Why am I supposed to eat more vegetables?

Vegetables are fundamental to a healthy diet, but does anyone know WHY they are healthy? Here’s a brief look into the superior healing qualities of vegetable foods:

- Complex carbohydrate: vegetables contain carbohydrates (that many people will call ‘sugars’) that metabolize easily and don’t spike blood sugar levels, and in fact balance them! Even though carrots contain many ‘sugars’, they will regulate a sugar high that normally comes from sugar. This makes vegetables a quality source of carbohydrate energy that serves the body best, and helps regulate weight.

- Fiber: all vegetables contain fiber which also help normalize blood sugar levels, and help keep your digestive tract clean to prevent digestive stagnation and bloating. It also helps produce healthy stools and regularity. The fiber from vegetables is much softer and gentler on the digestion than most fibre supplements such as wheat bran, which can be abrasive. The best quality stools come from starchy, well cooked vegetables, like potatoes!

- Minerals: minerals are important to all metabolic processes, but especially important to help with stress and keeping the body’s constitution and immunity strong. Minerals are the ‘foundation’ nutrient, that is dependant on all other nutrients! They are responsible for keeping us calm and beautiful since they strengthen the hair, nails, skin, teeth, etc. Vegetables grown in healthy, strong soils are typically more mineral abundant.

- Chlorophyll: green vegetables contain chlorophyll which helps neutralize toxins in the body, but also repair and regenerate tissues. Chlorophyll is known as ‘green blood’ as it is nearly identical to red blood cells and deeply supports the liver and blood producing systems in the body.

- Vitamins and enzymes: vegetables contain a variety of vitamins, particularly vitamins A and C, but green vegetables contain substantial vitamin D, which is why they are considered as ‘stored sunshine’! When eaten raw, they contain enzymes that help breakdown toxins in the body, including excess weight, growths (such as cancer), and unwanted substances in the body such as residues of old drugs.

- Protein: all foods from the earth contain protein, as they have the capability to grow! Some vegetables have low amounts of protein, but some contain substantial amounts of protein. Examples are young vegetables that have lots of growing to do yet, like brussel sprouts, fresh peas, green beans, which contain sufficient amounts of protein to satisfy the recommended daily intake for protein in a day, if eaten to meet caloric needs.

- Healing properties: each vegetable has special healing properties, much like various herbs containing unique healing properties. Examples are: garlic, onion and leek are anti-biotic and decongestants; potatoes and asparagus help build the adrenal glands; bitter greens help reduce blood pressure and clear arterial blockages; cucumbers and zucchini are diuretics; celery is a pain killer; and everyone knows that carrots can improve your eye sight!

Since everyone is unique, we may find ourselves gravitating to the vegetables that make us feel best! Since vegetables offer a host of healing potential, eat the vegetables that resonate most with you! If you have an affinity to broccoli, eat it, because there may be something in it that is just for you! Science is only on the brink of discovering the vast and incredible nutrients that plants contain, but our body knows best – as always, listen to it, and eat sensibly!

The Bounty of Whole Wheat

Whole wheat is a remarkable food known in the traditional medicines of China and India to strengthen the body and nurture the mind and heart. Whole wheat has the ability to calm and focus the mind, strengthen the body and muscles, replenish our adrenals, soothe palpitations, insomnia and irritability, and is also an astringent.

Whole wheat is a term many people are familiar with – but may not understand what it means. The part of the cereal grass plant that we eat is the unrefined seed, known as whole wheat. This wheat seed – or berry, is then ground up to create whole wheat flour. Whole wheat is high in nutrition and very healthy for us, but the nutrient quality begins declining with age once it is ground into a flour.

White flour is produced by refining away the outer bran and germ so that only the starchy, carbohydrate rich centre remains, and then further refined into a powder and bleached to create white flour. Flour is not only the most popular ingredient in the North American diet, but it is usually the main ingredient in popular foods such as crackers, breads, pastas, and so on. This refining is typically done to lengthen the shelf life, make recipes very reproducible and predictable, and to prevent pathogens from growing on it. However, white flour lacks all of the important minerals, vitamins, oils and fiber that the whole grain contains. Flour also makes the preferred fluffy, light consistencies and sweet taste that whole wheat flour cannot; whole wheat flour is usually heavier, denser and more bitter. Whole wheat flours found in “whole wheat” breads are still refined and processed, often missing vital nutrients, whereas flours made from grinding your own fresh, unrefined whole wheat, as purchased from health food or bulk food stores, are far different in texture and nutritional value.

Wheat sometimes provokes allergic reactions, particularly when flours are improperly stored and become rancid from oxidation. Whole wheat flour should ideally be used right after grinding, or stored air tight in a cool space and used within two weeks. The refined oxidized flour is usually the cause of a ‘wheat allergy’, not the wheat itself. However, if eating whole wheat causes bloating, gas, stomach pain, indigestion, excessive mucus or an increased pulse rate, it may be best avoided.

The Benefits of Magnesium

One of the most abundant minerals found in whole wheat is magnesium, which is milled away when refining the grain. It is estimated that 70% of North Americans are magnesium deficient, but it is a deficiency that can be easily remedied by eating whole grains, like wheat. The benefits of magnesium are essential to health:

• Calms nerve functions and migraine headaches
• Harmonizes mental and emotional imbalances (including irritability, depression, bipolar disorder, sleep disorders and PMS)
• Soothes muscles, cramps and spasms
• Relieves constipation and improves digestion
• Overcomes the blood sugar imbalances in hypoglycemia, diabetes and alcoholism
• Counteracts conditions such as chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, arthritis and osteoporosis

Magnesium checks and balances excess calcium by ‘pushing’ it out of soft tissues, and driving it into our bones. Too much excess calcium in the soft tissue is damaging, calcifying arteries and of course staying out of our bones, and weakening them. Those who eat and take ample calcium, may still have weaker bones than those who ingest only a little calcium but also consume sufficient magnesium rich foods such as whole grains.

Soaking a whole grain or fresh flour in water for several hours germinates the seed and initiates the growth process which maximizes the bio-availability of magnesium and other nutrients, to levels far greater than found in standard store bought whole wheat bread. Try using a coffee grinder to grind your flour and then leave it sit overnight in water. Use it the next morning for warm cereal, baking or pancakes.

Are You Stuck, Stagnant, Energy-less, Impatient… and Dramatic?!

Who wants to be STUCK? Nobody likes the feeling of being stuck – whether feeling like you have heavy feet, or stuck in old ways, or unable to move forward, the feeling of stagnancy holds a lot of people back. The morning is a particularly vulnerable time for being stuck, when it really should be a time of movement and vitality.

Coffee as a stimulant.

No wonder coffee is the beverage choice for the morning, its incredible abilities to move the blood and get us going is a perfect example of moving feelings of stagnancy. Not only does coffee help move stagnancy, but so does chocolate, alcohol, and a little more healthily – raw vinegar, ferments, sour foods like lemon, pungent spices like garlic, ginger, cardamom etc, and the very hot spices such as cayenne. These foods all help to ‘get us going’ and give our energy a stir. Where is our energy when we’re feeling stuck and energy-less?

Regulating a smooth flow of energy.

The liver houses the blood, and regulates the energy of the blood (in Chinese medicine this is referred to as qi) and harbours these stuck emotions. When we are too stuck, emotions clog up and tend to manifest as anger, resent or impatience. To remedy this anger and resent that comes from stuck emotions, or physical stagnancy, the liver needs to be stimulated, to distribute the liver’s stuck energy throughout the body. When we wake up, 90% of our blood is housed in the liver, and a sluggish liver will NOT move that blood very effectively, and so a sluggish liver might create signs of morning drowsiness, an inability to get up and going, and just the general feeling of being stagnant or stuck. This is why coffee helps us get going – it stimulates the liver to ‘get going’ and let the energy flow. Likewise, a drink of alcohol at the end of the day stimulates our energy flow and we feel that rush of stuck energy from our centre emerge down to our hands, head and periphery – it’s like a high!

Stimulation is good, too much is drama!

Whilst stimulating the liver helps stagnancy, over stimulating is not. The remedy for a stuck liver and emotions is NOT to have stimulating foods and coffee every day, but INSTEAD, stop whatever is stagnating the liver! That way we wake up in the morning, and already feel good and don’t have to rely on stimulants to distribute the energy (which we falsely believe as GIVING us energy). When we over stimulate the liver, it gets tired, and eventually gets more stagnant! It’s like kicking a horse to get it going, but how much can you kick it before it just lays down and doesn’t move at all? This is what happens when we over stimulate the liver. Also, excessive stimulants, especially the strong ones, create drama! The negative opposite effect of stagnancy is drama, and so often the heavy coffee/alcohol drinkers and chocolate eaters are dramatic folks who swing from stagnant, stuck thinking to wild, erratic and dramatic thinking and health problems. Living in these two extremes is so popular in modern society, but there is a solution!

Preventing stagnancy, and use of stimulants!

Create a smooth qi flow in the liver! Do not stagnate it in the first place!

Foods that stagnate the liver:

• rich foods; meat, dairy, eggs
• fatty foods; nuts, deep fried, margarine, etc
• refined foods; white flours, sugar, bread, etc
• overeating and excessive consumption
• over stimulating with caffeine, spices, exercise

Ways to help create a smooth energy flow:

• vegetables, and some fruits
• whole grains, when not overeaten
• eating slowing and not in excess
• gentle exercise, walking, stretching, etc
• sour foods, such as lemon, ferments
• gentle spices in cooking, such as mustard, etc
• simplicity, patience and relaxation.. and sleep

Breathe deep and enjoy energy everyday

Raw Versus Cooked

Food eaten when cooked behaves very differently than food eaten raw. Science has been proclaiming the numerous health benefits associated with raw foods for some time now, and has even reached the point of a recent health fad. The benefits of raw foods are because of the enzymes they contain. Enzymes break things down – which is exactly what they do in food and in the body. Enzymes are very important for cleansing and breaking down toxins in the blood, the more enzymes we eat, the more cleaning, or breaking down we do. But as Western thought embraces the concept that something good must be better in bigger quantities, too much raw food actually isn’t that good for us. It might be good to remedy an imbalance of excess toxicity, but when raw foods are overeaten for a long duration, the body and digestion starts breaking down as well.

As the body’s Heat is important for metabolism and good digestion, raw foods which are very cooling often quell the digestive fire and decrease overall metabolism and digestive capabilities, which is why very little raw foods are in the Chinese diet.

To enjoy the benefits of raw foods, smaller amounts eaten during the warmest parts of the day (and year) are best. Not everyone needs raw foods, in fact those who are deficient may do best on mostly cooked foods, whereas those who have excess heat (possibly high blood pressure, overweight, red face, hot flashes or always feeling warm) may benefit with a more raw foods diet. But be careful not to overdo it, otherwise the imbalance will swing the other way and hit you in the gut with a deficiency and a dead digestive fire that needs to be restarted!

Heat – Stoking Your Internal Fire with Cooked Food

The concept of Heat is very important in Chinese medicine. Heat warms the digestion and the heart, keeping spirits high and the body warm. We often experience Heat with certain foods like cinnamon, chai tea, hot peppers, alcohol or a butternut squash soup with ginger and spices. Anything that makes us feel warm and flush is an example of Heat. The body thrives on warmth, provided the body can also be kept cool (an example of the body NOT being able to keep cool is menopausal hot flashes). When the fire goes out, our energy quickly suffers, metabolism drops, coldness and rigidity can prevail and digestion feels as though a fire has gone out. Depression, or poor spirits can be an example of a weak fire in the body, in which case warm, spicy, cooked foods can be a great remedy. Heat is also energizing, so when energy is low through the winter, don’t forget to add a little spice to your dishes and keep your veggies in the oven for an extra bit of time!

Fruit has a cleansing, clearing nature. It makes us feel light and fresh when we eat it. Allergies often make us feel irritable, edgy and inflamed, and are typically a result of dehydration (especially as the heat rolls in) and excess body acidity. Acidity is created from low alkaline mineral levels in the body (such as magnesium) that keep our bones strong, muscles and mind relaxed, and reduce sensitivities – as in allergies. Processed and refined foods (such as floury and sugary foods) and animal products both deplete the body of alkalizing minerals, easily causing stagnation, heaviness and irritability. Avoiding these foods can drastically reduce allergy symptoms, and eating more fruit and increasing water consumption (as well as decreasing coffee and alcohol consumption, which is dehydrating) can really improve your sensitivity to allergens, and calm your body.

Being an allergy sufferer myself all my life, I battled June and September with itchy eyes, scratchy throat, runny nose and irritability. Last year I put my theories into practice and ate no animal foods, nor refined foods for the entire allergy season in hope that they would subside – instead they went away completely, and have been gone since. I noticed that the body reacts quickly, enjoying a plate of cheese & crackers when pollen is in the air would flare them up immediately, but eating fruit would drive them away. Other things that make the body sensitive to allergies are: overeating – which quickly takes away your energy, alcohol and caffeine – which are histamine producing foods, directly increasing sensitivities, and fats/oils – especially rancid or processed varieties. Overeating oily or fatty foods stagnate the body and worsen sensitivities, both mentally and physically. Eat mineral rich foods such as green leafy vegetables, fruit, legumes and whole grains (not brown bread, but grains in their unadulterated whole forms, such as brown rice and barley), calm the body and decrease sensitivities. And still, sugar and white flour are likely the worst for contributing to sensitivities and allergies as they aggravate the body, create stagnation, deplete our mineral levels, and paralyze our immune system!

Try it! If you are suffering from allergies, try these simple (but surprisingly difficult to implement) suggestions and see how you feel. My allergies disappeared the very next day that I discontinued the stagnating suggested foods. Instead, eat fruit – which mineralizes, clears, moistens, and calms the mind, and drives allergies away (unless you’re allergic to fruit!)

Ever feel like there’s an unwanted part of you that is making decisions that is against your highest self? A part that makes choices based from fear rather than from your own spiritual, and cerebral intellect? Ever feel like it’s just NOT YOU who is in control of YOU!? Through my very developed awareness practice, understanding of consciousness (and unconsciousness), and wisdom of working with the body’s bacterial landscape, I discovered a phenomenon that I was not only able to experience, but have understood in just a few weeks.

I have always understood the value of a person’s consciousness or “Spirit” (as defined in Traditional Chinese Medicine as that which expresses the life of an organism) in being a key element to a person’s health. The Spirit guides us, animates us, enkindles us, and gives us true satisfaction and passion in life. It is what is worth living for. The very ‘flame’ of our being. I have noticed within clients and individuals who have weak Spirits that something takes over them, not just behaviour, but physically as well. It’s as if the person begins ‘breaking down’ much like a plant does when taken out of sunlight. Self-destructive behaviour within a person seems to manifest physical self-destructive organisms such as parasites. I refer to parasites as any unwelcome organism that feeds on us, which includes Candida; a modern day epidemic which is increasingly gaining awareness and importance. I have found that improving one’s Spirit greatly decreases parasites, akin to killing mould by exposing it to sunshine. When the Spirit is strong, there is no opportunity for parasites to thrive, self-honouring behaviour is apparent and no self-destructive habits, or organisms exist! Very simply, there is no struggle within, and joy, harmony, and ease can all be experienced.

Leading up to Christmas, I felt the brightness of my Spirit wane, bad habits escalate, fear and worry develop, more sweets in my mouth, and consequently, the tell tale signs of parasitic infection; itchiness, cloudiness, feeling down, congestion, sluggishness, etc (very seriously, I see MANY people suffer from these ‘normal’, every day symptoms). I had quite an infection while living in Japan several years ago, and couldn’t help but to wonder if I just hadn’t fully shaken it yet, and if it just comes out when my Spirit is low. I struggled to get rid of it with a restrictive diet, strong medicinal herbs, and even clearing the energy of my house by burning some dried sage I saved from my garden. Frustrated with minimal progress and the strong resistance of some other behaviour at work, I was blessed with Divine timing when I met an incredible healer in the first week of January. She’s earned a PhD in esoteric medicine, is a Doctor of Acupuncture and adept Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, and the area’s finest past-life worker and energy healer. In one visit, the health of my being took a complete 180.

Without her knowing of my possible lingering parasites from Japan, she immediately told me that I had lingering entities from Japan that I had attracted and not shaken off! Being a ‘bright light’ spiritually meant an attraction from other non-physical entities that have simply been hanging around with me for years! I was astonished, but it made sense. She dismissed them and told them to go away – I felt it. She also did a treatment on me to bring back my full Spirit. I felt that, very shockingly. I just simply came back – all my power and ‘being’ finally came back to me.  Incredibly, from that day forward, I have not dealt with any parasite symptoms. They’re simply gone. My behaviour is clear, fear has diminished, I feel in control, present, strong and alive. Like the classic Greek definition of ‘parasite’; there is NO longer ‘someone else eating at my table’. Feels good… feels really good.

Knowing that any organism can posses a consciousness, and that we have 10 times more bacterial cells than human tissue cells, I realized that we are the collective consciousness of all these combined consciousnesses within us. If the hosts within us are against us (in the case of a parasite) then the entities/consciousnesses they host could very well be against us too! This is probable, and felt this in my life before my work with this incredible healer. As though ‘it wasn’t me’ making decisions and feeling unnecessary worry that couldn’t be explained. A simple example is knowing that the parasite in me was choosing to eat sweets that I otherwise would not.

I consulted my mentor Paul Pitchford (author of “Healing with Whole Foods”) and his words gave me reassurance and greater perspective of the phenomenon:

“Parasites in the ancient times were called “demons”… they work in tandem with each other and when you get thousands of one species in your body, then their pooled consciousness actually becomes quite potent and acts like a rather evolved entity.

When your spirit is strong, then your consciousness is strong and it isn’t as easily influenced by demonic influences. But when you’re weak, then the bad influences can ruin your life. Always keep the spirit strong and always nurture the yin [the physical health of your own organism].”

Amazing. Since parasites and candida are a modern epidemic, wouldn’t it be incredible if the antidote to all this suffering (of the physical symptoms, but also the fear and destructive habits/behaviour that the modern person is plagued with) was simply to acknowledge and strengthen the Spirit within ourselves by letting our true selves shine!? I have seen this at work in my practice, but hadn’t known the true depth behind it. To follow the Spirit is a great task however, and a whole other topic, but the take-away message on that lesson from my own recent experience is to simply honour yourself, consequently surrendering the ego to the will of the Spirit that resides within us. From a physical perspective – abstaining from sweet/sugary foods prohibits the growth of unwanted organisms, and there are many protocols to destroy and prevent them. But considering the recent explorations in parasite/consciousness connections, this all needs to be taken into account with the health of the Spirit.

Burning Sage

Some health conscious individuals are often associated with radical diets and ideas about food that seem very limiting and strange to those who aren’t. So afraid to fall off of their plan, or screwing things up that they stick to their foods and regimes so strictly that they actually seem neurotic. Carrying around supplement bottles, substituting food items in restaurants, always asking for ingredient lists, constantly turning down “bad” foods, preaching to others about their particular diet, and then also not enjoying what they’re eating and just eating because they’re neurotic!! If this sounds like you, don’t worry – I’ve been there. Where a healing transition is important, doing things harmoniously and slowly is important. Becoming neurotic about food isn’t that healing at all. It’s becoming fearful of food, and not having faith. It’s practising instability and obsessing, all making you mentally and spiritually exhausted and ill. Finding the balance between a healthy transition and your current routine is often the most balancing and the path of least resistance – which usually yields the most enduring results. The West likes to think that if something is good, more must be better, and if something is bad, none too must be best. This is not necessarily true! Imbalance is the problem, and eating imbalanced one way or another will create more imbalances, which isn’t balancing at all!

To transition harmoniously, remember these few points:

• Go slow! Don’t drop your routine for a new diet overnight, often the sudden change is debilitating and can do a lot of damage.
• Don’t be extreme. Try introducing or exiting foods gradually, and don’t feel that completely avoiding a food is the answer. If you start to feel better without a food, slowly continue to avoid it. If you quit things cold turkey, cravings for other foods may arise and create a separate destructive cycle.
• Don’t use blind faith. Test things out and experiment. Does a food feel good for you? Don’t eat or not eat something because someone told you or you read in a book, find out for yourself by increasing your eating awareness practices! Use your food intuition!
• Remember that you are different than everyone else! What works for you may ruin someone else, so keep your healing stories to yourself!
• Don’t be superior! Everyone has their healing journey which is different to everyone

Just remember that you are deeply connected to your food, on many levels. Disconnecting yourself from your food for health reasons can have negative effects. Food should be enjoyed and nourishing on all levels, let it remain a manifestation of your self-love by enjoying it each meal, without guilt, fear, embarrassment or any fearful feelings. Just remain guided about your choices and trust that what your body is asking for is the right thing. The body is like a cruise liner, make a small change at the wheel – and with time the ship will be in a whole new direction! Fight with the wheel to change directions, and you’ll flip your ship over and sink! Just take it easy and enjoy the ride!

While visiting a public school the other day, I couldn’t help but to notice the children’s faces – mostly how unhealthy they looked! I was a little bit shocked, and thought wrong for thinking it, but truly, I didn’t see healthy, happy, glowing kids like I’d expected! Instead I saw sallow faces and some pretty poor spirits! As I walked down the corridors with information hanging about the nut-free school, nutrition breaks (really!? They don’t have lunch anymore! They have 2 nutrition breaks to help resolve hypoglycemia – I can only guess…), I began thinking about why this would be, and was this the way it was when I was a child? Another shocking sight for me was a boy in a Bulk Barn loudly and clearly suffering from Tourette’s disorder, unattended, doling out hordes of candy for himself. I felt bad seeing that, as though he was refuelling his disorder unknowingly with sugary foods – a food that should nearly be considered a drug for children, as it has such close effects. I was inspired to write this.

First, feed them food – not anything else! Anything that appears, or is accepted as food but is not whole, isn’t food. For instance, candy is not food! Secondly, anything from a box or package should be considered a fun food and should only be consumed for special occasions. Anything in a package contains high levels of non-foods, horrid amounts of sugar (not even sugar, but glucose-fructose or high fructose corn syrup which is much worse) and drastically reduces a child’s stability, patience, attention and spirit. Packaged foods also contain a great deal of chemicals and highly refined fats and oils, none of which belong in the body and aggravate or stagnate the child. These are the types of foods that create allergies, ADD and other nervous disorders. Most packaged foods don’t even have food in them, and all entirely comprised of factory produced compounds. Even white flour is so refined that it too could be considered a non-food, as most (all) of its nutrition has been refined away, leaving only dynamite-like carbohydrate energy left to fuel your child to the point of combustion. These foods have both short-term and long-term effects. Give a kid a candy and you can quickly see the short-term effects of ‘bouncing off the walls’. Give them enough refined, junky foods, and the opposite effect begins to set in with a deterioration of the spirit, lethargy, poor attitude, weakened immunity and later depression.  Refined bread with deli meat sandwiches, sugary yogurts, granola bars, gummy things, breakfast cereals, crackers, snacks, chips, pop, cookies, (simulated) fruit leather, drinking boxes and juices, contain very little nutrition despite what the labels say. If what I described to you is half, or most of your child’s diet, don’t be surprised. This might be the case with most children. Remember from last month’s issue – don’t be fooled by what the label says, the food producers will say anything  to get you to buy it, and will go to any length to make their claim. Their interest is giving you the absolute cheapest food possible, and putting the best (and slightest) health claim on the box so you buy it – don’t buy it! Think for yourself!

Instead, buy food! Foods that don’t come with a list of ingredients. As soon as a product has an ingredients list, there’s sugar, additives (chemicals), refined oils (hazardous), refined and bleached flours, and that’s usually it. Most foods can be made entirely with non-foods, in fact, processing food giants are now claiming they can make anything these days with soy and corn by-products for pennies, so why not? People will buy them! If making food for yourself or your child from whole foods (foods that aren’t refined and don’t come with an ingredients list) seems difficult, then join the club! But eating whole foods is becoming more recognized, and surprisingly not that challenging. It costs less, takes more time, but creates abundant health and happiness – and a strong spirit, which will help put a glow back on your kid’s face and a sparkle in their eyes!

Eating Healthily Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive

Most people I run into who ask me about eating healthily often bring up the fact that it costs so much to eat that way. They look at me as though choosing to eat healthily was a matter of choosing health over wallet. Being a wallet driven country, it’s easy for most to make the choice to save money then to shell out for the expensive health foods. But here’s the catch:

What makes cheap food cheap, is the quality of the food, the refining of the food (we don’t pay for the whole grain when we buy a box of cereal, we just pay for a part of it), and the mass production of it. What makes ‘healthy’ store bought foods expensive is the increased quality of the food, the actual food, plus the processing of it. But, it is usually the processing, and the marketing, of the food that is the expensive part. In Michael Pollan’s book “Omnivore’s Dilemma”, he tells the reader that a box of corn flakes consists of $0.04 worth of corn. The corn in the box of cereal is so refined that there is hardly any nutrients left. The oils have been extracted, the proteins removed for by-product foods, and then what’s left is so heavily treated by chemical and mechanical processes, that what’s left is the golden, crunchy, who-knows-what that’s left for the box. Truthfully, consumers are shopping for looks, tastes (of which are extreme and unnatural), shelf-life, originality, false images (this food will make me look like the slim, attractive woman on the commercial), and the effects of conditioning from the mass market to eat these corporate run foods. What matters most in that box of cereal, is money. Why else would someone go so far out of their way to produce non-food looking items, make clever advertisements to train us to them, do research to prove that we should eat it, and decorate the box as to attract their target market – cartoons for kids, and healthy, happy looking people for adults. Seriously! Who is making, and providing food for our health? We are! (Are we?) We have left a time of scavenging in the wild for our own food, being discriminate of which foods will nourish or poison us – to reprogramming ourselves to navigate through the grocery store aisles to sort out what foods will strengthen us, or make us sick. The grocery store has become our new landscape – and the corporate world is making very sure that you choose their prettiest crap… I mean crop, in the bunch.

Choosing foods on the shelf that have the highest price tag doesn’t mean they are the healthiest – perhaps there are some product variations, as in organic farming, which typically costs more to produce, or the green friendly packaging that it’s wrapped in, but the food still may be sugary, processed and horridly difficult to digest. Does this make it a health food? Not in my books! Choosing the $6.00 toaster pastries over the $3.00 type might be like choosing an organic cigarette with recycled paper as oppose to a regular one – they are both still bad for you! Food producers also know that people who want to eat healthily will spend more for the food because everyone thinks it’s true – healthy food costs more money! This means the consumer feels good buying the more expensive option, because chances are it’s healthier for us. Not true.

As we stroll up and down the grocery store aisles, we are being told how to eat. Sandwiches aren’t the same without a particular brand of spread, this rice dish you can heat in the bag (using the microwave!), why make oatmeal yourself when you can carry it in your purse – we are being conditioned by the food producers to eat as they wish. They want us to cook in the microwave, out of a can, a box, a wrapper – it is convenient! The truth is, the more processed foods we eat, the more money they make! An ex-minister of agriculture in United States in the mid-seventies told two interviewers in the movie “King Corn” that his agricultural dream has come true because never before has food cost so little, to the producers, or the consumers (that’s right! In North America, food IS cheap, we just don’t realize it!), but the American economy has never made so much money from the food industry as it has now. Think about how much you paid for your box of cornflakes, and consider the farmer was paid $0.04 to produce it.

It’s time to not be distracted by the food producers – distracted is hardly the word, as when you walk into a grocery store you are absolutely bombarded with messages about food, health and cooking – ALL of it to produce more sales from the store and the products in it. Instead, research at home. Talk to a farmer, or a nutritionist! Listen to your body, and your intuition. We are locked into eating the processed foods that have been with us for decades now. They are a part of our everyday life, wrappers, packages, labels, commercials, all the mass media keeping us in the tunnel of consumerism. But how to we unlock from the grip of consumerism? Here’s how:

Realize where these foods came from. Who grew them? Could you? Who made it? Could you? Why are some foods advertised so heavily and others not? Why are we being told daily to drink milk? Do we? – Yes! Of course we drink milk everyday! We are being told to! What about beans? Have you seen any advertisements or messages to eat beans daily? No. Do we? – No! Why not? Beans are one of the greatest staple foods of the world, eaten by every nation and grown in your own backyard. They may be one of the healthiest foods grown on earth, and the only message we’ve been taught about them is that it makes you fart. That’s it. Beans, what are they good for? Gas – that’s all. Not true! With a 60% animal based diet (that means 60% of our diet is fiberless, cholesterol-rich, and acid forming), and colon, heart and stress problems ubiquitous these days, maybe a little bit more plant based foods would be good for us!? The USA is the leading country for cholesterol intake, as well the leading country for heart attacks, Canada is not far off of that. So you’d think the sale of fiber rich plant based foods would be on the rise, but they’re not – instead laxatives are on the rise. Again, a product that money can be made from.

What to Eat

What should be our medicine, is plant based foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains (the actual whole grain, like brown rice, in it’s entirety, not brown rice crackers and other processed foods), and beans! How much does a 1 lb. bag of aduki beans cost? $1.63. This many beans could feed a family of 4 daily quite a few days. That doesn’t cost much at all now does it? What about whole grains? A 1 lb. bag of whole barley costs $1.09. Again – this could last a family a week if rotated with other grains. Here is a brief profile on aduki beans and barley, in case you’re not sure of why it would be good for you:

Aduki beans: more protein than beef, extremely high in fiber, rich in complex carbohydrates that are energizing and metabolism supporting. Regulates water and sugar, promotes balanced sexual activity, proper growth and development of the body (including the brain), enhances adrenal reserves and tonifies the kidneys, detoxifies the body, reduces inflammation, disperses stagnant blood, reduces swelling, is a diuretic and helpful for yeast conditions. Promotes weight loss, increases mothers milk and regulates menstruation. Excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, iron and B-vitamins. Need I go on? Do they cause gas? Not if you soak them first!

Grains in general (whole grains): reduces sugar cravings, increases metabolism, satiates hunger, relaxes, sharpens mental focus. Increases brain function, provides endurance and lasting energy, encourages deep sleep. Promotes elimination, quick reflexes, long memory and clear thinking. Barley specifically fortifies the intestines and stomach, builds blood and hormones, soothes inflamed membranes, quells fever, helps reduces tumours and swelling. Grains in general are rich in B-vitamins and nutrient dense. Whole grains are the answer to the nutrient deficiencies present with our processed, refined grain diet that leave many craving sugars and feeling irritable.

Adapting a whole foods lifestyle is the real obstacle to leaving a processed food diet, not the costs. With a little education, practice and experience, whole foods can easily be incorporated into anyone’s diet. Whether you have lots of time or none, whole foods are accessible and feasible to incorporate into your existing diet. A slow cooker makes whole foods (especially beans and grains) really simple. Before you go to bed, put the grain, beans and whatever else to season it, into the pot, add water and turn it on! In the morning you will have breakfast and lunch. Voila!

There is an innate quality to this time of year that supports renewal, but it isn’t greeted without our own self-created obstacles. In essence, change is inevitable, but it is our own barriers that prevent this. The idea of ‘who’ we are keeps us from being the person we wish to be. It is once we have successfully dissolved our rigid patterns of identity, that we effortlessly transition into who we envision ourselves to be. It is this challenging process of letting go that most people seem to face difficulties, resulting in a transition that becomes stagnant, unsuccessful and frustrating.

The memory is a great tool for us, but if we are not aware, we can easily become a product of it, repeatedly recreating our memories/experiences and ‘stories’ about who we are. This results in the same obstacles, frustrations, relationships, etc., without ever exiting the cyclical nature of these lessons. This type of behaviour is best modelled by rodents, who seem to endlessly run in their wheels hoping to get somewhere, but never do. So long as we are attached to our memories, habits and familiarities, we too are running in circles in a wheel of life. A Chinese Zen verse speaks to us about the nature of “everything”:

Everything’s a test,

to see what you will do;

Mistaking what’s before our eyes,

you have to start anew!

This message guides us to see everything clearly as it is – right before our eyes – and apply this to ‘everything’ in our life, otherwise we must face the same tests over again until we are prepared to do things a different way.

What is simply required, is the awareness that we are repeating ourselves, and that we are doing so because of familiarity. It is uncomfortable to the mind to do something that is unfamiliar, feeling like it doesn’t make sense, or doesn’t ‘feel right’. When in fact, doing anything that is different from what we are ‘struggling’ in, is an improvement. Building awareness enables us to see our actions, allowing us to exit our cycles and open up to new ways.

As we release the attachment to our cycles, we may experience sadness or resent. Saying good-bye to poor eating habits, a sedentary lifestyle, or negative self-image can result in trauma or great upheaval if we aren’t prepared to grieve them. This can result in a lot of pain and disharmony as we hold the space for two opposing places. Saying good-bye can be so incredibly difficult for some people that they choose to keep the excess weight, or bad habits, or unhealthy relationships so long as to not deal with the discomfort of letting go, often repressing the emotions with rich foods such as dairy, excess fats and sweets.  The key for successful release, is to remain aware, detach, accept whatever state is present and trust the unfamiliar. This way, we remain open to letting go of what was, and open ourselves to new ways of being.

The Calcium Connection: Building Better Bones

Bones, calcium and milk. Three words which are nearly synonymous with each other. Milk does have calcium, and calcium does build bones, but how does it get there? Is it really that simple?

Dairy has calcium, but it doesn’t guarantee bone growth. In fact, bones are often stronger in non-dairy consuming groups and cultures. How do they meet their calcium needs? What should really be understood is HOW does calcium get into our bones, and how can we increase this very critical factor? The North American diet is already overly plentiful in dietary calcium – the problem is we’re not absorbing it!

Magnesium, along with vitamins A, C and D are essential cofactors in aiding calcium to be directed to the bones. Without them, little calcium is directed to the bones, and the bones deteriorate. Instead, the dietary calcium we do eat remains floating around in our muscles and tissues, and since calcium is the mineral which aids in muscle contraction, those who poorly utilize dietary calcium will have weak bones, but very tight, sore or crampy muscles. Fibromyalgia and arthritis are common syndromes with this condition as well. When the vitamin cofactors, and especially magnesium are introduced into the diet, then calcium is directed into the bones, and the muscles become soft, relaxed and pain-free, and the bones become strong.

So back to dairy – a very concentrated source of calcium, but containing very little magnesium, and in the case of fat-free milk, very few of the fat-based vitamins such as A and D. The milk industry knows this, and so is fortifying dairy with vitamin D, but magnesium is still a critical cofactor for getting calcium into the bones, and the fat contained in whole fat milk is really required to properly utilize the calcium (as milk fat naturally contains pure sources of vitamins A and D).

Magnesium is ESSENTIAL for calcium to be directed into the bones, otherwise causing stiff muscles, cramps, arthritis, pain and even nervous disorders.

Thankfully, most magnesium rich foods are ALSO rich in calcium, and their essential vitamin cofactors! Which means these foods alone contain all the important elements for calcium to be deposited into our bones, with the required levels of calcium for a healthy body.

Examples of magnesium/calcium rich foods from highest to lowest:

• seaweeds (containing 10 times more calcium than milk!)
• beans and legumes
• whole grains (such as brown rice, millet, rye, etc)
• nuts and seeds (especially sesame which contain as much calcium as milk)
• green foods (including kale, collards and any other dark green coloured vegetable)

With these foods in the diet, dietary calcium levels are very high, but so is magnesium.

Green foods are especially effective for those who get little sunlight in their day, as they are like “stored sunshine” containing high levels of vitamin D, essential for calcium utilization. Those who have access to sunshine everyday should enjoy time outdoors to ensure adequate vitamin D levels.

Of course, exercise is essential as well, which puts demands on the bones so that the body sends signals to strengthen their mass. Interestingly, astronauts bones’ begin to weaken, soften and deteriorate the longer they are in space! This means regular use of them keeps them strong.

So try considering greens, beans, grains and seeds when thinking of calcium, and give seaweeds a whirl too – which contain the highest levels of calcium AND magnesium of them all.

BLAND.

If I make this article very bland, speaking only of subtleties and concepts which may not immediately apply to your best interest, do you think anyone will be interested in reading it? Likewise, if I offered food to people that was bland tasting, do you think they’d enjoy it? Probably not. However, most things in life are bland, and if we fail to appreciate it, choosing instead to only see the thrills and extremes in our life that really only compromise of 10% of our life, we are missing out on the other 90% of life which surrounds us. Kind of like choosing to live for Friday night only, when we have every moment at our finger tips. Or as one client once told me, “I only eat oatmeal for the brown sugar,” a realistic truth that most of us may not admit. Would your oatmeal be the same without the cinnamon and honey?

Too often we seek the extremes. We want one more better of whatever we’ve got, and want it sweeter than yesterday, better than before, and with the hope that life gets more golden by the day. However, chasing extremes takes us AWAY from this idea of a golden life, that actually exists RIGHT in the centre – away from the extremes, and right in the moment – right in the mundane, in the bland. Is this article boring you yet?

In Japan, Tokyo is known as a city of extremes – huge population, incredible business, latest fashions, and the razzle dazzle of the city. Their miso (bean paste) is also incredibly salty, and their sweets incredibly sweet – to match this incredible energy of the megapolis. Kyoto, on the other hand, known as an old, aristocrat city, has some city, but also some traditional development. It isn’t in competition with Tokyo, because Kyoto has its own flavours. Their miso paste is not as salty, and their sweets are hardly sweet at all. Why is that? Because they know, that subtle tastes create subtle tastes.

Very often you hear of a smoker that quits smoking, and then “oh my! Food tastes soooo good!!”, as though they’ve never tasted food before. They appreciate the newly beautiful tastes of food, the fresh air and the freedom of no attachments (cigarettes). But this phenomenon happens precisely the same when we remove excess salt and sweets from our diets as well. We are, unknowingly, attached to our foods, but especially their extremes. The extremities of fat, salty and sweet especially. Almost to the point of not even being able to TASTE food without these extreme qualities added to them. Little do we know, that these extremities are fuelling a mind-set of more extremities in our lives as well. Constantly seeking more ‘sweetness’ in the day, or some ‘depth’ which salt offers us, we are bound to these sensations, easily influenced by our taste buds!!! When clients/students are ready, I typically invite them to ‘endure’ a period of abstaining from salt, sugar and especially white flour. Once the grieving of these attached foods clears, they are left with a sense of freedom, and a new appreciation towards food, but also life. Suddenly, the incredible depth of flavour is perceived by their taste buds, even from just plain, ‘bland’ foods. Much like the mind is able to perceive all that is truly going on once cleared of extreme thoughts through processes like meditation and stilling the mind. It is only when we reintroduce extremely salty, oily and sweet foods BACK into our diet do we realize how extreme they really are. Once you fully experience the taste of a potato, you will miss the taste of its complex subtleties if all you can taste is salt. But above all, to appreciate the subtleties in life, including our food offers rewards far beyond what any extreme could ever offer us, because, there will always be bland, which can guarantee us infinite happiness if we just choose to see, and taste it.

Plain Almond Spread