If you’ve read my earlier articles you know I love cooking. I especially enjoy the alchemy – inventing sauces, dips, dressings, jams and chutneys. Nothing pleases me more than a rich creamy sauce poured over pork tenderloin or a spicy coconut curry with rice and chicken and a lovely sweet/sour mango chutney on the side. I like lots of dressing with my salads and a rich dip for vegetables. Creating sauces has become somewhat of a compulsion. I’ve been known to make a chicken curry for First Breakfast before the sun rises and often fancy-up the catsup for my side of fries at Bazookas by mixing in some hot sauce and black pepper.
Sadly, I have begun to question if the foods and sauces that I love are the best choices for my health. My diet is not all at that bad. I eat lots of fruits and vegetables and not too much processed food. However, I start my day with coffee, eat meat regularly, and enjoy a couple of cold beers at the end of a hot day or glass of wine with dinner. The sauces I enjoy often contain vegetable oil, cream, sugar or honey and salt. I have always had a strong constitution and there has not been much reason to be concerned about my health or diet. However, now in my mid 60’s I’m not finding it as easy as it was when I moved to Costa Rica almost 20 years ago. I’ve put on weight, don’t sleep as well and don’t have the energy I used to. Sometimes, even after a heavy meal, I still feel hungry. What is that all about?
So, what should I be eating?
I have been doing a little research to determine if there’s anything I can do to do to improve my health and diet. However the literature on diet and health is often contradictory.
- Eggs provide high-quality nutrition. /Eggs are bad for you because of the cholesterol.
- We need meat for protein. /Humans are not carnivores and should not eat meat. Plant food can provide all the protein we need.
- Soy is a good substitute for meat. /Unfermented soya can cause thyroid problems and is not a healthy choice.
- Grains are the foundation of the human diet. /Grains are difficult to digest and acid forming in the body. Some even say that sprouted grains are not good for us.
- Fruit is good for you. /The simple carbohydrates in fruit are too rapidly assimilated by the body and will spike your sugar levels.
- All other animals eat their food raw and we should do the same. Cooking destroys nutrients and enzymes making the food less digestible and less nutritious. /But humans have been cooking their food for hundreds of generations. Would we not be adapted to it by now?
If you follow all of the “don’t do” advice there is not much left but raw greens and vegetables. Raw potatoes? I am at a bit of a loss. Is my current diet okay? And if not, what to eat to provide the basis for good health?
Models and Studies
The people who come to live and work on my farm have provided a broad range of dietary models. We have hosted people that range from beer swilling meat eaters to raw food vegans and even fruitarians. Most of these folks are too young for the ravages of even the worst diet to show – but still there is a difference. Those who center their diet around fruits and vegetables and limit their intake of meat, alcohol and coffee are often thinner and in many ways seem to be healthier and calmer. Although sometimes they don’t have the same energy that I see with heavy meat eaters they often exhibit more staying power. The pure raw foodists also seem to be doing pretty well but this is a heck of a commitment. Because their food is less nutrient dense they need to consume tremendous amounts and always seem to be eating. Although I did go on a raw food diet for a few weeks several years ago and liked it, I don’t plan to go “all raw” at this stage.
Walter, who’s been living on the farm for nearly 6 months and taken on much of the day-to-day responsibilities for looking after the farm and the volunteer program, also provides a good model. He eats mostly raw fruits and vegetables and no animal products. He’s not dogmatic about it and will eat steamed vegetables or cooked pasta when he feels that his body needs it. I’ve even known him to sit back and enjoy a cold beer. He works hard all day on the farm generally outpacing volunteers who are 30 years younger. When he feels he hasn’t had quite enough exercise Walter will casually go for 5 or 10 mile run.
What has really caught my attention are a couple of documentaries (go to the end of this article to view). Studies cited in these documentaries clearly demonstrate a link between a diet high in animal products and high incidences of cancer and heart disease. The documentaries also follow people with serious health problems who have chosen to try to improve their health through diet rather than medical intervention. The participants in the studies founded their diets on minimally processed plant food. Most of their food was consumed raw. They ate no meat, dairy or eggs and consumed little if any coffee, alcohol, sugar or salt. After just a few weeks most of them were able to reduce or eliminate pharmaceuticals they had been taking to control cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes. People who stayed on this diet for years were able to stop and even reverse damage from heart disease and cancer. Everyone lost weight and felt better than they had in years.
Taking the first steps
What I’ve seen in the documentaries has convinced me that the traditional North American diet centered around animal products and highly processed food is not conducive to good health. It has also encouraged me to make changes in my own diet and see how I feel. I’ll start slowly reducing animal products, coffee and alcohol. I’ll eat more of the wonderful fruits and vegetables that grow on my farm or are available in the farmers market. I will continue to eat cooked food but also introduce more raw food into my diet. I found a pamphlet on fruit smoothies and green smoothies that provides some basic guidelines and recipes but leaves lots of room for creativity. I’ll start every day with a smoothie. And most importantly, I’ll continue to create sauces, dressings and dips but I will make them without sugar, salt, oil or dairy.
Here are a few of the things Jan and I have tried in the last few weeks.
Mauve morning smoothie
Put a banana and a mango into the blender. Add just a bit of water. Top off with some ice, a good-sized piece of ginger and a small piece of turmeric. Always put the harder ingredients on top of the soft ones so they don’t jam the blades of the blender. Blend until smooth. Jan likes to add half an avocado and a small raw beet into this mix because she loves the rich texture and color of the drink.
Avocado-mango salad dressing
Simply mash together with a fork some avocado, mango and sour citrus. I prefer this with crushed garlic and finely chopped purple onion but you may want to try some other seasonings. Cumin? Prepare about an hour ahead so that the flavors of the onion and garlic have a chance to soften. This lovely dressing sticks on the greens and doesn’t run to the bottom of the bowl like a traditional oil and vinegar. If you find it too thick for your tastes you can add a bit of water or kombucha.
Avocado-mango dip
This is basically the same as the salad dressing but a little thicker. Just use less sour citrus and more avocado. I like this with a little bit of hot chili. You can use the bottled hot sauces but if you have access to fresh hot peppers just put one in your garlic press and squeeze out a few drops. This gives you the chili hit without leaving a mouth burning piece of chili in your dip.
Yucca “fries”
Peel and then boil the yucca but stop the cooking before it gets too soft. Cut into strips. Put a small amount of coconut oil in a medium hot pan. Brown the yucca in the coconut oil. Serve with the avocado-mango dip. This beats french fries with catsup any day.
“I am happy to share with you the changes I make it my diet and how that affects my health and my mood. I will also share some of the foods and recipes I try and some of the smoothies, sauces, dressings and dips that I create. I’m not trying to present myself as an expert in health and diet. I’m just going to share how this works for me. Your comments and suggestions are welcome. If any of you are on a similar journey please let me know what is working for you.”
~ Frank
Online documentaries and UTube presentations
“Forks over Knives” 1 hour 30 minutes
Examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.
http://www.veoh.com/watch/v39591800ezzjSNckh1=Forks+Over+Knives (Mom, this is a broken link)
“Raw for Life” 1 hr 40 min. UTube
Published on Oct 6, 20121
The two-disk DVD set covers: Starting Out, Beating Diabetes, Wellness, Weight Reduction, Detox and Cleansing, Wisdom of Eating Raw, Nutrition, Rejuvenation and Longevity, Optimal Athletic Performance, and Spiritual Aspects.
Each segment shows different experts talking candidly about their experiences. Woody Harrelson is a proponent of eating raw and living foods and talks about his experiences in the movie. Others include Tony Robbins, the motivational speaker, David Wolfe, a raw food expert, and Dr. Gabriel Cousens, a naturopath who has dedicated his life to helping others overcome disease through raw and living foods.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTHt2v_PMDU&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Gabriel Cousens’ Reverse Diabetes Program – Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center; 12 minutes
Dr. Cousens’ Reversing Diabetes Naturally Protocol is a medically-supervised nutritional therapy program for type 1 and type 2 diabetics, as well as pre-diabetics who do not want to live their lives codependent to Insulin and other medication drugs. During the program participants reverse the negative genetic expression of diabetes to a physiology of health and well-being. A series of workshops empower the participant to become proficient at integrating plant-source only live foods into their daily lives, therewith continuing to reducing the metabolic inflammation naturally.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O6gH6QbPfw