Dietary guidelines for your family; healthy foods and foods to avoid

 Written By Eeka King B.H.Sc (Acup)

In our rapidly changing society, people have lost their instinctive nature in the ways of eating and rely instead on their taste buds and visual sensations for choosing sustenance. People today tend to eat to live instead of eating to live. The fast paced life gives nutritious eating a low priority. It comes as no surprise that the food processing industry is one of the largest manufacturing industries in the world and also the most powerful. This industry naturally uses its financial clout to influence the slant of university research and the dictates that come from government agencies.

We need to go back to a clean, vital and healthy diet that our ancestors thrived off. A healthy diet is one that sustains robust health and produces healthy and constitutionally strong children generation after generation.

There are many diet fads going around at this time so it is very important to educate yourself and most importantly listen to what your body is telling you. Diets such as ‘all raw vegan food diets’ are relatively new and when you do your research there has never been a culture, tribe or village which has sustained a healthy population of children generation after generation on this diet. If you maintained an all raw vegan diet throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding you could very possibly be giving your child a genetically weak start to life and delayed or hindered development.

Let’s have a look at what foods have kept our ancestors strong and what foods best be avoided.

Unhealthy foods……

Sugar is one of the worse drugs for your body. Sugar is also known as sucrose, dextrose, corn syrup and fructose. It heats the body up, suppresses the immune system, interferes with and lowers absorption of vitamins and minerals (especially calcium, magnesium & vitamin E), destroys fertility and feeds cancer cells. Sugar is one of the biggest contributors to all of our modern dis-eases. Sugar creates mood swings, hyperactivity, poor concentration and ADHD in children. Sugar is not just in lollies, chocolate, ice cream, biscuits and soft drinks it is in just about every single processed or packaged food in the supermarket. Nearly all cereals, fruit juices, sauces, dips, table spreads, yoghurts, muesli bars and snacks contain large amounts of sugar. Look at the back of the labels and avoid at all costs.

White Flour together with sugar has contributed to the demise of good health and the explosion of today’s degenerative diseases. Most breads, pasta, cakes, cookies, baked goods are made with refined, bleached flour.

Soy is actually a dangerous food to consume. It is high in phyto-estrogens which disrupts endocrine and thyroid function and can cause disturbances such as infertility, breast cancer and hypothyroidism. Soy inhibits the absorption of calcium and can make your bones weak. Soy milk, soy cheese, Margarine, soy protein bars, soy burgers and tofu are made with soy. Some infant formulas are made with soy and it is the equivalent of giving your baby 5 birth control pills per day. Soy is damaging for young children. Miso (soybean paste) and tempeh are okay to eat occasionally because they are fermented. Be sure they are organic.

Milk, eggs, chicken and meat from animals that are raised in factories; When animals are given growth hormones, antibiotics, grains that have pesticides (or contain soy) and are not allowed to graze freely from pastured fields, these chemicals are passed on to the consumers.

Caffeine causes exhaustion, fatigue and addiction. Caffeine lowers sperm count and can make it difficult for a woman to get pregnant and stay pregnant. Caffeine is in coffee, black tea, soft drinks and chocolate.

Trans- fats are hydrogenated vegetable oils that have undergone an unnatural chemical process. Trans- fats are in most processed foods, bakery goods, cookies and pastries, chips, margarine and fried foods. Modern-day diets high in hydrogenated vegetable oils instead of traditional animal fats are implicated in causing a significant increase in heart disease and cancer. Beware of the diet-decorates and the ‘food processing industry’ which lead you to believe that margarine is better for you than butter. Margarine is bad!

Canola, corn, cottonseed, safflower and soy oils go bad before they are even bought; a chemical process that make them smell ok. These oils can destroy your DNA and deplete vitamin E. Store bought salad dressings and mayonnaise are usually made with canola or soy oil. Read labels before you buy.

Low-fat foods such as reduced fat milk and yoghurt are not good for you because we need fat to digest protein. We need cream to digest the protein in milk. It is best to avoid the bad fats mentioned above.

Healthy Foods…..

Proteins:

Eggs that are organic and from free range pastures

Fresh organic pasture raised meat including beef, lamb, game, chicken, turkey, duck and other fowl;

Organic organ meats from pastured animals

Bone broths and stews made from organic chicken, fish, beef or lamb bones. A slow cooker is an excellent appliance for slow cooking meat on bones over a long period of time. Organic broth is full of vitamins and minerals, calcium and marrow.

Wild caught seafood of all types from deep sea waters; fresh shellfish in season; oysters; fish eggs

*Wild salmon, tuna and sardines that are canned in olive oil are ok in small amounts. ‘John West’ is the only brand that offers canned fish without vegetable oil and sugar

Fermented soy products (miso and tempeh) in small amounts

Fats:

Fresh butter and cream from pasture-fed cows, preferably raw and cultured

Lard and beef, lamb, goose and duck fat from pastured animals

Extra-virgin olive oil and unrefined flax seed oil in small amounts

Coconut oil; the benefits of coconut oil are endless. This is one fat that will help you lose fat!

Cod liver oil is an excellent source of vitamins A and D. Take a spoonful each day.

Dairy:

Raw, whole milk and cultured dairy products from pastured-fed cows or goats such as unsweetened yoghurt, piima milk, kefir and raw cheese

*Raw milk from pastured cows; “Raw” means that the milk has not been pasteurised. When a cow receives mainly green grass and hay and if her milk is kept in clean containers, then raw milk is an extremely healthy, safe food. When milk is pasteurised (heated above 118 degrees), all the goodness and beneficial enzymes that we need to digest it are destroyed. “Whole” means that the milk has the cream in it (unhomogenised) yum yum! Processed milk actually leashes calcium from your bones and many people have developed allergies to processed dairy. Raw milk is actually much easier to digest and most people who have allergies to dairy can tolerate raw milk. If you still have a slight reaction to it, fermented milk called ‘Kefir’ or the addition of other fermented foods in your diet such as sauerkraut make it tolerable and readily digestible as you begin to build up the enzymes and healthy gut flora throughout your digestive tract. I get my raw milk straight from the vat at a local farm. You can also buy it from some health food shops (Cleopatra’s milk) or you can look into options such as local farm shares or herd share to access this amazing food. If you are a vegetarian it is highly recommended to have some raw dairy in your diet to maintain exuberant, robust health.

Carbohydrates

Fresh fruits that are organic whenever possible and not canned with sugar

Fresh organic vegetables; variety is important. Aim to eat more raw salads and vegetables in spring and summer and lightly cooked, baked or steamed vegetables in autumn and winter.

Whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds that have been soaked, sprouted or fermented before cooking or consumption. The general rule for nuts is; if it’s bigger than your fingernail, soak it. Our ancestors and virtually all pre-industrialised peoples soaked or fermented their grains before making them into porridge, breads, cakes and casseroles. Check out recipes and food preparation methods in the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon for more information.

Fermented foods such as sauerkraut (fermented cabbage), homemade chutneys and pickles add many beneficial enzymes to aid digestion. Fermented foods have a long history of use from cultures all around the world and are one of the biggest health promoting additions lacking from the modern diet.

Beverages

Filtered, clean, high mineral water

 Lacto-fermented drinks made from grain or fruit; meat stocks and vegetable broths.

Condiments

Unrefined sea-salt; raw vinegar; fresh herbs, spices in moderation, naturally fermented soy sauce and fish sauce, homemade dressings and mayonaise

Sweeteners:

 Use these sweeteners in moderation; raw honey, real organic maple syrup, rapadura sugar (dehydrated cane juice) and stevia. Never heat honey or maple syrup or use in cooking as it destroys all the enzymes and vital nutrition. For cooking or baking always use rapadura sugar instead of commercial sugars (even brown sugar). Rapadura sugar can be purchased from all health food stores.

OTHER HEALTHY EATING TIPS

·         Aim for a diet which is 50% raw or enzyme enhanced. Raw foods include vegetables, fruits, meats, fats and milk products

·         When preparing a meal, always think ahead to what must be done for the next two meals; put grains and pulses to soak and meats to marinate, as necessary.

If you want to see weather food makes a difference in your family’s health, try and experiment. For a few months, do not eat sugar, refined flours, processed foods, or food that contains hydrogenated or polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Do not drink coffee of soft drinks. Find a farmers market or organic health food store near you.

©Eeka King 2010 for Bayside Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine Clinic