Saturday, January 22, 2011

You are what you eat

Well I have officially started the studies and already learnt some amazing things about our magnificent sacred bodies, some incredible foods and what health really means.

Did you know the normal, acceptable, birth right level of health is... bouncing out of bed, smile-on-your-face-spring-in-your-step sort of thing, excited for the day, endless and joyful energy all day, the ability to cope with all situations with a level cool head (and yes food choices affect your ability to deal with stress!) and choosing when you will go to bed, teaming with excitement to wake up and do more!

Now how many people feel like this? I have been reading about real things that can be done, simple and non expensive things that are available to all and this has made me sit up and listen! I am very excited and inspired and so happy that I can begin to share the world of nutrition with everyone...

Warning: Some content may offend weak stomachs!

You are what you eat. How many times have you heard this? So many times that it has probably lost its meaning, yet it is so so true. Saturated, refined, processed until its beaten black and blue, nutrient poor, toxic food not only does nothing for you nutritionally, it actually robs you of what goodness you do have inside! Some fast foods have such toxic effects on your body that rather than process and send the toxins straight where they belong (down the toilet), your body stores them. Your body cannot even begin to process the toxins and run all the other functions of the body. We pay good money for this food. Isn't that scary?

Eating healthy doesn't have to be scary, it doesn't have to involve huge changes and hunger or even cravings. It can be really simple, and the beauty is that once small changes are made and you start to feel good, you want more, that's just human nature.

So you make a few more changes, you tell your friends and family, no-no actually, they notice before you tell them, they notice that you look better, your skin is clear, your eyes sparkle, your hair is shiny and thick and you have lots more energy, and they want a piece of what you are having, and so the snowball begins. All from a very simple, small change.

So what small changes can you make?

Well what about, without making any other changes to your diet, you start eating a salad with your lunch, make it exciting, not just cucumber, lettuce and tomato - what about, strawberries, blueberries, grapes (fruit is AMAZING in salad), nuts, seeds, sprouts, avocado, green beans (they are SO yummy raw), beetroot, mushrooms, herbs, carrot... the list goes on! Get creative, go crazy, put 20 different things in there, the more variety the better.

Note - For a complete protein eat beans with nuts and seeds or grains. Some 4 bean mix (available in the canned veg section of the supermarket), some walnuts and sunflower seeds sprinkled over the top for example.

Have your salad first, then eat whatever else you normally have,  you will probably find that you don't even need whatever else it was that you were eating.

What else can you do? What about starting the day on a glass of warm lemon water, I've said it before but this is great for awakening your system, detoxing and encouraging a bowel motion.

Ok side note...Did you know that it is ideal to have 3 bowel motions a day!?! One with each meal, there is a reflex that is stimulated by chewing, swallowing and digestion that is meant to activate your motion, however since we are usually in the car on the way to work, or in a meeting or just busy, we ignore this reflex and it's suppressed; over a long period of time this results in constipation. When toxins sit in your bowel they are reabsorbed and the body becomes overloaded, and this leads to a whole host of problems and serious disease. So in essence - don't hold on to shit!

Another thing you can do is add dark leafy greens to your meal; if you don't like the taste, shred the leaves and add them at the end just before you eat so they don't go soggy (yuk). Leafy greens are a fantastic source of calcium, iron, folate, vitamin A (for bones),  C (for your skin) and K (for your blood). Leafy greens need fat for optimal absorption so cooking with a little (1 tsp) butter or oil will increase the benefits. Leafy greens are; broccoli, kale, spinach (spinach actually has calcium blocking properties so if looking for calcium in leafy greens avoid this one), romaine lettuce (lunch time salad), dandelion greens etc.

What else can I do? Drink more water!!! So simple.

Another idea... give your body 12 hours rest from food a day, this way it has time to digest all your food and it can move onto other housecleaning, this is easy if you eat dinner before 7pm and eat breakfast after 7am. You should still have water though as this helps all the internal processes tick over.

Finally, eat organic! This can be expensive yes, but the major chains of supermarkets are beginning to stock a small range of organic food for a reasonable price, you need to start somewhere so what about here?

Right i'll leave it here for now. Some really easy things to do. Once you start this journey and start giving your body what it needs it will start giving you what you need. Imagine clarity of thought, great memory, the ability to concentrate for long periods of time, an abundance of creativity, energy to achieve your greatest desires and much more.

Next topic on food is superfoods including chocolate (!)- I have been introduced to some amazing bits and pieces that don't cost the world but make the world of difference...

Love J x

ps. I am by no means qualified to give nutritional medicine advice yet... but if you have any questions about different things in your diet please ask, I will try my best to direct you to information from good reliable healthy sources. Email me on facebook or comment below. x

5 comments:

  1. Great simple advice thank you.

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  2. Yep surely inspired to head to the organic section and get started on eating the new me (you are what you eat!)

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  3. Hi Nourish, You say above that calcium is in green leafy veg, enough to cover your daily intake?

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  4. Hi, Thanks for your great question! The RDI for calcium is between 700mg and 1200mg depending on your gender, age and pregnancy or breastfeeding.

    Based on 800mg a day (men over 18 and women over 16 - menopause)

    Per 1/2 cup

    Swiss Chard 9.2 mg
    Chicory 90 mg
    Collard Greens 26 mg
    Arugula 16 mg
    Dandelion Greens 51 mg
    Kale 45 mg
    Mustard Greens 29 mg
    Spinach 15 mg

    So while it is a good source, you would have to eat a lot of greens to reach the RDI, if this was your choice I would recommend making a smoothie so you can get your bulk without having to eat it all, you can flavour with other things that appease your taste. However I have read some interesting information on calcium.

    David Wolfe has researched and proven that calcium does not build strong bones, it’s a misconception. Some calcium is good of course but some calcium is actually not good for us. Nano-bacteria that form calcifications have been studied, these calcifications in the heart are a heart attack, in the brain a stroke, in the liver emphysema, joints - arthritis, gallstones, kidney stones etc.

    So what can be done? Silicon and Magnesium is discussed at length by David Wolfe as an important combination for bone density.

    Silicon is in asparagus, cabbage, cucumbers, dandelion greens, lettuce, mustard greens, olives, parsnips, radishes, white onions, capsicum, horsetail grass (herb), soybeans, alfalfa and stems of leafy vegetables, fruits include apples, oranges, cherries, raisins, these are just a few...

    Interestingly silicon is found in mother’s milk - and you would think our bodies would know exactly what we need!

    Silicon will also build youthful skin tissue and flexible joints. There are a million other things, too much to discuss here!

    Magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a part in the production and transportation of energy around the body, it is in found in a lot of things, it is particularly high in almonds, brazil nuts, coconut, peanuts and walnuts, whole grains, pumpkin seeds and cacao and maca -both of which are superfoods that I will cover in the next post!

    David Wolfe suggests that this combination is the key to strong bones. You can Google or YouTube an entire host of information on this if you are interested any further. :)

    I hope this helps.

    Love J x

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  5. That is good information, certainly makes me think more about calcium. I just took it for granted that because I was told it was good for me that it actually was!

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