An Apple A Day

Recently there was a story in the news about a young woman, pregnant with her first child, who went to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for an antibiotic. She went home, took the medicine, and soon began to feel nauseous and sick. After taking a second look at the medicine, she realized that it was not her prescription. Instead it was the morning after pill, a drug with serious consequences for someone who is pregnant. She's currently in a wait-and-see mode before she'll know if this medicine will cause birth defects, or even death, to her unborn child.

This story started me to thinking. You know, in many ways food is like a drug. Ever heard the old saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."  Just like medicine has the power to strengthen and heal our bodies, so does food. But only if it is the right drug, and only if it is the right food. What, you may wonder, is the "right food"? As I say to my girls, that would be anything that grows from the ground (non-poisonous, of course) that produces a fruit with a seed to reproduce itself. This covers just about every fruit and vegetable, and whole grains. These foods are filled with antioxidants that fight cancer, vitamin C to fight those nasty winter colds, vitamin D to build strong bones and teeth, and so much more. They are best, and most flavorful, when eaten in their most natural state, a great reason for adding the freshest, most recently harvested foods to our daily diet.

Tomorrow...how the wrong foods can be addictive, and /or potentially dangerous to your health.