As a student nurse, I developed an aversion to the subject of nutrition. It all seemed so unnecessary. I knew we needed to eat a balanced diet of proteins, vegetables, fruit and dairy. So what more was there to know?
When I was diagnosed with cancer, I determined to do everything possible to fight this disease. I read any book I could find that would suggest ways to improve my chances of recovery. Yet whenever I came to a chapter telling me what I should or shouldn't eat, I skimmed past it, and continued to read the "important parts" of the book. Then I came to the end of my chemotherapy. Suddenly I felt panic.
I wasn't doing anything to fight the disease any more. What could I do that didn't involve doctors, to restore my body to good health and help it to fight against a possible recurrence? I decided to visit a nutritionist, mainly to see if she had anything to teach me.
Oh my, did she have things to teach me?
I discovered the healthy menu I ate and served to my family every day was well short of vegetables and fruit. Especially fruit. Here I lived in the Fruit Kingdom of South Africa, yet if I ate one piece of fruit a day it was a lot.
Following my visit to the nutritionist, I went straight to the shops and bought myself a juicer. My energy levels started to return. My passion for life was re-fired. My health was restored.
This started a habit that continues to this day, twelve years later. My husband and I have a glass of freshly juiced vegetables and fruit every morning before breakfast.
However, I'm a slow learner. Recently I started to experiment with new combinations of fruit and veggies. I began to find out more about the vast array of different chemicals and nutrients God has provided for us through natural foods available to us every day.
I thought, over the next few weeks, we could take a look at some of these together. So starting with my next post, which will be on Friday, God willing, we'll take a look at the strange looking root we know as ginger.
Until recently, I thought ginger was something you bought ground in a spice bottle. Want to know more? Join me on Friday.
Oh, and if you're interested in trying out some of my new juice recipes, take a look at Juicing for Health.
