When you’re washing, peeling, and chopping vegetables, do you feel like a hero?
When you drive past that fast food restaurant, despite the protests from the backseat, toward home and leftovers in the fridge, do you feel like Wonder Woman?
Neither do I. But maybe we should.
You’ve heard it said that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. But…
- What if the hand that rocks her knife on a cutting board saves our nation from diabesity?
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Is it possible that the hand that writes the meal plans for our families will rescue the next generation from metabolic disease?
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Could the hand that pays for real food reverse our nation’s healthcare crisis?
We feel so helpless in the face of skyrocketing healthcare costs and an increasingly diseased nation. What can we really do about these problems that threaten our health, our children’s future, and even the defense of our nation?
We could focus on medicine – that is healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and insurance companies. Or we can spend our efforts on something we actually have control over. We can see food as medicine. And we can spend more time in our kitchen.
Food marketing has convinced us that cooking is a menial task and not worthy of our time. We have believed that we are better off spending our time earning more money and outsource these “mundane” tasks.
But what if cooking is valuable? What if it is literally vital to our families’ lives and wellbeing? What if the simple act of cooking real food can make the difference between our children living lives of struggle and sickness or living vibrant, healthful lives? Is that possible? Is it an exaggeration?
More and more, doctors and other experts are agreeing that food is information for our bodies. We know that food can turn gene expression on and off, that it can heal most of our metabolic diseases, and that it can prevent disease.
“We all know food can harm – that drinking soda and eating junk food is bad for us. But how many of us believe food can heal? How many of us believe that food can cure depression, diabetes, arthritis, autoimmune disease, headaches, fatigue, and insomnia? That it can prevent and reverse dementia and heart disease or a hundred other common diseases and symptoms?
This is the biggest scientific discovery since the germ theory of disease in the mid-1800s and the development of antibiotics in the 1920s: Food is medicine.”
How Does this Make You a Hero?
Merriam Webster defines a hero as:
” a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character”
A mom who sacrifices earning potential, TV time, time on Facebook, or even time relaxing in order to cook a meal for her family is a hero. You know the kind of courage it takes to ignore the pleas for chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese yet again. It takes nobility of character to plan, shop for, and prepare for a meal when the drive-thru or that frozen bag is so cheap, easy, and tasty. It is a courageous act to prioritize cooking over the myriad other things we might think are more fun, more lucrative, or just plain easier.
So, give yourself some credit the next time you’re preparing real food for your family. Imagine that cape on your shoulders and stand a little taller, knowing you are doing something worthy of your time.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
Given the state of our nation’s health, parents like you may be the heroes that rescue us from our health crisis.
How are you a kitchen hero today? Leave a comment and let me know!
There needs to be a revolution and we as a nation, made up of individuals, need to start seeing the problem of poisoning ourselves by degrees. Choosing food and preparing meals is so much more than supplying calories. It is a conversation with our communities, families and neighbors held trough an exchange of actions and observations.
Well said, Dr. Archer! Want to write a guest post??
I thank you for this article. Food allergies in my family has forced us to eat at home 95% of the time. It has created a family of mostly healthy eating habits. For that I am thankful!
Thank you for reading, Julie! It’s lovely to see your positive attitude in the challenges that food allergies bring. You are that hero in the kitchen!