STRIVE Program: Using Food as Medicine
Wellness means something different to every individual and lifestyle. Whether you are looking to lose weight, gain more energy, learn how to eat right for your body’s needs, or simply feel your very best – the STRIVE program is for you.
Food is commonly measured as calories but is so much more, it’s molecules of information. Molecules that can turn on and off our genes and regulate responses like inflammation. On the most basic level of diets, we also think of setting some ratio of protein, carbohydrates and fats. That doesn’t allow for the quality and type of food we are eating or more importantly who is eating the food. Food is a messenger for our body not a just a macronutrient. It carries messages that can be beneficial like those found in anti-inflammatory foods such as vegetables or cold-water fish. On the flip side many things we eat like sugar and processed grains offer pro-inflammatory messages that can lead to imbalances like resistant weight gain. That knowledge takes us beyond counting calories or measuring macronutrients-it looks at the root cause of how a body can get out of balance. As we peel back the layers of food, we also find there are many types of vitamins and minerals that help support virtually every metabolic pathway of all our body systems. Our bodies and our health are created by that formula of nutrients in our food. Digging even deeper we learn about Phytonutrients, which are the colorful pigments we find in plant foods. Their discovery and research are a new frontier of the healing power of food with over 10,000 cited in medical literature. What we eat is directly fueling our cells, our metabolism, our detoxification, our immune system and our overall health. That’s why diets don’t work since that take a superficial view of food that thinks all calories are equal and all bodies the same. They don’t account for bio individuality, the power of food and that fact that we become what we eat! With that in mind, STRIVE nutrition uses the science of food as medicine to craft a personalized plan to support your goals and bring your body into balance.
