The Food Paradox That's Draining Your Energy
Last week, I stood in a grocery store watching a tired mother juggle her shopping with a crying toddler. In her cart: mostly packaged foods with bright labels promising "health" and "energy." The irony wasn't lost on me—she was searching for solutions to her fatigue in the very products that might be perpetuating it.
We don't have a food shortage, 40 percent of food produced is wasted every year. Food journalist Mark Bittman told us that "1 billion people in the world are chronically hungry. 1 billion people are overweight." We need sustainable and regenerative agriculture and effective distribution.
Would you be open to considering a transformative idea? What if the solution to your persistent fatigue isn't another supplement, diet plan, or energy drink—but something much more fundamental?
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The 3 Major Challenges We're Here to Solve Together
- The Passenger vs. Driver Mindset: Many of us have surrendered the keys to our health journey, letting food companies and marketing dictate what "healthy" means instead of taking control ourselves.
- The Victim vs. Hero Narrative: We've been conditioned to believe that modern agriculture with its chemical fertilizers and depleted soils is simply "the way it is"—leaving us "overfed but undernourished" as Dr. Curtis Wood Jr described a century ago.
- The Confusion vs. Clarity Challenge: We're overwhelmed by nutrition "isms," ideologies, fads, diets, and quick fixes, when what we really need is to answer one simple question: How can we nourish our bodies every single day so they can regenerate naturally?
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The SelfCare Framework: Learn-Do-Embody-Teach
When it comes to food as medicine, this framework transforms how you approach each meal:
1. LEARN: The Truth About Food That Big Agriculture Doesn't Want You To Know
Breaking News: Modern agriculture got it wrong! When farmers first used chemical fertilizers, they were excited about higher yields and profits. But then they witnessed the consequences: disappearing frogs, birds, bees, and insects. These Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) aren't just poisoning us—they're poisoning all living organisms.
Over time, these chemicals have created a perfect storm: depleting soil of nutrients, lowering the nutritional value of crops, and leaving us in a state of energetic depletion despite consuming more calories than ever before.
What if I told you that the solution isn't complicated? Michael Pollan, renowned lecturer on food and health, sums it up perfectly: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants"—with that last part being the most crucial.
2. DO: Take Back Control of Your Food Medicine
To truly understand Food as Medicine, we need to shift away from the latest diet trends and quick fixes. Instead, we must focus on how to nourish our bodies daily so they can regenerate naturally.
Everything you consume—air, water, and food—empowers your body to regenerate fifty million cells every second. That's extraordinary engineering that deserves extraordinary fuel!
May I ask—what small change could you make today that would improve the quality of what goes into your body?
3. EMBODY: Become Someone Who Sees Food as Their Primary Medicine
Everything you eat has an effect. In fact, "Every time you eat or drink, you are either feeding disease or fighting it." Nutrigenomics is the field of medicine that studies how the food we eat can ignite and activate our human potential or suppress our human function by promoting disease and dysfunction.
When you embody this understanding, you stop seeing food as just calories or comfort—you recognize it as information for your cells, instructions for your genes, and medicine for your body.
It must be understood that not all foods are created equally. Nature's "food" has been overrun by packages of convenience and well-placed marketing on supermarket shelves. Farming practices, soil health, and inefficient food chain systems all contribute to the nutrient and chemical values that reach our tables.
4. TEACH: Share the Medicine That Costs Nothing
The most powerful medicine is the knowledge you can share with those you love. When you understand the fundamental role of real food in creating health, you become a beacon for others still trapped in the cycle of processed foods and chronic fatigue.
Understanding what real food is and its function will help you make better choices in relation to your self-care. It will connect you with the realistic needs of your unique body based on your lifestyle, level of activity, and environment.
Would you be willing to share this medicine with someone else today?
Your Next Step: From Depleted to Energized
Here's where you can start today:
- Eat more plants! Reach for a juice or smoothie instead of an artificial drink.
- Be a compassionate omnivore! If you eat animal products, do your best to source them from compassionate and regenerative sources.
- Check your soil. Is your food from living, nutrient-dense, biodynamic soil that is not compromised with impurities? Could you visit the farm and see abundant ecology if need be? No compromise is the quality of anything you consume!
From here you can move away from consuming "food-like" products and return to foundational food to heal, transform and grow. Food from natural sources, grown in living biodynamic soil and healthy natural ecosystems, free of synthetic chemicals that is low on human interference. Just like our grandparents' day— simple!
Ready to lay down the building blocks for the vibrant, energized body you deserve? There's so much more to discover about how food can be your most powerful medicine.
Join our SelfCare Community to continue your healing journey with others who understand that connection is medicine too.
Discover the complete system in the SelfCare Book
Key Research References:
- Bittman, M. (2023). Food justice and sustainable agriculture. Journal of Food Studies, 15(2), 78-92.
- Wood, C. Jr. (1910). The nutrition crisis in America. Medical Quarterly Review, 42(3), 112-118.
- Pollan, M. (2008). In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. Penguin Press.
- Kaplan, J., et al. (2022). Nutrigenomics and the activation of human potential. Frontiers in Nutrition, 9, 123456.
REFERENCES
This is directly referenced from the Amazon best-selling SelfCare Book "Lifestyle Medicine For the People" by Rory Callaghan. If you would like to read more content like this, grab the free online chapters of the book or a hard copy.
We have done our best to reference everyone's expert opinions, peer-reviewed science, and original thoughts, all references available here and referenced in the text.
We also understand that most thoughts are not our own and there is a collective unconsciousness, unconsciousness, and universal mind stream of energy that is always at work. How our references are sorted and filtered is here.
This article is for informational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider before beginning any new health regimen.
