Slow Changes: Step 10

Finally, we approach the last three pillars of our series: movement, relationships, and rest. If you have been taking the baby steps of this 12-step series with us, you have implemented the healing pillars of bone broth, probiotic foods, and bitter flavors, and now employ the vital pillar of hydration. You balance the macronutrient pillars of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, and are conscientious of the twin pillars of vitamins and minerals.

The final three pillars are what we might term "primary foods," because they are essential for existence - in addition to those nutrients that we put in our mouths.

You might question the necessity of movement to life. Of the many reasons I might list for exercise and manual labor, detoxification is in the forefront. While blood carries nutrients to the cells, it is lymph that carries waste away from the cells. And since lymph has no heart to pump it, it depends on the contraction of muscles and the expansion of the lungs to return it to the nodes where the toxins are filtered.

Even someone who has a desk job, can take 2 or 3 minutes every hour to stand, stretch, twist and flex. While working, you can conscientiously contract and relax muscles in succession from the toes to the temples. Concentrate especially on large muscles - such as the ones you sit on! Also, think about moving joints where the majority of lymph nodes are found: under the armpits where the arms attach to the torso, in the groin area where the legs attach to the pelvis, and behind the knees.

If you need other reasons to move, study this infographic:

Slow Changes: Step 9

Your baby steps toward optimal health have led you through a journey of natural healing as you strive to eat nutrient-dense food in proper ratios. We have focused on obvious shifts, such as adding more fats and drinking more water. Step 9 is not so visible because it deals with vitamins. We don't normally SEE our vitamins. They are present in our food but we are unaware of them - unless we are taking synthetics manufactured in a lab:

Vitamins compose less than 1% of our body, and yet without them, many reactions in the body cannot occur. Vitamins serve as enzyme activators, as digestion boosters, as immunity enhancers and as wellsprings for growth and vitality.

Most vitamins cannot be made by the body and have to be eaten. But is a handful of pills really the answer? Vitamins work best in harmony with other vitamins, with trace minerals, and with digestive enzymes. When we isolate them, the synergy is lost. The best source of vitamins is the whole food in which they are naturally occurring, where bioflavanoids, phytonutrients and even fats are present.

An often over-looked source of vitamins is animal products. Most of us realize the value of fresh fruit for Vitamin C. We know that grains contain B vitamins. But there is a woeful deficiency of fat-soluble vitamins in the diet. Vitamins A and D particularly, but also E and K depend on saturated fats for their assimilation. Whole dairy, free-range eggs, and wild-caught or pastured/grass-fed meat, fish and poultry are the best sources for these fat-dependent vitamins.

So this month, remember that vitamins don't come from Twinkies! Focus on eating a wide-range of whole, natural foods - everything from fresh vegetables and whole grains to organ meats and fish eggs. Variety is more than the spice of life: it is the key to vitamin sufficiency.

Slow Changes: Step 8

What food MUST be consumed by every race and nationality in every generation of time because the body cannot produce its own?

Minerals! But unfortunately, millions of Americans are mineral-deficient because:

1. they eat refined foods that have been stripped of their natural mineral content
2. the foods themselves are 4 times less mineral-rich because they are grown in depleted soils
3. the stress of our lives and our eat-on-the-go lifestyles depress stomach acid production so minerals cannot be absorbed - even if they are present in our foods.

It takes a LOT of acid to dissolve a rock! Minerals are rocks. So stomach acid must be optimal (creating a stomach pH of 1.5-3.0) in order for minerals to be processed.

Additionally, researchers are finding that while the macro-minerals necessary for optimal health (calcium, potassium, and magnesium) are abundant in nature, what is missing in the American diet are the co-factors that help these minerals do their jobs. These co-factors not only include proper digestion and pH, but also vitamins, essential fatty acids, the trace minerals, and hydration! That is why our 12-step series focused first on healing the digestive system, second on hydration and third on proper ratios of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. These lay the groundwork for mineral absorption!

In this step of our series, you must understand that muscles cannot contract and relax as designed without the proper mineral balance. The result is cramping, soreness, even irregular heartbeat, for the heart is a muscle, too! Here are some other functions that minerals carry out:

How do you boost your body's minerals through food? Eat foods that are occur in nature and are not created or changed by man! Local, organic, fresh produce is a good example. Here are TEN of the most mineral-rich foods:

1. Liver
2. Eggs (consider duck and fish eggs in addition to chicken eggs)
3. Legumes
4. Meat
5. Dairy products
6. Nuts
7. Sea vegetables
8. Whole grains
9. Dark-colored vegetables, such as leafy greens, root vegetables and squashes
10. Mushrooms

Miracle Soup

Soup is a miracle!

• When you refrigerate a big pot, it's always ready when you are.
• It's abundant in life-giving minerals.
• It's comfort food.
• It can move lymph to help you detoxify (particularly if it contains chicken)
• Broths made from bones are gut-healing.
• It is easy to digest.
• Any leftover meats or vegetables can be thrown in to avoid waste
• It is versatile, fitting the season, your mood, and your food supply

This basic recipe can be adapted to any circumstance:

1. Start with 1 or 2 chopped onions, sauteed over medium heat until golden brown in a healthy fat, such as coconut oil, pastured lard, extra-virgin olive oil or ghee. For added flavor, toss in some minced garlic, celery, and/or seeds (cumin, coriander, brown mustard, caraway).
2. Add a quart or two of bone broth. Put in firm vegetables that need longer simmering times: carrots, beets, rutabaga, turnip, squash, potato beans, etc. Cook until they start to get tender. 
3. Choose an optional enhancing flavor base: coconut milk is great for an Asian flare; tomato for hearty stews, milk for cream soups. A cup or two will do. Puree if desired. Now add meat if you are using it and simmer some more.
4. Spice it up! Taco and chili seasonings are quick and easy. Green country herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, savory, basil, and marjoram are always winning combinations. Indian flavors would include cumin, ginger, coriander and turmeric. For a Thai flare, use lemongrass, Thai basil, kaffir lime leaf, ginger and/or galangal. 
5. Add any cooked legumes or soft vegetables with short cook times, such as mushrooms and leafy greens. Cook just a few minutes longer.
6. Season with salt and pepper. An alternative to salt is fish sauce, which adds a depth to the layers of flavor.

Just like the old cliche about apples, "a cup a day keeps the doctor away!"

Slow Changes: Step 7

Our series of baby steps toward optimal health started with three healing pillars: bone broth, probiotics and bitters. We followed those with the pillar of hydration. Now, we complete the three macro-nutrient pillars of fats, proteins and carbohydrates with a discussion of the need for more unrefined complex carbs.

Carbohydrates play these important roles in the body:

• To fuel the brain
• To provide quick energy
• To feed the probiotics  that manufacture vitamins for the body
• To sweep and cleanse the intestinal tract
• To boost the immune system (primarily through anti-oxidants and phytonutrients

The problem of nutrition in America is that we are over-provided with simple, refined, processed carbs and under-provided with the colorful, fibrous sources the fill essential roles just mentioned. 

Did someone say eat a rainbow?

The challenge to our readers this month is to add more complex carbohydrates: whole fruits and vegetables (not juices), raw nuts and seeds, and complete legumes and grains. Food Pillars' belief is that as we nourish ourselves with carbs that are close to nature, we won't have room for the pale, empty sources that are so detrimental to the immune system, blood sugar balance, digestive health and mineral sufficiency. 

Think colors! To get you started:

*Google "plantain tortillas." There are several variations, all using plantains, eggs and coconut oil.

**Sesame Crackers
1 c. raw sunflower seeds
1 c. sesame seeds
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. seasonings of choice (garlic with chili & paprika; parsley with rosemary & thyme; or cinnamon with nutmeg and cardamom)
1/4 c. water

Blend the sunflower seeds into a fine flour. Add remaining ingredients, adjusting water to make a pliable dough. Roll to 1/4" thick between two pieces of parchment. Cut into 2" squares with a pizza cutter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, until edges begin to brown. Turn off oven and leave tray of crackers in the oven with the door ajar another 10-15 minutes to finish crisping.

***Cereal Alternatives

Are You a Very Hungry Caterpillar?

Got the munchies all the time? Feel like you're never satisfied? Need to eat to push through fatigue? Got cravings?

A constant drive to snack can be a sign of blood sugar dysregulation. Feeling unsatiated is your body's way of telling you that not enough energy is reaching the cells, or that the food you're eating is burning out too quickly - not keeping you fueled between meals. Perhaps you're eating too many carbs and not enough fats and proteins.

The key to overcoming the incessant need to munch is to reduce the ratio of carb calories to healthy fat and protein calories. Here are twenty of my favorite ways to tank up without upsetting blood sugar balance:

1. Peppermint Patties
2. smoked salmon
3. half an avocado with optional fillings (tuna salad, black beans & salsa, mandarins & pecans)
4. olives with optional cream cheese filling
5. coconut pudding
6. naturally-leavened whole grain bread dipped in olive oil with roasted garlic and parmesan
7. full fat plain Greek yogurt
8. full fat cottage cheese
9. Maple Nut Chocolates
10. raw seeds (pumpkin or sunflower)
11. raw nuts (brazils, pecans, almonds...)
12. natural jerky
13. chocolate mousse
14. banana with almond  butter
15. apple with cheese
16. creme fraiche and berries on a plantain tortilla
17. sesame crackers
18. hard-boiled eggs
19. Asian spring rolls dipped in Coconut Aminos
20. buttered herbal tea (I like Sugar Plum Spice

If all else fails, sprinkle a teaspoon of L-glutamine powder on your tongue and wait ten minutes. This and other amino acids can be converted to glucose to feed your cells by a process call gluconeogenesis. 

Is Your Pantry Killing You?

Americans are progressively poisoning themselves with sugar. The insulin spikes that are inevitable with high intake of refined sweeteners are accompanied by inescapable cortisol surges. And cortisol, while it has its brilliant purpose in the body, creates insidious damage when it is high protractedly. Most chronic diseases have some aspect of their development that is related to unmitigated and unnaturally high cortisol levels.

"But I don't eat that much sugar," is the response I most often get. "I believe a moderate amount is okay," many troubled clients argue.

What is moderate??? Is it the 170 lbs. per capita that Americans are eating each year? Is 100 pounds per person per year more reasonable? And do you really know what your personal intake is anyway?

It may be surprising that at the height of the British Empire in the 1700's, England with its daily reliance on tea cakes and teas ("one cube or two?")  was considered the pinnacle of luxury with her one pound of sugar per capita. Then when the United States of America became the most prosperous country after her independence was won, she was the crown of indulgence in 1810 with 10 pounds of sugar per capita.

So, let's have a look inside your pantry. On average, how many teaspoons of sugar are contained in a daily serving of common American meals today?

Here's what we get by looking at nutrition labels. (5 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon)

Breakfast

1 1/2 cups breakfast cereal (whole grain flakes with real fruit): 3 teaspoons sugar

8 oz. of juice: 6 teaspoons sugar

A glass of milk: 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Mid-Morning Snack

Trail Bar with nuts and fruit: 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Lunch

2 slices white bread: 1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 Tb. peanut butter: 1 teaspoon sugar

1 Tb. jam: 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Tomato Soup: 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar

12 oz. soda pop: 9 teaspoons sugar

Afternoon Snack

Candy bar: 5 teaspoons sugar

Dinner

Shredded Beef with 2 Tb. barbecue sauce: 3 teaspoons sugar

Bun: 1 teaspoon sugar

Salad with fat-free dressing: 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Applesauce: 3 teaspoons sugar

TOTAL

41 teaspoons or 205 grams of sugar per day

How much sugar is that in a year? 74,825 grams! That's 164.96 pounds!!! 

And that doesn't even include dessert. Or birthday cake. Or ice cream after a date.

We are inundating our bodies with sugar. Watch those food labels, and strive to get approximately equal calorie counts of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Sugars must be curtailed if we are going to save the nation's population from chronic disease.