The old adage “You are what you eat” certainly rings true and as you adapt your lifestyle more to a natural, balanced and harmonious approach, you will see how this affects and effects your Being. I prefer to use the word “Lifestyle” instead of “Diet” as a change in what you consume and how you consume it will truly influence your lifestyle… in a positive way!
We wont go raw in the first blog, most aren’t up to that- actually we wont even hit vegetarian or vegan, but what we will do is spend a few blogs on a tiered approach to changing what you eat. As with all things in the media today, go with your instinct on what sounds right in general, then what sounds right for you now. I have read and applied techniques, and I think that is an important point to note- we’ve been there and done it, continue to do it, and can relate to many of the experiences you’re about to have… and the challenges.
My sources of reputable information was varied, in no particualr order; N. Walker, H. Diamond, A. Wigmore, J. Robbins, P. Bragg, H. Shelton, T. Fry, J. Brandt, H. Hotema, A. Ehret & D. Reid to name a few. These covered everything; fasting, sprouts, wheatgrass, food combining, raw food, juices, natural hygiene, exercise, breathing (yep- we need to keep doing that…correctly!), spirituality, longevity… you can now see how the word ‘diet’ doesn’t quite cover how important what we consume, or don’t, really is! If you would like a detailed list of the books themselves, please contact me.
The Basics,whether you’re single or feeding a family of 15, young or old, male or female… you can start with this and see/feel noticeable changes. You don’t need any new appliances, to upgrade your kitchen, or stop going out… after all, eating is a very social scene.
- Increase the amount of fruit you eat. I hear it often, people telling me that fruit bloats them or causes stomach aches. Eat fruit early in the day and by itself as it digests faster (high water content) than most foods. Don’t have fruit after a heavy (thinking meat and potatoes here)meal, where possible don’t have fruit after any cooked, meal.
- Skip the grain based breakfast a couple days a week and have some fruit instead. Your body has just spent the evening assimilating yesterdays food so give it a chance to take a break and get ready for todays bombardment. Grains, especially processed grains, are very taxing to the digestive system.
- Milk, glorious milk… or so they’d have us believe. Cows milk is fantastic for baby cows, or calves as we know them- why do we think that milk specific for one mammal, when pasteurized, is good for another? We’ll discuss milk and dairy in later blogs but for now, start cutting back your dairy intake…and trust me when I say it’s in a lot of food products!
- Eat a fresh leafy green salad for lunch 3 days a week. You’ll feel much better in the afternoon and wont need a ’stimulant’ to keep you going. It’s easy to have at the office, no offensive odors, and remains quick and simple to prepare. If you’re looking for a salad dressing try some of Braggs Liquid Aminos or a squeeze of lemon.
- Swap the soda out for a fresh squeezed juice…they have drive through’s as well! If you’re not lucky enough to have a juice bar near by (or work in the Marathon building and can share mine!), then pick up an inexpensive maunal one and squeeze some oranges- the taste is awesome.
- Cut back on the bread and flour based products. We’ll go into that in a later blog.
- Eat slowly and chew your food, sit up straight when doing this. Sounds real simple I know but in todays rat-race, who has time to eat slowly? Masticating (chewing) food is the first stage in the breaking down and absorption process of what we eat. Salivary juice is mixed with the food during this which activates the gastric and intestinal juices to carry out the remainder of the work.
- Gerneral rule of thumb; Fruit in the morning, Salad for lunch and if you’re going to cook food, do that for dinner.
That should be enough as a starter. A few small changes and you will feel a difference. Over the coming months we’ll transition into the world of feeling ’alive’ all the time… and who doesn’t want to feel like that?!!