Food is the foundation of our health. We are constantly rebuilding ourselves with it. Food becomes what we are.
As every one of your trillions of cells break down and rebuild themselves — which they constantly do — what would you prefer they be made of? What do you want to become?
These are not necessarily thoughts that come to mind every time the lunch whistle blows, but failing to ponder these questions at all has led the American public to an unnecessary health crisis.
The fact that you’re at my website is probably a good indicator that you’re the pondering type. And in that case, I’m glad you’re here.
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First Things First:
A basic understanding of general nutrition is critical for all of us. I’m not talking about the fads of the day, but real, solid nutrition that’s backed by science, and maybe more importantly — has stood the test of time for thousands of years. Real, solid nutrition — the kind that’s not geared toward increasing the profitability of any one entity – other than the entities that are you and me — the human body. This is the core principle of my nutrition/recipe blog to which I’ve dedicated a great deal of time over the past six years. I continue to stay active with it, posting new information and recipes regularly. In this way, I share as much free, general nutrition information as I can, as well as hundreds of real food recipes to enable everyone to put real nutrition principles into practical use. I encourage all who are interested to explore my website as one means to support their own basic understanding of nutrition.
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Beyond General Nutrition:
While general nutrition is important, and a basic starting point for anyone interested in optimizing their health, it’s important to keep in mind, when getting down to the nitty-gritty of regaining balance, general rules become less and less significant while we need to learn more about the unique needs of the individual.
Cliche or not – this is where the idea of snowflakes and fingerprints come in. No two bodies function exactly alike. The differences can be so great, that a single food or nutrient can have exact opposite effects on a body depending on the individual at hand. In other words, the same food or nutrient that brings support and efficiency to one person’s metabolism (for instance) can actually cause someone else’s to falter.
So, what foods and nutrients are best for me?
It is dependent in part on your genetic/ancestral make-up, in part on your environment, and in part on the present condition of your body. It is my hope to become a partner with you to help you gain important information about yourself, ultimately enabling you to live life to your fullest, most vibrant potential.
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The Allopathic Model:
In allopathic (conventional) medicine, the formula is usually – Client has ABC symptom so they are given XYZ drug. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it makes things worse by creating new problems. Even when a symptom is effectively eliminated by this approach, it doesn’t mean the actual problem went away. As an analogy, what would you think if a you saw firefighters run into a burning building, turn off the fire alarm, then run out without actually putting out the fire? Seems silly, but this is often how conventional medicine works.
Symptoms are messages from the body indicating that something needs attention….something has gone wrong and needs correcting. While symptoms can be uncomfortable to deal with at times, why would we want to squash and ignore something as important as a message from our own body? That’s what a symptom is – a little white flag waving for help. If I’ve twisted an ankle and can’t walk on it because it hurts, wouldn’t it make sense that the pain is there for a reason – to advise me NOT to walk on it while the body is in the mending process. When the pain goes away, I could interpret that as my body telling me the healing is complete. If instead, I take Ibuprofen and walk on it anyway, might that not interfere with the healing efforts of my body? Same thing with something like a fever. The reason one’s temperature sometimes rises when they’re sick is because heat kills many types of bacteria. Unless we’re talking about unsafe temperatures such as above 104, why would we want to prevent the body from doing its job? The fever isn’t the illness. The fever is the remedy. Why interfere with something as intelligent as that?
Even within the alternative health care world, an allopathic approach is sometimes used – Client has ABC symptom so they are given XYZ nutrient – the difference being that it’s a nutrient this time instead of a drug. Once again, sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it makes things worse. Why? Because what works for one doesn’t always work for the other. It might work some of the time, but never always. It would be nice if there were one-size-fits-all remedies, but the human body is simply not a carbon copy from one person to the next. Each of us is truly unique.
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In a Nutshell…
Wellness boils down to two, important, multifaceted steps:
1. Identifying and eliminating as much as possible the various stressors responsible for blocking the body’s innate ability to thrive. It’s important to note that stressors come in three forms – Physical, Chemical, and Mental/Emotional.
2. Supporting the body with foods, nutrients, environments, and living styles that work with the body – filling us with energy and vibrancy.
These two steps are the focal points of my practice.
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Please keep in mind, while looking at current symptoms and history gives important clues on where to begin, I do not diagnose or treat conditions. I simply do everything I can to help direct your body into better balance in an effort to allow the innate brilliance and healing ability of the human body to shine.
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Kim Burke
