The Healing Powers of Food, Lifestyle & Hope!

Gillian Scerri
Written by Gillian Scerri

The ability to self-heal is empowering and has no bounds.

The human body is remarkable, unique, and knows what it needs. In contrast, the medical system has its limitations and as a result, some medical professionals will ask you to ‘accept’ an illness as your fate. This is something I’ve heard a good few times and believing it made me sicker.

When I embarked on my own self-healing journey, I became hopeful, and that ‘Hope’ played a significant role in my healing. Belief and confidence in your body’s ability to self-heal is a tonic in itself.

Dr. Nicole LePera, a Holistic Psychologist and author of ‘How To Do The Work’, shares a story that took place in the 1970s, of a patient who was misdiagnosed with cancer and given 3 months to live. The patient and his family lost all hope and believed he was going to die and in fact, he died 3 weeks later. The autopsy eventually revealed that he had been misdiagnosed; there was zero evidence of cancer in his body. Through this terrible mistake, the doctor recognised the importance of hope and believed that a lack of hope was likely the reason for his death.

If we don’t believe we can be well, we will be unwell.

I went through many years of excessive stress, anxiety, and undealt trauma, enveloped in a lifestyle that exacerbated my symptoms. In 2017, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and had to get half of my thyroid removed to take out a cancerous tumor. Surgery was successful, with all cancer cells being eliminated from my body. I got away light, not requiring chemotherapy or any further procedures. I am solely required to do yearly checks to ensure I am still in the clear. My thyroid was cancer-free for years, but it wasn’t in perfect health. I had a good number of cysts that had to be closely monitored and I had Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (an autoimmune disease).

At one of my yearly check-ups, I asked the doctor whether there was anything I could change in my diet or lifestyle that could improve the state of my thyroid. He abruptly said ‘no’ and told me to ‘accept’ the situation as I would eventually have to go on hormone medication for the rest of my life. Having initiated my studies in health and wellness and being on a healing journey of my own, I knew he was wrong and did not lose hope. I continued incorporating further healthy lifestyle habits, worked on my unresolved anger and anxiety, and cut out gluten from my diet because gluten aggravates thyroid inflammation. At my next check-up a year later, all cysts had disappeared, and thyroiditis reversed. I now have a perfectly healthy thyroid.

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

This is just one example of proof that you are your own best healer. I have many more…

A healthy lifestyle is way more effective than any drug.

It’s cheaper, less time-consuming, has no side effects, and brings you both physical and mental health. It makes you stronger and gifts you with a new perspective on life.

This article is not to deem doctors and the medical system redundant. That surgeon saved my life. It’s to encourage you to expand your mind, believe in your own healing ability, put effort into implementing healthy lifestyle habits, and don’t believe everything you’re told!

Your mind and body work synergistically and if you understand this connection, they can work together beautifully to ensure your overall health and wellness.

Main – Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay