How will I Quest for Health?

So I mentioned that I'm a graduate student. I'm getting my PhD in Community Nutrition at Cornell and I love it. A lot of times when people hear I'm studying nutrition they ask me for advice...technically I might know a bit more than the average person about what foods are good for your health and which to avoid or moderate, but that's mainly because I like reading about food and health. My actual research is about the emotional and social connections we have with others concerning food (and in many cases, with food itself) and how that influences our ability to make eating behavior changes that we desire to make. Because to me, you can know what the best course of action is, and still not take it if you value or prioritize other things.

But all of my research, both anecdotal, academic, and spiritual suggest that food is an important piece of any quest for health.

Academically, it's widely accepted that foods and components of many foods (like certain vitamins, minerals,  antioxidants, as well as fiber, etc.) can help prevent many chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease and type II diabetes.

Much anecdotal and less formal research suggests that eating a plant-based, whole foods diet can not only prevent disease, but reverse many common chronic diseases like those mentioned earlier (see Forks Over Knives, or books: The Hallelujah Diet, Green for Life, Diet for a New America, Skinny Bitches, http://www.gabrielcousens.com/, etc.). Some of these researchers suggest a diet comprised mainly of raw plant foods is most effective at reversing disease. Raw food being food not heated above a certain temperature in the 110's (degrees Farenheit), some books say 112, others 115 or 118- simulating temperatures at which you might bake something in the sun (without the use of mirrors or foil).

The Gospel of the Essene as well as Genesis 1:29 points to a whole foods plant based diet for Adam and Eve in their heyday- though later instructions allow for meat prepared certain ways.

At any rate- my quest for health will involve re-vamping my diet to include more whole and raw plant foods, as well as a good introspective look at my thoughts surrounding food and eating healthfully. So this blog will be about my quest for health. I'll post pictures weekly chronicling my journey.