“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” goes the famous quote by Hippocrates. This message, though thousands of years old, acknowledges the importance of eating healthily and how certain food choices can positively affect your physical and mental health. The foods that derive from nature and the earth contain certain vitamins and nutrients with powerful healing properties. Making sure you include an abundance of such foods in your diet, alongside a healthy lifestyle and stress-reduction measures, is vital for maintaining good health and disease prevention. 

Over the years, the search for the optimal diet continues as health-minded individuals uncover the impact healthy eating has on long-term good health and longevity. However, each of us is unique and this also must be taken into account when we measure the impact certain diets have on our cells and bodies. 

So, how can you mindfully assess your diet to ensure you benefit most from the foods you eat? Take a look at our top 3 tips…

1. Observe your energy levels

The impact certain foods have on our bodies can sometimes be measured on whether you feel your energy increase or decrease. Digestion, in itself, requires a fair amount of energy to process the foods you eat, but if you find yourself exhausted not long after eating, it could be a sign that you’re not eating enough, your body isn’t receiving the nutrients it requires, or that there are too many toxins in the food you’re eating and therefore your body requires more energy to process these.

If we live closer to and give more respect to nature, eat more raw, fresh items from the plant kingdom in all its many forms – the myriad of organic vegetables, especially leafy greens and fruits, nuts, seeds and pulses, our cells and tissues will reap the rewards from receiving high levels of various nutrients and importantly, the life-force from the plants. It’s very important to eat organic as much as possible, as this will mean a huge reduction in cellular toxicity, which plays a huge part in dis-ease development and progression. Therefore, it makes sense that people often notice an increase in energy following a plant-based diet.

2. Hydration is key

Each of us are made up of 60-83% water, depending on which part of the body you observe. Without keeping hydrated, your organs and mucus membranes won’t function at their best, and with the entire digestive system lined with mucus, it makes sense as to why we must ensure our hydration levels are good for this system to continue working optimally.

With food in mind, it’s important to recognise that certain diets may mean you require more water intake than others to maintain hydration levels. If your diet is already very high in fruits or high water content vegetables, you will be welcoming high levels of hydration into your body. However, if you feel thirsty or notice signs of dehydration, consider the water content in the foods you’re eating and adjust your water intake accordingly.

3. Tune into your hunger

Hunger levels can fluctuate depending on the diet you choose to follow. If you find yourself more hungry than normal when eating a certain diet, this could be an indicator that you’re not receiving enough nutrients from the foods you are consuming. Therefore, it’s a good idea to review what nutrients and food groups are lacking in your diet and intuitively take it from there. For example, those following a plant-based diet often find they have suboptimal levels of B12, so it would be a good idea to supplement with vitamins or research into alternative foods, still in line with your diet, that contain high levels of a specific nutrient.

There is so much diet information out there and it can be overwhelming to find the right path for you in this moment. By tuning into your body and observing these 3 tips to asses your diet, you can gain a wealth of information as to how your body is responding to dietary changes and what can be done to improve it even further.

Healthy eating is vital for all life forms! Make sure your choices are supporting you in the best way possible and encouraging you to thrive.

At Together Against Cancer, we often welcome guest speakers to the Wellness Centre to support your healing journey. From emotional support to nutritional guidance, keep an eye on our events page for an updated schedule of workshops over the coming months: https://www.togetheragainstcancer.org.uk/events/

We hope to see you soon!