“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” - Hippocrates
This nutritional healing methodology is to be used in conjunction with traditional therapies as prescribed by a licensed physician and not as a primary method of care.
In any ailment, there are TWO primary pathways that can be used to heal or cure a patient. One is through disease suppression and the other is via health promotion.
The most commonly used today comes from allopathic (Western medicine), which is to attempt to remove the cause or an underlying disease process, or correct chemically (pharmaceutically) or surgically any imbalance. Eg, bacterial infections are treated with antibiotics, blood pressures can be lowered using statins, pain is managed with pain killers. This method is highly effective, especially in emergency settings or during the acute phase, but it does have limitations. Most drugs have side effects of some type and our bodies can develop bad habits through their use. That is to say, increase something artificially in your body and our bodies don’t need to do it themselves anymore. Just like years of steroid use will shrink men’s testicles and lower testosterone levels. Take the medicine away after years of having it, and your body forgets how to balance these biochemical processes by itself.
Often neglected and less commonly employed is the health promotion method which is mostly associated with naturopathic and functional medicine practitioners.
Our bodies are sophisticated and are very good at healing and fixing themselves, they do this all day and everyday whether you think you are sick and injured or not. They keep thousands, even tens of thousands of complicated biochemical processes balanced through intricate homeostasis mechanisms. But these mechanisms can be thrown off balance via exposures to toxins, or with excessive environmental stress factors. The use of nutritional healing, exercise therapy, massage, psychological relaxation and by promoting social outlets and recreation can be useful for removing these stress factors and for promoting natural recovery and healing.
Nutrition and diets can be complicated and daunting, but nature has given us a cheat sheet. The colour of natural food products is quite indicative of the phytochemicals found in those food products. Those phytochemicals are often linked to particular medicinal or health boosting properties when active within the body.
It is so simple, yet often overlooked. The more you peer into the detail to explain why this colour based pattern exists, the specific nutrients and minerals, the specific phytochemicals found in these food groups, you will see more and more just how simple and yet powerful this nutritional healing philosophy is.
I am a big believer in keeping it simple. Less can be more. Decluttering. When things are kept simple, they're easy and when things are easy, they actually get done. If you make things too complicated, people just run the other way.
In conjunction with reducing the intake of inflammatory foods like alcohol, cured meats, cheap prepackaged sauces full of artificial food flavourings and other known allergens. The less processed the food, the better.
Following a natural diet high in one or more of these colours can help your bodies win the battle against poor health and disease.
WHITE = IMMUNE HEALTH
White fruits and vegetables are especially great for improving immune system health. If you or someone else is suffering from recurring infections, low white blood cell counts, thrush or are otherwise worried they might have developed a weakened immune system. Eat more white foods.
VEGETABLES: Cauliflower, mushrooms, potatoes, onions, parsnip
FRUITS: Pears, coconut, nuts like almonds and macadamia.
HERBS/SPICES: Chamomile, garlic
PROTEINS: Fish, Egg whites, yoghurt.
RED = BLOOD AND CIRCULATION
Cardiac conditions, blood cell damage, myocarditis, heart failure, strokes, irregular periods or easy bruising. Perhaps healing from trauma and suffered significant blood loss. If it is to do with blood or circulation, red is the colour to eat more of.
VEGETABLES: Beetroot, red potatoes, red onions, rhubarb, red cabbage, radishes.
FRUITS: Berries, tomatoes, red capsicums, apples, cranberries, watermelon
HERBS/SPICES: Chilis, cayenne, paprika,
PROTEINS: Beef, venison, kidney beans, lambs/chicken liver
GREEN = DETOXIFICATION
Having trouble with kidney or liver health? Toxic overload from exposure in your environment? Use green to clean it up. Great for liver or kidney related ailments. And for cleansing your body after toxic exposures from environmental toxins, such as any heavy metals.
VEGETABLES: Spinach, kale, silver beet, broccoli, watercress, peas, lettuce, cabbage, leeks, bok choy.
FRUITS: Green beans, apples, cucumbers, green grapes, avocado, limes.
HERBS/SPICES: Basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley, sage, oregano, spring onion, aloe.
YELLOW AND ORANGE = INFLAMMATION
Inflammation is both essential and unkind. We need it in small doses to heal, without it we won't. But too much of it and we can do more harm to ourselves than good. Excessive inflammation underpins many of our modern disease processes. From heart disease, to worsening of autoimmune conditions and even cancers. For almost every ailment, you can use yellow/orange foods to help fight a key part of the underlying disease process.
VEGETABLES: Carrots, pumpkin, corn, sweet potatoes.
FRUITS: Capsicums, oranges, mandarins, lemons, bananas, mango, apricots.
HERBS/SPICES: Turmeric, mustard, ginger, gorse flowers.
PURPLE/BLUE = NERVOUS SYSTEM AND MUCOUS
The nervous system and mucus production are quite closely related through the sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) response. Excessive mucus and fluids of the nose and lungs can be a hindrance and lead to persistent coughing. Blue/purple fruit and vegetables can help with coughs, runny noses and assist with other various nervous system stressors.
VEGETABLES: Purple cabbage, eggplant, sweet potatoes, yams, lettuce.
FRUITS: Blueberry, plum, grapes, black current, blackberries,
HERBS/SPICES: Fennel seed, anise, lavender.
BROWN = BALANCING MOOD AND HORMONES
Brown colours are great for both hormones and neurotransmitters. They are delicate but powerful too. These are great foods to eat more of if you need assistance with blood sugar regulation (in conjunction with a low sugar diet), anxiety/stress, depression, low testosterone levels and or irregular periods or menopause.
VEGETABLES: Mushrooms, yams, taro.
FRUITS: Various tree nuts (eat sparingly), Kiwifruit.
HERBS/SPICES: Cacao, coffee, cinnamon, nutmeg.
There are a lot of different diets and nutritional plans available. From vegetarian/vegan, ethnic based models like the Mediterranean diet, low carb, Paleo, microbiome based diets. Raw diets. Carb lover diets. Even elimination diets like FODMAP.
There is no one sized fits all model. But if there was, this colour method described above is probably the closest to it and the simplist to both understand and teach to others.
What a terrific post, thank you.
I just have to say, though, my eyes widened in disbelief to see you talking about STATINS as if they are something HELPFUL. And actually, almost ANY Pharma is a source of very serious concern to me. So I guess in a way your "marvelous misinformation" is that, a bit. Thanks for the actual good advice.