I feel many health books, while full of valuable information, are far too wordy and don't give people some concise steps they can take to improve their health in practical and affordable ways. This one page guide is a starting point for all of us who are concerned about rising health care costs and our connectedness with agriculture and the natural world. I encourage you to look up the books listed in the bibliography if you are interested in learning more.
DIET: Include plenty of fiber – vegetables, whole grains, fruit – in your diet to keep food moving through or you will get clogged up. Chew your food thoroughly as this aids digestion. Keep meat consumption low as it contributes no fiber at all. If possible, don’t peel your fruits and vegetables. Avoid refined grains (white flour, white pasta and breads, white rice) and don’t overcook your veggies (in fact, eat them raw as often as possible). Foods with intense colors--reds, purples and greens--are called phyto-nutrients because they are very nourishing.
ACID/ALKALINE BALANCE: Slightly alkaline blood is the natural state for humans and enables nutrients to be assimilated. When blood is acid, nutrients are not assimilated and all kinds of problems can result from physical disease to poor mental health. Most fruits and vegetables are alkaline-forming in our bodies and most grains, beans, seeds and meats are acid-forming. Of course, we need both acid- and alkali-forming foods. The key to proper assimilation is to maintain slightly alkaline blood by eating more fruit and vegetables than grains and meat.
ENZYMES: Try to eat at least 50% of your fruits and veggies raw. There are all kinds of enzymes in raw foods that are good for us and are lost through processing, cooking and freezing or long-term storage. Cut down on packaged foods (They are mostly dead and expensive) and minimize processed sugars and chemical additives in your diet.
JUICES: Drink raw juices. Make your own raw fruit and veggie juices, including carrot, beet, ginger and many other fruits and vegetables. These are truly immune-boosting and medicinal power foods. Most juicers come with a recipe book but check the rack at your health food store or book store for one if you didn’t get one that has recipes for different ailments and tonics.
CULTURED FOODS: Cultured foods are a time-honored tradition, a way to preserve foods without modern processing tools and loss of nutrients. Cultured foods have incredible live organisms that benefit digestion and taste sensational. Raw yogurt, raw sauerkraut and Essene bread are just a few of the examples of these fabulous foods.
DAIRY: If you drink milk, drink certified raw milk for enzymes, vitamins A and C and less lactose intolerance as well as incredible good flavor. Make your own raw milk yogurt and kefir and farmers cheese. Save the whey to add to soups and juices and to make kvass. Stocking Up and Nourishing Traditions are just two of the many great books that teach you how.
WATER: Drink clean water. If your water company doesn’t tell you what is in your tap water or if it is chlorinated or fluoridated use a reverse osmosis filter to do the best job of clean-up. Both the Co-op and Eureka Natural Foods have machines that dispense this kind of clean water for just 40 cents per gallon.
FATS: The typical American diet is woefully short on Omega 3 fatty acids. To balance your fatty acids component, eat raw nuts, seeds (include flax seeds and hemp seeds if possible) and cold water fish such as salmon. If getting these foods is a problem supplement with EPA or cod liver oil or fish oil capsules.
SUPPLEMENTS: Take Silymarin (milk thistle herb) for your liver if you live in an area where the air is polluted. When you have an infection or virus, boost your Vitamin C intake and add herbs for respiratory and sinus or whatever the ailment is. Raw garlic, ginger, GSE (grapefruit sed extract) and raw juices round out the arsenal for defense. Otherwise, try to perfect your diet and get the many vitamins and minerals present in a variety of vegetables, fruits and grains eaten fresh. Don't eat late at night; your body needs to shut down digestion while you sleep.
EXERCISE AND REST: Be sure to get plenty of exercise (walking, swimming, dancing, yoga, chi gong, stretching, etc.) and get enough sleep every night. Have some creative activities to get involved in, too.
Bibliography
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
The Uncookbook by Juliano
Stocking Up by Carol Hupping Stoner
Recipes for a Small Planet by Ellen Buchman Ewald
Laurel’s Kitchen by Laurel Robertson
Wild Fermentation by Sander Ellix Katz
Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford
Healthy Healing by Linda Rector Page
Eat to Beat Cancer by J. Robert Hatherrill
Rawsome by Brigitte Mars
Fats That Heal and Fats That Kill by Udo Erasmus
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