Vibrant health is the most valuable asset that any of us can have. Like anything that is valuable, we must work at it to make it happen. Optimal health requires nurturing and cultivating on a daily basis, with loving care and attention-just like a garden.

This past winter, I had the opportunity to sign up for a plot at my local community garden in Saco. Even though I am an integrative nutrition practitioner, I have never had my own garden, or at least one that actually flourished. So, for $25, I committed to giving it a try.

As spring approached, I had given very little thought to my weed- filled garden plot and how I would prepare the soil for future planting, until I ran into my friend, Nan. Nan had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and was reaching out to me for nutritional support and information.

We talked about the importance of eating a nutrient- rich, organic diet in order to get her body and immune system stronger as she began her cancer treatments. Nan knew how important this was. She wanted to do everything she could beyond what her doctors offered in order to remain stronger and more resilient during and after her treatments.

Together we went to the store and shopped for the most potent,anti-cancer foods we could find. We went home and made her first anti-cancer super green smoothie. This would serve as her daily morning medicine which she will embrace for a lifetime.

Nutritional scientists have repeatedly demonstrated the importance of eating more natural, plant- based foods while eliminating toxic, chemicalized processed foods to fight cancer and disease. As a cancer survivor myself, I have adopted an anti-cancer diet, utilizing the most potent, protective foods known for their cancer- healing properties. I have seen many cancer patients embrace nutritional medicine while” fighting the fight”. It is amazing how much better they tolerate their treatments while experiencing less of the toxic side effects.

Nan also began to integrate more daily greens and salads into her diet, aiming for at least eight to ten servings a day while including healthy fats and organic protein sources in each meal. Although she was already eating a healthy diet, it was time to bring in the “big guns.” We turned her focus to the most powerful superfoods on the planet known for their healing, anti-cancer effects. Some of these foods are cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower,kale, cabbage and brussel sprouts, organic berries, garlic and onions, mushrooms, green tea, parsely, cilantro and tumeric. Mother nature has laced these foods and many others with naturally occurring tumor growth inhibitors and destroyers that will boost your body’s natural defense system and kill off cancer in a way modern medicine could never even begin to imitate. This is were the “war on cancer” needs to begin.

As we created Nan’s new eating plan, I told her about my garden plot down the road. Nan, an avid gardener, quickly offered to help me get it going. So began our healing garden.
As the weather began to get warm and the soil thawed from the recent Maine winter, we started to plan our garden. We turned the soil and added in organic fertilizer and compost so the seeds we planted would grow and flourish into healthy, strong plants and vegetables.

There are so many benefits to having a garden that go beyond the vegetables that grow. Gardening requires your daily attention and gets you outdoors. You are forced to be closer to nature-bugs, dirt and all. This is something many of us don’t get enough of. It is physical work but productive and rewarding at the same time. There aren’t many activities that can offer so many health enhancing benefits.

I am amazed at how quickly my little plot transformed from a weed infested, frozen piece of ground to a bountiful garden filled with the most nutritious, whole real food anyone could imagine. There is nothing that compares to the taste of freshly picked peas, beans, lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes.

These are the disease destroying foods that we all need to embrace and nourish our bodies with. Whether you go to your local farmers market, raise your own garden or go to the local farm stand, this is where the healing begins.

The” food- like substances” that line the majority of our grocery store shelves are slowly killing us, making us sicker and more depressed than ever. We weren’t made to eat and absorb the many chemicals, sweeteners and toxins that food companies sneak into our food supplies. This is where the problem begins.
Our bodies are like a garden. In our bodies, we must create a “healthy soil” or inner terrain where pests and weeds can’t flourish and disease can’t take hold. We can poison, radiate and remove the dreaded weeds and insects, but they will come back if we don’t cultivate that healthier soil. If we don’t treat the internal environment within our bodies that allowed cancer and disease to grow in the first place, how can we expect a different outcome?

So where do you begin? We can begin to fertilize the soil of our biological terrain with the nutrient- rich, whole foods nature intented for us to eat. Ditch the processed,factory-made, sugar- laden, chemicalized foods that create disease. Instead, opt for the most natural, local, organic healing foods you can find.
I like to have my clients slowly add in the good stuff while crowding out the not so good stuff. There is a limit on how much you can eat at once. The idea is to fill up first on vegetables and fruits, so there isn’t as much room left for the rest. Ruin your appetite!

Making these changes isn’t easy, and a slower approach is more sustainable. Try eating a piece of whole fruit and some raw vegetables before each meal and drink more water througout the day. If you can do that you are on your way.

Nan is doing it! She told me the other day how amazed her doctors are that she is doing so well and staying so strong throughout her treatments. She is determined to beat it and come out healthier and stronger than before. She is taking a proactive role in her own health care and finding it so much more empowering and tolerable. Nan also mentioned the other day, how easy it really is to eat healthier and make these changes once you get into a routine. The most important thing to do is to find a plan that works for you and get the support you need to stick with it.

It is really simple: “If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t. ”
― Michael Pollan