What should I eat? Have you ever asked that question?

Most of us realize that what we eat affects our health and well-being. However, with the amount of information available today, the "What should I eat" can get quite confusing. The marketing efforts of various interest groups further muddle the issue.

Are milk products good for you... or not? Should you eat meat... or not? Should you combine your food in specific ways... or not? Eat at specific times? 3 meals a day or 6? According to your blood type or ancestry? Count calories, vitamins, fats..., and on and on...

As the Chinese proverb goes "When you own a watch, you always know what time it is; when you own two, you are never sure." So it is with nutrition: reading one book can lead to new understanding, reading two books, seemingly contradicting each other, can be frustrating. However, when one realizes that we are all wonderfully unique, the diversity of health paths is truly amazing. One person is energized by eating a big breakfast, the other one feels sluggish, and needs a big dinner. If we are open to find POSSIBILITIES, versus THE TRUTH, learning about nutrition can be quite rewarding.

I started to pay attention to food when I was 18 years old; I decided that having surgery every 6 months for skin cancer might not be the ideal solution. I experimented with great, promising and often weird diets. I met people who cured cancer with fasting and raw fruit and vegetable juices. I met people who believed in eating everything raw: fruits, vegetables, and meat, including the crab walking on top of a mound of vegetables; just grab it, pull its limbs apart and eat (true story)!

I worked for one year in a restaurant with people who claimed to cure everything by cooking all food, including fruits and lettuce, and drinking as little as possible!

One can read about miracle cures encouraging the intake of lots of water, or of eating mostly meat.

Traveling through many countries of Europe, the Middle East and Asia, I experienced new culinary arts, and eventually found my way to the USA, where I had my first encounter with what I label "chemical food." My understanding was that bread was baked with "wheat flour, water, yeast, salt,... and not much else." However most regular store-bought breads in the USA have an impressive list of ingredients that makes them lighter, fluffier, and whiter. It now has an immortal shelf-life, "extra" vitamins and minerals (after the natural ones have been stripped from the original wheat), no fat, low calories... i.e. practically no nutrition. It may sound good, and well intentioned, BUT... our bodies were not designed, nor have they evolved yet, to be able to assimilate and process the "junk" (meaning "unnatural") we come in contact with. Our systems have amazing capabilities to cleanse themselves, but can also get overwhelmed.

READ LABELS... Is it NATURAL? Is it PROCESSED?

MAKE HEALTHY CHOICES.

According to Webster, nourishment means "to furnish with the nutrient and other substances needed for growth and life; to support." Chemical food is quite devoid of nutrients, and therefore does not support growth and life, but rather burdens it.

Physical food is, however, only part of the picture. Emotional, mental, social and spiritual nourishment is just as necessary to one's health and wellness as physical food. We often overeat to compensate for areas that are not covered in our lives. Trying to stay away from fads and paranoia, I came up with "10 Strategies for Healthy Nourishment", which most experts agree on.

Over the past 30 and some years, I have studied different diets, some faddish, some "scientific". I have experimented with many. My conclusions are that we are all individuals, and have to find out what works best for us, and what we enjoy the most. Some people can eat anything and have no reaction. Some people seem to need a very narrow type diet. The Food Therapy program can help these people discover what they need faster.

Many people are sensitive or react to certain foods. IBS-INTEGRA can find which food causes problems and desensitize the system; EFT-F.R.E.E.D.O.M. helps to desensitize the system (check an example EFT - Food Allergies from the EFT official website).

I have studied and successfully used a combination of nutritional programs based on Metabolic Typing, Blood Typing and Brain Chemistry Diet. The book How to Eat, Move and Be Healhty, by Paul Chek is a good start if you want to "do it yourself."

 

SUPPLEMENTS

Although we may eat the best organic food available, it seems that it is no longer possible to obtain proper nutrition with food alone, as our ground has been depleted, and our lifestyle often does not allow us to spend the necessary time shopping and preparing. Supplementing is thus recommended.

I resisted this idea for the longest time, and finally succombed to it when my schedule did not allow me to prepare nutritious meals from scratch several times a day. After many months of search, trying one product after another (in the best case scenario, I did not notice any improvement; in the worse case scenario, I had adverse reactions to the products), I settled on Essentials 7 or E7. With the exception of a few products in which the manufacturer uses Sucralose (I stay away from it, as I react to it), I found the products EXCEPTIONALLY good. These products are NOT "extracts of...", but whole foods, which the body finds it easier to process.

I usually start my morning juicing a grapefruit, an orange and a lemon, and mixing it with one scoop of Natural Flavor E7. Change the type of fruits you use for variety. During the winter, I may use the Broth Type E7. When traveling, I take it with me, in case I don't have time for a nutritious-balanced meal. I seldom recommend or offer products, but I have had great results with that one. You may check it out and get a FREE sample at http://www.drd.healthy-living.org.

 

To summarize:

1. Follow the 10 Strategies for Healthy Nourishment

2. If you have food reactions, check EFT-F.R.E.E.D.O.M., read EFT - Food Allergies or download the free manual at http://www.emofree.com/a/?3928/1

3. For health maintenance, check http://www.drd.healthy-living.org

4. For more specific information or guidance, to discuss different nutritional programs, or to be tested using the IBS-INTEGRA system or the Food Therapy program,

Schedule a consultation - Click on the link below.