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Looks like your mom was wrong

It is impossible to be healthy without proper digestion
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Author Van Clayton Powel talks about his book You are NOT what you eat (inset) at the library this week.

According to author Van Clayton Powel, you are not what you eat, rather how.

Powel will be in Victoria this week to discuss the theory behind his book You Are NOT What You Eat: How Digestive Problems Might be Making You Sick at both the Emily Carr and Central branches of the Victoria Public Library.

It is impossible to be healthy without proper digestion – no matter how nutritious your diet, says Powel.

According to his research, many of us are not digesting very well.

“Looking at what you eat and good nutrition is only half the equation,” says Powel.

He says we also need to follow eating habits that enable the body to absorb and utilize nutrients properly.

The Whistler-based author is a former nurse who specialized in addictions treatment and emergency psychiatric assessments.

He also spent years in Asia training in traditional medical systems, martial arts, yoga and meditation.

Inspired by his own battle with chronic digestive problems, Powel was surprised to find the solution not in what he ate, but in how he ate – an approach used successfully in Asia for thousands of years, yet fits in perfectly with the latest medical science.

“We keep blaming foods for our digestive problems, wheat, dairy, gluten, meat, etc.,” says Powel. “I’m convinced a huge part of the equation is not the food, but our damaged and ineffective digestive systems. In my case, my digestive problems were so bad I thought I was going to have to survive on a diet of white rice and a few steamed vegetables for the rest of my life. Today I can eat anything I want without a problem, and all my symptoms have disappeared.”

This program will be presented at the Emily Carr branch on Thursday, Jan. 24, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and at the Central branch on Saturday, Jan. 26, from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

To learn more from Van Clayton Powel, go to YouAreNOTWhatYouEat.com.

- with Black Press files