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True Healing Requires
a Clean Diet
by Mark Powell
Did you know that you can't have beautiful skin without beautiful blood? Or that
you can't have shiny, bright, clear eyes without a clear liver? Or that you can't
have good, strong teeth without good, strong intestines? Did you know that you can't
have buoyant moods without a well-nourished nervous system and glands?
Did your high school teach you that you can't lose weight -- not in a lasting, healthy,
real way -- unless your body has been "washed" at a cellular level, cleansed
of acid wastes and other toxins? How about that you can't have smooth, easy, arthritis-free
joints without clean lymph moving through the body as freely as a clear mountain
stream, keeping the synovial fluid of the joints pure?
Why are these things true? Because your body is a single whole -- one, perfectly
unified system. It is not just a tumble of parts and there is virtually no such thing
as "a" single, chronically diseased organ, part or system in the body.
One part of your body cannot have a chronic, degenerative affliction unless your
entire body is compromised at some level. This goes for most cancers, heart disease,
asthma, diabetes, arthritis, macular degeneration, kidney disease and just about
every other non-acute health challenge you can name (I include strong environmental
toxins -- mercury, PCBs -- as "acute" health challenges).
Because the body is one, unified system, symptomatic remedies are not enough, even
if they're "natural" ones. Billberry and blueberry and various essential
fatty acids are necessary for visual health, yes. But ultimately, for healthy eyes,
the liver must be clean, which means the blood must be clean, which means the overall
diet must be clean.
It may be wise for some people to take calcium supplements in some form, but there's
no amount of calcium intake that will help you if your body is highly acidic from
too much sugar, soda pop, protein and, yes, dairy products. Again, the overall diet
must be clean.
If you've been feeling tired, you can get a nifty little bump of energy from acupuncture,
herbs or some kind of energy work. But, in the end, you're just beating on an exhausted
horse if you do not deeply nourish and wash all the cells and organs of the body
-- if the "sea" in which your cells float is stagnant, filled with the
sludge of cellular wastes and environmental toxins. Such an environment will either
be deficient in oxygen and the correct electrolytes, or these elements simply won't
be able to make it to the cells. A clean biological "terrain" and clean,
vibrant cells require an overall clean diet.
A chiropractor, osteopath or Rolfer® may give you some relief from a cranky joint,
but many times that pain is not a structural issue at all, but, rather, a chemical
one, and the problem won't actually be resolved unless the pH of the fluids bathing
the joints is improved. This requires an overall clean diet.
All of these modalities -- supplements, chiropractic, acupuncture, Rolfing, energy
work -- can be remarkably powerful and effective; they may even be absolutely required.
But, for true and permanent healing, these modalities usually must rest upon the
solid foundation of a strong, clean body, from the cells up. Otherwise, it's like
employing a healing regimen while you have a Sherman tank strapped onto your back.
Such a person doesn't need a chiropractic adjustment or a supplement or a soul reading
or an aspirin...they need to get the tank off their back!
As Dr. Bernard Jensen used to say, all true healing is replacement therapy -- new
cells, new tissue, new blood. In short, a transformed way of eating, a truly regenerative
diet, is required, promoting a veritable awakening to a whole new lifestyle. Then,
if you still have any ailments left over, you'll see these various healing modalities
work the way they're really meant to!
What do I mean when I say a truly regenerative diet? The simplest definition I use
with my clients is this: "Whole, unrefined, unprocessed, organic foods, a significant
portion being raw, and with good variety." Obviously it's a larger discussion
than that, but to say much more here would be to segue into a different article.
The most beautiful thing about healing through wholesale dietary transformation is
that it allows your body to heal itself in its own way, in its own timing, and on
its own priority system. Your body is a perfect genius of healing. It "knows"
exactly what it needs to heal, and how, and when, without -- believe it or not--the
slightest bit of micromanaging from us! Our main job is, really, to get out of the
way...to stop impeding it...to stop starving and burdening it with deprivation and
toxicity.
Unfortunately, in my experience, very few people succeed at revolutionizing their
diets based merely on inventories of healthy and unhealthy foods. Far more than a
list of "shoulds" and "shouldn'ts" is required. You need real
know-how and then, based on that, you need a game plan, a strategy for change. Here
are a few simple pointers:
-- You need some basic
knowledge about nutrition and food. I'd recommend the work of Dr. Bernard Jensen
(an oldie but a goodie), Paul Pitchford, Dr. Gabriel Cousens or Robert Crayhon.
-- You need to stock your kitchen with whole, unrefined, unprocessed foods and you
need to start planning menus, day-by-day, week-by-week. Sounds like a no-brainer,
but you'd be surprised at how many people leave this step out and then wonder why
they keep failing at changing their diets.
-- You need support. One of the greatest "secrets" to changing how you
eat is the buddy system, a partner, on your quest. This cannot be overemphasized,
especially if you have a spouse or kids who are less than supportive of your desire
to eat in a new way.
-- Have some resources in place, ready to help you work compassionately with the
challenging beliefs, attitudes and emotions that may come up for you as you change
how you eat. This can be a therapist, a support group such as Overeater's Anonymous,
or just a good friend who's truly willing to help provide a loving space for you
to go through your process.
Transforming how you
eat -- along with a peaceful loving heart and plenty of exercise -- is the surest
way to childlike vitality, radiant health and deep beauty. It is also a fun and fascinating
adventure, an adventure full of new, culinary pleasure, as well as the whole body
pleasure of tingling, energetic aliveness singing through your cells. Because we
have so many emotions invested in eating, the very process of changing how we eat
can be an adventure of self-discovery and growth.
Eating in this healthy way even helps the earth's environment, in very real, quantifiable
ways. For these reasons, I've come to believe that transitioning to a clean, rejuvenative
diet is perhaps the most loving, compassionate gift you can give to yourself, to
your friends and to the world we live in.
Mark Powell is a certified Counselor of Natural Health with a B.A. from the University
of Minnesota in Holistic Health. He is also a certified Rolfer® and the author
of one book on health and well-being. His private practice -- Radiant Eating Coach:
Fall in love with whole, rejuvenative foods for the rest of your life -- coaches
people in nutrition and in transitioning to a clean way of eating. Mark's office
is in the Uptown/Kenwood neighborhood of South Minneapolis. Call (612) 872-6055.
Copyright © 2005 Mark Powell. All rights reserved.
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