Food As Medicine: Nutrition For Single Parents

Are you a solo parent living with chronic health symptoms? Nutritionist and Naturopath Rebecca O'Reilly brings a solution, via the concept of food as medicine.

A Nutrition Solution for Solo Parents Living with Chronic Symptoms

Read Rebecca O'Reilly's advice on the best nutrition for single parents facing ill-health.

The word chronic symptoms sounds serious and very often it is, but it also refers to any symptom that is ongoing or persistent, whether regarded by the individual as serious or not. Unfortunately, we inhabit a world where chronic symptoms are normalised but there is nothing normal about living with IBS, endless pain, persistent cystitis, brain fog, fatigue, reproductive issues, depression, anxiety or an auto-immune condition.

The reason these symptoms and conditions get normalised is because the medical profession, for the most part, is poorly equipped to deal with them. But for a single parent who is time poor or sleep deprived, it can also be easier to normalise symptoms and sweep them under the rug for another day, as opposed to dealing with yet another thing.

The problem here, however, is that for a symptom that once came and went without too much trouble, something more chronic can easily develop.

Chronic Ill Health & Single Parents

So, why are we seeing such an explosion of chronic ill health in the world today? The answer is toxicity. Toxicity from exposure to increasingly aggressive strains of viruses and bacteria over the last one hundred years, radiation that is inescapable, and more man-made chemicals than a human body was ever designed to contend with. We are swimming in a soup of toxicity that is having a major impact on our health, and the health of our children. This is the true elephant in the room that is not being addressed.

But there is a way to navigate the health crisis we face and that is with food. As a time-poor solo parent with a family to look after, it is absolutely critical to learn the language of food and how to use it medicinally, because if you’re not okay, the whole family suffers.

Nutrition For Single Parents

We all know that more fruits and vegetables are beneficial but when you suffer from a health condition, this knowledge needs to be taken significantly deeper and implemented with dedication, care and attention. Fruits and vegetables, alongside wild foods, herbs and spices that encompass the ‘healing foods’ are the foods that bolster the immune system, kill off pathogens, clear out the intestinal tract, nourish the liver, and support the brain, and they need to form approximately 90% of your diet.

Simple tricks like drinking lemon water on waking and focusing on fruit and greens with low to no fats before midday can be the difference between healing and not healing. Preparing simple herbal tea blends in batches that can be sipped through the day can drip feed gentle medicine into your body, whilst you get on with other things.

No matter how busy, stressed, sleep deprived or overwhelmed you might feel there are many ways in which food can be used medicinally in the kitchen every day to support and heal your health. It’s just a matter of knowing how.

On Monday 20 February, Rebecca will be hosting a Frolo Meetup to discuss specific protocols and techniques that solo parents can use for deeper healing. Get onto the Frolo App and sign up for her nutrition for single parents talk in the meetups section.

More about Rebecca's work:

Rebecca is a certified holistic nutritionist and naturopath, originally from Ireland but now based in Bath, UK. She has been studying food, natural medicine and spiritual healing over many years and combines her background in science and natural medicine to empower people to overcome chronic and mystery illness and heal naturally, using food as medicine. Ever since childhood, Rebecca was drawn to food, plants and nature, which she later turned to in search for answers to her own health symptoms. Through her own healing journey and work with clients, she has gained a deep understanding of the body and the ways in which we can best reclaim our vitality. Her greatest passion is teaching people how to use food as medicine in daily life and connecting them to the deep inner wisdom that food holds. rebecca-oreilly.com