“The Doctor Of The Future Will No Longer Treat The Human Frame With Drugs, but will rather cure and prevent disease with nutrition.”
Thomas Edison
We are living in an unprecedented time. The human being of today has access to a tremendous amount of information. From a logical standpoint, this seems like a good thing, and to an extent, it is. However, this tremendous amount of information can sometimes be a double edged sword. With all of the great information available, there is also a large amount of misinformation available. Because of that, many people are left feeling confused. For example, even if we only look at scientific studies as guidelines for how to do things. One study will seemingly prove one thing to be true. Then, another study will come out, and prove the opposite. What is the result? Mass confusion! That is where we find ourselves as a species now, in many ways. We are in a state of mass confusion about even the most basic things, such as diet.
Our diets play an incredibly massive role in our health. I can’t stress this enough! If someone hasn’t experienced the boundless energy and mental sharpness that can accompany a diet that is truly (and I stress truly) nourishing, it’s hard for them to understand the difference in how they can feel with a simple diet change. We are taught from a young age that a balanced diet consists of meat, dairy, grains, and of course fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Yet, heart disease is the number one killer in developed countries all around the world. The last time I checked, there are no wild animals dying from heart disease, cancer, or diabetes. These are diseases that we can prevent and often reverse with a few simple lifestyle changes, particularly in our diets. After all, you are what you eat. Many people already know this, yet still continue to make poor dietary choices.
Why is this? I believe there are several reasons, one of which is that they’ve been misinformed. Other reasons include the fact that it can be very challenging to break what are essentially lifelong habits, and the fact that it is so easy to eat foods that aren’t good for you. It seems so harmless to put something in your mouth, chew, and swallow it. For someone to say you’re destroying your health with such a seemingly harmless act seems a bit extreme, but it’s actually true. So, the question is, what changes do we need to make to our diets in order to maximize our health? The good news is that they are fairly simple, and when you see how good you can feel, and the years pass by without you getting so much as a cold, you’ll have no doubt that the changes you’ve made are absolutely worth it. The bad news is, depending on how you eat now, you may have to change the way you eat completely, which could really test your willpower.
So, just what is a healthy diet? You will get a different answer depending on who you ask, but in my opinion there is absolutely nothing that beats a whole food plant based diet. The sheer fact that it is the only diet that has been proven to not only stop, but reverse heart disease puts it in a class of it’s own regarding our health and longevity. I have been plant based, or vegan if you prefer, for just about 5 years as have my children. We haven’t been sick once since, with the exception of when I first went vegan and regularly ate processed crap masquerading as food. This has been a game changer for us, since I used to average around 2 to 4 colds a year, and sometimes the flu. My children would also get sick several times a year with colds, stomach bugs, fevers, and other common illnesses. At 35 years of age, people are often dumbfounded that I am free of all of the typical signs of aging. I say all this not to brag in any way, but to say that I’ve discovered a way of eating that works, and works well. It allows me to stay healthy 365 days a year, year after year.
So, what if there was a way for you to stay healthy 365 days a year, for many years to come? Would you make the necessary lifestyle changes? If the answer is yes, then I wholeheartedly believe by the end of this article you will have all the tools necessary to do so. There are a few guidelines you will need to follow, and while they are simpler than you may think, it takes some discipline and consistency to instill any new habit. They are as follows.
How To Never Get Sick Again
- A minimum of 90 percent of your diet should come from plant based whole foods, preferably organic ones. That means no more than 1 meal out of 10 should contain processed ingredients. Processed ingredients include anything that doesn’t grow outside. This includes things like high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, hydrogenated oils, MSG, all long chemical sounding ingredients in general, artificial flavor, artificial color, and all the other strange non food ingredients that are added to our food.
- Get plenty of Vitamin C, but get it from whole foods. Synthetic vitamins are not the same as those occurring naturally in plants. There are many great plant based foods that are high in Vitamin C such as kiwis, virtually all citrus, and amla which is a type of berry that you can get in powdered form form for only a few dollars.
- Ground yourself daily. Grounding is essentially placing some part of your body in contact with the earth, it could be the ground, a rock, a tree, or anything else that allows direct contact with the earth. The ground is filled with what are called free electrons. When we come in direct contact with the earth, we absorb these free electrons, and they help to neutralize free radicals, which reduces inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation can lead to a wide variety of illnesses and premature aging. It also improves heart rate variability which basically means it makes your heart’s job of keeping blood circulating through the body easier. It can even improve sleep. All you have to do to ground is go outside barefoot and stand or walk in the grass or dirt, or even sit up against a tree. Try to do this for at least 20 minutes daily, though anything is better than nothing. If you can’t ground outside regularly for some reason, you can easily purchase grounding bracelets, pillow cases, sheets, and more online. These will keep you grounded while you’re indoors.
- Drink plenty of water, preferably spring or distilled water. Water is crucial for all bodily functions, and is one of the simplest ways to flush unwanted toxins from the body. Also, you can squeeze half of an organic lemon into your water for an extra Vitamin C boost, and some added taste as well. How much water each individual needs varies based on several factors, but a good rule of thumb is to make sure your urine (I know, not the most glamorous thing to talk about.) is clear or close to it throughout the day. If it gets darker, simply drink more water.
- Get a minimum of 20 minutes of sunshine daily whenever possible. Exposing our skin to direct sunlight causes our bodies to produce Vitamin D, which is actually not a vitamin at all, but a hormone that is critically important for our physical and mental well being. An added benefit is that you can work on your tan. If you live in an area that gets very hot in the summer, avoid sunbathing from 10am-2pm due to the increased risk of sunburn. Remember, everyone can tolerate different amounts of sunlight. If you can handle more and have the time, go for it. If you can’t then take it easy and stick to 20 minutes.
- Eat nutritional yeast daily. Just 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast contains 30 percent of the RDA of zinc. It also contains lots of b vitamins and several other minerals as well, as well as some protein. It has a cheesy flavor and can be added to many simple foods to enhance the flavor. Most brands of nutritional yeast are fortified with Vitamin B-12 and while this can be beneficial for those that aren’t getting adequate B-12 already, I prefer the non fortified kind.
- Eat plenty of legumes! You are probably already doing this one, and great job. Legumes are another great source of zinc, in addition to a variety of other nutrients. Any legumes will do, but if you are really into being as healthy as you can be, I recommend that you make chickpeas your first and most frequent choice. This is because other legumes are acidic, whereas chickpeas are alkaline. The idea is that by reducing the acidic foods you ingest, and simultaneously increasing the alkaline foods in your diet, you can drastically reduce inflammation and increase your overall health. I will be writing an article going more in depth on alkaline foods in the future.
In conclusion, these changes are not fancy, nor complicated. Anyone can make them, but you have to decide how important your health is to you. These days, it’s easier than ever to see how valuable it is to be healthy. Our bodies are not meant to get sick, that is why we have an immune system. If we become sick, it’s because our immune systems have been temporarily compromised, usually by certain dietary and lifestyle choices. Once you experience what it feels like to be truly healthy, you’ll never want to give it up. You may want to come back to this article from time to time as a remind, which is why I would advise bookmarking it as a reference point. Health is the foundation of our entire lives, and if we have to develop a bit of discipline to improve our health, it’s well worth it. Let’s let our food be our medicine.
With all my love,
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