knew a lot of things that Gordon and the orthopedists didn’t. And he really didn’t want to go for the operation.
Surprisingly, the pineapple worked quickly. Sheima later suggested cutting out gluten, dairy, sugar, red meat, and processed foods to alleviate allergies, asthma, and eczema. This worked too.
Since then, Gordon has been forced to use food as medicine. He soon studied scientific studies that supported the therapeutic power of traditional remedies and suggested the need to eliminate or reduce foods that had become staples of the standard American diet. He began prescribing diet therapy for his medical and psychiatric patients.
By the early 1990s, Gordon decided it was time to teach it at Georgetown Medical School. He asked his colleague from the Center for Medicine and the Mind, Susan Lord, to join her. In honor of Hippocrates, who coined the phrase, they named our course “Food as Medicine” and it quickly became popular with medical students.
The students experimented with diets that eliminated sugar, gluten, dairy, food additives, red meat and caffeine. Many felt less anxious and more energetic, they slept and studied better and easier.
A few years later, Gordon and Lord made an expanded version of this course available to all medical teachers, physicians, healthcare professionals, and anyone interested in improving their nutrition. The basic principles of “Food as Medicine” are simple and straightforward, and anyone can try to follow them.
Eat in harmony with your genetic programming, i.e., like hunter-gatherer ancestors
This doesn’t mean that you should strictly follow the paleo diet, but rather take a closer look at the recommendations it offers. Review your entire nutritional diet for foods with minimally processed foods and no added sugar. It also ideally means eating far fewer grains (some people may not tolerate wheat or other grains), and little or no dairy.
Use foods, not supplements, to treat and prevent chronic disease
Whole foods contain a number of substances that work synergistically and can be much more effective than supplements that provide just one. Why take the powerful antioxidant lycopene in a pill when you can eat a tomato that contains lycopene and a number of other antioxidants, along with vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that work together to prevent heart disease, lower cholesterol and lipid levels, and stop abnormal blood clotting?
Eat to reduce stress and learn more about what you eat
Stress hinders and interferes with every aspect of digestion and efficient nutrient delivery. Stressed people find it difficult to help even the healthiest diets. Learn to eat slowly, increasing your enjoyment of eating. Most of us eat so fast that we don’t have time to register the stomach signals that we are full. Also, eating slowly helps you make choices in favor of those foods that you not only like more, but are also better for health.
Understand that we are all, as biochemist Roger Williams noted 50 years ago, biochemically unique.
We can be the same age and ethnicity, have very similar health status, race and income, but you may need more B6 than your friend, but your friend may need 100 times more zinc. Sometimes we may need a doctor, dietitian, or nutritionist to run specific, complex tests to determine what we need. We can always learn a lot about what is good for us by experimenting with different diets and foods, paying close attention to the results.
Find a specialist to help you start chronic disease management through nutrition and stress management (and exercise) rather than medication
Except in life-threatening situations, this is a sensible and healthy choice. Prescription antacids, type XNUMX diabetes drugs, and antidepressants, which tens of millions of Americans use to reduce acid reflux, lower blood sugar, and improve mood, are only about symptoms, not causes. And they often have very dangerous side effects. After a thorough examination and the appointment of non-pharmacological treatment, as it should be, they will rarely be needed.
Don’t Become a Food Fanatic
Use these guidelines (and others that are important to you), but don’t beat yourself up for deviating from them. Just notice the effect of questionable choice, study, and return to your program. And don’t waste your time and energy on what others eat! It will just make you cranky and complacent, and increase your stress levels, which will ruin your digestion again. And this will not bring you or these people anything good.