Going Green
Contributing Writer: Lisa Duscio, Team Inheritance of Hope Coordinator
Let’s talk about nutrition and health at the cellular level.
It is estimated there are between 15 and 724 trillion cells in the human body. Yes, TRILLION. Cells are constantly dying off and regenerating at different rates depending on the organ and the cell’s function. For example, the cells that line our stomach and intestines get replaced at a rate of every four days. Our skin cells are recycled every few weeks. Our skeleton is totally replaced every 10 years. And a few cells are ours for the duration of our lifespan.
What’s the significance? When we consider healthy self-care, we need to consider that everything we ingest is impacting our health at the cellular level. Do we need to worry every day, all day, about what our cells are subjected to? Of course not. But knowing that true health happens at the cellular level might help us make better choices about food, supplements, and medications.
What’s the best nutrition strategy for the human body to properly nourish our cells? This is where many people get discouraged because experts have so many different and strong opinions.As a general rule of thumb for the average person, I like a couple quotes from Michael Pollan, an American author, journalist, activist, and professor:
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
“Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.”
Let’s talk about nutrition and health at the cellular level.
It is estimated there are between 15 and 724 trillion cells in the human body. Yes, TRILLION. Cells are constantly dying off and regenerating at different rates depending on the organ and the cell’s function. For example, the cells that line our stomach and intestines get replaced at a rate of every four days. Our skin cells are recycled every few weeks. Our skeleton is totally replaced every 10 years. And a few cells are ours for the duration of our lifespan.
What’s the significance? When we consider healthy self-care, we need to consider that everything we ingest is impacting our health at the cellular level. Do we need to worry every day, all day, about what our cells are subjected to? Of course not. But knowing that true health happens at the cellular level might help us make better choices about food, supplements, and medications.
What’s the best nutrition strategy for the human body to properly nourish our cells? This is where many people get discouraged because experts have so many different and strong opinions.As a general rule of thumb for the average person, I like a couple quotes from Michael Pollan, an American author, journalist, activist, and professor:
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
“Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.”
A word about plants: Our bodies respond well when we eat plants. Plants are rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. They are high in fiber and mostly produce alkaline ash, which helps to alkalize our body. They are easy to chew with the flat teeth in our mouth, and they move quickly through our intestines. For optimal health, not eating plants is not an option. Our bodies thrive on quality fuel. Our immune systems perform miraculous tasks to restore balance and health when nourished with plants.
There is a wealth of research about the positive effects of good nutrition. For in-depth instruction about what a healthy diet looks like, two of my favorite websites are:
Veganism vs. Whole Food Plant Based Diet: Research shows that plant-based diets can be effective in fighting cancer and other disease. A vegan is someone who chooses not to eat any animal products. A vegan may still eat a lot of junk food in the form of processed foods. Calling oneself a vegan is a label and produces pressure to live up to a certain ideal that someone somewhere created. Eating a whole food plant based diet is describing your food choices, meaning minimally processed foods that are primarily plants. You can tell I prefer following the latter diet as well as its label.
ACTION ITEM
Today decide how many servings of fruits and veggies you and your family will attempt to eat each day. Perhaps a good starting point is five vegetable servings and three fruit servings each day. Write down your goal and strategize together on how to make it happen.
MY STORY
Although there is much support for a vegan diet to battle cancer, there is also sound support in using some high quality animal products. I had removed all animal products from my diet back in January 2002. However in February, I added a few things back. I now consume raw goats milk kefir, which replaces quark as part of the Budwig Protocol to fight cancer. I also consume local farm-raised eggs and grass-fed beef as well as free range dark chicken meat. I do not consume cow's dairy or any conventionally raised meat. When animals are fed the diet they are supposed to eat (i.e. grass-fed beef), the omega fats are properly balanced and this is healthy to consume.
I feel more energetic since adding these few animal products into my diet seven months ago, and my doctor tells me my general blood work is even better since the change.
There is a wealth of research about the positive effects of good nutrition. For in-depth instruction about what a healthy diet looks like, two of my favorite websites are:
Veganism vs. Whole Food Plant Based Diet: Research shows that plant-based diets can be effective in fighting cancer and other disease. A vegan is someone who chooses not to eat any animal products. A vegan may still eat a lot of junk food in the form of processed foods. Calling oneself a vegan is a label and produces pressure to live up to a certain ideal that someone somewhere created. Eating a whole food plant based diet is describing your food choices, meaning minimally processed foods that are primarily plants. You can tell I prefer following the latter diet as well as its label.
ACTION ITEM
Today decide how many servings of fruits and veggies you and your family will attempt to eat each day. Perhaps a good starting point is five vegetable servings and three fruit servings each day. Write down your goal and strategize together on how to make it happen.
MY STORY
Although there is much support for a vegan diet to battle cancer, there is also sound support in using some high quality animal products. I had removed all animal products from my diet back in January 2002. However in February, I added a few things back. I now consume raw goats milk kefir, which replaces quark as part of the Budwig Protocol to fight cancer. I also consume local farm-raised eggs and grass-fed beef as well as free range dark chicken meat. I do not consume cow's dairy or any conventionally raised meat. When animals are fed the diet they are supposed to eat (i.e. grass-fed beef), the omega fats are properly balanced and this is healthy to consume.
I feel more energetic since adding these few animal products into my diet seven months ago, and my doctor tells me my general blood work is even better since the change.
Inheritance of Hope’s Legacy Collection includes ideas for crafts, projects, and other unique collections that you can gift to those you love. You can find the complete collection in our library. Here are some of our ideas for spending time together to the kitchen.
- How can I collect family recipes for my children?
- A fun way to create memories with your children is through meals. Keeping a recipe box for each child of your family's favorite recipe will give your children the chance to recreate favorite meals that they made with you.
- How can I share healthy cooking with my children?
- It’s fun to bake and cook with your children. One idea is to take time to teach each of your children how to cook a dish. Make sure to document this process by either taking pictures or even a video of you cooking together. You can easily make a cooking scrapbook about your experience online.