Defend Yourself!

by guest blogger Jody Perrecone

We use a variety of gear to prevent injury. A motorcyclist wears glasses and a helmet to protect their eyes and head. Construction workers wear steel-toe shoes and hard hats. Potholders are used in the kitchen to grab something hot. What is needed within our bodies to protect us from disease?

Plants.  Yes, that’s correct.  Amazingly, nature has built into plants the ability for them to produce compounds for them to fight disease.  When we eat the plants – vegetables and fruits – the same plant compounds fight disease in us.

It is a natural process. As our body metabolizes oxygen, some cells will become altered and become free radicals.  When this occurs, the free radicals cause a damaging chain reaction to our DNA, resulting in loss of the DNA’s function of giving instructions to cells of what to do.  Smoking will accelerate this process. The result of this cell damage is many diseases including heart disease, stroke, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, COPD, diabetes, and premature aging.

The antioxidants found in vegetables and fruits will fight to neutralize the free radicals.  Nature’s antioxidant warriors make a perfect combination of lycopene, beta-carotene, vitamins A, C, and E, minerals zinc and selenium, and a host of phyochemicals to win the battle. A vitamin pill will not have the same antioxidant properties. You can have the best defense system by eating a variety of fruits and vegetables daily. 

Jody Perrecone is a corporate manager for the Coronary Health Improvement Project (CHIP). CHIP is an international wellness program focusing on lifestyle interventions to create a healthier workforce and reduce overall healthcare costs. Jody works with hospitals, corporations, and communities to offer CHIP programs throughout the U.S.

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by Dustin Rudolph, PharmD
Clinical Pharmacist

Check out Dustin Rudolph's book The Empty Medicine Cabinet to start your journey towards better health. This step-by-step guide leads you through many of today's common chronic diseases (heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, and more), giving you the facts on foods versus medications in treating these medical conditions. The book also contains an easy-to-follow guide on how to adopt a whole foods, plant-based diet as a part of an overall lifestyle change, producing the best possible health outcomes for you and your family. Hurry and get your copy today!

We'd love for you to join us in spreading the good word about plant-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine by telling your family and friends about our website at www.PlantBasedPharmacist.com. 

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