Sunday, May 30, 2010

Food... As Medicine?

Surprising statement, no? But why? After all, Hippocrates (an ancient Greek considered to be the father of modern-day medicine) is quoted as saying, "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food".

So it was no surprise to us when we read a recent article from Medical News Today that talked about how doctors are turning to food high in soy protein, phytosterols, and other nutrients as a means to fight metabolic syndrome. "Doctors are stymied about how to treat it. Billions of dollars are spent on it-unnecessarily" is what the article says. Stymied is a synonym of stumped.

According to the article, metabolic syndrome is "the simultaneous occurrence of any three or more of the following five conditions: high blood pressure, high blood sugar, abdominal obesity, low HDL ("good") cholesterol, or high triglycerides".

The Result of the Study
"The research findings indicate that this combination of plant-based nutrients can be a powerful enhancement to lifestyle therapy." This indicates that improving your eating habits, increasing your daily activity, and ingesting a higher quantity of certain nutrients can in fact reverse many problems that are literally stumping doctors who strictly prescribe medications to their patients with metabolic syndrome.

Survey Results
The article also provides survey results... Unfortunately, they "indicate that physicians feel ill-equipped to help their patients make significant lifestyle changes that will improve their health. Rather, their training and education prepare them to prescribe multiple drugs or even surgery."

Don't wait... It is your responsibility and not that of your doctor(s). Change your eating habit. Participants in this study were fed "low glycemic load Mediterranean-style diet" and encouraged to do "regular, moderate exercise". But remember that key nutrients are essential to see increased results.

Article [Medical News Today]: Food Fight! Battling The Effects Of Unhealthy Diets-with Food!

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