Disease enters through the mouth

“Disease enters the body through the mouth,” is an ancient Chinese saying. In other words, everything you eat contributes either to health or to disease. What you eat is essential, and ancient scholars in the East have known this for a very long time. Of course, there are more factors that contribute to the development of disease and the preservation of health. All of this is a form of nourishment. How do you nourish your soul? Your emotions? Your thoughts?

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Body and mind are not separate entities. They form a whole and influence each other in various ways. Poor nutrition can, for example, contribute to mental disorders such as depression. Conversely, a mental or emotional state such as stress or trauma can cause inflammation in the body, impairing proper digestion and nutrient absorption. As a result, biochemical processes come to a halt and we may eventually suffer from deficiency diseases.

Emotional health is just as important as physical health, and spiritual and mental health are also essential for a high quality of life. This means, among other things, knowing what you are doing here on Earth. What are you here to bring and to receive with your unique qualities? It also means being aware that you create your own reality with your thoughts. Think, for example, of the placebo effect. You are given a pill with no active ingredient, yet you start to feel better or even fully recover from a condition. That is the power of your thoughts. Take a moment to reflect on that.

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Nevertheless, approaching disease as an imbalance (rather than a defect) is still considered unorthodox and alternative. Even harder to believe seems to be the idea that certain “foods” can cause mental disorders. General practitioners today receive little to no training in nutrition. When you visit them with complaints, you will rarely be told that you might need to change your diet. “You’ll have to learn to live with it,” is what you often hear. You may be prescribed medication to suppress symptoms.

But what about the cause? Surely your body doesn’t just do something without reason?

Progressive insight

Depression is an example close to my heart. Depression is still commonly seen as a brain disorder — a chemical imbalance caused by a lack of serotonin in the brain. The question that is rarely asked is how it is possible that there is too little of a certain substance. For a long time, it was believed that neurotransmitters were produced in the brain. Progressive insight now shows that 80 to 90 percent of serotonin is produced in our gut. Very few doctors and psychiatrists think to ask their patients about physical symptoms and dietary habits. And yet, of course, the brain is completely dependent on appropriate and optimal nutrition.

Why am I telling you all this?

There is a lot of uncertainty, fear and polarisation in our time. I notice around me that people feel at the mercy of the system, while at the same time more and more people feel that conventional healthcare no longer answers all questions. People are being pressured on a massive scale to submit to medical interventions, even when these are still in their infancy and therefore experimental. We are made afraid of the consequences, but it is precisely this fear that weakens us. This raises many valid questions.

My mission

We have far more influence over our health than we are currently being told. This does not mean that medical intervention cannot sometimes be life-saving. It does mean that many medical interventions would be unnecessary if we learned what healthy nutrition truly is — both physically and mentally. I, too, was once told that I had a deficiency of certain substances and that this was why I felt so unhappy. “Nothing can be done, that’s just the way it is.” I was given antidepressants and that was it. Fortunately, I quickly felt that this was not the right path. They made me apathetic. I would rather feel — even if my emotional world was sometimes chaotic — than go through life like a zombie. Somewhere, I knew there had to be a cause, and therefore a solution. This marked the beginning of a long journey that eventually led to healing. One of my missions in this life is to help people become aware again that we are much stronger than we often believe.

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Disease is largely epigenetic

There are very few diseases that are truly hereditary. Research even shows that 95 percent of all diseases are epigenetic. This means they are caused by environmental factors such as nutrition, exercise, sense of purpose, social environment, the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the beliefs we are taught.

When it comes to health, it is therefore important to look critically not only at what you eat, but also at what you think and who you surround yourself with. Do you have a fulfilling life? Are you living your life at your highest potential? Do you know what you are here on Earth to do? And are you actually doing it, or is your “spacesuit” making things so difficult that you lack the energy?

If the answer to these questions is “no” or “mostly not,” it is important to start examining what you are putting into your mind. Both in terms of food and thoughts. For every belief, you can find “evidence.” But what is truly best for you? And where do you begin? With all the information streams, we often can’t see the forest for the trees. Dairy or no dairy? And why? What about gluten and grains? Which diet really works, and which supplements are necessary? Do you start by changing your diet? Or do you first need to become emotionally more stable and begin by addressing your blockages? I will be writing about all these topics in the coming period. In doing so, I hope to provide signposts for others who are also searching. And believe me, there are many roads that lead to Rome.

For now, I want to encourage everyone and say: trust your own wisdom. If you want to change, just start somewhere. You will notice that all other areas will start to move along as well. It really doesn’t matter where you start, as long as you make a choice. As my favourite philosopher Kierkegaard said: “the modern human — freed from self-evident traditions — is the author of their own life story.”

One thing is certain: if you do what you did, you will get what you got.

Ineke Eebes

_{These columns are not intended to replace medical treatments. If you have complaints, always consult your doctor or specialist first.}