It's What We Eat!

Last week I shared a couple of great success stories that highlighted their commitment and vision. This week I’d like to give you another success story, but from the food side of things.

I’ve a client who’s a Black Belt student from years ago, who also used to be an aerobics instructor. This is someone with a lifestyle of working hard to keep fit. But exercise is only part of the equation.

In recent years, she’d developed an iron deficiency. Apparently, she was borderline anemic and her hemoglobin count got as low as nine (it should be 18). The irony (no pun intended) was that the medicine was worse than the disease. She felt run down all the time, to the point where even breathing was difficult. If things didn’t improve, she was going to have to go back on the medicine—with all the side effects that go with it.

One of the things I’ve noticed over the years is that certain foods help certain conditions. In fact, if you have an amazingly healthy diet, many problems often start taking care of themselves. It’s one of God’s ways of helping take care of us. The problem is that most of us don’t take advantage of it.

For example, did you know that cherries have an amazing ability to help with inflammation? As a result, cherry extract can sometimes make a difference in patients with arthritis or gout.

So, we did an internet search and googled foods & iron. My thinking was that if she focused on eating foods that were rich in iron at every meal, maybe she’d be able to build up enough iron naturally. Then she might not have to take the pills.

She also started taking a liquid multivitamin each day. Liquids are absorbed by the body up to 98% while pills only get absorbed at around 10-20% (Physician’s Desk Reference). Again, the goal was to get more iron in her body naturally—in the way God intended.

It took 2 weeks before she really felt a difference, but she started feeling better. She got her energy back, and was able to start exercising again. She also was able to avoid taking the medicine because her hemoglobin went back up to sixteen, and her doctor said she was doing so well she didn’t have to come back for a year! A couple months later, she’s still improving.

Now, I’m not against doctors. I’m a life-long asthmatic and take several medicines daily—if I don’t, I’m in the hospital. But sometimes, medicine isn’t the only answer. Sometimes, the foods we eat hurt us. And sometimes, the foods we eat can help us. In her case, it’s helping. Lots.

How could you feel, if you just got off the junk and started eating better? If you drank a bunch more water and ate all your fruits and greens? I’m always looking for more success stories! How about you?