“Your body is a Temple.
You are what you eat.
Do not eat processed food, junk foods, filth, or disease-carrying food, animals, or rodents.
Some people say of these foods, 'well, it tastes good'.
Most of the foods today that statistically cause sickness, cancer, and disease ALL TASTE GOOD;
it's well-seasoned and prepared poison.
THIS IS WHY SO MANY PEOPLE ARE SICK;
mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually;
because of being hooked to the 'taste' of poison, instead of being hooked on the truth and to real foods that heal and provide you with good health and wellness.
Respect and honor your Temple- and it will honor you.”
― Supa Nova Slom, Author of The Remedy: The Five-Week Power Plan to Detox Your System, Combat the Fat, and Rebuild Your Mind and Body
Hey there,
A few nights ago during an on-call, one of my med intern colleagues offered me a mint.
It was seemingly harmless: mini, transparent, promising a refreshing taste and breath.
But I’ve been on a serious health revamp since recovering from burnout and studying how nutrition fuels both energy and focus.
So, out of habit, I flipped the packet over.
Second ingredient: SUGAR.
I smiled and politely declined, pointing out that this contained sugar.
They frowned.
“So… you have diabetes?”
I was confused.
“No, and that’s exactly the point. These hidden sugars are what lead to diabetes!”
It wasn’t only me that they offered the mint. All the nurses and even other med student volunteers of that day’s on-call team had taken the mint, already in their mouths, and chuckled.
“You think too much, Emz.”
But inside, it hit me.
Here we are: healthcare professionals, trained to treat some of the most debilitating complications of diabetes or blatant onset of it for several patients,
and yet most of us don’t even SEE how insidiously it starts.
That was the first moment that stayed with me deeply.
A few weeks later, another moment landed harder.
We had our weekly evaluation as med interns and it was on the topic of diabetes. Our leading professor was an endocrinologist.
Adding on to the guidelines for prevention as well as diet regulation especially for type II diabetics, I brought up how hidden sugars in packaged foods: salad creams, seemingly plain “salty” crackers, mixed nuts snacks, etc, are silently contributing to insulin resistance.
Before I could finish, the room broke into laughter, including the specialist.
“Oh, we don’t look at that,” one colleague said.
Another added, “We only look at the price!”
Even the specialist pointed out that it was already some form of cemented impossible-to-change culture to only look at price than what toxins are being consumed.
This moment cut deeper than the previous.
Because we’re learning the guidelines to educate patients on “avoiding simple sugars”
YET don’t realize in these modern times, those sugars hide under fancy names: maltose, fructose, corn syrup, brown rice syrup, fruit concentrate, molasses, etc. in so many foods that are not inherently “sweet”.
It was a serious moment of clarity for me:
We’re improperly teaching others to “manage” conditions that not all of us have ever learnt to truly prevent in ourselves.
We have a grave blind-spot problem in medicine and with my other colleagues as future doctors along with me…
I had the deepest worries of what poor distribution of healthy nutrition and food awareness education they would actually guide real patients with.
We can’t be waiting until disease appears before caring about proper prevention.
Since then, I’ve made it an even stronger mission to talk openly about this, even if it feels uncomfortable or “too much.”
My own on-call team still ridicules me that I care so much to point out the hidden sugars in the most common packaged foods that everyone seems to be consuming without a second thought.
Yet many times we see patients have worsened conditions and never make it after a crisis or heart attack, due to their comorbidities, that INCLUDE DIABETES.
I STRONGLY believe in my role to educate on healthy nutrition and food habits as my main way of saving lives (especially before anyone gets sick or sick-er!).
Here’s what I wish more people knew:
🔹Your diagnosis doesn’t start when your labs or symptoms say so.
It starts SO MUCH earlier: in tiny, invisible glucose spikes that break away at your body’s insulin sensitivity.
🔹Hidden sugars are everywhere.
Even foods that aren’t sweet: “all-wheat” crackers, salad dressing, canned beans, etc, often list sugar or its cousins AMONG THE FIRST 5 INGREDIENTS.
🔹Reading labels is SELF-RESPECT.
Ignore marketing claims like “high protein,” “gluten-free,” or “fortified with vitamins.”
If sugar shows up in the first 5 ingredients, it’s a DESSERT.
Period. Full Stop. END OF STORY.
Start small.
Next time you’re at the grocery store or grabbing a snack, take ten seconds to turn it around.
If you see sugar (or any of its 50+ aliases) listed early, acknowledge it.
Check all of your packaged food inventory and see how common or not sugar is part of the first 5 ingredients.
That awareness alone begins to change your choices.
To make this easier, here are a few resources I personally use and share constantly:
🔷[Glucose Goddess’ Framework for reading Food Ingredient Labels]: how to choose proper packaged foods/drinks that don’t harm your well-being
🔷[Glucose Goddess’ Hidden Sugars List]: every sneaky name sugar hides under, that you can detect in various packaged foods/drinks
🔷[Emz’ Sweet Hacks Guide]: How to still enjoy the foods that have sugar without having high glucose spikes (inspired by Glucose Goddess’ Glucose Hacks!)
Prevention has little to do with full-on cold-turkey restriction.
Awareness and Intentional Action is what’s needed, from as simple a moment as that encounter with the mint sweet.
When everyone laughed at me,
I realized later that I was speaking to the wrong crowd.
This is why I help a specific group of people now, because I’m not here to “forcefully convince” everyone.
I’m here to help those already health-conscious, already whether beginner or seasoned HEALTHY EATING ACTION-TAKERS.
Specifically female digital entrepreneurs who already embody the importance of a healthy mind, healthy body so that they can fulfill their purpose for the long term.
They already have the drive, the commitment to do so and acknowledge the serious importance of staying at full capacity and their best physical and mental self to achieve what unique contributions and problem-solving they are sharing with the world.
Thus, if you’re not in this boat, unfortunately, I CANNOT help you.
YOU DECIDE when it’s time to change and I RESPECT YOUR GROWTH MATURITY PACING.
AND if you’re willing to make the mini changes and actionable frameworks I share to TAKE ACTION instead of following the passive bandwagon DESPITE KNOWING ALREADY, I will do my best to help you in all that I can!
Don’t be shy to reply to this email any specific challenges you are facing when it comes to healthy eating: be it the emotional, financial, social or plain knowledge or biological aspects!
Despite the specific audience, you might still find some of these insights and application practices useful (don’t be afraid to adapt to your unique circumstances).
The best medicine is the food on your plate BEFORE prescriptions “become your daily intake”.
So if you’ve ever been mocked for caring “too much” about your food choices…
Welcome to the future of TRUE health.
Simple Steps to Try Today:
Whether you already have some packaged foods/drinks or are heading to the grocery store,
- Take a moment to inspect the ingredients list of something you tend to consume (be it a sauce, a canned good, a drink packet, etc)
- Ignore the front labels and marketing jargon of “fortified with vitamins” or things like “gluten-free”, “vegan”, “high fiber” or “high protein”.
Also Ignore the calories number!
The first 5 ingredients will tell you the most important information.
- Then use the [Hidden Sugars List] to see if any of the 5 ingredients contains sugar.
If there is direct sugar or other form of it in the first 5 ingredients, IT IS CONSIDERED DESSERT. Again, PERIOD. FULL STOP. END OF STORY.
So consider it a “simple (not so simple) sugar” Even if it looks nothing like an obvious piece of cake or a chocolate chip cookie.
- Apply the [Sweet Hacks] as needed to reduce the glucose spike, if you’re still going to consume the packaged food/drink!
Do this for at least 10 days, and let me know how it goes!
Reply to this email if you are facing any unique challenge or have any query related to this and I’ll make it a priority to guide or help you with the best resources~
Until next time,
Emz
Founder of Nutrition No-Brainer, FemTech Premium Ghostwriter, Final Year Med Student