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WHOLENESS
FAITH
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FOOD
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FITNESS
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To disease-proof your body and to increase your health, the concentration of nutrients (bullets/ammunition/armor/tools/weapons)
in your body has to increase, which happens by consuming foods with a high ratio of nutrients per calorie,
i.e. Nutrient Density (ND). The most nutrient dense foods are calorie poor and nutrient rich, and consuming these is the fastest way to peak
health.
The nutrient
density ladder below shows that the highest ND is assigned 100 points - the most potent food is a green leaf - and the lowest ND is assigned zero points. The highest ND scores are all with plant foods, because they
are high in identified
phytochemicals, antioxidant activity, and total vitamin and mineral content.
The healthiest choices are low calorie
high ND foods. The unhealthiest choices are
low ND foods, i.e. calorie rich, nutrient poor. The lower the ND score of a food, the higher it is in calories and the
lower it is in nutrients. Low ND foods are processed foods – i.e. containing sugar, oil, or flour - and animal foods.
I
learned the principle of nutrient density from Dr. Joel Fuhrman MD www.drfuhrman.com while working with him
in his hospital clinic in Flemington, New Jersey. Joel’s book Disease Proof Your Child, is based on ND, and
I recommend every parent read it.
NUTRIENT DENSITY LINE (Source: Joel Fuhrman Eat to Live) | NUTRIENT DENSITY | FOOD ITEM | | 100 | Raw leafy green vegetables
(darker green has more nutrients); lettuces, collards, spinach, Swiss chard, parsley, and green leaf. | | 97 | Solid green
vegetables (raw, steamed, frozen); artichokes, asparagus, bok choy, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, celery, cucumber,
okra, peppers, snow peas, string beans, zucchini; | | 50 | Non-green, non starchy vegetables;
beets, eggplant, mushroom, onions, tomatoes, yellow and red peppers, bamboo shoots, cauliflower, water chestnuts; | | 48 | Beans/legumes (cooked, canned, sprouted); | | 45 | Fresh fruits: apples, apricots,
bananas, blackberries, blue berries, cantaloupes, grapefruits, grapes, iwis, mangoes, nectarines, all melons, oranges, peaches,
pears, persimmons, pineapples, plums, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines, watermelons; | | 35 | Starchy vegetables:
white potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, acorn squash, winter squash, parsnips, pumpkins, turnips, corn, carrots,
chestnuts; | | 22 | Whole grains: barley, buckwheat, millet, oats, brown rice, wild rice, quinoa; | | 20 | Raw Nuts
and seeds: almonds, cashews, macadamias, pecans,pine nuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds; | | 15 | Fish | | 13 | Fat free dairy | | 11 | Wild meats and fowl | | 11 | Eggs | | 8 | Red meat | | 4 | Full fat dairy | | 3 | Cheese | | 2 | Refined grains (white flour); | | 1 | Refined oils | | 0 | Refined sweets |
It is possible to obtain an immediate, noninvasive,
accurate, inexpensive measure of your body’s overall nutrient density by having a Pharmanex BioPhotonic skin scan.
Let’s
compare the ND values of some common greens and a piece of meat, for protein - a macronutrient - and several micronutrients. The list below is a sample
of the nutrients, both macronutrients and micronutrients that could be tabled here for each food, but weren’t for reasons
of available space. There are four food columns,
three of which are plant based and one animal based. The far left column lists each nutrient.
NUTRIENTS PRESENT IN 100-CALORIE PORTIONS OF SELECTED FOOD
Source: Adams, C. 1986. Handbook of the Nutritional Value of Foods in Common Units (New York:
Dover Publications).
| | BROCCOLI | SIRLOIN | ROMAINELETTUCE | KALE | | Protein | 11.2g | 5.4g | 11.6g | 9.46g | | Calcium | 182mg | 2.4mg | 257mg | 455mg | | Iron | 2.2mg | .7mg | 7.9mg | 3.1mg | | Magnesium | 71.4mg | 5mg | 43mg | 59mg | | Potassium | 643mg | 88mg | 2071mg | 1059mg | | Fibre | 10.7g | 0 | 12g | 6.7g | | Phytochemicals | Very high | 0 | Very high | Very high | | Antioxidants | Very high | 0 | Very high | Very high | | Folate | 107mcg | 3mcg | 971mcg | 47mcg | | B2 | .29mg | .04mg | .71mg | .38mg | | Niacin | 1.64mg | 1.1mg | 3.6mg | 2.2mg | | Zinc | 1.1mg | 1.2mg | 1.8mg | .59mg | | Vitamin C | 143mg | 0 | 171mg | 83mg | | Vitamin A | 6757IU | 24IU | 18571IU | 21159IU | | Vitamin E | 5mg | 0 | 3.2mg | 1mg | | Cholesterol | 0 | 55mg | 0 | 0 | | Saturated fat | 0 | 1.7g | 0 | 0 | | Weight | 357g (12.6oz) | 24g (0.84oz) | 714g (25.1oz) | 333g (11.7oz) |
In our Age of Information, the worlds’
media bombards consumers with overload concerning what we should and should not eat, leaving us to swim or drown, depending
on who and what we believe.
Colin Campbell, Emeritus Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University in New York, sums
up this dilemma, in The China Study, his landmark classic on the link between diet and disease, where he writes:
“Very few people truly know what they should be doing to improve their health because the public is drowning in an ocean
of very bad information.”
Campbell
et al found that as the amount of animal foods increased in the diet, even in relatively small increments, so did the emergence
of the cancers that are common in the West. Western diet consumers, compared to vegans, were at risk of cancer by a factor
of 200:1 !
The incidence of cardiovascular disease rates, osteoporosis, autoimmune diseases (like rheumatoid arthritis,
and lupus), renal insufficiency, and kidney stones were 20:1 (!) comparing western diet consumers to vegans.
Most cancers and heart attacks
occurred in direct proportion to the quantity of animal foods consumed. The greatest protective effect came from the consumption
of green leafy vegetables. Even at high levels of intake, plant proteins, including from wheat and soy were found to be safe
and did not promote cancer.
Campbell’s
work can be found at the following links:
The China Study turned the nutrition world upside down, proving many ‘nutritional
facts’ to be totally false, and has been described as both “the Grand Prix of all epidemiological studies, the
most comprehensive large study ever undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease,”
and "the most comprehensive survey of food, environment, social practices and diseases ever made in China - and one of
the largest epidemiological studies ever done anywhere."
Forks Over Knives is a film which explores the findings in The
China Study and the profound claim that most, if not all, of the so-called “diseases of affluence” that afflict
us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods. The film is available
(not yet in Australia) through Netfilx.
For
some really healthy recipes, try Juliano Brotman’s book Raw: The Uncook Book or go to www.planetraw.com His restaurant Planet
Raw, where I did my hands on chef training, is definitely worth a visit.
I also recommend one of Juliano’s
world class protégé chefs, Bruce Horowitz c/- www.thesunkitchen.com and rawpermaculture.org
David Wolfe,
another student of JB who also eats totally raw, organic, vegan food, is a phenomenal teacher. www.TheBestDayEver.com www.DavidWolfe.com www.LongevityNowProgram.com www.twitter.com/davidwolfe. His books are great.
Also check out Skinny Bitch (for women troubled with weight issues) and Whitewash (for
the dark side on dairy) if possible.
Overcoming cravings for processed foods doesn’t mean you have to give up yummy foods such as chocolate,
it just means learning to make your own healthier versions without the sugar, oil and flour; food you make yourself
tastes much more exciting and is much healthier than what we buy at the store. There is no limit to what you can make as you
learn to say goodbye to addictive cravings that only yo yo self esteem and moods every day.
Dr Russell Blaylock
gives a great talk on the down side of processed foods titled: “Food & The Brain,” which can be found
at www.therealfoodchannel.com by going to Nutrition
& Behaviour.
Check out www.processedpeople.com for more valuable information.
If you are interested to join a practical, community-service vegetarian/vegan plant-based diet discussion
group via teleconference being led by a professionally trained vegan health coach (such as myself), please go to www.healthcoachtraining.com
and register on the platform for one of several groups. Each group is limited to 15 to 20 members and is called a V-Pod (Vegetarian
Practical Open Discussion group). There is no cost associated with these small and intimate groups other than your personal
long-distance charge to call in to the discussion groups. If you have an interest in leaning towards a plant-based diet and
would like to learn more or contribute to one of these groups, fill out the form online and you will be contacted by e-mail.
BTW, here are
links to just a few of my favorite teaching resources:
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/43.html A HEALTHY DIET TO AVOID
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/41.html THE HEALING POWER OF
FOOD
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/36.html FOOD INDUSTRY DECEPTION
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/34.html READING FOOD LABELS
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/15.html THE MOVIE THEY DON’T
WANT YOU TO SEE
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/33.html HOW THEY TRICK US
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/30.html THE WAR AGAINST OUR
CHILDREN
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/29.html THE SHOCKING TRUTH ABOUT
DAIRY
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/28.html IT ALWAYS WORKS
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/18.html WHAT ABOUT MEAT
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/6.html HOW YOU’RE
TRICKED INTO EATING JUNK
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/16.html WHAT TO EAT
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/13.html A REAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/videos/getting_dad_off_the_death_diet.html
LIFE & DEATH
SECRET HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT
In the spring of 1999
I attended a three day conference where I listened to unforgettable speakers from around the world talking on something completely
new to me: food and my footprint. The food we ate was so tasty and different to anything I had eaten before, and I heard about
nutrition for the first time on a deep level like never before, linking nutrition and non-violence.
Suddenly at end of day three,
the amazing truth and connection between kindness and food found its way from my head into my heart, like a penny dropping
in me, the glorious revelation - the indescribable joy - of seeing and committing to the beauty and wonder of a plant based
lifestyle, giving me a focus I had never known, a discovery I wish I could share with everyone.
Grasping the profound relationship of kindness to all creation, all creatures,
great and small, was, in truth, my very first lesson in nutrition.
I didn’t make a head decision
to commit because of the health benefits. I began to grasp and to practice, from that moment, the first of two incredibly
gentle but powerful steps in nutrition, which I refer to, for mere simplicity’s sake, as Nutrition 101 and 201, two
profoundly simple, fundamental and complementary ways to sustainable health, once you grasp and practice them: nourishing
in and cleansing out.
The revelation about plant based nutrition enabled me to see and apply what I discerned after many years,
to be a fundamental wisdom, one which is not so easy to grasp - especially if you are not quite there yet with plant based
nutrition - but a wisdom which, none the less, is very important to try to grasp:
that the distance between poor, average or peak sustainable health, is directly connected to
the size of one’s footprint. How I wish you would be able to grasp this.
Independent scientific reports
now confirm, in broad energy carbon footprint terminology, that, if we accept a standard consumer’s footprint as size
one, then a vegetarian is roughly a size half, a vegan is a size one seventh, and an organic vegan is a size one seventeenth.
Grasping this is a ‘golden door’ to
discovering the road to peak sustainable health; the first, the biggest and most difficult step is simply to commit to saying
“yes”, in your heart and mind, to pass through the ‘beautiful gate’ of leaning towards a more plant
based lifestyle.
To grasp the meaning of nonviolence
and its connection to nutrition and footprint, one baby step in this direction would be to go visit www.peta.org Please be warned, this
site is likely to trigger emotions about the consequences of violence.
Nourishing in well on a plant based diet ie Step 1, especially if it is as organic and raw as
can be (75% is a good goal), will take you ever closer towards - but not necessarily to - your peak; to reach your peak sustainable
health, there is a major cross road or transition point – like a base camp - where one needs to commit to and complete
a full cleanse ie Step 2.
One needs to spend a little while in Step 1 (N101) getting to base camp, which will
vary depending on how hungry you are to reach your peak.If
and when you believe you are ready to dig deep enough to confront and take the most difficult step in the climb to the peak
- by doing a full cleanse - you will transition in to base camp for final preparations before stepping out on the glorious
journey of step two, where your footprint size will drop, and, as you detoxify, you’ll climb faster and higher to your
peak.
These are general but critical sign posts separating 101 and 201. After a cleanse, its back to the reality
of maintenance nutrition, step one. Steps one and two then become interchangeable.
Embracing the steps to sustainable nutrition wholeheartedly is as much a ‘heart’
thing as it is a ‘head’ thing, especially to enter the door to non-violence, to extending compassion to all creatures
great and small. Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jnr (echoing Mahatma Ghandi) said it so beautifully and eloquently just before
he was assassinated: “Brothers and sisters, it’s non violence or non existence”.
Nutrition 101 works by disciplining you and leading you around
some pretty dangerous health icebergs. Learning to nourish in, as opposed to spring cleaning out, is the first step you need
to take to restore, refresh, rejuvenate, and reclaim your health.
Once you commit to learning this, you are half
way there. Once you learn how to nourish yourself well, you only have one more step to learn and you can climb the peak, and
eliminate a whole host of ailments. Nourishing
in is about arming yourself with protective tools and equipment to neutralize toxins (detoxify) and waste, along with a whole
range of other health functions.
Equipped with this information you can learn to walk down a supermarket aisle
and accurately separate one food from another in terms of sustainable/carbon footprint value for money. Get calorie rich nutrient
poor foods going in too much e.g. oil, sugar, flour i.e. processed foods, and animal products, i.e. meat and dairy, and you’re
going in the wrong direction, because these foods have very low nutrient density values.
When your heart connects to this level of commitment to nourish yourself well, you may receive
the deep gift of grace necessary to help you climb further past ‘base camp’ into cleansing. Cultivate and develop
these gifts if you can and they will truly sustain you through difficult health issues.
My primary motive for this work, brothers and sisters, is that you might experience the joy of extending kindness to
all creatures - great and small – by leaning towards a plant based lifestyle. “Go after a life
of kindness as if your life depends on it, because it does (1 Cor14.1).” St. Paul.
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