Welcome to The Verve Body Project

Welcome to The Verve Body Project.

The purpose of this project is simply to determine the factors that allow our body to function at its maximum level. We will look at all aspects of health but will mainly focus on nutrition because it is such an important factor.
In this site, we will explore and pick apart the medical literature and facts about health as well as analyzing what the media is presenting to us, the public.

There is so much information out there on Google, TV, movies and the general media.
Carbs are bad.
Meat is good.
Red meat is giving us cancer.
Fish is poisoning us with mercury.
We need fish for our brains.
We should all be juicing.
A low-fat diet is healthiest.

With so many conflicting opinions, how are we suppose to know which one is correct?

I say go to the source.
It may turn out that much of what we learned growing up is wrong. We may be surprised.
This is my quest.

Who am I?
I am simply someone who is extremely motivated to figure out how we should be treating our bodies so they can be as healthy and functional as possible to prevent or even cure diseases.
I, as many of you, have been affected by cancer through so many of my family members. My husband currently has non-surgical metastatic cancer that has spread to multiple areas of his body and is quickly trying to take over. We have experienced quite a bumpy ride. {See "About Me" for details.} Cancer and nutrition is one of the big debates that will be discussed here as well.
I am a clinical pharmacist who has been professionally trained in analyzing and interpreting medical literature. This is what I am bringing to the table. I don't promise to have all the answers, but I do promise to do my best in making honest interpretations of the data based on my medical education and experience.
I am not an extremist. I am a real life person that just wants to eat the best I reasonably can.
I am a blank slate. I have no bias. I just crave truth and health.

I will base my arguments off of the literature as well as provide reviews of common media that are spread to the public. I will use my professional training of evaluating literature to pick apart the studies that were used in these resources to see if they truely were conducted in an appropriate manner. I do not consider myself an expert in nutrition at this time but feel I have a firm foundation with my medical physiology and nutrition training
We will discuss all sorts of diseases and diets and foods, (oh my!), one piece of literature at a time. But let me warn you... there are no obvious answers. If there were, I wouldn't be investigating and writing about this controversial topic, would I?

Let me start off by telling you.... exercise and diet are highly under-rated by our society (and even doctors.... but we can't put all the blame on them...more on that later). If you want to feel better almost immediately, I strongly encourage you to start some sort of exercise and try to eat "healthier". This needs to be a lifestyle change or else it won't last obviously. It also needs to be a change in your thought process. Start slow if you need to or go "cold turkey" and change overnight. It's up to you. Just start now. We are in this together.

DISCLAIMER:

This is all my personal opinion. Always discuss your exercise and nutrition plans with your doctor. Different disease states may require different interventions. I do not recommend stopping medications without discussing it with your doctor.

I hope you join me whether you want to change your lifestyle or just find this an interesting topic.

Ready to find the verve body hiding within you?
Let's dive in.

First up: The Food Identity Crisis