Well doctors are finally catching up to what many healers worldwide have known for centuries: food is Mother Nature’s medicine. Used correctly, the bounty of edible remedies that surrounds us can sustain health. I am very pleased that western medicine has begun to explore this fact in recent decades and I was doubly ecstatic when I saw that Dr. Oz actually created an episode surrounding this principle. With such a following I was happy to think of how many people nationwide he was introducing to this holistic way of thinking. To understand that your health is in your hands and the food you eat is your first line of defense. We’ve all heard the saying “you are what you eat” probably a million times but we seldom think about how true that statement really is. I want to take some time to introduce to you a couple examples, discussed on the Dr. Oz show, of how real this statement is and how a change in diet can mean a change in your life. Take a look at the kick-ass cancer fighters found in everyday foods:

Endive: a mysterious vegetable to most of us is easy to get at the local market and even easier to cook with. It’s a leaf vegetable part of the chicory family that can be eaten raw as part of a salad or cooked in a myriad of simple ways. You’ll be able to tell it from other leafy greens because it looks like an un-blossomed flower.  Research done in the Netherlands, among 62,000 women, showed a 75% risk reduction of cancer when consumed raw. How does it do that? Endive contains kaempferol, an organic cancer fighter that actually causes ovarian cancer cells to die, isn’t that amazing it kills cancer cells (serious OMG! moment), and it the basis for many cancer drugs. You can also find kaempferol in other greenery, such as, spinach, kale, and broccoli. The Dr. suggests eating ½ cup twice a week.

Fish: We always hear that eating fish is good for you. We should all swap out our red meat for it and something about Omega-3. Well omega-3 is so important because it is an anti-inflammatory. If you didn’t know, chronic inflammation is the cause of many serious illnesses, cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease; the list goes on and on. Eating foods that are naturally anti-inflammatory keeps your body in balance and out of the constant state of inflammation most of us are in, unbeknownst to us. Let’s also not forget that omega-3 has many mental health benefits also. You can rest assured all that fish oil your mom made you take when you were a child was actually beneficial. A study conducted in Northern Italy showed at 30% cancer risk reduction. Eat those 2-3 servings suggested a week to get the full benefits.

Onions: This was very surprising for me to hear. I love onions and I put them in practically everything so I was excited to know I was on the right track! Onions, specifically red onions, show a cancer risk reduction of a whopping 73%. Onions contain flavonoids, the same antioxidant that has made dark chocolate so popular. Try to use them as much as you can when cooking so you can soak up all the benefits. You could maybe even swap out that nugget of dark chocolate for and onion wedge, ok, ok maybe not.

These three foods are just a speck on the tip of the iceberg in the sea of what eating natural foods can do for our body and mind. So next time you take a bite of food think of it as what it truly is, your body’s medicine, the major ingredient in the recipe for a health body. I hope these facts were eye opening for you!