Food Tips

Saliva and Digestion
Saliva contains digestive enzymes which begin to break down foods before they reach the stomach. This is especially significant with starches (e.g., rice, pasta and potatoes). Putting small amounts of salad dressing, sauces or spices on foods is perfectly acceptable. Things that taste good to us, promote salivation. There is no need to deny yourself the great sauces such as Béarnaise or Chimichurri. Just don’t overdo it, and always chew well!

Cut Back on the Cooked Foods
When making food choices, keep in mind, cooked foods or most any product sold in a can or jar (unless marked “raw”) are dead foods and cannot nourish the cells or glands in your body. We need fresh-live-raw, enzyme-rich foods to keep ourselves nourished and cleansed. There’s much more information on that in the Raw vs. Cooked Foods page. Don’t let “raw” scare you. As described later, it’s not just fruit plates and salads. It’s raw chips, cereals, crackers and most anything sweet, sour, salty, hard, soft, crunchy, or chewable. The recipes are simple, but the taste is FANTASTIC!

Daily Eating Approach
Breakfast is perhaps the most important meal of the day and the worst time to consume dead food. The body has been without nourishment for many hours and (if the digestive system is working properly) will quickly absorb whatever it is fed. Fresh fruit is one of the best things to have along with a good dose of fiber and your vitamins, herb’s and other supplements. If you are on a muscle building campaign, it’s time for a big dose of protein!

Throughout the day, aim to consume short, LIVE snacks. The less meat eaten, the better. Once you’ve been on a proper diet for 3 weeks or so, the cravings for dead, salty food should subside. At that point, your body will tell you what it needs and you can let your new cravings determine how much protein, carbohydrates and fat you eat per day. A common diet may consist of:

65% Carbohydrate (simple & complex)
30% Protein (low fat)
05% Fat

If retiring at midnight, absolutely NO solid foods after 9:00pm. The body cleanses itself at night and should not be forced to digest late meals.

Fiber
The National Cancer Institute recommends 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day, whereas others suggest 35 to 50 grams. In his book, Fiber: The Missing Nutrient (1992) Dr. Bruce B. Miller suggests fiber should come from a number of sources, 75% being insoluble and 25% being soluble.

According to Dr. Shereen Jegtvig in an about.com article:

Insoluble fiber is the type of dietary fiber found in high-fiber foods like whole grains, nuts, wheat bran and vegetables. Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water so it helps to move material through the colon faster by increasing the bulk of the stool. This can be very helpful to people who suffer from constipation or irregularity. Diets high in insoluble fiber may also decrease the risk of diabetes.

Soluble fiber is also found in many high-fiber foods like oats, citrus fruits, apples, barley, psyllium, flax seeds and beans. Soluble fiber absorbs water, which helps to soften stools making them easier to eliminate from the body. BellaOnline’s Nutrition Editor, Moss Greene provides a comprehensive list of high-fiber foods. Also, do not eat seeds, grains, nuts or fruits right after a large meal as it can cause indigestion.

Bread
When I opted to eliminate white flour products from my diet, it left me in a search for a new type of bread. I found Sprouted Grain Bread by Breads for Life (Strafford, MO). It yields 8 grams of protein per serving and is absolutely delicious when consumed warm right out of the microwave or toaster. It is a little dry if not warmed up first. My favorite is the sprouted 7-grain bread in the blue package (pictured). Be clear, whole wheat bread is not something you’ll not find in my home. According to Dr. Bernard Jensen, “rye builds muscle whereas wheat builds fat.”