GARDEN ROUTE DISTRICT NEWS - I recall sitting next to my mother’s bed.
She was suffering from cancer and on such strong pain medication, she could no longer recognise me.
I had just turned 60 and my mom was in her 80s.
"Is this my future?" I asked. “Does growing old mean I will be sick and feeble and in pain?” It was a scary moment, in which I faced my mortality and possible morbidity. I have a relationship with my Creator, so I asked God where disease came from.
I then discovered that the food we eat matters very much and began to learn which foods put stress on the brain and body and which release energy and intelligence.
I studied through a health consultant, Mary-Ann Shearer, here in South Africa and Dr Colin Campbell, a nutrition researcher at Cornel University in the United States.
His book, The China Study, is jaw dropping, with scientific truth and graphs, while it reads like a narrative.
The chapters include: Turning off cancer; How to eat and big medicine: Whose health are they protecting?
This book has given me hope based on scientific fact, that we do not need to associate growing older with "dis-ease".
Through Dr Caroline Leaf, a cognitive brain scientist, I learnt that the way we think about ourselves impacts every cell in our bodies.
Negative thoughts, such as, “I am not good enough” or “I am too fat”, release destructive chemicals to my cells.
Proverbs 23:7 is the truth: “As a man/woman thinks in his/her heart, so is he/she.”
Love ourselves and others
No wonder we are all called to love ourselves and others. The mind-body connection is so strong that our bodies harbour offence.
Did you know that the spiritual root of high cholesterol is anger at yourself? Reject an angry thought and choose to forgive, then your heart will secrete a chemical called atrial naturetic factor to calm your body down.
What about breast cancer? The origin of malignant cells in the breast is often strife with another woman. The science of epi-genetics reveals that our genes are responsive to language - what we say and think of ourselves.
Unresolved childhood trauma may leave us with self hatred and because the body keeps the record, we become more susceptible to disease.
And so our childhood biography becomes adult biology. I have actively sought assistance for inner healing and have been able to forgive and uproot unkind past experiences and now honour my body, which has carried me for more than 70 years.
My hope of a healthy, long life is based on three choices: to nourish my body with natural foods, keep myself fit and to think well of myself. - June McGahey, natural food and lifestyle consultant, https://healthathand.co.za/
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