The Power of Food: Simple Changes for Better Health (and weight)

Can food really be that powerful? 

In short: Yes. Many people think of nutrition and the value of food only in terms of calories: “You need X amount of calories to sustain life, X amount to be healthy.” And also, “If you want to lose weight, you need to expend more calories than you consume.” 

Yet, food is so much more than calories. 

A vibrant array of fruit-topped bagels decorated with colorful flowers and berries, artfully arranged on a bright orange background, surrounded by fresh slices of citrus and vibrant blossoms.

(Real) food contains a plethora of nutrients your body needs. Many of those, you only need in trace amounts, but you do need them. The human body consists of and evolved to require protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and lots of other nutrients from food. You did not evolve to require medication, and you do not get sick as a result of medication deficiency! 

Nutritional deficiencies cause or contribute to many illnesses. In cases where malnutrition or malabsorption are not the underlying cause of disease, food can still a) reduce the damage and b) help the body heal itself. 

I’m not saying there is no need for medication – far from it - but you may need less or none if you give the body what it needs for repair and maintenance. 

On the flip side, of course, the modern diet contains a lot of so-called ‘food’ that you do not need at all. Not only that, but the evidence that modern ultra-processed food causes harm is also mounting.  

Research links such foods (think convenience food, novelty foods, junk foods etc.) to many health problems. People who eat more of them are more likely to be obese and have diabetes and cardiovascular disease. One study found an association with cancer.  

So far, this research is based on observational studies, which can only confirm that two things occur together but not that one is causing the other. Experts do not yet know whether it is what’s in ultra-processed foods that causes harm or what they are lacking. Most likely, it is a bit of both. 

So, if you want to get (or stay) healthy, you need to think about what you eat as well as what you don’t eat. 

1. Eat real food 

That means meat, fish, seafood, eggs, dairy, nuts, seeds, pulses, vegetable, fruit, herbs, spices, whole grains and natural fats. It also means that you need to get cooking. If you prepare your own meals and snacks, you’ll know exactly what’s in it. Yes, it is still possible to create unhealthy food if you prepare your own, but you’d be hard-pressed to add ingredients that are as harmful as those the food industry puts in our food – with the possible exception of sugar. 

2. Avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates. Sugar has no nutritional value. It is not among the things you need to eat. 

You need protein, fat and carbohydrates but that does not mean that you need to eat starchy, carbohydrate-rich food – at least not in the quantities that most people do today. There are essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and essential fatty acids (the building blocks of fat) but there are no essential carbohydrates. The body can create those from protein and fat, but you will still get enough if you eat plenty of non-starchy vegetables.  

3. Eat natural fats

The body uses saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. All natural foods that contain fat consist of a combination of all of these. Every cell wall is built from those fatty acids. 

The human brain is 60% fat, and fat is the basis for many hormones and neurotransmitters. Fat as such is not the enemy, but what you don’t need are man-made oils that are chemically extracted, clarified and deodorised, then filled into transparent plastic bottles and stored under the bright light of supermarkets. Polyunsaturated fats, although ‘essential’ are highly sensitive to heat and light. The treatment they receive causes them to oxidise, which makes them so harmful. 

You also do not need artificially hardened (‘partially hydrogenated vegetable oils’) as they contain trans fats, a harmful form of fat also used in many ultra-processed foods. Unfortunately, these unhealthy fats that are still frequently advertised as 'heart-healthy' and 'good for you' are now known to be highly inflammatory.  

Healthy fats are butter and ghee, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil and cold-pressed sunflower, flaxseed, walnut and pumpkin seed oils. The latter should be stored in opaque glass bottles and away from light, some even in the fridge. 

4. Eat a wide variety of real foods

Consuming as many different foods as possible has lots of advantages. The obvious one is that your diet won’t be boring. The more different foods you eat, the more likely you will get all the nutrients you need. 

Plant foods of different colours contain different kinds of phytonutrients – plant nutrients that have beneficial properties. So, make sure to include all the colours of the rainbow in your diet. 

Your gut, too, will thank you for a wide variety of foods. There is a lot still to discover about the microbiota, the community of microbes living in our digestive tract. The one thing we already know is that the more varied the microbiota, the healthier the human. Different microbes like different foods. The more varied your diet, the more different microbes you are nurturing. 

So why am I telling you all of this?

Almost every client who seeks support is looking for help with one or two specific concerns. However, as we work together, many clients notice improvements in other areas they hadn’t even considered, such as better sleep, reduced joint discomfort, improved energy levels, and clearer skin.

For example, one client initially sought support for weight loss but experienced dramatic improvement in their sleep quality within just a few weeks—something they had struggled with for over a decade. This is the power of healthy eating and holistic lifestyle support; when the body receives the right nutrients, it works toward balance and overall well-being.

Unlike medications that target individual symptoms, whole foods nourish the body on multiple levels. Nutrients get to work wherever they are needed, leading to positive ripple effects across many aspects of health.

I believe that real, healthy food and a healthy lifestyle is the key to unlimited living, it can change your life! And remember if you want to get (or stay) healthy, you need to think about what you eat as well as what you don’t eat. 

Wellness Wishes

Lorraine