Save yourself from chronic illness and premature death.
Become a
nutritarian:
a person who seeks out
nutrient-dense
foods, while avoiding unhealthful foods. The objective is to eat less
macronutrients (less protein, less carbohydrate, and less fat),
but more micronutrients (naturally ocurring vitamins, minerals, and
phytochemicals). This has remarkable
benefits for your health.
Even if you are young and healthy, the choices you make today will have
a profound effect on your future health, and on how much enjoyment you
derive from your lifetime.
A nutritarian diet is built around green vegetables. If you
stop eating all foods with
added salt or sugar,
then within a couple of months your
tastes will return to their uncorrupted state,
and vegetables will taste the way they did to our primitive
ancestors--- delicious. A properly balanced nutritarian diet includes all
of the following kinds of foods:
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| Cruciferous vegetables such as kale, bok choy, cabbage,
cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mustard greens, turnip greens,
collard greens, arugula and radishes.
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| Other vegetables such as spinach, Swiss chard, lettuce,
tomato, carrots, green peppers, asparagus, zucchini, summer squash,
mushrooms, beets, celery, eggplant and cucumbers.
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| Fresh fruits such as strawberries, cranberries, pomegranite, plums,
raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, grapefruit, oranges, cantaloupe, kiwi,
watermelon and other melons, apple, peach, cherries, apricots, pineapple,
mango, pears, grapes and bananas.
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| Beans and legumes such as black beans, kidney beans, anasazi beans,
navy beans, pinto beans, great northern beans, azuki beans, green lentils,
red lentils, black lentils, soybeans, edamame, chickpeas and split peas.
These foods contain ample amounts of
protein.
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| Healthy fats: avocadoes,
raw unsalted seeds such as sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), unhulled
sesame seeds, hempseed, and ground flaxseed, raw unsalted nuts such as
walnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, almonds, macadamias, hazelnuts, pistachios,
pine nuts (pignolias), and pecans. Because of their caloric density,
quantities of healthy fats must be limited unless weight gain is desired.
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| Flavor enhancers in recipes: onions, garlic, dried fruits such as
dates, apricots, raisins, and currants, cocoa powder, vanilla, lemons,
limes, goji berries, salt-free mustard, vinegars (especially sweet,
flavored vinegars), nut butters,
nutritional yeast, soy milk, hempseed milk, vegetable juices and spices.
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Optional foods
can also be used, if desired, in limited quantities:
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| Healthy starches such as winter squash, butternut squash, sweet potatoes,
corn, and peas. These are good foods and nutritarian diets normally include
at least one serving a day, often more.
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| Plant milks
such as soy milk, hempseed milk, and almond milk. These are
normally used in recipes, not as beverages. (The best beverage by far is
water. Nutritarian food already contains a lot of water, and for most people
it is neither necessary nor desirable to consume large quantities
beyond that, except to replace water lost through heavy sweating.)
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| Tofu. It is a processed food, less desirable than beans or whole
soybeans (edamame), but can be a useful ingredient in recipes.
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| Whole grains such as steel-cut oats, brown rice, barley, quinoa
and whole wheat. Grains, if eaten, should be in whole form, not processed
as flour.
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A great many nutritarians are vegan, but
animal products can be eaten in a nutritarian diet provided that they
constitute no more than 10% of total calorie intake (beyond this amount,
there is strong scientific evidence that they contribute to numerous
diseases). Because these foods contain animal
protein, they should be
completely avoided by persons with autoimmune diseases. Nutritionally
acceptable animal products are:
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| Fish such as tilapia, salmon and haddock.
Warning: most fish on this planet now contain
mercury and other pollutants,
which may pose a health risk outweighing any possible
benefits. Plant alternatives rich in
Omega-3 fatty acids include flaxseed, hempseed, and walnuts.
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| Nonfat milk or yogurt, eggs, white meats such as turkey breast and
chicken breast. (Some research is starting to indicate that the animal protein
in eggs may more harmful than previously thought, especially for diabetics.
Eggs may disappear from the above list before long.)
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Foods to avoid include:
A healthy diet includes both
raw and cooked
vegetables. Good preparation/cooking techniques include:
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| Blending greens with fruit or other flavor enhancers.
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| Blending salad dressings and vegetable sauces using nuts as the fat component.
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| Vegetable-based soups and stews.
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| Steaming.
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| Blending fruit smoothies.
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| Microwaving at medium power levels.
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| Baking and roasting can be used occasionally, but are not primary
nutritarian cooking methods. They should only be used for foods with high
water content, such as butternut, winter squash, sweet potatoes, apples,
and so on.
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Heating foods above the boiling point of water destroys nutrients and
creates toxic compounds. Cooking methods to avoid include:
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| Frying or any other method involving heated oils. These are extremely
unhealthy and should should never be used.
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| Grilling and broiling. Browned food should be avoided--- use
the healthy flavor enhancers to add flavor, not browning.
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Adults should avoid
snacking.
Vitamins and other
supplements should be used very minimally, but there are
some key supplements that one needs to be aware of.
For a maximal feeling of wellbeing,
and your best chance of a long, healthy life, combine a
health-promoting nutritarian diet with a healthy lifestyle:
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| Exercise regularly, including core strengthening and cardiovascular
conditioning.
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| Maintain a healthy weight: a
BMI
between 18.5 and 25, and a small
waist size. A nutritarian diet, eating only when hungry,
and daily exercise
will take care of this.
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| Do not use tobacco,
caffeine,
alcohol,
or other drugs. If it makes you feel different, it is toxic.
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| Get adequate rest, seven to eight hours of sleep nightly for most
people. If you were awakened by an alarm clock, you didn't get enough sleep.
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| Avoid risky behaviors. Don't do anything that isn't smart.
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| Develop good family and social relationships. Love your fellow
creatures, human and animal.
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| Pursue interesting, enjoyable work and play, but maintain a low-stress
approach. Less is more.
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| Choose the moral, ethical path in life. It's always best in the long run.
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| Laugh, love life, and enjoy each day to the fullest. You only have
one chance at today, don't blow it.
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For detailed information on how to change to a nutritarian eating
style, including
recipes, and the medical and scientific
rationale for this approach to nutrition, read
Eat To Live or
Eat For Health
by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. His
website also has a
some useful free information, and many more resources available to members
(there is a modest monthly charge for membership).
Some of the most important hard science behind the nutritarian diet
can be found in
The China Study
by Dr. T. Colin Campbell.
There are also thousands of studies that point to this
coherent picture. But the most convincing proof of all may be
the many people who have restored their health by
reversing cardiovascular disease, Type II diabetes, autoimmune disease,
obesity, and other diseases and conditions,
and the many people who have used this approach to
maintain healthy vigor and enjoy life as they age, while their
acquaintances spend their days in hospitals and doctors' offices.
If you are wondering why you haven't heard more about all this,
well, surprise, the reasons involve money. Read
Overdo$ed America
by Dr. John Abramson.
If you just cannot manage a nutritarian diet, for one reason or
another, your next best choice is probably the starch-based diet of
Dr. John McDougall.
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