What Does 'Good For Me' Mean?

What Does ‘Good For Me’ Mean?

What does ‘healthy’mean?  What does ‘good for me’mean?

We’ve all heard it:Fish oil is good for us, antioxidants are good for us, coconut oil, red wine,coffee, coconut water, raw foods, juicing, acai…the list goes on. 

How do we know whatthis ‘good for us’ message means?

Dr. Priscilla Monroe, NaturopathicDoctor, agrees:

Frequently patients come in to me with bags full ofsupplements and I will ask them what they’re taking and why.  They tell me that they’re taking itbecause they heard on the news it was good for them.  When I ask them how much they’re taking, they say“one.”   I look at the bottleand it says that 3 a day is the dose. So they’re not even taking therapeutic doses of these ‘good for you’supplements, and is this supplement even really good for them? 

This is not ‘One Size Fits All!’

What I want to get into is a conversation of what’sjournalistic exploitation and how they’re always saying that something is goodfor everybody or something is bad for everybody.  That isn’t the truth. 

“The truth isthat there is nothing that is all good or all bad.  There are things that are good for some people, and not goodfor some people, and vice versa.  We need to get away from thismisconception about things being ‘all good’ or ‘all bad.’”

I am a strong proponent for D’Adamo’s work, the Eat Rightfor Your Type blood diet.  (http://www.dadamo.com/) When you hear peoplesaying “Meat is bad for us,” there’s several ways to look at it.  The more we go for organic meatproducts, the healthier it is. There are some of us that meat is actually our medicine.  And yes, there are people that don’t dowell with meat.  There are bloodtypes that weren’t designed to eat a lot of meat.  So to me, if we can get into a moderate perspective and findwhat’s good for us on an individual basis rather than what the journalisticpropaganda says, that’s where I would like to seek a balance and see us movetowards.  We’ll talk more aboutD’Adamo and his work on blood types in a later blog. 

For example, let’s look at potatoes.  Are potatoes bad for us?  That’s only part of the question.  If you weren’t eating the potato, whatelse would you be eating?  Potatoeshave their pros and cons, but if instead of eating potatoes, you were eatingcandy bars, then a potato is better even though it might not be the best.  It’s not all good or all bad, there’sthis continuum of healthy or unhealthy, good for us and not good. 

I’m not going to tell you what’s good for you.  I can’t.  It’s an individualized thing.    

That’s what is wrong with journalism and shows like Dr. Ozwith all-encompassing health advice. It’s not a one-size-fits all.   

This age of technologyis great, but it isn’t without its problems.  When you go online and you find symptoms that match a condition,many symptoms fit many conditions. You’re an individual.  It's really best to consult a medical professional whose philosophy aligns with yours.  How is this condition, this vitamin, this food going to affect youpersonally? 

I just found this great video that talks about Peter D'Adamo's work and a study done that correlates blood type with heart disease.  It raises the same types of questions we are raising here: How can one size fit all?  Click here to check out the short 3.5 minute video.

I also found several books online while doing research.  While I haven’t read any of them anddon’t recommend things I haven’t read, I would be interested to hear from thosewho have, drop me a line: drmomnaturopath(at)gmail.com. Most books appear to be a reminder on being skeptical about the latest hypeon health because it is often just that--hype.  Amazon says of one such book, “It happens every day: we pick up anewspaper or magazine or turn on the television and are bombarded with urgentadvice about how to stay healthy. Lose weight! Lower your cholesterol! Earlydetection saves lives! Sunscreen prevents cancer! But in many cases,pronouncements we rarely think to question turn out to be half-truths that arebeing pushed by various individuals or groups to advance their own agendas. The Healthy Skeptic explores who these health promoters are--fromjournalists and celebrities to industry-funded groups and consumeractivists--what their motives are, and how they are spinning us in ways weoften don't realize.”  Something to consider.

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If you live in Sacramento and are interested in a customizedhealth plan that’s right for you, including the ‘what’s good for you’specifically, please call or e-mail Dr. Mom!

I’m happy to answer any questions and am scheduling newpatients.  Please contact me formore information or go to my website: www.drpriscillamonroe.comto see if a Naturopathic Doctor is right for you.

Dr. Priscilla Monroe,RN, ND.

Sacramento, CA

916-448-9927

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Next week we’ll betalking about the ever-popular organic “dirty” and “clean” foods list, and whyyou might want to reconsider your grocery list.  Stay tuned and thanks for reading!

Be healthy,

Briana