Overview
Modern medicine has come a long way, there’s no doubt about it. But our ancient ancestors had an in-depth understanding of how to use food and plants as medicine and this wisdom still holds true today.
Our conventional medical system heavily relies on prescription medication to silence, or “manage,” symptoms. I call this the “pill-for-ever-ill” model of medicine. This often turns into a lifelong dependence without ever getting to the root of the problem. If we instead look at where the imbalance is stemming from and use a variety of tools to treat it—like food, stress reduction, herbs, etc.—we can see profound improvements and, many times, a reversal of disease.
I was so happy to connect with Dr. Josh Axe to talk more about how ancient remedies can help us create the vibrant health we deserve and avoid lifelong health struggles.
To kick off our talk, Dr. Axe shares how his mother’s experience with breast cancer, and later tumors on her lungs, led him to find a deeper understanding of the impact that plants, diet, and lifestyle changes can have on our health. Twenty-six years after her initial diagnosis, his mother is thriving.
I always talk about the power of plant foods—Dr. Axe and I expand on that conversation with a deeper look at herbs and spices for healing chronic disease. He explains the Chinese medicine perspective of balancing chi and some chronic conditions that can occur due to this energetic imbalance. We discuss the Western approach to medication, common nutrient deficiencies caused by certain medications, and alternative or complementary therapies that can help us avoid a lifelong dependency on medications.
Dr. Axe and I also take a look at the importance of soil-based organisms for our health. It’s no secret that a diverse and thriving microbiome is key to vibrant health, but most people don’t realize what an essential role the good bugs in our soil play. This is another piece of ancient wisdom that Dr. Axe explains, along with some interesting research on their immune benefits and how we can get more of them into our bodies.
One of my favorite parts of our conversation is when Dr. Axe points out that nature has an intelligent way of showing us how to use food as medicine. Walnuts look just like the brain and contain important fats and other nutrients that support the brain, beets have that deep red hue and are beneficial for our red blood cells, and there are so many other fascinating examples. We talk about all this and so much more.
I know you’ll love this episode as much as I do.
