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Natural Awakenings Lehigh Valley

Welcome to Our March Issue

Reid Boyer

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” – Hippocrates

This profound quote is more than 2,300 years old, yet it has never been as relevant as in today’s American culture. Countless books on weight loss are sold each year, but it seems few people fully understand the impact that their diet has on health. According to Michael Greger, M.D., at NutritionFacts. org, the standard American diet—that is, the typical diet of the majority of Americans—is high in meat, dairy, fat and sugar, as well as refined, processed and junk foods. The shift in Western cuisine to include more animal-sourced foods and more sugar and corn syrup occurred quickly after World War II.

Is it any wonder that food sensitivities, along with a number of diet-related chronic disease are on the rise? Fortunately, a growing number of national health experts such as Dr. Joseph Mercola (page 30) and an increasing number of local doctors, naturopaths, holistic nutritional counselors, health food stores and farmers see beyond the slick marketing campaigns of big food processors and are engaged in leading us back toward naturally produced, local whole foods. We also include some ways to address food intolerance with a self-questionnaire for readers to evaluate their own susceptibility to food sensitivities.

We all agree that eating naturally grown, fresh, local food is good for our health and our environment and the local economy. We’re glad to see the strong renewed interest in local produce and more specifically, organic and sustainable agriculture in the Lehigh Valley. People are waking up to the vital relationship between the natural integrity of our food to health and the risks we take when ingesting the pervasive pesticides and herbicides used in conventional agriculture. Nationally, the movement toward more natural farming and organic gardens is taking off as authors, bloggers, journalists and even You Tube videos have begun to push a good food revival. The options are getting better every day.

In our March Community Spotlight, we profile Alexandra Milspaw, a nationally recognized counselor using a compassionate holistic approach to help clients suffering from sexual trauma move forward with their lives. The expansion of her work gives hope to so many women and men whose lives have been affected by past events being manifested in the present. We are fortunate to have this important resource in our community.