Choosing Food:

The foundation of a health improvement program is choosing the right food. Many people have tried to get well by eating anything they wanted and attempted to overpower a poor diet with drugs, vitamins, herbs and supplements. Sadly, the damage done by fast food, candy, sweets, soda, genetically modified and pesticide-laden commercial food cannot be compensated for by any nutritional supplement. However, the rewards for eating an appropriate diet may include: controlled cravings, elimination of hunger between meals, actualized ideal weight, increased physical energy and eradication of mood swings, a heightened sense of well-being, and the prevention and reversal of disease.

What is an appropriate diet? The pundits on one side insist upon a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. While at the same time, another group advocates a low or no fat vegetarian plan. And a third group advocates specific ratios of nutrients. Why is it that regardless of the diet, some people do well, others receive no effect t all and many get worse? Hippocrates said it best, “One man’s food is another man’s poison”.

Part of the answer lies within our genetics. The correct ratio of macro-nutrients — protein, carbohydrate and fat for any group of people — evolved over the millennia. To know one’s ancestral diet would be a step in the right direction. However, ethnic and cultural mixing and movement from continent to continent has resulted in an infinite number of genetic possibilities. In addition, ancestral diets supported hunters and gatherers, herders and farmers. Therefore in the modern world, it’s nearly impossible for us to identify with any degree of precision what our ancestral diet may have been.

Another part of the answer is the influence our environment and our lifestyles have had upon us. While being stable for most of the past 100,000 years, these factors have shifted dramatically within the past 100 years.

Lastly, your nutritional needs are not static; they are not written in stone. They can change from year to year, season to season, day to day and even from hour to hour.

You may need to move beyond philosophical positions, out-dated preconceptions and fads to arrive at the the food plan that provides the foundation for your health. If you are ill, fatigued, have digestive symptoms, allergies, infections, headaches, depression or anxiety or just not as well as you want to be; you must consider that a food plan change is needed.

We recommend 2 books: Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and the 21st Century Health & Weight Optimization guide by Dr. Dan Pompa.

Here are some general guidelines that apply to all:

• Eat sitting down and in a relaxed manner
  

• Chew your food slowly and thoroughly - Be conscious!

• Eat 70 - 80% of your foods from the vegetable kingdom. This is easily done by dividing your plate into thirds. One third is your protein. The other two-thirds are vegetables. Add a salad and voila!
  

• Eat whole natural foods that will spoil, but eat them before they do (no irradiated foods)

• Eat naturally raised meat, game, line caught fish, preferably Alaskan or pacific, avoid atlantic and seafood available at natural markets and www.grasslandbeef.com
  

• Eat whole, naturally produced milk products from pasture-fed cows, preferably raw and/or fermented, such as whole yogurt, cultured butter, whole cheeses, and sour cream

• Use only traditional fats and oils, including butter and other animal fats, extra virgin olive oil, expeller expressed sesame, hemp and flax oil, grape seed oil and the tropical oils — coconut and palm

• Eat fresh fruits and vegetables, preferably organic, in salads and soups, or lightly steamed (shop at farmer's markets to save money and support our local farmers)

• Use raw nuts and seeds liberally. Try hemp hearts (shelled hemp seeds). Replace your protein powders with the hemp hearts. 4 tablespoons provides enough protein and a balance of the omega oils. They are also great on salads

• Include enzyme-enhanced lacto-fermented vegetables (such as sauerkraut or Kim chi), fruits, beverages and condiments in your diet on a regular basis

• Prepare homemade meat stocks from the bones of chicken, beef, lamb or fish and use liberally in soups and sauces

• Avoid grains, including rice and oatmeal if you need to lose weight, have diabetes, chronic disease, infections or cellular inflammation. If not you may use whole grains in moderation. The amount you can tolerate is individual and needs to be determined.
  

• Use filtered water for cooking and drinking. Drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water daily. Use herbal teas and organic coffee 1-2 cups daily maximum

• Use unrefined Himalayan, Celtic or Red Hawaiian salt and a variety of herbs and non-radiated spices for food interest and appetite stimulation

• Make your own salad dressing using raw vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, expeller pressed flax oil, and herbs and spices

• Use natural sweeteners such as raw honey, maple syrup, brown rice syrup and dehydrated cane sugar juice in moderation unless you need to lose weight, have diabetes, infections or cellular inflammation. Remember sugar is dangerous

• If you are sugar restricted use Xylitol and/or Stevia powder. Do not use Agave syrup as it is merely the same as high fructose corn syrup.
  

• Use unpasteurized beer or wine in moderation unless you need to lose weight, have diabetes, have infections, chronic disease or cellular inflammation.

• Cook only in stainless steel, cast iron, glass or good quality enamel. Throw out the teflon non-stick pans
  

• Support our local farmers by shopping at farmers’ markets. You can find them at: www.farmernet.com

• Do not eat food that you are sensitive or allergic too. One simple test is to take your pulse before eating a food, eat the food and take your pulse again. If your pulse speeds up, suspect that it is an allergen. At Hygiea Health we desensitize allergies with Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique.

The following list describes dietary dangers:

• Don’t eat commercially processed foods, such as cookies, cakes, crackers, TV dinners, soda, packaged foods, etc.

• Avoid all refined sweeteners, such as sugar, dextrose, glucose, agave and especially high-fructose corn syrup

• Avoid white flour, white flour products and white rice

• Avoid all hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats and oils

• Avoid all vegetable oils made from soy, corn, safflower, canola or cottonseed

• Do not use polyunsaturated oils for cooking, sauteing or baking

• Avoid fried food

• Do not practice strict vegetarianism (veganism); animal products provide vital nutrients not found in plant foods

• Avoid products containing protein powders

• Avoid pasteurized milk; do not consume low fat milk, skim milk, powdered milk or imitation milk products

• Avoid battery-produced eggs and factory-farmed meats

• Avoid highly processed lunch meats and sausage containing MSG and other additives, such as nitrates, nitrites, sulfates and sulfites

• Avoid rancid and improperly prepared seeds, nuts and grains found in granolas, quick rise breads and cereals (these block mineral absorption and cause intestinal distress)

• Avoid canned, sprayed, waxed, bio-engineered or irradiated fruits and vegetables

• Avoid artificial food additives, especially MSG, hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, aspartame, Sweet’N Low, NutraSweet or Splenda (Most soups, sauce and broth mixes and commercial condiments contain one or more of the above, even if not labeled)

• Decrease or avoid caffeine found in coffee, tea, soda and chocolate

• Avoid aluminum-containing foods such as commercial salt, baking powder and antacids; do not use aluminum cookware or aluminum-containing deodorant

• Do not drink fluoridated or chlorinated water

• Do not use a microwave oven; consider purchasing an Aroma convection turbo oven at www.mercola.com