Food is freedom, and when we choose to be mindful of what we eat, we give ourselves the power to heal and to nourish our bodies, minds, and souls. Joining Gwendolyn today on the Love Letters 2 Our Bodies podcast is Suzette Chaumette. Suzette is a social entrepreneur dedicated to tackling major health issues, such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and certain cancers, by addressing food and eating habits. Trained as a public health researcher with a master’s degree in maternal and child health, Suzette uses her expertise to show people how to choose whole foods and reduce inflammation through natural ingredients like onions, garlic, and leafy greens. Join their conversation as they tackle how to move beyond negative ideas about growing food, the influence of convenience marketing on our grocery shopping habits, the importance of getting closer to our food, and what that means.
Key Points From This Episode:
• Moving past the negative ideas about growing our own food.
• Food as medicine and what drew Suzette to the healing properties of food.
• Suzette explains how we can still forage for food.
• The importance of getting closer to our food and how this connection supports healing.
• Suzette's thoughts on nutritional considerations for someone undergoing cancer treatment: vitamin A and beta carotene.
• We look at how your body starts talking to you about the food you consume.
• Foods that can help manage side effects, including fatigue and inflammation.
• Suzette breaks down the top three most accessible, nourishing foods or meals to prioritize.
• How our ancestral ways of eating can help us today.
Quotes:
“I was feeling the urgency of getting people to grow more of their food, just given where we are today in our society. I really wanted to encourage people to go back to the old ways, to what their grandmothers and great-grandmothers did as a solution to some of our food issues, right now.” — Suzette Chaumette [0:05:43]
“Understanding that gardens aren't just about food, they're also about your wellness, your stress level. If you spend time out in a garden, your stress level goes down. And there's data to show that.” — Suzette Chaumette [0:13:13]
“The less inflammation in your body, the better — you can eat certain foods that will help decrease the inflammation and help your healing journey.” — Suzette Chaumette [0:41:31]
“I believe that we all have to tap back into our ancestry to eat the types of foods that are going to benefit our bodies the most.” — Suzette Chaumette [0:59:30]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Suzette Chaumette, M.P.H. on LinkedIn
Suzette Chaumette, M.P.H, on TikTok
The Food Indy Podcast (Spotify)
The Positively Green Podcast (Spotify)
Unpack the Real Stuff (Spotify)
Love Letters 2 Our Bodies is sponsored by Moyo Institute, Inc and the Lloyd Symington Foundation
Gwendolyn Mitchell on LinkedIn
MOYO Institute, Inc
instagram.com/moyoinstitute
