Bien-Estar Thanksgiving Day

by Dr. Heidi Villalá

Thanksgiving Day is a beautiful celebration in countries like the United States, Canada, and Brazil.

Although it is not a Costa Rican holiday, I find its motivation interesting: giving thanks for the harvests, the food, the freedom, and other privileges that life gives us. I think it’s fantastic, because we often focus so much on what we haven’t been able to achieve that we forget what we do have: how wonderful life is and how abundant our country is.

That’s why today I want to take this opportunity to thank life for the privilege of breathing, moving, and walking; actions we take for granted and are with us every day, and we only remember them when illness strikes; that’s when we miss them.

I am thankful for having a variety of colors available on my plate every day, for being able to get up every morning and enjoy my cup of coffee with a freshly made tortilla; For the abundance of food, herbs that add color to meals like achiote, and others that add flavor and aroma to foods like oregano, which also relieves colds and is a powerful natural antibiotic.

Also for the plants capable of nourishing and giving us strength, like ‘tiquizque’, ‘ñampí’, yam, and ‘camote’ sweet potato; which are excellent sources of fiber and energy, as well as natural estrogens. Because yes, our land is so kind that it allows us to have foods with healing and preventative properties, such as relieving the hot flashes of menopause, discomfort, and sudden mood swings. These can be alleviated and prevented by regularly consuming tubers.

Thank you because my land produces incredible, powerful, and healing foods like chan and mozote, simple yet powerful herbs capable of cooling our stomachs when we’re bloated or after a course of antibiotics. Likewise, it offers a variety of fruits in multiple colors and flavors: for example, Costa Rican guava and cas, loaded with vitamin C to strengthen our immune system during the rainy season, and many others to hydrate us during the summer; here we find pineapple, watermelon, and sunflower seeds or coconuts, with the right amount of electrolytes, glucose, fiber, and vitamins.

The list goes on, and I could talk at length about the wonders of my country, which provide us with everything we need for a healthy and balanced diet, capable of nourishing us, preventing, and treating multiple health ailments.

So, thank life for the abundance and prosperity that Costa Rica offers us.

__________________________________

Dr. Heidy Villalá Rodríguez - Nutritionist CPN: 2571-18

Founder of the Holistic Nutrition Center (CNH)

El Paso Shopping Center, across from Café Bohío, Jacó, Garabito, Puntarenas. 8713-8359 www.facebook.com/share/16jyNhFNqk/

---