Thursday, March 24, 2011

The Healing Foods Eating Plan

For almost three weeks, I have been on a mission to lose weight and get back in shape.  (Beware, I will post pics again close to Easter to compare where I started and what progress I have made in 40 days.)  I am doing this because I want to feel better, have better energy, and I want to be superfit.  I definitely believe in a body/mind connection.  So I am eating anything and everything that is a natural, and mostly, in a raw state.  For example, if it doesn't look like it did when it came off the tree or out of the ground, I don't eat it.  I am eating fish and chicken also.  I am following an eating plan that is pretty close to the plan that Josh's doctor has devised.  He calls it the the HEALING FOODS diet and is not just a diet; it’s a tool that will "launch you into a total health transformation". This diet was designed to help anyone triumph over diseases like: diabetes, obesity, heart disease, autism, digestive disorders, fatigue, depression, hormone imbalance, and cancer prevention.

Taken from Dr. Axe's website, he says the following:

The Healing Foods diet targets FIVE ASPECTS of your health to help you gain victory over illness:
  1. Decreases Inflammation – Most diseases today are due to inflammation. Inflammation damages your cells and arterials walls and causes High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Arthritis, and digestive disorders like Crohn’s disease to name a few. By reducing inflammation your body is better able to heal from any disease.
  2. Alkalizes body – Your body should have an average pH of 7.36. A can of soda literally has a pH of 2.5 and it would take approximately 30 glasses of water just to balance things out. Green vegetable juices like wheat grass and spinach help restore the body’s proper pH. All diseases including infections, osteoporosis and cancer thrive in an acidic environment. By alkalizing your body your cells can heal and regenerate at the highest level.
  3. Lowers blood glucose – One of the primary causes of diabetes and weight gain are burnt out and insulin receptors. By lowering blood glucose levels, insulin receptors can heal and your body can begin to produce normal amounts of insulin to heal diabetes and leptin for weight loss.
  4. Eliminates Toxins – Toxicity has become epidemic in or society today and is a major cause of our increase in hormonal imbalance and autoimmune diseases. The diet helps problems like female disorders, infertility, hypothyroidism and headaches by balancing hormones and helps in reversal of autoimmune diseases like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, Alzheimer’s, and Autism.
  5. Optimum Nutrients – Many of today’s illnesses are due to nutritional deficiencies. Most of the foods we eat today are processed and stripped of all vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and enzymes. This diet slows the aging process, improves mental capacity, and increases energy levels.
The Healing Foods Diet consists of eating equal amounts (33% each) of clean protein sources, healthy fats, and low glycemic carbohydrates in the forms of fruits and vegetables.

1. Removing the BAD FATS – Replacing them with GOOD FATS.
Bad fats such as hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, trans fats, soybean oil, canola oil and vegetable oils cause heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, chronic fatigue, and neurotoxic syndrome. Bad fats create chronic inflammation throughout the body inducing disease. Good fats are essential to hormone production, cancer prevention, brain development, weight loss, cellular healing, and anti-inflammation.
2. Change the MEATS that you EAT.
There are hundreds of studies that link commercial meats with cancer and heart disease. The grain fed to animals that were created to eat grass changes fatty acid ratios (too much omega-6, not enough omega-3) and denatures good fats, leading to modern day disease. The bioaccumulation of commercial pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, and hormones in meats are causing a toxic onslaught, which leads to many cancers, neurological disorders and chronic illness. Grass fed and free range meats offer many fatty acids missing in the Standard American Diet (SAD) such as: aracodonic acid, congegated linoleic acid, and Omega 3 fatty acids.
3. Remove ALL Refined SUGARS and GRAINS from your Diet.
This includes white rice, white pasta, and white bread. 1/3 sugar comes from soft drinks, 2/3 from hidden sources including: lunch meats, pizza, sauces, breads, soups, crackers, fruit drinks, canned foods, yogurt, ketchup, mayonnaise, etc. High glycemic or refined sugars cause elevated glucose, which elevates insulin leading to premature aging and degenerative diseases such as type II diabetes, heart disease (inflammation of the arteries), and cancer.
Sugar is an anti-nutrient offering insignificant amounts of vitamins and minerals and robbing your body of precious nutrient stores. This inevitably leads to diseases of the new millennium such as chronic fatigue, ADD, ADHD, heart disease, diabetes, and cancers.
Low glycemic carbohydrates in the forms of fruits and vegetables have high amounts of fiber, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that help you age slower, improve energy levels, lose weight, and naturally detoxify your cells.

Foods on the Healing Foods Diet

Nuts & Seeds (raw is best)
AlmondsPecansCashews
WalnutsMacadamia nutsBrazil nuts
Pine nutsPumpkin SeedsFlaxseeds
HempseedsChia seedsNO peanuts (biotoxic and high omega-6)
Black beansAdzuki beansKidney beans
Pinto beansWhite beansLima beans
Fruits
StrawberriesBlueberriesRaspberries
BlackberriesAcai BerriesGoji Berries
CherriesLemonLime
ApplesPears
Fruits (to be eaten in moderation)
BananasOrangesMangoes
PineappleMelon
Dairy (raw is best)
Goats milkGoats milk yogurtGoats milk cheese
Sheep cheese
Fats & Oils (organic is best)
GheeButterCoconut Oil
Grapeseed OilOlive OilFlaxseed Oil
Hempseed OilPumpkin Seed OilBorage Oil (GLA)
Fish OilCod Liver OilAvocado Oil
Sesame Oil
Vegetables (high fiber and low glycemic)
AsparagusBell PeppersBroccoli
Brussel SproutsCabbageCauliflower
CeleryCollard greensCucumber
EggplantGarlicGinger root
Grasses (wheat and barley)Green beansGreen lettuces
Heart of palmKaleMushrooms
Mustard greensOlivesOnions
ParsleyRadishesSnow peas
SpinachSproutsSea Vegetables
Water ChestnutsZucchini
Vegetables (to be eaten in moderation)
ArtichokesBeetsCarrots
Chick peas (garbanzo)LegumesLeeks
LentilsOkraPeas
PumpkinSquash (acorn, butternut, winter, summer, spaghetti)Tomatoes
Meats/Protein (all-natural poultry and grass-fed meat)
Eggs (cage free)Fish (wild caught)Chicken
TurkeyBeefLamb
VenisonWild Game
Lower fiber Carbohydrates (NOT on Healing Foods Diet, but on Basic Diet)
AmaranthBarleyBrown rice
BuckwheatCorn (non-GMO)Ezekiel bread
MilletQuinoaSpelt
Sprouted grainsSteel cut oatsSweet Potatoes or Yams
Wild rice
Condiments
Sea Salt (Celtic, Himalayan, or sea)Apple cider vinegarBalsamic vinegar
SalsaGuacamoleHummus
MustardOrganic flavorings (vanilla, almond, etc.)Vegenaise w/ grapeseed oil
Cocoa and CarobHerbs and spices (basil, rosemary, curry, cinnamon, etc.)sSoy sauce (wheat free), Braggs liquid amino’s
Sweeteners
SteviaXylitol
Sweeteners (NOT on Healing Foods Diet, but on Basic Diet)
Raw Honey (unheated in small amounts)Agave NectarMaple syrup grade A or B
Brown rice syrup
Beverages
Purified, non-chlorinated waterNatural sparkling water, no carbonation added (Pellegrino)Herbal Teas (unsweetened preferably organic)
Raw Vegetable juicesRaw lemonade (Stevia, lemons and water)Fermented drinks

So there you have it. I hope you join my family and me in this adventure.

Stay tuned.

No comments:

Popular Posts