Easing Into Health

Recently, a friend emailed me: “My life is too busy to participate in the full cleanse right now, but can you offer some advice to help get me started on a healthier track?”

You, too, may have deemed the vegan cleanse a bit too intense at this time in your life, but would like to take baby steps towards a healthier lifestyle.  

Following is my advice based on where I started three years ago, after reading Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto.

Pollan’s advice boils it down to the basics: “Eat [whole] food.  Mostly Plants.  Not too much.”

Look for whole foods- try to get away from prepared meals with powdered mixes.  Replace with brown rice, quinoa, and other complex carbs.  Pollan further explains the meaning of “whole foods” in his book Food Rules: 
“Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients,”
“Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce,” and
“Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.” 
Basically, the more ingredients and the bigger the words on the package, the worse for you and less food-like it is.

My friend Colleen also read In Defense of Food and made simple changes like these.  She recently wrote to me, “The way that Christians have accepted Jesus into their hearts, I have accepted that every day I need to eat veggies and walk.”  She has lost more than 40 pounds over the last year.  Every little change you make, every conscious bite, every step you take- makes a difference!
For breakfast, try to alternate between oatmeal and smoothies (fruit or 50% fruit, 50% any veggies you like.)  If you have an egg breakfast on a weekend, try to use organic, free-range eggs and real potatoes for hash browns.

Most important things to cut out entirely:
•    Sugar and sugar’s ugly relatives (especially High Fructose Corn Syrup – HFCS- never eat that, even if you re-introduce sugar.)
•    Lunch meat – it is highly processed and has really gross chemicals in it.  If you can, lighten up on the bacon, too (for the same reasons).  I know that’s a tall order, so do your best.
•    White flour/white bread – White flour is highly processed, just like sugar, making your body process it too quickly and wreaking all kinds of havoc on your digestive system.  OatNut bread is good and much better for you.  I’ve heard a lot about sprouted bread being really healthy, but I’m still working on finding the right brand for me.
•    Hydrogenated oil, partially hydrogenated oil – if this is listed as an ingredient, drop it like it’s hot.  This is one of the most dangerous chemicals in our food.
•    Vegetable oil

Reduce:
Meat – Pollan recommends, “Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food.”
When you do, opt for free-range & grass fed (it’s better for you and tastes better, too.)  The main thing is, don’t think of it as needing to accompany every meal.  First reduce to one meal a day with meat, then maybe you will be able to declare one day a week a vegetarian day.  Replace with beans, lentils, or meat substitutes (Morningstar's Black Bean Burgers are wonderful.)  Consider omitting meat as you discover the delicious new substitutes and as your taste buds adjust to less meat.  Not only is it good for your diet, it’s good for the environment, too. 
The Environmental Defense Fund explains, “If every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetables and grains, for example, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off U.S. roads.”

Add fish to replace beef and chicken as often as possible.   Avoid farmed fish and opt for wild.

Reduce Beer (don’t hate me!)  It contains the most simple, streamlined carbs you can get.  Bad for blood sugar and bad for bellies.   You don’t have to give it up completely, but reduce as much as you are able.

Also, avoid using the microwave.  It may actually change the chemical make-up of your food and there are still studies being done on the effects of the radiation.  Plus, the food tastes better and has a much better consistency when you use the stove or the oven and most things don’t take that much longer.

Your dinner plate should be ½ veggies, ¼ grains, and ¼ protein. 

Some good snacks:
•    Organic tortilla chips & salsa
•    Popcorn -not in a microwave bag – you can pop with oil on the stove and drizzle with a little olive oil or butter, and sprinkle with salt.  It feels indulgent, but is so much better than chemicals in the microwave.  Air-popped is even better, but making it on the stove is one of my fun things that keeps me from feeling deprived.
•    Raw veggies with unsweetened, natural peanut butter
•    Fruit
•    Whole wheat (or gluten free) crackers and unsweetened, natural peanut butter

And finally, try to walk after each meal if at all possible.  Move as much as you can, whenever you can, even if it means using a Wii fit, dancing in your bedroom, or even doing calf raises at your desk.  I recommend walking for 20 minutes each day, then increase to 30, 60, and adding additional activities.  My personal favorites are running, yoga, and dancing in my living room.

Why is it so important to make these changes?

“The three most common causes of death in [America] – heart disease, cancer, and stroke- have all been linked to the standard Western diet, rich in animal products, refined carbohydrates, and processed food.” – Scott Jurek

By eating whole foods- mostly plants- and omitting processed “food”, you can make positive strides in health for you and your family.

These are my "Cliffs notes" after three years of reading, cooking, and journeying towards a healthier lifestyle.

Other recommendations by Colleen:
Bob Greene's The Best Life Diet (contains a journal to reflect and get to deeper food issues)
David Kessler's The End of Overeating (discusses the chemical manipulation of food companies to make us want more of their food)