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Healthy eating habits, healthy food and diet, good nutrition

by Dawid Michalczyk

Summary: Based on 15 years of nutritional and dieting experience I describe my views on what constitutes a healthy diet. I suggest a range of healthy eating habits along with meal examples. The diet is simple to implement and relatively low cost. I spend about US $150/month (about 2004/05 dollars).

I have read a lot about health and especially diets. I have experimented with nutrition since 1990 and keep journals about my observations. Over time, I tried several different diets - ranging from the politically correct ones to the highly controversial, along with diets of my own design. Although diets vary in their effectiveness - some can cause more harm than good - my general observation is that a healthy diet plays an essential role in the overall scheme of well being.

Good health can lead to a better and more fullfilling life.

Why eat healthy?

Eating the natural foods humans are well adapted at utilizing, enhances ones ability to cope with the reality of every day life. This in essence improves the probability of living a longer, healthier and happier life. Quality food consumption becomes especially important in the present world of high stress and pollution - making a healthy diet an essential aspect of modern self health care.

I believe good health is the most important thing in life - because it gives you freedom. Freedom to pursue your dreams and do all the things that poor health won't permit. Any significant health problem, chronic or acute, will bring your life balance out of order. Not just your own bodily balance but everything and anybody you normally interact with will be affected. Many of your relationships and activities will suffer in some way. You may not be able to fully support yourself and may have to rely on others. Illness strains relationships by making life of those around you more difficult. Basically a myriad of different problems will arise from poor health. Ultimately poor health limits what you can do in life - it imprisons you.

I think anybody who seriously tried living healthier through a better diet, proper physical activity, adequate rest, and by addressing mental and spiritual factors have experienced a vast range of natural health benefits. Common benefits are overall better health and a sense of well being, better sleep, improved physical endurance and strength, sharper mental abilities and lower sleep requirements. Further more no or little time, and money, and energy is spend on doctors, hospitals and health insurance bills.

What is a healthy diet?

Hunter-gatheres living on their traditional diets are virtually free of heart, cancer and other degenerative diseases common in the western world.

Since this article deals with healthy eating habits, a question remains to be answered: what constitutes a healthy diet? Unfortunately, there are more opinions about this than there are health experts. To further complicate the matter, dietary concepts change over time, leaving most people confused and uncertain about what or whom to trust. One solution to this problem is to become sufficiently knowledgeable about the relevant subjects and rely on common sense to draw basic conclusions. Along with personal experimentation, such approach will enable you to establish healthy eating habits. This takes time and energy, but considering the long lasting benefits a healthy diet can provide, the effort is more then well worth it.

In order to determine the minimal basic requirements of a healthy diet, I concluded that it is safe to start with the following two objectives:

1. examine human diet over time - the foods humans consumed since the arrival of our species.
2. examine diets of ethnical groups known for their good health.

The traditinal living Okinawans and people from the other Ryukyu Islands have the highest longevity in the world. This is partly attributed to diet, but also to other factors such as lifestyle, genetics, and mental well being.

Looking at the type of diets humans lived on through out pre-history, provide good insights into the kind of foods human body is well adapted at utilizing and dealing with. Further, the diets of certain ethnical groups that are well known for good health - the people of Okinawa (Japan); traditional cultures in the Mediterranean region; and many hunter-gatherer societies - suggest certain health promoting dietary habits.

Upon closer examination of the above mentioned objectives, two main denominators emerged:

1. diets are based on natural, whole or minimally processed foods in accordance to heritage.
2. diets are lower in calories compared to a typical western diet.

In the context of present time, one can therefore make two general assumptions in regard to the question of what constitutes a healthy diet: 1) generally, the less a food is processed the better. 2) eat less - eat what is adequate, do not over eat.

Generally, the less a food is processed the better

The reason for this is simple. For 99.9% of human existence, our species lived on foods that were either raw or minimally processed. The technology needed to increase food processing did not exist until very recently. It is therefore reasonable to assume that our bodies are best adapted at utilizing and dealing with the raw or minimally processed foods which sustained us, and our predecessors, for millions of years: fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts and seeds.

Dried peaches are good for anemia, fatigue and constipation.

Often, the more recent the food is, the more likely it is to be less beneficial or even directly harmful - possibly due to lack of full adaptation to such foods. For example, it is estimated that food cooking started about 500 000 - 250 000 years ago (depending on the source, the range may vary). During this time frame, it is likely that human species have at least adapted in some way to cooked animal and vegetable foods. On the other hand, the beginnings of grain consumption are much more recent. Evidence of earliest known, systematical collecting of grains for food goes back to about 23 000 years ago - giving less time for adaptation to grain based foods.

Now, let's fast forward to recent times and consider all the new, human invented, highly processed foods so common today: fast foods, pizza, sweets, chips, convenience foods, canned foods, etc. along with the dramatic rise in heart attacks, high blood pressure, stroke, cancers, diabetes, liver and kidney problems (and all the complications that arose from these conditions) during the past 100 years or so.

Considering the declining health of most western nations as opposed to good health of the ethnical groups described above, it seems reasonable that the most recent food inventions are directly harmful to human health. Further, it has been repeatedly observed that as ethnical groups around the world adopt the modern western diet, their health dramatically declines and they develop the same diseases that are so common to westerners. Not to mention the fact that the above listed diseases were far less common among westerners themselves barely 100 years ago.

Raw vegetables are generally higher in nutrients than cooked ones.

The more food is processed - through excessive cooking, pasteurization, homogenization, high heat, mechanical processing, etc, - the less natural and nutritious it becomes to a point of becoming a harmful burden to the body, rather than a useful and health promoting food. Some industrial processing practices deprive food of their nutrients to such high degree that the food has to be "enriched" by artificially adding some nutrients back into the food. This is especially true of flours where vitamins are added back after the processing is done.

A good diet is based on natural, whole or minimally processed foods. A large portion of it should consist of foods that can be eaten raw, such as fruits and vegetables. Fermented or cultured, unpasteurized foods such as kefir, yogurt, cheeses, miso, sauerkraut and pickles are considered highly beneficial in many cultures. Cooking should be minimal and only applied to foods that must be cooked in order to be edible. Ancestral heritage also plays an important role as certain foods may need to be excluded or emphasized.

Eat less - eat what is adequate, do not over eat

Natural diet is essential to good health of any animal. Cows that freely graze on fresh plants out in the open, rather than being fed grains or corn, are healthy and result in healthy foods.

During the past several decades, food in the western and westernized nations became increasingly affordable and more readily available than ever before in human history. This very fact combined with the enjoyment and stress relief that food consumption brings results in all too frequent over eating. Which again leads to the above mentioned health problems.

In the past, as in the traditional way of living among the ethnical groups mentioned earlier, food consumption has always been significantly lower. Food quality, on the other hand, has always been higher. Resulting in a lower food intake, but of nutrient dense foods.

Finally, as an interesting note, it has been repeatedly confirmed through laboratory experiments on animals, including monkeys, that cutting down calories considerably lowers their susceptibility to diseases and prolongs their life up to 50%. Some scientists believe that life long caloric restriction can have similar effects on humans.

Health promoting eating habits

Over time, through learning and experimenting, I worked out many healthy eating habits. I list the most important below. I feel they are essential to creating a solid foundation for good health. If you'd like to experiment with them, try one at a time, say for a few weeks, and observe how you feel. You may find that they will work quite well for you.

Avoid or minimize:

• Excess sugar and processed foods. Avoid all junk, sweets, processed, canned and convenience foods - including all foods with excess sugar: most commercial yogurts, kefirs and juices, fruit and soft drinks. All these foods are often very high in calories and harmful artificial substances, low in nutrients and high in simple sugars. Consumption of such foods has been linked with a variety of diseases including obesity, diabetes, immune system disorders, fungi overgrowth, cardiovascular diseases, malnutrition and cancer.
• Damaged or oxidized fats and high heat cooking. Avoid all refined or overly heated fats: margarine, any oil that is not cold pressed, leftover fat from cooking, all foods that contain hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats and trans fatty acids. Read the labels. Such fats are considered to be among the most health damaging foods due to their damaged (oxidized) state (or the ease at which oxidation happens in them). Other foods to avoid include: polyunsaturated oils, any meat or fat that has been exposed to high heat like frying or grilling, powdered eggs and dairy (often found in baked goods), homogenized dairy products (except butter and cream, which are not homogenized), aged meats and cheeses and baked goods that contain dairy. Do not cook meat or fat at high temperatures while exposed to air. Such practice will avoid fat and cholesterol oxidation - believed to be responsible for build up of arterial plaque and injury to arterial cells. Grilling and frying is especially harmful. Avoid eating the outer layer of meat and fat cooked in hot air, like in the oven. Cooking in water is probably the safest way of cooking meat and eggs.
• Polluted foods. Avoid or minimize consumption of foods polluted with unnatural, toxic or other unhealthy substances. Avoid consumption of fish and water animals unless certain they came from unpolluted waters. Especially predators should be avoided as the toxins accumulate in them in far greater quantities. Minimize intake of all plant and plant based foods sprayed with pesticides and other chemicals commonly used to cultivate them. Avoid meats form animals treated with hormones and antibiotics. The best way to avoid all these harmful ingredients is to buy only organic foods. Unfortunately this is not always possible. Later in this article I describe which foods are especially high in pollutants.
• Polyunsaturated fatty acids. Keep the intake of foods high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) low - mainly nuts and seeds and any products made from them (mostly oils) and containing them (especially commercially baked goods like breads and cookies and butter substitutes). Virtually all oils, except olive, palm and coconut oils are high in PUFAs, and some of them are widely used in commercial food production due to their low cost. PUFAs are unstable, they oxidize readily resulting in health damaging free radicals. High PUFA intake have been repeatedly linked with cancer, heart and inflammatory diseases. If you are suffering from any of these diseases, eliminate or greatly limit intake of all food sources high in PUFAs from your diet - nuts, seeds, oils made from them and foods containing them. (A few handfuls a week of fresh nuts is healthy, especially if you eliminate all sources of processed foods high in PUFA.)
• Fungi and mycotoxins. Minimize or eliminate consumption of foods frequently contaminated with fungi and mycotoxins: alcoholic beverages, wheat, rye, barley, corn, peanuts, dried fruits and (even slightly) damaged fresh fruits. Mycotoxins are poisonous substances produced by certain molds and fungi which can cause a wide range of health problems including cancer, asthma, multiple sclerosis and diabetes. To minimize the health risk of these foods, make sure to buy only organic brands that come from reputable manufacturers and buy them as fresh as possible. The longer a food has been stored the greater its chance of becoming contaminated with molds and fungi. Always wash grains clean and cook them thoroughly by boiling them for at least few minutes before further cooking. This will lower the content of possible fungi in the grain. Mycotoxins are very heat resistant, even frying or roasting does not eliminate them.

Emphasize and do:

• Peaches are a good source of the soluable fiber pectin which helps with proper bowel function and lowers cholesterol.
• Buy organic foods whenever possible. Until about the early 1900s all food was organic. It was the norm since the beginning of life on this planet. Modern agriculture industry practices have changed that. As a result, mineral-deficient soils are commonly used for plant cultivation. This created many problems.
  Humans and the animals we eat, get their food from plants, and plants get their nutrients from the soil. Mineral-deficient soil results in mineral-deficient plants and the animals that consume them - including humans. Thus the regular, non-organic, foods are of poor nutritional quality - often far lower then the natural or organic equivalent.
  Some scientists believe that human malnutrition caused by consumption of mineral-deficient foods is the root cause of many diseases. Taking supplements is helpful but may not be sufficient. New nutrients are being discovered frequently. Thus there may be hundreds or thousands of health promoting undiscovered nutrients. They may all be important and some may be essential to human health - but sufficient amounts may only be found in organic foods. Further, organic foods do not contain the harmful pesticides, hormones or antibiotics frequently found in conventional foods. If getting organic foods in not possible where you live, it may be necessary to supplement with high quality (from reputable brands) vitamins, and a mineral and trace mineral complex in order to minimize possible malnutrition.
• The more natural and less processed the food, the better its health promoting value. Some nutrient loss always occurs during food processing, thus emphasize whole and minimally processed fresh foods. Such foods are rich in a variety of high quality nutrients like vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, enzymes, flavonoids, fats, carbohydrates, proteins and others - including the ones not yet discovered. Replace white rice with brown rice; white bread with whole grain bread; sugar with small amounts of raw honey or dry fruit; pasta with whole grain pasta; canned foods with fresh; candy and other sweets with dry or sweet fruit; etc. Always choose fresh over frozen, dried or canned foods. Fresh foods taste better, have more nutrients in them, have no added salt, sugar or unhealthy additives. Choose frozen over canned if fresh food is not available.
  Less processed foods are also lower in potentially harmful chemicals that may have been introduced during the production process. For example, fruits or vegetables may contain remainders of the detergent used to wash it prior processing. All processing machines need to be maintained by cleaning and repairing, which again may introduce small amounts of harmful chemicals into the food. The longer the food processing chain the more potentially harmful chemicals may end in the food. Some may argue that the amounts are too small to matter, but the truth is that such artificial chemicals have never been part of human diet until very recently.
• Enjoy simple meals. Generally, the simpler the food preparation the more nutrients are preserved and the easier it is to digest. Simple meals are easy and quick to prepare and use fewer resources like electricity and water - thus are more environmentally friendly and cost less.
• At least half of the diet, by volume, should consist of raw foods. Only cook foods that need to be cooked in order to be edible (beans, grains and some vegetables). Foods that are edible in a raw state (fruits, many vegetables, sprouts, nuts and seeds) should be consumed on a daily basis and preferably with every meal. Raw foods are higher in nutrients, which to some degree get lost during cooking, and are easier to digest.
• Steam vegetables that need to be cooked. Steaming preserves more nutrients. Do not overcook. Cooked vegetables should be crunchy when you eat them, not soft. Vitamin loss, especially vitamin C, increases when exposed to higher temperatures. Less heat and shorter exposure (5 minutes or less) lowers the vitamin loss.
• Chew food well and eat at a comfortable pace. A very simple yet highly effective and safe way of improving digestion. Digestion starts in the mouth as saliva gets mixed with the food during chewing. Saliva has many important properties. It contains an enzyme which initiates the breakdown of carbohydrates; it has anti-bacterial properties; helps nourish and repair the gut; it helps keep the mouth and teeth clean. By simply chewing food longer, or more thoroughly, you can significantly enhance digestion in a matter of days. I still remember how impressed I was the first time I put this to use. The whole process of digestion felt significantly easier and gentle.
• Variety and moderation in diet is important. By consuming a variety of healthy foods in moderation you get a more balanced intake of a wide spectrum of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, flavonoids, fats, etc) and lower the risk of getting too much, or too little, of any food or nutrient. Moderation and variety helps prevent allergies, malnutrition, overdose (of any nutrient), and lowers exposure to natural and man-made toxins found in many foods. Although moderation is important it does not ensure a balanced nutritional intake. Read more below.
• Ensure balanced nutritional intake. It is of paramount importance to make sure that you are getting the right quantities of all essential-for-health nutrients, and minimize the risks of getting too much or too little of any. Balanced intake of vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and fats is fundamental for proper body function. Unbalanced intake, whether too low or too high, of just a single nutrient may lead to severe consequences.
  For example, when the intake of essential amino acids is insufficient, protein synthesis (building cells and repairing tissue) comes to a halt. Immunity is also lowered as amino acids are needed to form antibodies to combat the ongoing invasion of pathogens like bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. Basically, a whole host of problems arise only because of insufficient protein intake. On the other hand, excess protein consumption will put extra stress on the liver and kidneys. It may result in loss of calcium, which eventually leads to osteoporosis or kidney stones.
  Overconsumption of copper rich foods (tea, coffee, chocolate, cocoa, nuts, seeds, drinking water that runs through copper pipes, and others) can lead to a host of serious negative side effects like anemia, nausea, vomiting, moodiness, depression, heart disease, joint/spinal degeneration, increased susceptibility for infections, higher risk for some cancers, and other. Insufficient copper intake can lead to insomnia, depression, low immunity, vascular degeneration, premature graying of hair, and other.
  The easiest way to ensure that you are getting a relatively balanced amount of known nutrients is to acquire a computer program to automatically calculate the daily intake of nutrients based on the consumed foods (see Resources). Finally, keep in mind that nutritional needs vary (greatly) depending on genetics, age, state of health, and the amount of physical, mental, and emotional activities you are going through every day. Even moderate exposure to mental or physical stress may dramatically increase the amount of certain nutrients needed - far exceeding the Recommended Daily Intake. Overall it is a good thing to supplement with high quality (from reputable brands) vitamins, and a mineral and trace mineral complex if the daily nutritional intake from food is insufficient.
• Always properly wash fruits and vegetables before consumption. This lowers the exposure to agricultural chemicals used to cultivate plants, and harmful microorganisms. A frequently recommended way of washing fruits or vegetables is to first submerge them in water for 5-10minutes - in order to loosen/soften any dried particles - then to gently rub the food item under clean running water. A more thorough procedure includes, after the initial washing, soaking the food in water mixed with some kind of suitable cleaning liquid for 15-30 minutes. There are many different recommendations as for what to use, but none seem to be completely effective at eliminating all harmful microorganisms. I usually use 50ml of vinegar for each liter of water and soak it for 30 minutes. Peel the skin if washing is not sufficient, especially if the surface is covered with a thin layer of wax.
• Ensure adequate fiber intake. Fiber is the mostly non-digestible carbohydrate found in plant foods. There are several types of fiber and they all have different properties that are essential for good digestion and health. Adequate fiber intake help prevent cardiovascular diseases (heart and stroke), type 2 diabetes, cancer and gastrointestinal disorders. Fiber is also effective at eliminating toxins, parasites, and is the best remedy for constipation. The usual sources are vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and seeds. The first signs of inadequate fiber intake are constipation and long transit times. Healthy transit should take no longer than one day. Raw fruits and vegetables are best at helping with transit times. It has been estimated that at least 35g of fiber a day is needed for proper bowel function. Most people consuming the typical western diet get less then half of that. High fiber foods are: grains (especially wheat bran, oat bran, bulgur, oatmeal), legumes and beans (especially pinto and kidney beans), dried fruits (especially figs, apricots, dates, prunes, bananas) and nuts and seeds.
• Soak grains, nuts and seeds before consumption. Grains, nuts and seeds contain phytic acid and various enzyme inhibitors. Phytic acid combines with iron, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc in the intestinal tract and thus interferes with the absorption of these minerals. Long term exposure can lead to severe health problems caused by mineral deficiencies. Enzyme inhibitors can interfere with digestion. Heat does not neutralize phytic acid or enzyme inhibitors. Soaking, fermenting, or sprouting will largely neutralize the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors. Fermenting also helps break down gluten, a hard to digest protein. Nuts and seeds are easiest to soak and let sprout. Whole grains or flour can be soaked in an acidic medium like buttermilk, yogurt, whey, lemon juice or vinegar (1 tablespoon per 100g grain). Soak for 12-24 hours. Oats, wheat and rye are especially high in phytic acid. If you regulary eat grain based meals like oatmeal for breakfast, make sure to soak it during the night to prevent mineral deficiency.
• Eat juicy fruit by itself. Juicy or watery fruits are usually best eaten alone as a snack between meals - unless you can find a combination of foods that works well. To improve digestion only eat one type of fruit at a time.
• Cultured and fermented foods. Regularly consume unpasteurized fermented/cultured foods like sauerkraut, miso, pickles, kefir, yogurt, etc. These are pre-digested foods that are high in probiotics (friendly bacteria) and enzymes which provide numerous health benefits. They help prevent intestinal infections from viruses and bacteria; help keep the intestinal lining healthy; can prevent diarrhea and can lower cholesterol levels. The Lactobacilli and Bifido bacteria, have been found to display anti-cancer activity.
  Unfortunately, many of the above mentioned commercially available probiotic foods do not contain any living bacteria. Heat, inadequate transportation and storage kills the beneficial bacteria. The most reliable way of benefiting from these foods is to make them at home. I keep a steady supply of fresh kefir or sour milk, full of living probiotics, in the kitchen. The process of making kefir or sour milk is very simple and takes less then a minute of daily effort. Making sauerkraut can take 30min or more depending on quantity, but once it's done it lasts for weeks to months. Start with what your ancestors consumed and later experiment with foreign foods as well.
• Enzyme rich foods. Regularly consume enzyme rich foods: sprouts, raw honey, grapes, figs, avocados, bananas, papayas, pineapple, kiwi, mango and fermented/cultured foods (see above). Enzymes play a role in virtually all body activities. They are essential for maintaining proper function of the body, digesting food, and help repair tissue. Enzymes are very heat sensitive. Even low heat (above 48C or 118F) will destroy enzymes in food. Thus obtaining enzymes is only possible through raw food consumption, as cooked foods are depleted of all enzymes.
• Ancestral diet. Consider the diet (and lifestyle) your ancestors had for thousands of years. You will most likely do very well on such a diet (with modifications based on modern nutrition) due to the long period of adaptation. For example, the traditional Chinese diet is high in carbohydrates and low in fat and protein; Europeans, on the other hand, have been eating less carbs and more protein and fat; North American Indians did not consume grains, etc.
• Adequate water intake. Drink adequate amounts of liquid through out the day. Clean water is best. Under normal conditions, most people need 2-3 liters of liquid/day.
• Prolong the nightly fast. Unless very hungry, do not eat for 3-4 hours before bedtime. That way the nightly fast can be prolonged considerably. This gives the body more/adequate time and energy to perform the countless nightly tasks that are so essential to good health - rather than digesting the just eaten meal. This simple technique will reduce your daily sleep requirements by one hour or more, and make you feel more fresh and better rested in the morning. Periodically, for detoxification, do not eat for 2/3rd of the day. That is, eat only during an 8 hour period and leave the remaining 16 hours for elimination and assimilation.
• Eat only when hungry and do not overeat regardless of food. I found this to be among the most important of all health promoting habits. It helps create a balance in the body that leads to a healthier state of being by letting the body naturally regulate its needs. Hunger is a signal. It indicates that the body needs and is ready for more food. Fullness is another signal indicating adequate food intake. Some conscious practice is needed to get a good sense for when to eat and how much. What works well for me is to eat within 30-60 minutes from the time I feel hunger. Do not wait too long unless fasting or cleansing is desired. If hunger is never present (usually due to over-eating or eating unhealthy foods, or too much fat in the diet), one should adapt healthy eating habits, correct nutritional imbalances, get adequate and proper amounts of daily exercise, rest, and address mental health.

Important note: This habit should not be followed if you are ill, recovering from an illness or feel stressed in daily life. Under such conditions you should eat as soon as hunger is felt or even sooner. It is absolutely essential to provide the body with adequate and high quality nutritious foods to help cope with the demands of such situations.

Good sources of protein

• Organic, raw or minimally processed cultured milk and milk products are highly nutritious, easy to digest foods, rich in essential proteins, friendly bacteria, enzymes and Calcium. Eggs are an exceptionally good source of protein and are high in vitamins A, D, E and B12.
• any meat that comes from organic, free range animals that are fed their natural diet (hard to find)
• when not organic: lean poultry meat (high fat cuts are high in PUFA which oxidize readily during cooking and in the body; toxins accumulate in the fat)
• raw fermented milk products: sour milk, kefir, cheeses, etc (hard to find but sour milk and kefir is easy to make at home from regular (pasteurized) milk)
• beans - legumes
• wild game, vegetarians (except predators)

Most commercial (not organic) meats including pork and beef come from animals that have been fed unnatural diets based on corn/grains/beans. This changes the fat content of the meat making them higher in the harmful polyunsaturated fatty acids. Also, environmental toxins, known as dioxins, accumulate in the fat. Further, such animals are frequently given antibiotics and hormones - thus should be avoided. On the other hand, organic meats should be eaten with the fat, and skin and other parts if applicable, that are naturally part of the meat. Organic eggs, meats and milk contain the highest quality protein. If you can't tolerate regular milk and milk products you may have no problems with raw or fermented equivalents like sour milk, kefir or cheeses.

Good sources of carbohydrates

• Rice is a gluten free grain. Brown rice is far richer in nutrients than white. Usefull for diarrhea.
• vegetables
• fruits
• whole or minimally processed fresh and mold free grains: rice, oat, amaranth, millet, barley, wheat, etc.
• beans
• potatoes

Good sources of fats

• Coconuts and coconut oils have antiviral, antibacterial and antiprotozoal properites. Coconut oil is the best oil to cook with.
• avocados
• butter, especially if raw and from pasture fed cattle
• fresh, soaked or sprouted nuts and seeds (no more than a few small handfuls a week, due to high PUFA content)
• cold pressed oils that are low in PUFAs (coconut oil, olive oil, etc)
• full fat raw milk products (cheese, milk, cream, etc) from pasture fed cattle
• olives or first cold pressed (extra virgin) olive oil

Food shopping

I always try to find organic foods to avoid harmful substances like hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, etc. The most contaminated fruits are: raisins, cherries, peaches, strawberries, mexican (winter) cantaloupe, apples, apricots, Chilean (winter) grapes. And the most contaminated vegetables are: spinach, celery, green beans, bell peppers, cucumbers, cultivated button mushrooms, potatoes and wheat. Lean poultry is probably the safest meat to eat if not organic.

Meal examples

What follows are meal examples that closely resemble my diet at the time of this writing. When planning meals, the key idea is to have variety in diet and to rely on food combinations that work well with ones digestion.

TBS = table spoon, tsp = tea spoon, / = Or

Blueberries are exceptionally high in health promoting antioxidants. They also have antibacterial properties and are good for vericose veins and urinary infections.

RAW MEALS:

+ any fruit eaten alone
+ small-medium avocado, 1-2 bananas, cinammon
+ 0.3-0.5L plain yogurt/kefir, 200-300g grapes / 1-2 bananas
+ shake: 1/2 sour milk, 1-2 bananas, 100-200g strawberries, 50-100g blueberries
+ 2-3 carrots, several salad leafs, 1/2 avocado
+ eye healthy shake: 1/2 avocado, 50-100g raw spinach, 1/2 medium papaya, 1-2 bananas, 2 raw eggs, 100-200g blueberries, water
+ mental alertness: 50-200g freshly harvested mung bean sprouts, 1-2 carrots, 25-50g leeks, 15-25g raisins
+ 50-100g buckwheat sprouts, 2 carrots, florence fennel stick, 15g sprouted sunflower seeds, 25g raisins/plums/dried apricots
+ 1/2 small salad head, 1-2 tomatoes/pepper fruit, 1/2 cucumber/squash, 1-2 TBS olive oil

+ 0.5L sour milk, 300g potatoes, fennel
+ 50-75g oatmeal/barley grit/buckwheat grit, 1-2 hardboiled eggs, 25g raisins/plums/dried apricots, 25-50g sprouts, 1 tsp cinammon/pure cocoa
+ 50-75g bulgur, 100g lean chicken/turkey meat, 3-4 raw radishes, 25g leeks/spring onion, 2-3 cloves of minced raw garlic, 1 TBS olive/coconut oil/butter, 5g seaweed (kombu/wakame/hijiki, etc), thyme, salt.
+ 50-75g brown rice, 1-2 hardboiled eggs, 25-50g green peas, 1-2 carrots, 10-20g raw leeks, 1/2 raw cayenne pepper, 15-25g dried tomatoes, 1-2 TBS ground flax seeds, salt, 1 TBS olive/coconut oil/butter, curry
+ mental alertness: 1/2 small broccoli/cauliflower steamed, 1-2 tomatoes/pepper fruit, 1/2 squash/cucumber, 150g turkey/chicken breast, 1-3 cloves of minced garlic, 1 TBS olive/coconut oil/butter, salt
+ 50-75g amaranth, steamed onion, steamed asparagus, florence fennel stick, 1 tsp freshly grated raw ginger, parsley, 1 TBS olive/coconut oil/butter, 5g seaweed (kombu/wakame/hijiki, etc), oregano, salt
+ 50-75g pinto beans, 100g lean chicken/turkey, 1-2 celery sticks, 1/2 raw cucumber, tomatoe, 5-15g shredded raw horseradish, few salad leaves, 1 TBS olive/coconut oil/butter, oregano, salt

Healthy foods can be delicious, quick and easy to prepare.

I plan meals loosely, 1-2 days ahead. The meal preparation is very simple: meat and eggs are boiled in water, vegetables that need cooking are steamed. Since certain food vitamins become more bioavailable once exposed to low heat cooking, it is a good idea to alternate between cooked and raw vegetables. For example, Bio-carotene found in carrots becomes more absorbable after light steaming. I adjust the quantity of food according to how physically active I am during the day.

In addition to the above foods I also take vitamin and mineral supplements and drink bottled water. I use spices in small quantities along with high quality unprocessed mountain salt. Kefir and sour milk are made at home from organic full-fat, unhomogenised pasteurized milk. Sprouts are home grown as well for maximum freshness. Both are easy to make and require only few minutes of daily attention.

Final thoughts

Although maintaining healthy eating habits can make enormous improvements to ones health, it's only one essential part of healthy living. The other parts are proper and adeqaute physical activity, mental and spiritual well being, and adequate rest. All need to be addressed in order to achieve better health.

Sprouted or soaked sunflower seeds are very nutritious, high in minerals, and are one of the best sources of vitamin E.

There are no quick-fix solutions. No single food or pill - no matter how healthy - will bring good health that lasts. Good health is based on balanced approach to life on all levels of existence. But, life is change. The demands of life change. We change. Thus good health is a moving target, and the balance needs to be continually maintained by making adjustments. It's a life long process that should be practiced every day.

An important thing I learned while experimenting with diets and other health related approaches is to always pay attention to the signals from the body. It's essential to do this - in order to maintain good health - and adjust accordingly. As one gets better at reading the body, it becomes natural to self diagnose a lot of minor problems (which can become major if not paid attention to) and remedy them by simply adjusting the diet or other aspects of life. Finally, we are all different - what works for one person may not work for another - thus it's important to learn about and experiment with nutrition to find out what works and what doesn't.

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RESOURCES

Books I found especially valuable:

I've read well over a hundred books on the topics of health and nutrition, and these are the ones I found to be especially useful. Although these books vary greatly in their concepts, and I may not agree with everything they say, they all contain nutritional gems every health seeker will find invaluable.

• Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol by Mary G. Enig, Ph.D.
• Mucusless Diet Healing System by Arnold Ehret
• Natural Health, Natural Medicine: The Complete Guide to Wellness and Self-Care for Optimum Health by Andrew Weil, M.D.
• Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon, Mary G. Enig, Ph.D.
• Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price
• Survival Into The 21st Century by Viktoras Kulvinskas
• The Raw Life: Becoming Natural In An Unnatural World by Paul Nison
• Eat right for your type by Peter J.D'Adamo
• The Doctor's Complete Guide to Vitamins and Minerals by Mary Dan Eades

In addition, Sebahu.com recommends the following books, as helpful sources on your path to better Health.

• Eight Weeks to Optimum Health, Revised Edition: A Proven Program for Taking Full Advantage of Your Body's Natural Healing Power by Andrew Weil
• Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods by Sandor Ellix Katz, Sally Fallon
• The Hippocrates Diet and Health Program by Ann Wigmore
• Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook: 250 flourless, Dairyless, Low Temperature, Low Fat, Low Salt, Living Food Vegetarian Recipes by Steve Meyerowitz, Michael Parman, Beth Robbins
• Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition (3rd Edition) by Paul Pitchford
• The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Resource for Healthy Eating by Rebecca Wood

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Copyright © 2005 Dawid Michalczyk. All Rights Reserved.
Dawid Michalczyk is a freelance illustrator and an artist. He can be
reached at dm@eonworks.com, Original article location: www.art.eonworks.com.
Disclaimer: This article represents personal views and should be treated as
such. Implementating any of these ideas contained herein can only be done at
your own risk.

Sebahu.com recommends you visit a qualified practioner, someone who understand the body as Ayurvedic or Naturopathic practioners do and can recomend a proper diet and lifestyle changes you may need.

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