The Nutritional Institute

So we sadly came to a close last week of the 12 Steps to Wholesome Nutrition course and I wanted to leave the students, and others who have followed along, with a few of the most important points to remember while following their new paths to good health.

What is healthy food?
I think the biggest misconception of all is that healthy foods equates to watered down iceberg lettuce and tasteless tomatoes. This is so far from the truth! Healthy food is loaded with flavour because it often the best sourced, with the highest nutrient values. Nowadays we have become incredibly creative with health foods, so you should not be left yearning for a fast-food dinner or a packet of sweets (you may just be left gagging)! And we also have many healthy equivalents, such a chocolate mousse. Instead of making it with lots of sugar the unhealthy way, chocolate mousse can be made with avocado, cacao, coconut oil, water and maple syrup. Now that’s both delicious and healthy!

Question what we are told
The next point of contention was to ‘question’. Are we asking the right people the right questions? We have been socialised to not ask ‘why’ from childhood, which unfortunately is often carried through into adulthood. We are mostly sheep just following the ‘bleeting’ norms and accepting without question things that are presented to us. For example, why are we eating our biggest meal at night time when we don’t need the energy for sleeping? Perhaps because we were brought up that way. But you can change this; it’s in your power to do so. It takes some deep soul searching and serious introspection to recognise our autopilot ways and to bring them to mindfulness. Once we have these in our grasp, we can then become more ‘awake’ beings. We also need to continue this type of questioning into the foods we eat. For example, how did the chicken live, what did the chicken eat, was the chicken fed hormones or antibiotics? To ultimately take care and control of our own health, we need to know everything about the produce before we consume it.

And what about growing your own produce in your backyard, or at least some if it, and cooking from scratch. This way you know everything about anything that you’re eating.

What do all diets have in common?
I then asked another question. What do all diets have in common. The answer; they don’t know you! Diets are as personalised as the clothes you wear and the emotions you feel. Your individual physiology determines what healthy food is for you. So no particular diet is prescribed because everyone’s needs are different. What we can do with all these diet fads is not to blindly follow one of them, but to take something positive from each one of them and include it into our own eating plan.

The 80:20 rule
I then emphasised the importance of the 80:20 rule. So, 80 per cent of the time we’re eating good, clean, wholesome foods and 20 per cent of the time, we may slide a bit. For example, we may go out for dinner with friends and the best foods are not available at a particular restaurant. Or you’re driving home after a long trip and you need to make a rest stop and eat something, but there are no decent options to select from. It’s okay to forgive yourself in these situations because most of the time you’re doing and eating the right things anyway. The same goes for the hankering taste of a pizza. Go out and find the best pizza you can get your hands on, enjoy every mouthful and it will assimilate well. We also believe in not depriving ourselves of some of the finer things in life such as chocolate or wine, or whatever it is your heart desires. By all means eat it and enjoy it, but only a small amount of it at a time.

What is healthy eating?
Eating healthily is not about depriving yourself, starving, counting calories or watching your glycemic index (GI) intakes. It’s about eating good quality wholesome foods that yield optimal health in our body, mind and spirit. You decide what it is. Also be mindful that it will change from time to time as the needs of your body change.

Remember to be aware of what you eat and how your body responds to particular foods. For example, if you feel all crampy and bloated from bread, change to a different, better quality bread and eat less of it. If you get a scratchy cough from drinking what you thought was a healthy fruit juice, it’s more than likely got the preservative sodium benzoate in it: find a better alternative. These are all important messages that your body is trying to communicate to you, but most of the time we choose to ignore them.

We need to include some of the traditional nourishing foods into our daily eating routine. Things like pasture reared stocks to nourish the gut lining. Fermented vegetables like sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles for the live probiotics, high Vit C content and dense nutrients. Include cultured dairy like yoghurt, kefir and buttermilk. Fermented breads (sourdough) are really the best option if you feel you need to eat them. The fermentation process partially digests the grains making it far more digestible for our body to assimilate them without all the gases and bloating. There are also other fermented drinks like water kefir, kombucha and kvass, that aid in our wellbeing.

Mindfulness
Start becoming more mindful when you eat. Perhaps take a few breaths to slow yourself down and become present with your food. Saying a small prayer of thanks to acknowledge the energy you’re about to consume. It’s important to be grateful to the animals and plants that are satisfying you. Keep the television, your phone, your computer, a book or magazine far away from you. It’s just you and your food and any other human joining you. Chew your food more and perhaps put your fork down after each mouthful.

Finally, we can’t strongly control the pollution or environmental chemicals that we’re exposed to, but we can control the chemicals we directly expose ourselves to. So, body or face creams, soaps, shampoos, make-up, hair dyes, nail polish, cleaning fluids, washing powders and so forth should be free of chemicals. To help you with this, look out for environmentally friendly products.

We hope you take these pearls of wisdom and include them into your own lifestyles. They can only lead to a more vibrant, healthy you.