30 Have you ever asked yourself this question “why don’t foods have the same nutrients that they had a couple of decades ago?” If you have, then you’re creating awareness that it is imperative to change the way we feed and nourish ourselves. Most importantly, this is about our children, to ensure that they are eating foods rich in nutrients. In my opinion, here’s the answer to that question; a few decades ago our soils were rich in minerals. They were virgin lands full of nutrients, and they were not contaminated as pollution had not harmed them yet.The food was allowed to grow in their natural way without the rush caused by greed and technology. The food was grown in its own time; now, chemicals are used to make today’s food grow faster. The idea of “planting the food in the ground” was respected in the same way as respecting a woman’s gestational period. A baby is not ready at five months, or at six, or even at seven. Our Creator determined that the ideal time was nine months; likewise, every food on earth has its time of preparation before it should be used for per - sonal nutrition needs.We live in a world where technology is always advanc-ing; this means that things can be produced faster, but that doesn’t necessarily mean everything is better be-cause it’s fast and this has its consequences when it comes to our nourishment. For example, microwav-ing ready-made foods is certainly faster than cooking, but we all know it is not healthy because it leaves us devoid of most nutrients. We have to change our mindset and reprogram our - selves. Feeding ourselves well does not necessarily mean eating a very expensive meal, or eating in the best restaurant in the city, or eating in large or small portions. The thing that determines whether we feed ourselves well or not is the concentration, quality, quantity, and variety of nutrients contained in the foods we eat, the freshness and purity of them.Our lack of knowledge, and in some cases our cultural beliefs, are the ones that lead us to make bad decisions about what we eat every day. In the end, we often eat some foods with excess nutrients and others that are totally deficient. This imbalance turns food into our worst enemy because over time this ends up in diseas-es, body weight disorders, poor physical conditions, and poor performance.Another fact that we need to understand is that most people have assumed that this is a matter that con-cerns us doctors when it should be every adult per - son’s responsibility. Unfortunately, as a Doctor, I rec-ognize that even we do not take the proper care when feeding ourselves, so we are not the best example. The reason why is because we are taught to study diseas-es - their causes, their evolution, their diagnosis, and treatment, but we are not taught how to take care our - selves or prevent the diseases from happening or how to eat properly. We know medicines and how to cure, but not how to feed, care and prevent painful diseases in humans. Why is it important to obtain nutrients from external sources nowadays? By Dr. Silvia Raquel Bueno domInICAn rePublIC Dr. Silvia Raquel Bueno dra.raquelbuenovascular@gmail.com+1 809 226 8686 ext 4660