Introducing the Emuna Pharmacy

Today, I'm delighted to present the "Emuna Pharmacy Eating Prescription for Preventing and Reversing Chronic Disease".

Emuna Pharmacy is what I call the practice of faith-based health including connecting to Hashem and His natural foods and medicines for health of the soul and body.  

As a pharmacist, every day I fill hundreds of prescriptions for folks to treat their diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and other chronic diseases.  When I speak with clients at the pharmacy, as well as friends and family, I find that most people think that the only way to manage their chronic illnesses is with prescription medications, which include some dangerous side effects.  Many people also think that these chronic conditions are inevitable as we age.  However, that’s simply not the truth.  With Hashem’s help, I’d like to show you how we can live healthy happy lives without dependence on prescription medications.

This is a food pyramid that I developed to help as many people as possible prevent and reverse disease:

The basis of the pyramid is veggies because of their nutrient density as well as their well-known disease-fighting abilities.  Hashem gave us so many miraculous veggies, in so many colors and masterful designs.    When we eat vegetables, we receive lots of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and enzymes.  Strive to make veggies the basis of your eating and to increase veggie intake to at least five servings per day.  Buy organic whenever possible to avoid carcinogenic pesticides, especially veggies that you eat with their peel.  Include all the colors…red, orange, yellow, and especially green as green veggies are especially known to prevent many illnesses including cancer.  Eat them raw, lightly cooked, in salads, smoothies, juices, and soups.

The next most abundant food type in our diet should be “good fats” including avocados, olives, raw nuts, seeds, unsweetened nut milks and nut butters, coconut milk, unrefined organic coconut oil, organic first cold pressed olive oil and flax oil.  You won’t get fat from eating these fats.  Eating these fats actually helps you to burn fat.   I recommend eating avocados every day as they are full of beneficial fat, contain a wealth of vitamins, and fill you up.  Learn to enjoy noshing on raw nuts and seeds throughout the day as they are full of disease-preventing nutrients.

Veggies and good fats make up the foundation of the pyramid since they give us lots of nutrients with little to no effect on blood sugar.  That's key, as excessive blood sugar is converted to triglycerides and fat, leading to abnormal cholesterol levels, heart disease, obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes.  By minimizing blood sugar spiking we take a major positive step toward preventing diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, obesity and even cancer.

Fruits are wonderful for fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants, but we need to limit fruit as fruits do increase blood sugar to varying degrees.  I recommend including berries such as strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries daily as they contain powerful anti-oxidants, cancer fighting nutrients with considerably less blood sugar spiking than other fruit varieties.  Keep fruit servings at one to three per day…only one or two if you are already diabetic or pre-diabetic.  Always buy organic to avoid pesticides, especially if you will be consuming the peel.

When eating animal protein make sure it is organic and pasture-raised as much as possible to avoid added hormones and antibiotics.  Pasture-raised means the animal can graze naturally and eat natural grass, not genetically modified, inexpensive, unnatural feed.   Dairy should be full fat with no added sugars.  Eggs should be organic and cage-free, preferably from a farm where the chickens have large areas to graze.   With fish, try to minimize mercury and other contaminants.   Look for small, oily fishe like sardines and anchovies, and go for wild caught vs. farm raised salmon and other varieties.

I categorize carbohydrates into three types:

1. Sugar and sugar-containing products like candy, cake, cookies, sugary cereals, and sugary drinks and sodas, which need to be eliminated.

2. Low-quality carbohydrates which include refined, gluten-containing breads, crackers, and pasta, white potatoes, and white rice.  These should also be eliminated or eaten only once a week or so, perhaps as a Sabbath treat.

3. The third type, the high-quality carbohydrates to focus on throughout the week include quinoa, unsweetened oats, sweet potato, sprouted bread and legumes.  While, these high-quality carbs do offer many nutrients and protein, they still need to be quantity controlled as they do cause quantity-dependent elevation of blood sugar.  Keep the limits at zero to a maximum of two servings per day.   If you have weight to lose, stay at zero to one high quality carbohydrate serving per day. 

Confining carbohydrate intake to high quality sources and limiting the quantities as shown in the pyramid is a most important step toward normalizing weight, blood sugar and cholesterol levels, as well as preventing many diseases.  If you feel the overwhelming need for a sweet treat, go for a few squares of dark chocolate with at least 72% cocoa or a few pitted dates with a cup a tea.

Remember to spend a few moments each day asking Hashem to help you to stay on the plan so that you will be able to do good deeds and perform His commandments in health and with energy, vitality and joy!  

(Disclaimer: Information posted here is not intended as specific medical advice.  Always consult your own healthcare provider before beginning a new eating plan.)

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Basya Ruth Gilman, Pharm.D. is a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and the University of Illinois.  She has been a practicing pharmacist for over twenty years and emphasizes natural foods, and supplements in helping clients.  She began a life of Torah observance in 2006 and enjoys growing spiritually through the Jewish faith.  She has been an avid student of Rabbi Shalom Arush and Rabbi Lazer Brody since 2010.  Basya Ruth is the creator of EmunaPharmacy.com, a blog spot for posting information about emuna and health for the soul and body.