So, I hang in the middle with many things, more importantly; with diet. I am the queen of “everything in moderation.” Sustainability in health is being able to actually sustain a regular, non-regimented diet. I believe that food is your medicine, therefore obsessing over it, ruins the medicine within. I have tried many diets, more for research’s sake. I have been raw, vegan, vegetarian as well as following the ayurvedic kapha (my body-type) diet, the blood-type diet, anti-inflammatory, alkaline, body-ecology, candida-cleansing, sugar/corn-free, blah, blah, blah. I have not tried paleo, as I have no desire to consume more than one ounce of animal flesh in a month’s time, let alone in a day’s time. I believe I was born with an aversion to beef (or any hoofed beast). It is more the chewing of the tough animal flesh that annoys me. I still wear leather and quite fancy a leather pocket book. My apologies to peta and the vegan nation.
Ahem, so, as I was saying…food. One of the reason for trying many diets was to gain insight. To share the feelings of going without a nutrient or food group. To clearly empathize with someone when they have been invited to a cheese party during a month of avoiding all things dairy. As I review this process, the going without, is a viable solution for many. And for “many,” the food to avoid varies. It is true, there are those who thrive on a raw food diet, while others may come close to peril. Do you force them to follow a strict diet plan? No, you modify and make it right for that person. That would make your best diet, YOUR best diet. It works specifically for you.
The new concern, gluten. The paleo-diet plan avoids gluten as well, but for this conversation, I will include it in the same category as gluten-free. Not to split hairs or offend paleo folks, I like simple. Gluten-free. The avoidance of all white-flour, whole wheat flour products and by-products of the wheat grain. The by-products are the issue. Gluten has been bastardized, homogenized and grossly manipulated. I believe that we should avoid any food that falls into that category {insert corn and soy}.
The issue with gluten (and gliadin) is that it is overly hybridized and undergoes chemical mutagenesis. This would be similar to a genetically modified organism (GMO). In the process of altering any food molecule from its original form to a more amplified, hybrid, will elicit an offshoot of badness. That badness has seeped into our lives in the form of bloating, heartburn, weight gain, diarrhea/constipation, headaches, joint aches, insomnia, anxiety and depression. Does gluten create this symptom? No, it is the body’s inability to break down this altered, amplified, hybrid gluten molecule that slows many normal functions in the body. In the path of slowing a normal function, there is a slowly increasing imbalance that settles in and introduces acid, inflammation, poor hormonal cycling and liver intoxication, that will assist in creating physical symptoms.
Get to the point you say? Avoiding GMO’s/adulterated foods are always a good thing. Knowing what that is, is an even better thing.
In my experimentation of dietary changes, I have noticed many benefits. I have opted out of my morning tea and toast (very good, artisanal breads used to make that toast, mind you). The new breakfast options include fruit salads or an egg on a bed of spinach or morning quinoa porridge or almond butter topped rice cakes. I have not yet enlisted as a card-carrying member of the gluten-free (GF) club as I have yet to find a GF croissant worth writing home about. Yet, I am more than aware of the increased energy, the flatter tummy and heightened mental focus. A croissant is not worth robbing me of those luxuries.
JAMILA’S BASIC RULES FOR EATING (rules are made to be broken, so don’t feel bad if this is not an everyday plan)
1. greens are a must, at least 2 servings per day
2. if you are a meat eater, meet-your-meat (and make sure that meat had a real life on some grass and in the sun)
3. avoid bags and boxes (therefore no preservatives, chemicals or overly processed foods)
4. explore YOUR meal plan. consider a meal plan and why it may be helpful, try it and observe. if you notice changes consider adopting this plan for a longer interval of time or as your primary meal plan during a week.
As for gluten/gliadin, until there are no longer monetary incentives to cheapen the food supply in order to overstuff society with high calories and high carbohydrates, avoid them like the plague. If avoidance is too finite a concept, then enjoy in moderation from organic sources and in its most pure form. No snack cakes that have the capability of sitting on a shelf for years. This, food, does not make. You want that food item to spoil and spoil quickly.
The combination of the adulterated food products + preservatives = mayhem otherwise known as an increased disease process. As of current, the studies on GMO’s are still pending and are quite controversial (please review below). If food is truly our medicine then we must ingest it with proper care and instruction.
Cheers!
Articles for your review:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691512005637
Click to access nut1400587.pdf
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0040214
Jamila Owens-Todd, N.D. 