The word “HEALTHY” is probably one of the most misused and misunderstood words of our generation.
We definitely all want to be it, because it means living longer and feeling better while we’re here. But, so many of the health related messages are funded by people and corporations with ulterior motives that it becomes hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. We also witness fad diets, strict diets, or detox diets that seem to do the trick for our friends (but never for us!). Plus, there just cannot be one protocol to follow that explains what health should be for everyone. I mean, how come Kirstie Alley can eat cheesecake and I cannot eat a banana? Does that make any sense to anyone?
Trial & Error
I used to eat about 3 bananas a day. I lived on them when I was pregnant with my son. They’re full of potassium and did a great job relieving morning sickness. Since they contain 28 grams of sugar, I had no idea that was bad (for me). So, I became a raw vegan for a while, in order to achieve better health, and only experienced worsened digestive symptoms. I found health through trial and error only, and now I can’t shut up about how I did it.
Strengthening the Digestive System
I found most of my answers through the Body Ecology Diet. This diet has seven principals that help you build your immunity. Building immunity means strengthening the digestive system (80% of immune building cells live there). When I meet people who cannot control their weight, their mood or their energy, I always tell them to look toward their gut. If the food we eat cannot be digested properly, it doesn’t matter how healthy that food is.
Trapped in a “Healthy” Diet that’s going Nowhere?
Body Ecology taught me how to properly combine my meals, so that I would gain the max benefit from the nutrients I was consuming. It also taught me to eat and exercise properly for my blood type, eat alkaline forming foods, allow time for detox and to eat more foods with healing power. I also learned that taking digestive enzyme supplements help break down and absorb food.
By simply attempting to incorporate one of the seven principals into your already healthy diet, you have the potential to increase your health. For example: If you opt to stop eating starches in the same meal with proteins and make sure that each meal contains 80% vegetables, you give your system a chance to assimilate those nutrients much quicker. This means more weight control and more energy. Or, if you study the needs of your blood type, and limit foods that are harder for you to digest (type A’s do not do well with animal protein), you also increase your chances for optimum nutrient absorption…
A healthy diet can become destructive when your body isn’t given the tools it needs to turn nutrition into energy.
Gina Laverde is a Chicago-based writer and researcher whose expertise in natural health stems from her experiences with Body Ecology Diet, Blood Type Diet and homeopathic remedies. Gina believes that we’re in the midst of a serious world health crisis, and that the key to survival lies within our guts.
Gina Laverde says
Hey Heather,
I think you are making a great choice by remaining a vegetarian. I believe (through experience and study) that a diet free of animal by-products is really superior, and have been vegetarian or vegan for the better part of the last 10 years. The Blood Type Diet has many great points, that can be added to a healthy diet. For me it has simply been one piece of the puzzle. Thanks for sharing.. and thanks for mentioning that the Blood Type Diet does incorporate meat. It is not a choice that we really advocate, although we would hope that our readers who do choose to consume meat will eat it in the healthiest ways possible.
Have a great day and keep sharing your thoughts!
Gina