Read an Excerpt
Essential Nourishment
A Basic Guide to Optimal Health and Wellness
By Beth McCall Whitley
Balboa Press
Copyright © 2011 Beth McCall Whitley
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4525-4037-5
Chapter One
Health and Wellness
"Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship." — Buddha
Health and wellness are not just the absence of disease. It's about living life to the fullest, being engaged in the present moment, being an aware participant, living in balance, and being happy. It is creating your life on purpose.
Each and every day, we either move toward health or away from it, based on our choices. No one stands still. We owe it to ourselves and the people who love and depend on us to be the best we can be. When we nourish our bodies, minds, and spirits, we have so much more to give others. Read the previous sentence again. It took me a very long time to come to this realization. It is not selfish to nourish ourselves; it is essential.
Please understand the difference between feeding and nourishing. Nourishment implies health. There are plenty of people who are overfed and undernourished. Most people are feeding their minds and bodies with junk on a daily basis and not feeding their souls at all. To nourish is to promote health and strengthen our bodies, minds, and spirits. Without our health, what else is there? It is our single most important asset.
What do we need not only to survive but to grow and thrive? Our bodies need nourishment from food that is good for us and exercise to keep us strong; our minds need nourishment from positive messages and thinking good thoughts; our souls need nourishment from finding happiness through discovering and fulfilling our purpose and connecting with others. We must provide this essential nourishment to ourselves. Think of a plant or a pet or any living thing. What would happen if you ignored or abused it and did not provide the appropriate environment or necessary nutrients? It would die prematurely, without reaching its highest potential. Wherever you put your attention is what will grow and thrive.
We have a large amount of control over our health. It is not entirely dependent on heredity, as many people believe. Epigenetics, the study of how DNA is expressed, shows us that our cells are largely influenced by the presence or absence of important nutrients in our diet, in addition to exposure to environmental toxins, chemicals, and other pathogens. Our bodies may contain genes that are predisposed to a certain disease; however, based on our choices, they can stay silent or be activated. For example, just because everyone in my family was diagnosed with type-II diabetes at a certain age does not mean that I will be also. I can make different lifestyle choices and prevent it.
Equally important are our beliefs. If we believe that we are destined to get a certain disease, then we will most likely manifest that belief. If we believe we can run a marathon, we mostly likely can, with the proper training and preparation. We have the power to experience health and wellness or not—it is our choice. We are responsible for everything in our lives because our choices brought us here, whether we're healthy or sick, happy or sad. I am not saying this to place blame and instill regret about the past, but to empower us to make better choices now and give us hope for the future. Of course, we are sometimes genuine victims of circumstance but, for the most part, we are responsible for the status of our lives. We can't undo the past, but we can always move forward and start again.
I am not going to quote any studies in this book, because there are studies to prove or disprove any point one wants to make. Instead, I give you my own opinions based on many years of personal experience with myself, my family, and many clients. If you have a specific health challenge and/or are interested in personalized health care that focuses on prevention and underlying causes, I recommend finding a functional medicine practitioner in your area, http://www. functionalmedicine.org.
In the following chapters, you will find basic information to help you start on your journey of overall health and wellness. I focus on the specific areas of nutrition, exercise, and happiness, all of which are equally important. All three must be addressed for optimal health. The key is balance. If one area is missing or lacking, there is imbalance.
Nutrition is the foundation and the most basic. We must eat and drink every day. Once you begin nourishing your body with healthy food and eliminating toxins, you will start to feel better and have more energy, and your brain fog will lift, which will help make everything else easier. It's a lot easier to exercise and be happy when you physically feel good. However, you can start wherever you like, wherever you are. Just start.
A BIT OF INSPIRATION ...
Until one is committed
there is hesitancy,
the chance to draw back,
always ineffectiveness.
Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation)
there is one elementary truth,
the ignorance of which
kills countless ideas and splendid plans:
that the moment one definitely commits oneself,
then Providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur
to help one that would never otherwise
have occurred.
A whole stream of events
issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor
all manner of unforeseen incidents
and meetings and material assistance,
which no man could have dreamed
would have come his way.
I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets:
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
—W.H. Murray, The Scottish Himalayan Expedition
Nutrition
"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease." —Thomas Edison
Food
"When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct, medicine is of no need." —Ancient Ayurvedic Proverb
Proper nutrition is the foundation of health and well- being. Some of the information you read here may be radically different than anything you've previously heard or read about eating healthfully. Most mainstream doctors have minimal nutritional training and are therefore unaware of how much it can affect heath. Their training is to treat symptoms with medication rather than find the root cause of the problem, and most do not use any nutritional support. The main beneficiaries of this are the pharmaceutical companies. Unfortunately, many of these medications can and have caused harm and even death. There are times when medication is needed. However, proper nutrition can go a long way in assisting the body in healing itself.
The fact is, our country has never been unhealthier. The obesity rates are staggering. Children are having cholesterol issues and contracting type-II diabetes. Clearly, something isn't working. The United States Department of Agriculture recently updated the food pyramid to MyPlate, which provides dietary guidelines to our country, including doctors, hospitals, nutritionists, schools, and government assistance programs. There are a number of things with which I disagree, especially the grain and dairy recommendations (my recommendations follow). They also do not discuss several other essential elements of a proper diet such as healthy fats, which are critical for many vital functions, including brain function; healthy salt that contains important trace minerals; or the importance of avoiding processed foods.
While we have access to any food we want anytime we want, our ancestors had to depend on what was available and in season in their area. Many societies today still do. For example, those closer to the equator have more plants available, while those in the mountains have more animals available. There is no single diet that is ideal for everyone. We are each biochemically unique, and people in different parts of the world have very different nutritional requirements. For example, people living in Alaska require more healthy dietary fat than someone living in a tropical environment, in order to protect them from the cold.
While many diets, such as the macrobiotic, blood-type, vegan, etc. have value for some people, it is best to avoid limiting ourselves to one of these extremes for an extended period of time. Our bodies need a variety of nutrients to stay healthy. We must learn to listen to our bodies and notice how we feel. As we get healthier, this becomes easier.
Genetically speaking, our bodies are basically the same as those of our ancestors forty thousand years ago. In other words, our bodies are programmed for the hunter-gatherer diet, which consisted mainly of vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, and wild animals/fish, depending on the season, geographical location, and availability. Agriculture wasn't introduced until about ten thousand years ago, so our ancestors did not consume grains. They also did not drink milk from other species. Hunting and gathering food was a lot of work, so they were exercising every day. It makes sense that, on a cellular level, our bodies have no idea what to do with all of the processed "foods" that most people live on today, why a sedentary lifestyle is unhealthy, and why we have such high rates of disease.
I advocate eating real, nutrient-dense food, the way nature intended. Choose organic whenever possible, eat local and in season, and eliminate processed foods, which usually contain added chemicals, preservatives, hormones, antibiotics, and sweeteners, and the processing techniques are often questionable. I believe this way of eating can prevent many diseases and conditions that are prevalent in today's society, including diabetes, heart disease, auto-immune disorders, and cancer. Here are some basic guidelines:
1. EAT REAL FOOD
If it comes in a package, it's not real food (with the exception of frozen fruits and vegetables). Clean out your pantry and refrigerator. Get rid of anything pre-packaged and processed (e.g., sodas, frozen dinners, cereals, convenience foods, etc.). They are loaded with added sugars, high-fructose corn syrup, chemicals, and preservatives, and have no place in a healthy eating plan.
Breakfast seems to be the biggest challenge for most people. I recommend that people start thinking about breakfast in a different way and eat foods, including meat, they would eat for lunch or dinner. Adding vegetables is a great way to increase daily intake. I also make a green smoothie with leafy greens and fruit. It's a good idea to vary the greens either daily or weekly. Spinach is the mildest tasting; other good ones to use are kale, romaine lettuce, dandelion greens (good for detoxification), mixed greens, collard and mustard greens. I usually add a frozen banana (remove peel before freezing) and some frozen berries with either water or almond milk. I frequently add vitamin C powder and/ or a clean protein powder.
2. EAT ORGANIC
It has been proven that there are significantly more trace minerals in organic versus conventional produce. According to the USDA National Organic Program (NOP), "organic" is defined as:
"Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation. Before a product can be labeled 'organic,' a Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. Companies that handle or process organic food before it gets to your local supermarket or restaurant must be certified, too."
There are three categories for labeling:
• 100 Percent Organic: Made with 100 percent organic ingredients.
• Organic: Made with at least 95 percent organic ingredients.
• Made With Organic Ingredients: Made with a minimum of 70 percent organic ingredients with strict restrictions on the remaining 30 percent, including no GMOs (genetically modified organisms).
A GMO is a living organism (plant, animal, or microorganism) that has been altered using molecular genetics techniques such as gene cloning and protein engineering. Different sources of DNA are combined to create a new set of genes. Crops may be modified to increase resistance to pests and disease, increase adaptability to environmental conditions, improve flavor or nutritional profile, delay ripening, or increase shelf life. The long-term health consequences of widespread genetic modification of food are unknown, but I'm of the opinion that it can't be good. In addition to health concerns, there are also kosher/vegetarian issues. For example, pork genes have been injected into tomatoes to increase shelf life. Unfortunately, labeling is not required, and most people have consumed some form of genetically modified food, whether they know it or not. The most common GMO foods are corn, soybeans, wheat, potatoes, tomatoes, canola, flax, and squash.
• Products with less than 70 percent organic ingredients may list organically produced ingredients on the side panel of the package but may not make any organic claims on the front of the package.
"Free Trade" and "Natural" do not mean organic.
Organic food is sometimes more expensive, but not always. This is due to the fact that organic farms are generally smaller and more labor- intensive. Also, organic farmers do not receive any government assistance like conventional farmers do. However, once you eliminate processed food that is genetically modified, full of chemicals and preservatives, and not really food at all, you will have extra money to spend on organic food. You can spend it now on health or later on doctors, illness, and medications. The choice is yours.
Produce—Fruits and vegetables should be organic. Sometimes, organic is not available or is cost prohibitive. Due to the very high pesticide levels, the most important foods to buy organic, according to the Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org), are:
• Celery
• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Apples
• Blueberries (domestic)
• Nectarines (imported)
• Sweet bell peppers
• Kale and collard greens
• Spinach
• Potatoes
• Grapes (imported)
• Lettuce
Some non-organic fruits and vegetables have a lower pesticide level. Below is a list of produce, also provided by the Environmental Working Group, that is safer to eat non-organically:
• Onions
• Avocados
• Sweet corn
• Pineapples
• Mango
• Sweet peas
• Asparagus
• Kiwi fruit
• Cabbage
• Eggplant
• Cantaloupe
• Watermelon
• Grapefruit
• Sweet potatoes
• Mushrooms
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Essential Nourishment by Beth McCall Whitley Copyright © 2011 by Beth McCall Whitley. Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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