Into the foyer with deep brown floors, up the stairwell encompassed with Nickelodeon Reptar Green-like painted walls, and into a long rectangle room full of various colors of couches and chairs, there we were. The space was starting to fill with people. To our immediate left, aboard a black table, were some sort of white colored pop-corn and pita chips. To the right was a big screen TV. What is all this you might ask? The first of many “Alive” meetings was being for those even slightly interested in a healthier, more active, and eat-right life style.
My girlfriend and I were making a big step in changing our diet. A bigger step than I even realized at first: one that spiraled off into her reading of books and our real commitment to this idea of living healthier. Alive also comprises various activities such as lectures from doctors and a dietitian, movie showings, group discussions, yoga and work outs. (For a list of upcoming events, click here.)
That night, neither of us ate the healthy pop-corn or pita chips with hummus, but we did indeed digest some seriously interesting data from the film “Food Matters”. This film had a tone of enlightenment to it as it showcased many experts in nutrition, medicine, economics, and agriculture.
What I ended up walking away with was “eat raw vegetables”among other ideas that will forever be embedded in my mind for the sake of my body. As far as raw veggies goes, cooking the food changes it chemically. So, according to food expert David Wolfe, eat 'em raw. He also said having over 51% of a diet in cooked veggies causes the body to reacted to the cooked ones as if they were foreign/sickness entering the body. Never saw that coming!Other facts stood out, too. for example, the movie’s personalities explain that the body is already enough of a machine to fight disease. The issue comes with diet. With the body deprived we provide an environment in which cancer/disease can grow. It’s the natural result of malnutrition, not the basis for need of extra medication. When the body is fed, it will be healthy and do its various jobs to maintain itself. In the words of one of the experts, we must “wreck” that kind of environment by creating a healthy one, which I thought was a clever reversal on the concept of trying not to be sick, but rather ruining sickness.
Research based in a controversial practice of strict diet called Gerson Therapy was discussed in the film by various experts including Charlotte Gerson, daughter of Max Gerson who started Gerson Therapy. Gerson results showed that people with serious illness, including cancer, halted and reversed the effects of their disease. The difference wasn’t the addition of medication, but rather an ideology as found in a document found on the Gerson.org web site saying, “Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food” (Gerson.org). To check out the other side of the issue, check out Quackwatch.
Gerson also commented on the sickliness of the food we eat. Her argument was pretty logical. She said when plants grow in soil that is lacking in nutrients, the plants lose out and aren’t as healthy. We then consume the plants. We’re eating deficient plant foods. At the end of the day, facts can be kind of confusing, but the effort matter for sure. We need to do our own research and check ourselves to see what we think works for us. The film put the idea out there that we can feel when something’s wrong with our bodies, and that we can be our own best doctors. Also, considering the logic of what someone says may help. Eating the best food you can in a diet that works for your body---this seems to be a reasonable argument for ‘wrecking’ a sickly environment in which the body is getting less than adequate diet. We don’t pee in our gas tanks for the same reason.
The video also stated some other interesting facts about foods. One that stuck out to me was that the best store-bought vegetables are the organic, frozen ones. When the vegetable is frozen soon after picking, the nutrient value is locked in and won’t find itself denaturing much before it gets to our plates.
Another factoid served up by “Food Matters” was with vitamins. As suggested by the film, there are some out there who believe that the intake of too many vitamins can have an adverse effect. An expert in the film disagrees prolifically. He cited that vitamin C was given in extremely large amount intravenously to people. With incredibly large amounts, the non-drug/drug, vitamin C, had only woozy effects on a person, while potentially having great effect on the body in other ways. He also suggested Niacin for depressed people.
After the film was over, a group discussion was initiated for questions and comments. What was cool was that a lot of people spoke up. One person voiced concern about the “propaganda” tone of the film, and then offered the best advice for anyone, which was: do your own research. Another attendee commented that large amounts of Niacin made someone she knew black out.
“Food Matters”---it’s definitely worth a watch. We own our bodies and should provide for them the best we can. As for my girlfriend and I, we’re on our way to making better decisions for the simple reason of ‘holy crap we want to be healthier now and down the road’. In that there’s some hope for better life, feeling of completeness that naturally from a nourished body, strength and bodily defense.
Keep It Real,
Carl G.
Keep It Real,
Carl G.
