Health News Update: Give Yourself the Gift of Health this Holy Day Season

Mark Smith • December 23, 2024

Hello and Merry Christmas to you:

 

During this Holy Day season, probably one of the best gifts you could possibly receive is the gift of health. As we all want to do our best to tend our Temple, it is critical to know what to feed it and why so that we can obtain optimal health and be of good service. As you may have read from my previous blogs, you will know that inflammation will cause, perpetuate, and/or aggravate every known human ailment, including aging. You also know that food is the leading risk factor for death and disability in our country, and that food is called the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) or the Western Diet. To avoid the pitfalls of poor food, you need to know and appreciate these facts:


“The emerging role of chronic inflammation in the major degenerative diseases of modern society has stimulated research into the influence of nutrition and dietary patterns on inflammatory indices…A traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern, which typically has a high ratio of monounsaturated (MUFA) to saturated (SFA) fats and ω-3 to ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs) and supplies an abundance of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains, has shown anti-inflammatory effects when compared with typical North American and Northern European dietary patterns in most observational and interventional studies and may become the diet of choice for diminishing chronic inflammation in clinical practice.”

 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/49665445_Diet_and_Inflammation

 

Bottom Line:

 

Recent research has shown that the vegan version of the Mediterranean diet is even better, but both plans are much better than the current dietary patterns that over 60% of U.S. citizens follow.


“For instance, a study in 62 adults with overweight found that participants who followed a low fat vegan diet for 16 weeks lost an average of 13.2 pounds (6 kg), whereas participants who followed the Mediterranean diet maintained their weight"

 

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mediterranean-diet-vs-vegan-2

 

Consider gifting your Temple with an upgraded food plan that is nutrient-dense and health-building so that you can celebrate with gratitude this precious gift of life. We all wish you a very Merry Christmas, the Happiest of Holy Days, and a healthy New Year.



By Mark Smith March 23, 2026
Health News Update: How To Fight Inflammation and Chronic Disease 3.23.26 Hello again everyone: You might wonder why I keep focusing on food…so here are some of the reasons: food choices are the leading cause of death in the U.S. and spreading around the world. Poor food choices lead to inflammation which slowly destroy health. It is that simple, plain, and clear and backed by research. The next question: how do we fight back? Introduction The positive impact of food on health was postulated by the ancient Hippocrates, father of modern medicine with his famous quote: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” [1]. In the 21st century, scientists have focused on the effect of nutritional habits in diseases. Nowadays, it is well documented that food plays a noteworthy role in the pathogenesis of chronic diseases namely cardiovascular diseases (CVD), metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus type II, and cancer [2–5], as it correlates with others with the lipid pattern, the blood pressure, and the endothelial function. The scientists examine the effect of nutritional habits on disease emergence and progression in both individual nutrient intake and dietary patterns models. Worldwide, two dietary patterns are usually compared—the Mediterranean diet (MD) and the Western diet (WD) [3,6]. The Mediterranean diet reflects the food culture of most Mediterranean countries based on olive oil consumption, seasonal fresh vegetables, cereals, and plants in balance with low consumption of meat [7]. The Western diet, on the contrary, is dominated by high-fat dairy products processed and red meat [8]. However, discordance in the different MD patterns and consumed food doses had been recognized. Without any doubt, those discrepancies could confine and restrict our knowledge on the health benefit mechanisms of the MD [9]. Due to the above, the medical community along with nutritionists and dieticians take a keen interest in MD and its traits [7]. https://www.academia.edu/45378994/biomedicines_Mediterranean_Diet_as_a_Tool_to_Combat_Inflammation_and_Chronic_Diseases_An_Overview?email_work_card=view-paper food choices can fight inflammation and chronic disease Bottom Line: This is a 2020 paper and since then literally hundreds of papers on the MD have emerged showing how the food plan lowers inflammation and the risk for developing multiple chronic illnesses. Even still, lots of research needs to be done to elucidate the many mechanisms of how food impacts our system and how to optimally individualize dietary recommendations. At this point, our best strategy to prevent and/or recover from any chronic condition is to eat as clean and natural as possible. It has become rather obvious that the further away from a natural diet we get, the sicker we become. On top of that, I have yet to see a full recovery from any health issue without the foundation of a predominantly plant-based, unprocessed, whole foods approach…which is why I keep posting about this subject. All the best to you and yours!
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