Some Nutrition Websites I Like

[StefanScottAlexx 0]

Hi -

I'd like to share some simple basic ideas about nutrition which I've learned and used over the years.

Fortunately, good nutrition doesn't have to be complicated. There's just a few simple basic principles to be aware of, and everything else flows from there to keep you healthier and younger looking. Also, you don't have to be a fanatic about nutrition. It can be overwhelming to try to change your whole diet at once. Instead, you'll have more success if you're just aware of what's more versus less healthy, and steer yourself gradually in the right direction as much as possible.

(1) Learn which foods are ACID-forming, and which foods are ALKALINE-forming - and try to eat 80% ALKALINE-forming foods. Maintaining an overall alkaline pH in your body is the main way of fighting diseases, many of which flourish in an acidic environment. These two websites provide listings of acid- and alkaline-forming foods:

http://www.liferesearchuniversal.com/acid.html
http://www.rense.com/1.mpicons/acidalka.htm

(2) Try to eat more (ie, 80%) RAW foods (or foods which *could* conceivably be eaten raw, ie in the caveman days: vegetables [except for starchy vegetables or beans] and fish, poultry, and meats) and less (ie, just 20%) COOKED foods (or foods which *must* be cooked in order to be edible: ie, grains and beans). This is because your stomach is actually more adapted to the prehistoric diet - grains and beans are comparatively new to us, and harder for us to digest.

There are some good books on raw food by David Wolfe ("Eating for Beauty" or "Sunfood Diet") - plus you can just google "raw food" and find lots of ideas:

https://www.google.com/search?num=100&hamp;btnG=Search

(3) Pay attention to food combining: non-starchy vegetables go with anything, but starches, fats and proteins don't combine well with each other. This is because your stomach uses different enzymes (which tend to cancel each other out) to digest starches, fats and proteins - so if you combine starches, fats and/or proteins in the same meal, you'll have a harder time digesting your food. In other words, meat/chicken/fish and salad/veg is fine - or starchy vegs (potatoes, or grains) and salad/veg is fine - but meat/chicken/fish plus potatoes/pasta/rice will be harder to digest and leave you with a "heavier" feeling. This is also why beans can cause gas - beans contain starch, fat and protein, so they take a long time to digest in your stomach, and can cause gas.

There is good info from Donna Gates (inventor of the "Body Ecology Diet") on food combining:

http://bodyecology.com/

(4) A couple final, specific notes:

(a) The biggest things to avoid are trans/hydrogenated fats (actually butter, olive oil or coconut oil are better for you than margarine - because the hydrogenated fats in margarine can disrupt cell membranes, letting all kinds of things invade your cells). Also avoid artificial sweeteners (women's brain cancer rates in the US doubled the year that Nutrasweet was released - I suspect because of the diet sodas so popular among women) and avoid sodas (which are highly acidic - it takes 30 glasses of water to neutralize the acidity of just one Coke!).

( And, strange as it may seem, soybeans aren't all that great for you - because they contain phytic acid, which can leach minerals from your system.

Sally Fallon and Mary Enig have written about the benefits of coconut oil and the problems with soy:

https://www.google.com/search?num=100&hamp;btnG=Search
PDF! http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/



Diet and nutrition can seem very complicated at first - but eating healthy can actually be very simple.

(1) Eating more alkaline-forming and less acid-forming foods, (2) eating more raw and less cooked foods, (2) paying atttention to food combining (avoid combining starches, fats and proteins all in the same meal), and (4) avoiding the worst things (trans/hydrogenated fats, sodas, artificial sweeteners) - just following these few basic simple guidelines you'll start feeling and looking better right away.

Finally - nobody's perfect, and you don't have to be a fanatic about your diet. It's often better to try to eat right "most" of the time rather than "all" the time - so that at least you're taking steps in the right direction, without feeling guilty for those moments when we all have "cravings".

For specific information on specific foods, try out this excellent website:

http://www.whfoods.com/

Edited November 11, 2008 by StefanScottAlexx (see edit history)

[moutonoir 0]

Thanks for the list! I haven't heard much about the acid/alkaline info so it was interesting to read about. If you're interested in reading more about nutrition, I just read Michael Pollen's book "In Defense of Food," and it's very good. He talks about the importance of whole foods and eating actual food, versus supplements, and he talks about how food is more than just fuel but part of a culture and way of life. He looks at why so many different diets work for different socieites of people and offers some explanations for why the American diet is so flawed, and then offers ways in which to establish a healthy relationship with food. It's definitely worth checking out!