BODY HEALTH | The Ideal Diet |
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The present trend of dis-ease is a direct result of unhealthy choices we make in our day-to-day life. These choices include and are not limited to eating, drinking, smoking, inactivity, breathing, thinking and lack of sleep. Our eating choices affect our health because the foods we eat include one or all of the following:
Chemicals in Processed Foods
The current processing of foodstuffs includes the addition of chemicals to keep them appealing and edible for the longest time possible (Shelf Life). Not only is this done to processed foods. It is done to fresh foods and produce as well. These added chemicals we consume in our foods will not be processed into nutrients for our bodies to utilize, and thus will get absorbed and stored for an indefinite period of time in our tissues and cells (bones, organs, brain, fat, muscles, and joints). These chemicals delay digestion, add to the toxic load of our body (which, in order to protect itself, surrounds them with fluids and other compounds in its effort to neutralize them) and bring our vibrational frequencies down. This adds extra pounds to our weight and taxes our bodymind wellbeing.
GMO (Genetically Modified Organism)
GMO introduces insect and pest resistant genes from animals (pigs) into non-resistant plants creating new, resistant strains. This is done through genetically snipping, inserting, recombining, rearranging, editing and programming genetic material from dissimilar and unrelated species, permanently altering their genetic codes and creating transgenic life forms. These novel organisms will pass the genetic changes on to their offspring through heredity.
BGH (Bovine Growth Hormone)
Bovine Growth Hormone is given to cows to produce more milk. This hormone gives them horrible mastitis (inflammation/infection of the udders). They then require constant veterinarian supervision and continuous high doses of antibiotics. Their milk contains high levels of pus, antibiotics and medication. The cow’s milk and dairy products derived from this milk also contain BGH. This hormone increases cancer risk in human beings.
Sugar
Sugar is very acid-forming in the body and creates an ideal environment for bacteria, virus and fungi to thrive, hindering its immune system because of the overgrowth of these noxious organisms, and predisposes people to allergies and infections. The body then leaches calcium from the bones in its effort to neutralize these acids and maintain homeostasis of the blood.
You say, "Well, I'll eat sugar-free!" Sadly, this does not make us healthier. In fact it makes us less healthy. Here is why: Sugar-free products are made sweet with aspartame, splenda and other substances that have been created (yes, they say from "natural" sources yet are not 'natural' themselves!) with one end in mind: making more money off of the consumers worry and fear. These products are toxic chemicals that also cause cancer. Why hasn't the FDA alerted us about this? because there is no money in it for them.
Further, our bodies do not recognize these sugars and thus do not trigger the "I'm full" message so we keep on eating, getting cravings and gaining weight! (See Sugar under Health Concerns).
Refined Wheat Flour
Refined wheat flour is the wheat kernel stripped of its nutrients and fiber, leaving only the white starch, in an effort to make baking flour milder in flavor for the benefit of our culinary creations. This hinders our digestion and health by creating constipation (less fiber to move the bolus, and toxins through the digestive system). In the long run allergies to wheat may arise.
Artificial Sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners have no calories, it is true. They are, however, highly toxic ingredients that the body has a hard time recognizing processing, and eliminating. When the body has trouble eliminating toxic ingredients it stores them out of the way of vital functions, and into joints and fatty tissues where they remain, surrounded in neutralizing fluids, until the body gets a break and can process and eliminate them (detox). That is why, when you detox, you loose weight: the more toxic you are, the more fluid is retained in the body in its effort to neutralize toxins.
Why do we gain weight when we're eating sugar-free? because the body does not recogize these 'sugars' and does not elicit the "I'm full" message. We crave more and keep on eating, and gain weight.
Milk and Dairy
Milk and dairy are products that we lose the ability to digest after age 3, mainly because we no longer produce the enzymes necessary to digest the lactose and other ingredients in dairy. These products pass through our digestive system producing mucus, gas and distress. The only healthy dairy products we can digest are yoghurt, cottage cheese and butter. Stretching this a bit would include fresh white cheese.
Soft Drinks/Carbonated Beverages
Soft drinks are loaded with high fructose corn syrup (it is cheap), and sugar (see Sugar above), and carbonated beverages are highly acid forming in our bodies. Put them both together to give our bodies a load of calories and stress its calcium deposits in the bones in an effort to neutralize these acids.
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
High Fructose Corn Syrup is derived from corn, which is a natural ingredient. However, once a natural ingredient is broken down and separated, its parts no longer form a "natural" ingredient and our bodies no longer recognize them! The problem with HFCS is that it is not broken down the way sugar is: instead of breaking down in the digestive system, it is processed by the liver. This is not a positive thing for several reasons: the liver is already taxed, and our bodies do not recognize this sugar, emit the "I'm full" message, and we stop eating. The result is we eat more, gain weight and become insulin resistant.
You may now ask: What can I eat? What should I avoid?
The ideal diet will vary from person to person and depends, mainly, on four key issues: age, level of activity, blood type (A, B, AB, and O), and lifestyle/religious beliefs.
Apart from these issues, a few simple guidelines will help you look, feel, and BE better:
1- Eat Fruit Alone and away from other meals and proteins
2- Eat Carbohydrates (starches) with Vegetables
3- Eat Proteins with Vegetables
4- Don't eat proteins with carbohydrates in the same meal
5- Do not drink with meals.
6- Eat only whole grains
7- Stay away from mucus-producing Dairy
8- Coffee – black!
1.- Fruit alone? Why? Fruit is a simple food. It contains sugars ready for the body to absorb and enzymes to aid with their digestion. Fruit, therefore, passes through the body quickly providing energy and both soluble and insoluble fibers. The body works hard at passing fruit out of the stomach and into the intestines and colon so the sensitive nutrients can be taken up into the blood quickly and efficiently. If we eat fruit with/after our meals, the sugars in the fruit will ferment in the stomach causing gas and bloating and indigestion. The best time to eat fruit is in the morning on an empty stomach because after a night of burning the readily-available sugar stores in the body, the brain is hungry for the fresh fruit sugars quickly absorbed and supplied through the intestines.
2, 3 & 4.- Why not combine proteins and carbohydrates? Proteins require an acidic environment to be digested properly while starches require an alkaline environment. The body utilizes different digestive juices to properly process and digest proteins than it does for starches/carbs. The digestion of starches starts in the mouth with the enzyme ptyalin being secreted along with the saliva. This enzyme is not effective when we eat starch and protein together. The unprocessed starch then passes on to the stomach where proteins, on the other hand, are being broken down by pepsin and hydrochloric acid (HCl). The alkaline starches neutralize the protein-splitting acids and the whole bolus then starts fermenting, producing gas and bloating. This further hinders absorption of nutrients that have been further destroyed by the decaying/fermenting process. All of this leads to constipation (and its consequences), premature aging and dis-ease.
5.- Why not drink with meals? Because you dilute the digestive juices and neutralize the temperature-sensitive enzymes that are required to effectively break down the foods. If you are eating vegetables, grains, and fruit high in water content, you should not feel thirsty after your meal (unless you use too much salt with your food).
6.- Why eat only whole grains? Whole grains (brown rice, whole grain flours, beans) are good sources of fiber, vitamins and minerals, complex carbohydrates, vegetable protein, and are naturally low in fat. When you eat processed and refined grains/cereals, you are eating foods that are stripped of one or more of their whole-istic ingredients. These foods are incomplete and the body will have a hard time identifying its energies and will not make a thorough and efficient digestion.
7.- Of all these guidelines, I have found staying away from milk and aged cheeses and not combining starches and proteins in the same meal the hardest to implement. Our societal habits are so strong that wherever we go to eat we are faced with meat and potatoes and cheese, flour and cheese (pizza and sandwiches), hamburgers, chicken and rice… Seldom do we see correct combinations: meat/chicken/fish and salad, potato and greens, rice and greens, bread and greens, and cheese is added to everything to ‘enhance’ its flavor (and increase the fat content and the mucus production in the body).
8.- Edgar Cayce stated that coffee was good to consume and we now know it is high in antioxidants and other beneficial ingredients. He did emphasize, however, that it should be taken black, without sugar and without milk. He claimed that the combination of these three produced mucus and ‘stickiness’ in the digestive system, which was hard to break down and would end up as a compact mass.
So, what should the ideal diet be? I would venture it to be a diet rich in whole, unprocessed, foods; well-balanced meals; with an abundance of fresh, green, leafy vegetables; and an overwhelming lack of refined flour and sugar-based foods. This is very ample and leaves a lot of ‘wiggle-room’! Oh, and plenty of water between meals to help flush toxins out and keep the bowels moving.
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