Category Archives: Health

The Perfect Food Plan

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For years I’ve asked myself whatharvest from november 2014 phoenix arizona would be the perfect diet for me.  (I’ll clarify, right off the bat, that when I speak of “diet” I am referring to the sum total of the foods one eats, not some caloric restriction food plan.)  I’ve have spent years tweaking my food and have found that the way I eat has evolved as I’ve watched how I feel and how my body reacts when eating certain ways.  While I have reasons for all the food choices I make, I also know that each individual is different and needs a different food plan.  Anyone that advocates a one size fits all diet is bound to catch people short.

My most important goal in eating is optimizing my physical health and avoiding lethargy, upset stomach, and headaches.  I know other people choose diets based on spiritual reasons (vegan or vegetarian) or simply on taste or convenience.   Some people, when they don’t feel good, use drugs (coffee, tea, chocolate, ibuprofen) to make themselves feel better.  This actually doesn’t work very well and long term their health just deteriorates.  I prefer to ensure good health with good diet.

When I was a teenager I had headaches daily.  This was in part due to stress.  However, my way of eating contributed to it strongly.  Finally, in my mid twenties I found the perfect food.  It made me not have headaches and I always had energy.  For about a year 75-85% of my diet was nothing but blue corn flakes, soy milk and raisins. I felt great! I eventually, outgrew the plan and that food combo, unfortunately, doesn’t suit me anymore.

These days I’ve settled on a plan that is omnivorous in order to maximize my feeling of well-being, but still I think their may be a change needed.  I don’t always feel great after every meal and I have a lot of cravings.  The cravings are stress induced in part, but I think there may also be a physiological component.   Since I read about the tooth decay diet I’ve been considering changing my food plan.  To protect teeth a diet that limits grains and focuses on vegetables, dairy, and meat is recommended.  (When I say meat, I mean the flesh of animals that swim, fly, and/or walk.)

Food plans are another thing that must be designed based on inner direction.  I get information about food choices from outside sources, but the final word is my own inner experience.  A quick analysis of what I’ve been eating for the past year reveals that I consistently choose meals that are 48% carbohydrate, 14% protein, and 35% fat.  I was surprised to learn how low in protein my diet was.  I always feel like I am eating a lot of protein.  I also thought I was higher on the fats and lower on the carbohydrates.

A typical day looks like this:

Breakfast:  1 cup rice with 1/2 T coconut of flaxseed oil.  A bowl of homemade lentil soup or chili con carne.  1/4 pound raw carrots.

Lunch: Salad:  4 ounces of Kale or other dark greens, 2 ounces of feta cheese, apple or handful of raisins, 1 avocado.  maybe 1 ounce corn chips

Next Meal:  3 ounces figs, 2- 3 ounces sliced cheese

Dinner:  2 slices homemade banana custard rice bread with 2 cups yogurt.

My breakfast was always the same and the rest of the day could vary more.  My goal would be to balance some protein with whatever I was having at each meal.  That’s why I thought I was eating so much protein.

I think my reservations with increasing protein is that I ultimately would like to not have to contribute to the killing of animals or the slavery of animals (milk production).  And while I’m on the topic, milk production can only be possible if a animal has a baby and those babies find themselves transformed into meat at some point.  So, to me, eating dairy may be less ethical than just eating meat.  And this is from someone that has raised and slaughtered animals and kept a few milk goats.  Although, my milk goats were pygmies and their babies were sold as pets and not food.  But I digress,

Anyway, I am a curious sort of person and after reading the tooth decay diet I tried reducing my carbohydrate intake.  This worked for a couple of days then it slipped back up.  Yesterday I started a more concentrated effort.  My plan is to increase my protein to 21%, my fat to 52% and keep the carbohydrates at 27%, roughly.

In my looking around at diets on the web I stumbled onto Dr. Mercola’s nutritional typing and his nutrition plan for beginners, intermediate, advanced souls.  His information seems to be pretty good and at least worthy of contemplation.  The free nutrition typing test he offers relies mainly on self-reported reactions to food and meals.  This is exactly how one needs to be evaluating a plan designed for optimal wellness.  He groups people into three categories: protein types, carbohydrate types and mixed types (which of course is me).  The protein people do best with 40% protein, 30% carb and 30% fat (but that can vary -see his site).  The carbohydrate people (about 15% of the population) are happier with 60% carbs, 15% fat, and 25% protein.  And the mixed people are somewhere in between.  (Mixed types get to use trial and error to figure out the optimal plan.)

What I noticed is that in all instances the protein was higher than what I was eating and substantially higher than the recommended daily allowances.  I’m curious if the change will reduce my cravings.  So far I’m having less trouble with cravings.  Perhaps I’ve outgrown my “perfect” breakfast of beans and rice.  It worked for many years.  More will be revealed.  I welcome your thoughts.

 

Fermented Brown Rice

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Cooked germinated brown rice

A bowl of cooked germinated brown rice

I’ve written before about germinated brown rice (GBR) and the health benefits.  I have also posted the recipe.  Lately, I’ve been exploring the “cure tooth decay” diet that I mentioned in my tooth decay post.  Fermented brown rice is a component of this diet that is designed to prevent and reverse tooth decay.  It is not too far off from GBR and I gave it a go this morning.

One of the most fundamental aspects of the diet is getting enough fat soluble vitamins, such as vitamin D, and adequate minerals, like calcium and magnesium.  In addition to focusing on foods that supply these, one must ensure proper absorption.

Ramiel Nagel, the author of: Cure Tooth Decay: Heal and Prevent Cavities with Nutrition. claims that the phytic acid (inositol hexakisphosphate or IP6) in foods is the greatest threat to teeth because it blocks absorption of minerals.  This compound is a major storage form of phosphate in plants, but the compound is not digestible by humans, making the phosphorus (an important nutrient) not available.  In addition, this compound binds minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc.

Ramiel would have us avoid all grains, nuts, seeds, and beans, but he does offer some suggestions on how to eat these items and maintain good teeth. The idea is to prepare them using traditional fermentation methods.  Fermentation appears to effectively reduce or remove the phytic acid.  The phytate in brown rice is a little more persistent than others, but it can be done.

The basic recipe he gives involves soaking rice in water for 24 hours then saving 10% of the water in the fridge as a starter for the next batch and cooking the rice as usual.  The next batch of rice is soaked in a similar manner with the starter added.  He says after four cycles the starter is potent enough to remove 96% of the phytic acid.

Now, this doesn’t seem too different from the GBR recipe.  The big difference is that with the GBR I recommended frequent rinsing to avoid bacterial growth and here the idea is to get bacteria to grow.

Actually, after numerous batches of GBR, I was beginning to wonder if the rice was really germinating, since longer germination times never led to an actual “sprout” appearing.  Indeed, over the summer I planted a tub of brown rice in order to grow my own and was disappointed that they never sprouted.  So perhaps I have been really “fermenting” the brown rice anyway.

For my attempt at fermentation I used a starter I had prepared last week with a small batch of rice.  I added the starter to 4 cups of rice and used more water than I usually do for GBR – about 10-12 cups water this time.  I also added about 2 tablespoons of whole rye.  Rice doesn’t naturally contain an enzyme for breaking down phytate, but rye does.  I figured it couldn’t hurt to spike the mixture.  I let this sit for 24 hours at room temperature (about 70 degrees right now) then rinsed.  I then added fresh water and use a heating pad to keep the rice warm for another 24 hours.  I think it was at about 80 degrees for the finishing fermentation.

The interesting thing about the process is that while the water did develop a film on top, it didn’t seem as funky as when I rinse every eight hours for making GBR.  Is this a difference entirely from intention?  It may be.  Or it could be a difference arising from the additional water I used.  With GBR I use just enough liquid to cover.  In addition, with the GBR I use a covered glass bowl, but to encourage fermentation I left the bowl open to allow inoculation with wild bacteria and yeast.  I was surprised with the result after 24 hours.  I expected it to be more putrid.  That is why I decide to up the temperature.  Still fine at 48 hours.  The rice actually smelt more yeasty, like a nice sourdough starter and not some rotting pot of rice when I was done.

I cooked the rice just like GBR:  I rinsed the fermented rice thoroughly.  For the 4 cups of rice I started with I added four cups of water to cook.  Rice turned out great.  Not a chewy as the GBR which is what the fermented recipe said I should expect.  It was just like if it had not been fermented. I like it.  It is simple and ensures I am getting optimal nutrition.  Ramiel says to choose white rice if you are not able to do this preparation.  The processing of white rice removes the germ and bran and that removes most of the phytic acid.  Bon appetit!

 

Colonoscopy

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Rectum march 2014

Inside of Rectum March 2014 Colonoscopy

One of the highlights of 2014 was the colonoscopy I had in March.  I had wanted one for years but was unwilling to pay the $1000+ that it would cost.  Then in January, I suddenly had health insurance and with a little pushing I was able to get one scheduled.  They are a routine procedure for people over 50 years old and I was just under the limit, but close enough to sway the powers that be.

I was actually concerned about my intestinal health.  In my thirties I had chronic pin worms and I just couldn’t get the image of a colon with diverticulitis out of my mind.  I needed a new vision for my colon.  If it wasn’t healthy, I needed to know that so I could take appropriate action.  And if it was healthy, I needed to “see” it as it truly was.

I spent quite a bit of time reading about the procedure on line and learning about my alternatives.  I was quite certain I wanted to be awake for the procedure.  The whole point was to see it.  I didn’t want any pain medication, but was not sure if that would be allowed.

My attempts to talk to the doctor before the procedure didn’t work, so I went into the hospital with a little trepidation.  I was also a little worried that my colon was not quite clear enough.  I have learned that when I eat less (which was part of the prep) my gut just shuts down – laxatives or not.

Cecum March 2014

Cecum (far end of colon) March 2014 Colonoscopy

As it turned out everything was fabulous.  My doctor was an old pro at colonoscopies.  She had only done two procedures without sedation, but she said that in India sedation was never used.  I was thrilled.

In the first step she goes through the entire colon getting rid of any debris with a little spray head on the probe.  Apparently she is known for being extremely thorough. She was very careful spraying everything off.

Once she’s removed everything she goes back through and inspects every nook and cranny.  Everything was smooth and clear in my case – just as it should be.  The inside of a healthy colon looks just like the tissue on the inside of your lower lip.

small intestines at iliocecal valve

Just inside the small intestines. Dr. Ravi had to really work to get the probe through the ileocecal valve. Yikes! March 2014 Colonoscopy

Once and a while my gut would cramp up.  Very uncomfortable!  At first she thought to back out the probe when that happened.  I finally figured out what she was doing and had her hold still when it happened.  The cramps quickly passed and she didn’t lose any time reinserting.

The only other tough part was when she navigated through the ileocecal valve.  This is the juncture where the small intestines meets the large intestines.  She kept trying to bust through and I was about to suggest she just give it up when she slid into the small intestines.  A quick photo and she moved her probe back out of my gut.

hemorrhoidsThe last photo here shows the black probe coming in from my anus.  Notice a couple of small hemorrhoids at the opening.  (How does she get that camera turned around?)

All and all I was completely thrilled by the experience, especially being able to just get up and walk out afterwards without a drug hangover.  Yeah!  No anesthetic.  No recovery time.  Perfect colon!  (Free colon irrigation!)  I think the best part was that I got something that I really wanted.