Food is Medicine

This appeared in the February 17, 2022 edition of The Fish Wrap.

Philosopher Homer Simpson said “To Alcohol, the cause of and solution to all life’s problems!” It’s funny because it’s true. The phenomena of the cause and solution coming from the same source happens all over. For example, in the connection between our food and health. The chemicals used in growing and producing our foods cheaply and conveniently are contributing to our major health issues. Then we have to buy chemicals from pharmaceutical companies to alleviate the symptoms caused by the food.

Food production and processing has been optimized for cheap convenience. We use chemicals to get bigger crop yields and chemical processing to make foods shelf stable and fast-cooking. While making food fast and cheap, we have stripped most of the nutrients, vitamins and minerals that keep us healthy and vital. Cheap and fast has left us overfed, undernourished and plagued with heart disease, cancer, diabetes and auto-immune disorders. The resulting conditions must be managed (not cured) by pharmaceuticals.

In modern farming practices we have turned our backs on the microbes in the soil and have embraced the synthetic chemicals offered by a few corporations as the cure all.  Each new  synthetic chemical seems to create a new problem that requires a new synthetic chemical or altered seed to deal with it. With some recent corporate mergers, the same company that sells the ag chemicals sells the pharmaceuticals needed to manage the devastating health effects resulting from the food. What a racket!

What if we turn Homer’s saying around. Let’s recognize that our food system is causing many of the health and societal ills we are struggling with. And recognize that the solution is nutrient dense, whole foods that contain the building blocks we need for healing and vitality. Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food!