Food as Medicine
The basis for optimum health begins in the kitchen. The incorporation of whole foods into your diet can make the world of difference for maintaining a well-functioning immune system, healthy organs and tissues, and provide you with a strong beginning for the practice of preventative health.
Your food choices directly provide your body with the tools it needs to remain healthy, despite the litany of chemicals and toxins that are now commonly present in our air, water, and food supply. However, when you’re first getting started, it’s not necessarily easy to know what foods are good for you, how to prepare meals from scratch, or which foods to avoid based upon any medications you may be taking or medical conditions you possess. So, in order to provide you with adequate knowledge and hands on workshops, check out the links below:
______________________________________________________
Nutritional Resources
Common Ground has an amazing collection of several important food and nutritional hubs onto one page that begins: “Once you start growing food in your backyard organically, you begin to wonder what all is being done to the food you buy. Here’s information on current issues with our food supply, as well as pointers to a better way.”
The American Institute for Cancer Research has a Health-e recipe of the week, and weekly diet and cancer newsupdates that you can subscribe to.
The Cancer Project also has weekly e-mail recipes and tons of healthy easy-to make recipes posted on their website.
Dr. Mercola’s website Take Control of Your Health is a comprehensive resource that truly excels when it comes to food, nutrition, and healthy options for the curious consumer. Here’s an exert: “Consumers are paying a high cost for substandard, cheap factory food. The following links are working on different areas but all have the same goal - to support sustainable agriculture. There are far too many groups to mention here (apologies to those we missed). Be sure to find local sustainable agricultural groups in your area as many of them hold extremely informative annual meetings where you can meet local farmers.”
Food Alliance “creates market incentives for socially and environmentally responsible agricultural practices and educates business leaders and other food system stakeholders on the benefits of sustainable agriculture. .. Farms, ranches and food processors that meet Food Alliance’s standards, as determined by a third-party site inspection, use Food Alliance certification to differentiate their products, strengthen their brands, and support credible claims for social and environmental responsibility.”
Nutritionmd is a great resource for both health professionals and consumers. It’s a free online meal planner and wealth of healthy recipes.
A new research study in the news Psychoneuroimmunology: Stress Reduction To Prevent Cancer Recurrence “Timeless principles for supporting learning, behavior and health, through optimum nutrition.”
New Seasons Market “We’re passionate about the community where we all live. That’s one of the reasons we give first preference to local growers, fishers, farmers and ranchers. It’s also why we’ve chosen to take a proactive role in everything from the health of our food supply and those who consume it, to the health of our environment and those who reside in it.”
Nourishing Our Children Yep. Plain and simple, too good to pass up.
Slow Food Portland “believes that pleasure and quality in everyday life can be achieved by slowing down, respecting the convivial traditions of the table, and celebrating the diversity of the earth’s bounty. Our goal is to put the carriers of this heritage on center stage and educate our members on the importance of these principles.”
Weston A. Price Foundation “Everything you wish to ever know about nutrient-dense foods: where to find them, how to eat them, and what these foods can do for you and your health.” Moreover, the Nourishing Our Children portion of this organization is a great starting point for children of all ages’ eating habits.
______________________________________________________
Luckily for Portland and much of the Northwest really, discovering where to purchase local and organic foods is an easier endeavor compared to the remainder of the US. Here are some resources to get you started, and enable you to fill your belly with wholesome goodness. Local avenues for food:
Ecotrust’s Foods and Farm Program “works to create a vibrant regional food system where sustainability is the underlying value of the mainstream food system — the norm rather than the exception.”
Fork it Over! helps locate and deliver foodstuff to those individuals and organizations in need of food in the Portlad Metro area. “Your surplus food can go in the garbage. Or it can help feed someone who needs it. Join hundreds of Portland-area restaurants, caterers and food service companies in fighting hunger and reducing waste through Metro’s Fork It Over! food donation program.”
Hood River’s Fruit Loop offers a seasonal and up-to-date listing of all the U-pick farms in the northwest! A valuable resource for family fun, educational experience, and sweet, sticky fingers!
Interfaith Food and Farms Partnerships is designed to “empower faith communities, farmer and neighborhoods to build rural-urban alliances and create innovative partnerships for just and sustainable food systems.”
New Season’s Market has a rather comprehensive websource for farmer’s markets. Or you can go directly to the Oregon’s Farmers Markets Association, which provides resources for the remainder of Oregon.
Oregon Sustainable Agriculture Land Trust (OSALT) “has an integrated, four-fold purpose: to protect rural and urban agricultural lands and keep them in agricultural production; to make those lands available for the use of future generations of growers; to conduct research on those lands into the sustainable production and distribution of agricultural bounty; and to provide education focused on living sustainably.”
People’s Co-op “is owned by the community and not by an individual, we can genuinely focus first on our customers and the services that we provide for them, not on the profit we make from them.”
Slow Food Portland “believes that pleasure and quality in everyday life can be achieved by slowing down, respecting the convivial traditions of the table, and celebrating the diversity of the earth’s bounty. Our goal is to put the carriers of this heritage on center stage and educate our members on the importance of these principles. “
Urban Edibles “is a cooperative network of wild food foragers. By creating awareness about what is available in our neighborhoods, we hope to re-establish the connection between people, environment and food.”
National avenues for food:
National Directory of Fruit Stands and Farmer’s Markets will help you find a farmer’s market near you! This resource is updated frequently with locations and seasonal information. If you don’t have a market in your neck of the woods, let them know; or if you do, and it’s not listed, again, let them know: be part of the change.
______________________________________________________
Admin’s Note: It is our aim at the Helfgott Blog to ensure that the practices and principles of the organizations listed above are benevolent and contain compassionate intentions. If at any time you believe that the organizations above do not uphold these values, please do not hesitate to let us know. We are an advocate for the patient first and foremost. If you are an organization that feels that your mission statements and ideals are in-line with those of the Helfgott Blog and would like to be considered as a reference on our Community Resource page, please let us know and we will review your cite. Thank you for your interest!