Food is Medicine: How Every Bite Shapes Your Health
Hey Team,
Have you ever thought of food as more than just fuel? The truth is, food is information for your body—sending powerful messages that can either protect you from disease or push you closer to it. Every bite you take is a choice: it can heal you, or it can harm you. But this isn’t about guilt or fear—it’s about empowerment. You get to choose what you put on your plate, and those choices matter more than you think.
The Power of Choice
The author of Eat to Beat Disease, Dr. William Lee, puts it simply: you don’t need to cut out everything you love or follow rigid rules to be healthy. Instead, if you understand how food interacts with your body’s natural defense systems, you can make choices that support health for the long haul. The key isn’t restriction—it’s understanding.
The Five Defense Systems
Your body is equipped with five major defense systems, and the food you eat can either strengthen or weaken them:
Angiogenesis – supports healthy blood vessel formation
Regeneration – boosts stem cell activity for repair
Microbiome – nourishes your gut health
DNA Protection – helps repair genetic damage
Immunity – keeps your immune response balanced
When you eat with these systems in mind, you give your body the tools it needs to thrive.
Eat to Defend: Foods that Strengthen Your Body’s Five Defense Systems
Angiogenesis: Tomatoes, Green tea, Turmeric, Berries, Olive oil
Regeneration: Dark chocolate (70%+), Kiwi, Black beans, Leafy greens, Shellfish/seafood
Microbiome: Fermented foods, Beans/lentils, Walnuts, Mushrooms, Pomegranate
DNA Protection: Broccoli/broccoli sprouts, Citrus, Carrots, Garlic, Salmon
Immunity: Mushrooms, Garlic, Berries, Olive oil, Green tea
These are just a few foods that help your body’s defenses—try adding more of them to your routine and see the difference they can make for your long-term health.
Why Food as Medicine Works
Traditional diets focus almost exclusively on weight loss. But did you know that weight alone is a poor predictor of disease risk? You can be thin and still have clogged arteries, a struggling gut, or DNA damage. Extreme diets can even weaken your immune system and accelerate aging. Instead, food as medicine asks: “What can I add to strengthen my defenses?”
This shift—from restriction to addition—changes everything. When you focus on adding healing foods, you don’t feel deprived, and you naturally crowd out the foods that don’t serve you. This approach is sustainable, flexible, and works wherever you eat—at home, at a restaurant, even on vacation.
Consistency Over Perfection
Forget the all-or-nothing mentality. If you miss a day, just get back to feeding your defenses at the next meal. Diets often fail long-term, but focusing on daily wins—one nourishing food at a time—adds up to real, lasting health. Perfection isn’t the goal; consistency is.
The Bottom Line
Every bite you take is a chance to defend your health. By understanding and supporting your body’s five defense systems, you can build resilience from the inside out. Choose addition over restriction, and watch your health transform—one meal at a time.
The author, Rob Sumner, is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and owner of Sumner Specialized Physical Therapy. He's happy to answer any questions about this article, wellness, fitness, or physical therapy overall by phone at (509) 684-5621 or by email at Rob@SumnerPT.com
