Let Food Be Thy Medicine

Written by Amy Cox, CHC, AADP and founder of omstead

Hippocrates was definitely on to something when he said, “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.” It is this quote that fueled my own journey of curing myself of a chronic disease, ultimately leading me down the path of becoming a certified health coach.

Recently, I was invited by a friend to attend a screening of “Bending the Arc,” which chronicled the work of Paul Farmer, MD - a modern day Hippocrates. Farmer, along with a few of his peers, have brought tremendous healing to Haiti and many other underserved countries through Partners in Health. As I listened to Paul Farmer speak after the screening, I was struck by how strikingly similar yet polar opposite our healthcare situation is in America.

In countries like Haiti, access to critically needed medicines have been completely lacking until organizations like Partners in Health appeared on the forefront. Yet, a key component to the overall success of Partners in Health is the investment it makes in educating the community through local citizens who have been trained to teach basic wellness skills. Here in the US, we are at the opposite end of the spectrum, with most Americans having access to the very best medicines and technology available. However, most of our country’s chronic illness comes from the lifestyle decisions we make every day, yet little to no attention is given to investing in community educators, such as myself, to teach basic principles that have a tremendous impact on wellness.

I am keenly aware that making decisions about how to feed ourselves in this modern world is far from simple. One of the biggest questions I get asked time and time again, is what I did to heal myself of an autoimmune thyroid disease that many doctors still claim cannot be healed. The reality is that it took many years and a lot of trial and error to figure out how to introduce foods and lifestyle behaviors that healed me. In the process, I became a certified health coach in order to bring that experience and wisdom here to our local community.

The most effective way to adopt lifestyle practices is by building community, getting hands on and engaging all five senses. As a result, I have created Culinary Bootcamp, a series of four cooking classes, to empower those willing to invest a total of 8 hours of their time and $500 in financial resources toward the health of themselves and their family members.

That is quite a value proposition in my eyes!

The four two hour classes include: Class 1: Healing Soups & Stews Class 2: Sourcing & Preparing Clean Proteins & Vegetables Class 3: Bone Broths for Immunity & Gut Health Class 4: Fermented Foods

The class series is designed to provide you with streamlined information, hands on practice and a community of peers to support your personal journey toward empowered wellness. Each of the four classes builds upon the next, so that healthy lifestyle practices can be layered on top of one another to lead to enhanced outcomes.

The crux of chronic disease often lies in chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation is different than the acute inflammation you experience when you have a fever or stub your toe. Chronic inflammation is often silent in nature, meaning you are unaware of it until your body’s defense reaches a tipping point. This tipping point is often the onset of a chronic disease.

According to Prevention Magazine (https://www.prevention.com/health/inflammation-causes), six surprising sources of chronic inflammation include:

• Extra weight 

• Emotional stress 

• Smoking habits 

• Gut bacteria 

• Alcohol 

• Birth control pills 


As a health coach, I have worked with many clients and unique situations that have led to chronic inflammation. Regardless of the cause, the Culinary Bootcamp is designed to empower participants to adopt a fresh, healthy, new lease on life.

I would be honored to have you join our Culinary Bootcamp community this February! Go here to sign up https://tinyurl.com/ydd286r2