The origin of most diseases are believed to originate from somewhere outside of us.   But in reality, they are a result of our lifestyle choices and the selection of the diet and foods we eat.  Americans no longer consume a healthy diet, so we can’t expect to be healthy on our current diet.  The Standard American Diet is made up of 70 percent refined grains, grain flour and sugar.  And as a result, the majority of Americans suffer from metabolic diseases caused by a lack of nutrients.  We will never be healthy until we adopt a healthy diet made up of a moderate intake of proteins, a high intake of healthy fats, with a low intake of carbohydrates and, of course, no sugar of any kind.  Our world has survived for millions of years with only plant medicines – which today still treat 95 percent of the population of the planet. There was a time when we knew how to take care of ourselves. Natural remedies and eating traditions were passed along and the knowledge was highly valued. Our very republic was founded on the principles and virtues of a balance of self-sufficiency and community, but this has been slipping away. Over the last few decades, power and greed has captured the AMA, drug companies, and the politicians who protect their interests. When you discover that 60 percent of all drugs manufactured worldwide are prescribed in America, and 80 percent of all pain killers manufactured worldwide are consumed by Americans, something is out of kilter.  Industrial agriculture and what has come to be known as “Big Food” have only complicated the problem. We now have generations of Americans who have grown up on foods that lack the basic nutrients we all need every day. And over time, this has an inevitable effect. Our bodies begin to break down. Doctors diagnose this as a disease, and prime us to take more drugs when the real problem is a lack of nutrition. Before drugs become the money-making Holy Grail that they are today, all diseases were cured by the vitamins and minerals found naturally. Our diets and the powerful plant compounds available to us are all we need to be healthy. My advice is simple: change your diet and change your health.