Healing foods: food first for disease prevention. (includes recipes)

Feeling sick? Feverish perhaps? How many times have you felt "low" for a few days or a week and then became ill and felt like you had been hit by a "ton of bricks" with something that keeps you home in bed?

We often get warning signs when a health problem is around the corner. Do you take care of yourself or try to prevent an illness when you see the early indications or are you among the millions of North Americans who wait until they are sick and then bombard themselves with aspirins, cold remedies, pain relievers and liniments?

Although an occasional cold or flu can be a healthy cleansing process for the body, generally, many common illnesses can be prevented, avoided or shortened by employing proper preventative measures.

One of the most natural and beneficial ways to keep healthy is to strengthen the immune system by eating nutritious, vitamin-rich foods. Many foods have powerful yet gentle healing properties and unlike medicines, they work with the body and have little or no side effects. Large and/or frequent amounts of improper foods would have to be consumed, over an extended period of time, for one to suffer ill effects.

We have the choice to eat our way to health or to illness. When under heavy stress or ill, avoid foods that agitate or put excessive pressure on the digestive tract because they are hard to digest. These include red meats, dairy products, lettuces, caffeinated foods, alcohol, refined sugars and white or wheat flours. Also, avoid vegetables from the nightshade family, such as tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and peppers as they are slightly toxic and stressful for a body on the verge of or already experiencing illness.…