It's your choice

Every moment of every day is an opportunity to change your mind about something. One of the most important decisions you can make is about what you put into your body, as this will have huge repercussions on your health. By making wise choices, the long-term benefit of buying more expensive, select ingredients now will be medical savings in later life.

There is no shortage of advice on the web, and from friends and family on what is good or bad, but all overlook one vital point – one size does not fit all; every body is different.

When I was in my 30s, I was told by two different physicians that my body was at a stage of deterioration of someone 20 years older and that I displayed typical symptoms of hypothyroidism, but no one actually diagnosed it. After years of painful joints, irritable bowel syndrome and extreme tiredness, I consulted a nutritionist who, with the help of some incredible tools, confirmed that years of yo-yo dieting had resulted in an underactive thyroid which wrecked my metabolism and promoted insulin resistance.

She set up an eating regimen which eliminated sugar, wheat and dairy. Sugar means carbohydrates, not the white stuff you sprinkle on cereal. I can eat eggs, chicken, meat, vegetables, nuts, seeds and berries. The results were amazing: within 2 weeks I was pain-free and energized. I lost 15kg over the next few months. I could climb trees, over walls, run short distances and even went horse riding in the Drakensberg. Admittedly that crocked me for a few days, but nevertheless I did it. I was now twenty years younger than my age!

But there are still many pitfalls even on a limited diet. A friend gave me a  raw foods ‘cookbook’, which I read from cover to cover and decided that green juicing was just the thing. For a month I shopped, chopped, juiced and filled my body with a supercharge of vitamins. What was never mentioned in the book was that raw cruciferous vegetables (kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and spinach) are the last thing you must eat if you have an underactive thyroid. They must be cooked. The result was that I completely shut down my thyroid function and I am still recovering from that. Years of eating coleslaw didn’t help either.

There is also a group of vegetables called nightshades which ferment inside me and create nothing but acidity which is what disease thrives on. An alkaline body is required for optimum health. The nightshades are: potatoes, tomatoes, aubergines and red peppers. Can you imagine how many of those I have eaten in my life? I have proved that these three food groups are a disaster for me, and I know that when I deviate the pains and tiredness return. It’s hard to swim against the stream, but the choice is mine and I have to take that direction.

There is a growing call to eliminate sugar, wheat and dairy from our diets as our intolerance for these ingredients becomes evident. But our culture and especially big business is so invested in these products that anyone who promotes this point of view is labeled a crank, weirdo or even worse, a conspiracy theorist! Now there’s nothing I like more than a conspiracy theory. It makes you think and question what we have been taught. Imagine if no one ate sugar, wheat and dairy anymore! There would be no high tea at the Mount Nelson, no Charly’s Bakery, no bun for your burger. Pizza would be a thing of the past. Celebrity chefs would be scrambling to rewrite their recipe books; we wouldn’t have cappuccino and cheesecake with the girls; no hot chocolate on a cold winter’s night.

You can see how difficult it’s going to be to change the world, can’t you?

What would be the result if everyone gave up these foods? Improved health, less need for medication, weight loss, increased energy, lack of pain.

You only have one body for this life. You can make it a prison or a temple. The choice is yours.