***Steps to Better Health – Diet Change for Success

Did you know that stress-producing thoughts are the most potent toxin producers in your body? And, foods are in second place?

You know your eating habits , and in your heart you really know if you are eating as healthily as you can… and as you should to maintain your health. So, I’d like to share some pointers so that you may adjust this inner gauge as you potentially make some changes in what you choose to ingest.

Before undertaking any diet change you need to know why you are doing it. Maybe the information provided here will give you an answer to the question: “Why am I considering a diet change to ____?”

Whether you live to eat or eat to live, your goal for healthful eating should be to arrange your daily food intake so that approximately 75% of it provides the nutrients necessary to handle the other 25%. Let’s face it truthfully; if you are reading this, then you are probably eating a cultural diet that is not healthy or helpful for your human body. So, the 75% that will truly benefit your body consists of fruits and vegetables, as many servings raw as possible; and the 25% of daily “other” can include high-protein meat, dairy, and grain products, plus all other foodstuffs. This is in contrast to the average western diet made up of a ratio of 2% nutrient-filled, easily assimilated plant life with 98% acid-generating, stress-producing, high-protein foods. This 2% to 98% ratio may not pertain to you, but it is a true figure for many in this culture, and it should help you to realize that maybe you still have some room for improvement.

It wasn’t until recent years that science has identified that both stress and certain foods cause a pH residue in our bodies that can easily lead to death, and definitely can support the development of degenerative conditions and diseases such as arthritis , auto-immune disorders, cardio-pulmonary issues, diabetes, and cancer, among others. These are the main illnesses of this time in human history – especially in our culture.

Most of us have been taught about the importance of balance between different food groups in our diet. Keeping in mind that the main two killers: stress and diet, are both a result of too much acid pH residue or “ash” in our systems,* check out the following list of the food groups:

• Meats, Poultry, Fish Very Acid
• Dairy Products, Eggs Acid• Cereals, Grains Acid
• Fruits, Vegetables Alkaline

Energy Psychology interventions can support you to clear stress, and learning certain easy-to-use protocols for yourself can ensure that you manage the daily stresses as they come up. So, the main culprit can be handled as long as you accept responsibility for creating a self-help support program.

I’d like to share more information about why food and diet are so crucial to your well-being, and how you can adjust your own diet for your health. Here is a summary of why the 75/25% ratio diet is so important:

1. Your true “health” is based on your body’s alkaline pH reserve.
2. The western diet of today gives you plenty of quick “energy”, but it does not support your “health”. And, energy does not equal health.
3. The greatest threat to your alkaline reserve is excess protein. And, natural protein is found in all food groups to different extents, with animal protein being the highest and hardest for your body to digest.
4. Surprisingly, you can survive and thrive on considerably less protein than you are probably eating now.
5. Food combining makes a big difference in your digestive ability:
a. Eat fruits with vegetables.
b. Eat vegetables with starch
c. Eat vegetables with meat, dairy, eggs.
d. Don’t mix meat, dairy, eggs with fruit or starch – for best results.
6. A change from what you are eating now to the diet endorsed here should be done gradually for best results… maybe over a six-month to a year period unless your life depends on it NOW.

Maybe you’ve already heard some of the points above, however have you been cautioned about not changing your diet too abruptly? Pay attention here.

For your body to adjust to processing newly instituted foods takes time. It is a well-tuned sensitive instrument that has adapted to what you are currently feeding it. If you change your dietary input too quickly you may excite unpleasant symptoms such as flu-like aches and pains, sinus issues, “Montezuma’s Revenge”, cramps, bloating, muscle cramps, headaches, general tiredness or lack of energy, diarrhea, nausea, headaches, indigestion, mood swings, depression , among many others. These alone may discourage you from your good intentions, so keep reading and let’s make a deliberate plan that will meet your body’s health needs without setting up a chain reaction of negative reactions.

There was a time in my own past where I could not eat fresh raw fruit without suffering major joint pain or excruciatingly painful abdominal cramps. I had started developing specific food allergies and was in constant physical pain with all of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis . This was after I had already overcome a year painfully lying in bed with chronic fatigue and debilitatingly painful fibromyalgia. Over time I have now built up my own inner health reserves so that I can easily eat raw fruit and vegetables, and I notice my cravings for heavy meat, grains, and refined foods has diminished. I am also pain-free even when I splurge on occasional home-baked non-gluten, non-GMO, organic deserts or breads, and my one delicacy, chocolate.

Let’s get back to you. I just wanted you to know that I’ve “practiced what I preach”, so I hope you will count what I am sharing as credible.

Your body is such a wonderful and powerful vehicle. Since you did not receive a user-friendly Owner’s Manual when you were born, the following steps may support your desire for better health.

• Step One: Set your mind to start something new and beneficial to yourself. Remember that it is easier for your body to be healthy than to be sick… because this is ultimately how your body is programmed and anything out of balance requires many extra adaptation steps on its part.
• Step Two: Start creating new eating patterns by increasing the amount of cooked vegetables you eat every day. This may be one serving or it may be multiple servings of different vegetables. Little by little keep adding to this, and choose foods that you enjoy.
• Step Three: Gradually reduce the amount of protein foods that you eat each day by having smaller servings of beef, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, or grain. As you do this, continue to add more cooked vegetables to your meals.
• Step Four: Cook your vegetables less (try lightly steaming or gently baking) and include one serving of raw vegetables or fruit every day. (Organic is much better because it ensures that you will not react to pesticides, fertilizers, or GMO traits.)
• Step Five: If you haven’t already done this, begin to reduce your intake of salt, coffee, tea, cola drinks or other pop, and all processed snack foods.

Ultimately, your goal is to adjust your diet proportions** to the following “Ultimate Healthy Diet ”:

• 45% cooked fruits and vegetables
• 30% raw fruits and vegetables
• 25% grains, nuts, seeds, meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs (or, whatever other favorite foods you would like)

The time this change may take actually depends specifically on you and your present diet and health level. If you are already suffering pain, discomfort, auto-immune fatigue, skin rashes, sluggishness, then the time is NOW for you to initiate change so that these “lesser symptoms” don’t develop into full-blown disease. And, if you follow the steps above, it may take you six months to over a year to eventually achieve the “Ultimate Healthy Diet ” and maintain it as a comfortable life habit.

How your body responds to the steps above is the best indicator of how fast you can improve your diet. If you feel deep inner emotional or psychological resistance to making these changes, then Energy Psychology tools can help you to address and clear these blocks so that you can re-claim your birthright of health. If unpleasant physical symptoms show up, then back off a little but still stay on a gradual path to a better eating regime.

Here are suggestions on a Gradual Timetable for Improving Your Diet :

1. Start today to add whole foods and cooked vegetables. (Whole food choices may include such things as: whole brown rice, whole wheat, alternative whole grains, various vegetables.)
2. After 3-5 days add a serving of fruit to your present diet.
3. After 1-2 weeks have one meal per day of fruit and cooked vegetables only.
4. Start to be conscious of organic and whole, versus GMO, refined, “artificial”, “manufactured” foods. Test these for physical reactions as you continue adding the new “healthy” foodstuffs to your daily intake.
5. Begin decreasing the amount of health inhibitors such as coffee, tea, cola drinks, pop, “artificial” or “manufactured” foods.
6. Focus on reducing salt and caffeine.
7. Increase the amount of cooked vegetables and raw fruits you are daily consuming.
8. 3 weeks into your new regime begin reducing the amount of high protein foods.
9. After the one-month mark reduce your intake of one health inhibitor (alcohol, cigarettes, chocolate, pop, “artificial” or “manufactured” foods) every few days or at least one per week.
10. Begin adding “lightly” cooked or raw vegetables.
11. Continue to increase the amount of alkaline ash foods and decrease the amount of acid ash foods as listed earlier in this article.

I stress again that you must do this according to your own body’s ability to adapt on its own unique time-table. Don’t rush quickly into this without expecting some bad experiences. Just follow the guide above and as you start to feel better, gradually move to the next step. If you normally eat a lot of vegetables you may escape the quick-change symptoms, but if you do start to feel run-down, sluggish, or in pain, then slow down a bit.

(The only exception to making a gradual shift is for those with a life-threatening disease now and who require immediate intervention and quick diet change for survival. If the symptoms described are lesser evils than the illness in residence, then an appropriate health practitioner may serve as your guide to quick change with its short-term suffering and long-term potentially life-saving results.)

As you gradually adjust your diet you may wish to consult a holistic health practitioner who can advise you about which nutritional supplements will support the re-balancing of your nutritional chemistry. This should be adjusted periodically as your diet continues to change and your health improves.

In conclusion, I’d like to remind you that the key to any dietary change is how you feel as you move forward with it. If you begin to feel bad with negative symptoms, then you are changing too fast. You may be getting better, but you should slow down so that you don’t break your resolve for positive improvement.

Give yourself and your body enough time to adapt to the new shopping patterns, recipes , eating habits , and body chemistry, and you will experience a renewed sense of well-being as your chronic symptoms gradually disappear. Your underlying objective is to be healthy and pain-free for the rest of your life. Doesn’t this sound like adequate motivation for you to make some gradual dietary changes?

*Resources:

Morter, M. Ted, Your Health…, Your Choice…, Your Complete Personal Guide to: Wellness, Nutrition , Disease Prevention. Frederick Fell Publishers, Inc. Hollywood, FL, 2009.

Toney, Toni, Get Clean Go Green Ecodiet – The Secrets of an Alkaline Environment. New Earth Publishers, USA www.getcleangogreenecodiet.com , 2010.

** No need to count calories or carbohydrate or fat grams on this regime. You may gauge by percentage size of food proportions in your daily intake as you continue to add and delete certain foods.