Garlic is a Girl's Bestfriend

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about garlic. Yes, garlic. I have a friend who is harvesting about 10 tons of it (so you can believe I'm getting my fill!). And yesterday we roasted some cloves, and as we feasted on those sensuous morsels we wondered why we didn't do it more often. So delicious. All this garlic has inspired me to share something I sent around a couple years back...

Recently I was reminded (yet again) of the amazing, healing potential that our food and diets hold. I attended a health conference hosted by the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (the school I attended), where I had the privilege of hearing lectures by some of the top doctors and nutrition experts in the world: Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Joel Furhman, Dr. David Katz, Deepak Chopra, Sally Fallon, and many more incredible guest speakers.

Each of the lectures shared a common thread: the potential food has for turning on and off gene expression; preventing, igniting, and even reversing chronic disease and cancer; and creating vibrant health and boundless energy.

Here are some of my favorite statistics from the conference that I'm excited to share with you:

Eating about 1 cup of mushrooms per day can reduce your risk of breast cancer by 64%!

1 onion a day reduces the risks of the following cancers: 56% reduction in colon cancer 73% reduction in ovarian cancer 71% reduction in prostate cancer 50% reduction in stomach cancer

Eating green veggies (kale, bok choy, broccoli, collard greens, etc) on a daily basis can cut your risk of cancer in half.

People who eat the most garlic (just 1 fresh clove a day) and onions (a close family member to garlic) have increased protection against at least five forms of cancer. Garlic is also a powerful antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal. Studies have even found it is effective at killing antibiotic-resistance bacteria, including MRSA, and for reducing fungal infections, such as yeast infections, and fighting viruses and parasites.

We all know that eating vegetables is good for us, but many of us still find it difficult to get in the recommended 5-10 servings per day. It's estimated that only 1.5% of the American population actually eats the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables. What's more, the average American consumes 62% of their calories from processed foods!

Clearly, we have a major nutrient shortage going on in our diets. So it's no wonder that it's by 2020, it's estimated half of our population will be suffering from a chronic disease.

But there is good news in all of those scary numbers. Ultimately, we are in control, and we have a choice: as Dr David Katz said this weekend:

"The fork is the master of your destiny."

Choose to eat more vegetables and fruits whenever and however you can. Reach for more, whole, real, "honest" foods and reduce processed, packaged foods. Make your grocery store your pharmacy.

To quote Dr Mark Hyman:

"What's at the tip of your fork is more powerful than what's at the bottom of your pill bottle." If you'd like some help in figuring out the "diet" that's best for your own individual make-up, just let me know! Together, we can come up with a plan that makes sense for your unique lifestyle and family.