#7 My Obsession with Nutrition (Explained with mini-me toys)

If we are what we eat, then I’m pretty sweet!

You’ve probably all seen the new “ask ChatGPT to make an action figure of me” craze.  It’s quite funny! It is a bit scary because AI is becoming more capable at an alarming rate, it’s also entertaining.  Anyway, I am currently still thinking about and writing about food. But why?

As a medical doctor, I could observe how nutrition played a role in the lives of my patients. Obviously, what you eat and drink is not the only cause or cure of an illness, but it plays a very big role!  When patients lost weight (from healthy eating or an exercise program), I had to decrease their chronic medication.  Their blood pressure dropped, and their glucose level was more controlled.  A few times, I’ve had patients who refused blood pressure treatment and within 6 months, they would see me again and not need them!  I am always very curious about what patients eat and talk a lot about different foods during a consultation. I usually ask a patient what they had for breakfast that morning. (That one answer already tells me a lot about a patient- memory, habits,attitude, mood). At the clinic I worked at, plain brown bread was the most common breakfast response.

Alcohol use also has a big effect on blood pressure.

I like referring patients to a dietician, especially if the patient is keen. My recent low-fat, good-carb experiment was also to see if that sort of eating could be a valid option for my diabetic patients… some of them can’t afford good quality meat. Also, pap is part of many patients’ cultures – one can’t just take that away.  But maybe if they increase their fibre and reheat their pap, it could help towards glucose control.  Or, some people don’t mind changing to yellow,  less refined pap. 

If the patient is going to really get better, one has to encourage them to take small, practical, healthier steps, without taking their joy away… and that path is different for everyone.

My dad has diabetes. He loves sweet food and cooldrink. We always had a tin of condensed milk in the fridge growing up! From wearing a continuous glucose monitor, I noticed that my own glucose was not ideal and, if I want to lessen my chances of developing diabetes, I had to change the way I ate. 

Glucose levels fascinate me! That’s why I also love monitoring other people’s glucose levels. I’m still in search of finding out what are the best recommendations to treat and prevent diabetes… it seems it could be subtly different for everyone. But there are the basics that work for most people.

As a mom, nutrition is so important because I can see it affecting my own kids!  And all the other kids! 

I am often puzzled because some teachers and some parents either don’t care or don’t realize how important nutrition is for kids! I might sound a bit angry expressing this, but I’m not angry, I’m concerned.

Teachers refer students to me for ADHD evaluation, and about 95% of those kids have a very processed, very high sugar diet! The typical story is that they either don’t eat breakfast and have sweets and juice when they get to school or they only drink cooldrink in the morning. 

Leo, my 8 year old, had this chronic, almost croup-like cough when he was around 3 years old. I had him on asthma pumps and asthma medication.  It took us a while, but somehow, we discovered that when we didn’t give him the Oros, he so loved, his cough and asthma vanished!  He is allergic to artificial colourants, specifically E102 and E110.  I still hear that same cough when he has something with E’s in.  (Seems Es aren’t good on your report card or your food menu).

We don’t want to give growing brains alcohol and drugs. Why would we expose our kids to all these chemicals?

“It’s only one chocolate… it’s not that bad.” It’s not.  But our kids don’t only get one chocolate once a week.  A typical kid these days gets a juice or cooldrink for school every day, some crisps or biscuits every day, a party pack once a week from a kid in class’s birthday, a fizzer twice a week because they played soccer, sherbet because they said an oral in class etc.

It builds up.  My main concern is not about the sugar! My biggest concern is that all these sweets and snacks have artificial additives, colourants and chemical ingredients.  These are okay in small quantities, but not like our kids are consuming them!

It affects our kids’ behaviour! It affects their ability to concentrate and regulate their emotions.  In the long run, it could affect their growing brains and bodies!

Teachers and parents must look at what they are giving the kids. Read labels and ingredients.  Yes, your child might be upset with you.  Your main role should be to keep them safe and healthy.

I use this blog, Jam4Joy, to write, encourage creativity, and share the joy I find in everyday life. I believe that mental and physical health are deeply connected—and that our ability to create is part of what makes us fully human.

Nutrition plays a powerful role in mental health. Stress, for example, contributes to many—if not most—medical conditions, including hypertension, insulin resistance, and diabetes. But what we often overlook is how food impacts the brain. Neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine—those chemicals that help us feel calm, motivated, and happy—are made from nutrients we get through food.

Our guts, brains, and bodies are intricately linked through multiple pathways: the vagus nerve, blood glucose and insulin levels, hormones, and our gut microbes, just to name a few. Personally, I’ve reached a point where I often find it difficult to separate whether something is truly physical or emotional—because they’re so intertwined. 

Sometimes, just eating to decrease inflammation can cure many ailments.

Nutritional deficiencies can trigger mental health struggles, and even something as “simple” as blood sugar imbalance can affect mood, energy, and focus. That’s why what you eat—and what your kids eat—isn’t just about physical health. It’s a huge factor in your ability to find and feel joy.

Ultra-processed foods and excess sugar don’t just harm your body; they can dull your dopamine receptors, making it harder to feel pleasure and contentment. And that’s a big deal!

Nature has always been our greatest teacher—quiet, generous, and profoundly wise.

There is ancient knowledge woven into the leaves, roots, seeds, and fungi all around us. The healing power of food and plants goes far deeper than most of us realize. It’s more than nutrients; it’s relationship, it’s memory, it’s connection.

Sometimes I think that if I lived in a different time, my love for plant medicine would’ve branded me a witch. And maybe that wouldn’t have been so wrong. (But might have got me killed).

The women who brewed teas, blessed seeds, and understood the rhythms of the moon were healers—keepers of old wisdom… Helping during birth and being present during death. I hope and pray to grow wiser as I grow older, to reclaim ancestral wisdom in my own way.

There’s something deeply grounding about knowing which herb soothes a cough, or how a warm ginger tea can decrease inflammation. Something sacred in crushing garlic for immunity, steeping rooibos for calm, or simmering cinnamon to warm the blood. These small rituals—whether guided by science, tradition, or intuition—connect us to something greater than ourselves.

A few of my patients have shared their own remedies with me, which I always enjoyed: leaves boiled for sefuba (flu), adding okra and fennel to water for joint pain or sleeping with a potato in the bed for restless legs. (I’m still a bit sceptical about the last one, but I seriously have patients that say it helps).

Brewing a “potion” from herbs (especially herbs you have grown)—there’s power in that. It’s not just about the physical effect. It’s about intention, presence, and connection.

And connection, I believe, is the missing link in much of modern healing.

I’m figuring out what my next step is in my career. I want to do something that excites me, that I am passionate about, and that I care about…

Just thought I would share some of my thoughts about nutrition.

I want people to remember that caring for yourself and your kids is making them real food. It’s stirring the food with love.  Love is to making someone ginger and lemon tea when they feel unwell.

To me, food is not just fuel—it’s story, spirit, love, and medicine.