Page 15 - Desk of the Imam

Desk of the Imam Magazine April 2018

Fuel for Thought food products from our diets that have led to many of our
by Khalil Ali problems.
Doctors will often recommend a certain number of
For too long, the country has focused on treating people calories per day dependent on your weight, your age, or
after they become sick instead of preventing diseases your sex. One may ask themselves, what type of calories
before they occur. Investing in disease prevention is the or what types of foods do I then consume? Your doctor
most effective, common-sense way to improve health— may even refer you to a dietitian. Even with this resource,
helping to spare millions from developing preventable we have an obligation to ourselves. People must begin to
illnesses, reduce healthcare costs, and improve do their own research.
productivity. Tens of millions of Americans are currently However, before this research begins, people must want
suffering from preventable diseases such as cancer, heart to make changes in their life with their eating habits
disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. And, today’s and/or exercise habits. As research begins, family history
children are in danger of becoming the first generation in needs to be taken into consideration. Talk with relatives.
American history to live shorter, less healthy lives than You may learn something that you were not aware of.
their parents. Many problems are directly associated with One can begin to do research by making use of the
diet. It therefore makes since to take a proven, more Internet and local libraries or by listening to health related
holistic approach. shows whether on the radio or on television.
The areas of the world where the people of color often Also important to remember is as we food shop, we need to
live are often called third world countries or developing train ourselves to read the ingredients on the labels.
countries. They may even be called underdeveloped Understanding food labels, as well as ingredients, are part of
countries. However, I like to our research. Food is our fuel for life, and we need to be very
refer to them as the "first aware of what we are putting in
world." These people learned our bodies.
to eat their medicine in the Finally, because we feel fine,
we cannot assume that our
form of food from one health is okay. While family
generation to the next. They members or friends develop
maintained their health symptoms of sickness, we can
through their daily diet. also not assume that nothing is
Often their guide to this going to happen to us. Being
natural medicine was an elder aware of your body and how it
or a shaman, a medicine man feels at various times of day,
or woman of sorts. Such making regularly scheduled
persons had the knowledge of appointments with your health
herbs that came from trees, care provider, and doing your
flowers or other vegetation which helped to treat various own research are of vital importance.
ailments. END
As we jump forward to today, we are constantly aware of (The above article is copyrighted to L.L. Gleaton, Jr. (4/10/18), and
improvements in technology and science. The human may not be copied or reprinted without the consent of owner.)
condition remains the same however. There is an ongoing
need to find remedies for man's health issues. Although the
medical profession is still needed to monitor our quality and
level of health or wellbeing, the prevention of health issues
can still often be found in a natural approach.
Although the prescriptive drugs that are given to us by DID YOU KNOW?
doctors for major illnesses can bring our bodies back into The Prophet (PBUH) in the Quran said
balance or near balance, these medicines do not always
cure us. They only seem to maintain our conditions at a Black Seed will cure everything except
safe level. This level is determined on how "sick" we death.
actually are. For some this level of existence is all they
can hope for.
Many of us can end illness and cure ourselves. One
method is to supplement our medications with herbs,
minerals and vitamins. We can also eliminate foods and

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