Know What to Eat

Since I remember clearly when I was just getting into the conversation of natural health and using diet as a method of health instead of depending on a doctor, I figured some of you might be new to this whole thing too.

So I figured I’d make it super simple.

Here is my family’s rule of thumb for natural healthy eating:

Stop eating dead food, and start eating living food.

That’s it.

What do we mean by dead and living food?

Dead Food

Dead food is any food that has been frozen, chemically preserved, cooked, processed, pasteurized, or refined.

• Frozen meat, fruit, and vegetables

• Chemically preserved food. (Anything that comes in cellophane wrapped plastic is probably loaded with chemical preservatives.)

• Cooked food. (Yes we know that some foods have to be cooked, but the more you cook them, the deader they are.)

• Processed foods are foods that have been put through a devitalizing process of adding chemicals and additives. Canned foods, low-fat anything, hot dogs etc.

• Pasteurization is a wonderful process that has prevented the spread of disease-causing bacteria and pathogens, but it still deadens milk and dairy products.

• Refined foods like white bread, white rice, and white sugar.

The deader a food is, the less available the nutrients are to our bodies. But we feel like there is also an energetic or even spiritual component to choosing living food over dead food.

There is a vitality, energy, and aliveness that is lost when foods are over-processed and refined.

If processed and refined foods are dead, then what foods are alive?

Living Foods

Living foods are as close to literally being alive as you can get without having to wrestle, or cut it down yourself before you put it on your plate.

• Fresh, raw, (especially organic) fruits, and vegetables.

• Meats that have never been cooked, preserved, or frozen before you purchased them.

• Fresh whole grains, beans, and rice.

• Raw, whole, un-pasteurized milk and dairy products

Basically, any food that is raw and whole, and has never been cooked, frozen, or processed in any way is a living food.

At first you might think that this really limits what you can eat. And in some ways it does. But we believe in baby steps when it comes to the Natural Healthy Family lifestyle.

We also believe in common sense. Ultimately you have to be the judge about what foods are healthy for you and your family.

What's with Good Fats and Bad Fats?

Ok, it's time, once and for all to dispel this myth that fat is bad! There is a common belief in this country that low-fat = healthy. And it's just not true.

Let's get clear about the two types of fat that we are talking about.

Good Fat: The first type of fat is omega-3, found in fish (especially salmon), walnuts, flax seeds and other foods. This type of fat is necessary and has all kinds of benefits for our bodies, including lowering the amount of lipids, (fats such as cholesterol and triglycerides,) circulating in the bloodstream, and reducing the risk of becoming obese by improving the body's ability to respond to insulin by stimulating the secretion of leptin, a hormone that helps regulate food intake. Bad Fat: Omega-6 is not actually bad fat, it's also necessary for our bodies as well, in small amounts. You can get all you need from whole grains, seeds and nuts. The reason why we say it's a "bad fat" is that we are consuming tons of this stuff, and we're getting it from sources in which the fats have turned rancid!

This is what Julia Ross, author of The Mood Cure (a book we highly recommend) has to say about omega-6 fats.

"Here are the reasons I fear these fats. First, they are very unstable- that is, they can become dangerously rancid very quickly. Rancid means oxidized, and in your body, oxidized means damage to your cells and tissues, especially to the areas rich in fat like your brain... If you eat vegetable oils that are already oxidized from heat and light in processing, you are exposing your own healthy tissues to a volatile substance that will damage them. Here's where butter is truly better. You can keep it on the table for days at a time and it won't spoil. Why? It's not damaged by light and heat, and it's packed with natural substances called 'antioxidants' that prevent oxidation. In contrast vegetable oils have had their antioxidants removed and destroyed in processing... Oxidation, or rancidity, is a major contributor to most degenerative diseases, and we consume, on average, fifty-seven pounds a year of rancid vegetable oils..."

So which oils contain high amounts of unstable (Bad) omega-6 fats?

Corn oil, soy oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, wheat germ oil, cottonseed oil, walnut oil, and all of the margarines, shortenings, salad dressings, mayonnaise, and baked goods that are made from and with these oils.

Safe oils to use are extra virgin olive oil, and pure coconut or palm oil.

Whole Milk VS Low-Fat Milk?

Once again their is a myth about low fat and skim milk being healthier, because it has a lower fat content. The fact is that without the fat, milk is just protein, water, and sugar.

That's why our "Healthy Recipes" frequently contain whole milk, real butter, and whole wheat flour.

We're not saying that you can eat as much fat as you want. What we are saying is that your body needs good fat (in moderation), and that most of us are consuming way too much of the "bad" (specifically, rancid) fats and sugar.

For more information on Good Mood Foods, please visit Julia Ross's website at http://www.moodcure.com/ (Definitely check out the "Good Mood Foods" link.)