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Hi everyone!
For some reason my browser won't let me see the last half of the glossary (s-z) and yes I already tried the modified version for Webtv users, but still no luck. Anyway, could someone please give me a brief synopsis of the whole foods diet; like what you should eat and what you absolutely should not eat. This info would be ever so valuable and greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Ali
In Reply to: Whole Foods Diet posted by Ali on May 16, 2001 at 02:48:56:
Ali, the best solution is to buy Beth Loiselle's book.
By asking people for help or just reading info on the Internet, you will only get the surface, not in-depth knowledge and that might confuse you even further. In other words it is best to read the book yourself than get different and sometimes confusing accounts of 'what it is all about'.
Having said that, I'll still try to help you by explaining very simply what it is about.
Eating only whole foods implies eating like we used to eat before we got food industry. It means shopping fresh produce: fish, meat, vegetables, fruits. When it comes to grains, it means buying only unrefined products, such as wholemeal pasta, whole grains or cereals.
Such food is high in what we call 'complex' carbohydrates. These take time to be metabolised in our organism.
The word 'refined' sounds as if the product has been made 'better' in a way, but actually it means it has been processed in order to increase storage life (which is good for the merchant) but it decreases it's nutritional value (which is bad for us).
To give you an example: white rice is polished, refined food. It is stripped of its 'coat' where most of the vitamins and minerals are. What is left is a high starch content and little else.
When we eat it, the starch is rapidly converted into glucose in our body (and you remember what I told you about glucose and Candida) and it acts like a simple sugar.
This means that all refined carbohydrates are out: white flour, white rice, white pasta and of course sugar. Now it is not as simple as it sounds. It does not mean that we can just replace these products with the 'whole products' and it will work out just fine.
Actually, in the beginning you reduce the amount of carbohydrates drastically (to fight off Candida or anything else that feeds on 'glucose shots') and later you adjust the amount of the complex carbohydrates you need daily.
Once you have removed the refined carbohydrates for a period of time, you'd might find out that if you try them again, you would react to them. If you have eaten one kind very often, you might have developed a sensitivity or even an allergy. For example you might react to wheat, and in that case you would probably react to whole-wheat corn, and not just to the refined variety. If you react to a food, you should not eat it for some months, and then try and see if you can tolerate it then (always in small amounts at first).
But this does not mean that it is advisable to go back to eating refined carbohydrates. They are basically a filling the stomach. Not just that, in order to metabolise them, your body has to supply the nutrients (to be able to digest them) from own sources. That means from the body's reserves. If you don't have a particularly resilient body, stuffing yourself with empty carbohydrates will empty those reserves and weaken your immune system (which is also dependent on the nutrients stored in the body). And by now you probably know what weak immune system means.
Back to the diet. The word diet is not appropriate here. This is more a way of eating. It is making a deliberate choice to avoid what weakens the body and choosing food that replenishes it. This is so easy to forget in our busy lives, where 'quick fixes' are readily available. But this is not really a diet, it is a long term investment in your health. (I wish I knew this some ten or more years ago J).
I have loaned B.L.'s book to someone, so I'll give you just an approximate guide on foods.
The foods/ stimulants you avoid:
Sugar (in all forms)
Bleached flour/ pasta
White rice
Anything that comes in a bag or a box (careful on canned foods) or a tube
Coffee
Alcohol
Caffeinated tea
Sodas and juices
Foods to eat:
Fish
Meat (preferably organic)
Eggs and dairy (if you tolerate them)
Fresh vegetables and fruits (but many frozen vegetables are acceptable)
Whole cereals, grains and legumes (purchased from a health food store)
I might have forgotten some things, but I hope you get the idea behind this.
Now how you eat this, is another story altogether. I think you have realised that from your next question.
Hope this helps
Sonja
In Reply to: Re: Whole Foods Diet posted by Sonja on May 16, 2001 at 05:27:24:
Sonja,
You are just a plethora of valuable knowledge! Thank you for taking the time to write to me. You've helped a great deal!
Thanks again.
Ali
In Reply to: Re: Whole Foods Diet posted by Sonja on May 16, 2001 at 05:27:24:
Sonja,
You are just a plethora of valuable knowledge! Thank you for taking the time to write to me. You've helped a great deal!
Thanks again.
Ali
In Reply to: Re: Whole Foods Diet posted by Sonja on May 16, 2001 at 05:27:24:
nmi
In Reply to: Re: Whole Foods Diet posted by Sonja on May 16, 2001 at 05:27:24:
Thanks, Sonja.
I could not have done better myself!
Namaste`
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Whole Foods Diet posted by Sonja on May 16, 2001 at 05:27:24:
Thanks, Sonja.
I could not have done better myself!
Namaste`
Walt
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