good dental diet

             A few days ago, when I went for my biannual cleaning, the dental hygienist noticed that I had a lot less plaque than the last time around.  Lo and behold, we changed our diet quite a bit since then, cutting out almost all sugars, refined carbs, all starchy and sweet vegetables, as well as most grains, and eating a lot more vegetables in general.

            In the 1930s dentist Weston Price studied the relationship between dental health and diet of indigenous people versus people from industrialized countries.  His famous study linked deformed arches and crooked teeth as well as poor general immunity to poor diet, not only in Western people but also in the younger indigenous generation whose parents had adopted more Western types of foods.  Nowadays we are quite aware of the effect of sugar on teeth, but Price also pointed deeper, to vitamin and mineral deficiencies in food due to poor soil conditions - already then.  From our present perspective, almost a century later, with processed foods having crowded out even more whole plant-based foods from our diet, and from knowing that our soils are yet more mineral deficient, the picture looks even worse.  When I was a kid it was quite rare for children to get braces; now it seems so ubiquitous.  

            The message is clear - cut out the sugar, increase your veggies, and opt for organics if you can, since plant-based organic foods have a considerably higher mineral and vitamin content.  The Weston Price study shows that your grandchildren will thank you for it.

veggie candy

           Here is an ode to the avocado.  If you are not so convinced that vegetables are the single best thing you can't overdo in your diet consider my favorite veggie "candy."  Avocados are not only a fabulous superfood but also utterly delicious in their creamyness and so versatile.   Like truffles they go both the savory and the sweet way (...alright, so truffles may be in a league of their own).  I love them for breakfast (I have never liked sweet breakfasts, maybe because of my German upbringing) mashed up with some lemon, dulse flakes, sea salt and chia seeds, and a toasted Ezekiel tortilla, or smashed up on a piece of warm toast with some salt, pepper and lemon juice.  Because of their high fat content (77% of their calories are from fat, 18-30% of a Hass avocado is fat - Hass are the ones you want, not the bigger, more watery, less fatty Florida avocados) you won't be hungry until lunchtime if you eat one for breakfast.  Avocados go the sweet way, too, because of their mild and relatively neutral taste.  Try this avocado-chocolate mousse recipe, two superfoods in one dessert, and super delicious.  I love avocado salad dressing, basically a lemon juice/olive oil vinaigrette with some avocado creamed into it.  And follow this link to much more exotic and creative uses for avocados (not sure about the foot scrub, though, sounds like a waste of good food).

            And what exactly is so good about avocados?  They are nutrient dense, high in fiber and rich in healthy monounsatured fats (oleic acid specifically, which helps lower cholesterol and triglycerides and reduces inflammation), they contain lutein (for eye health), folate (especially important when pregnant), vitamin E, vitamin B6 (regulates sexual hormones - the Aztecs associated avocados with fertility, the Mayas with aphrodisiacs), glutathione (a cancer fighter), potassium (double that of bananas), and magnesium.  Avocados are highly alkaline and alkalizing, which helps to reduce inflammatory conditions and stabilizes blood sugars.   And lastly, if you are not into spending an upcharge for organic avocados, conventional ones show almost zero pesticide residue due to their thick skins.

            I buy avocados in very large quantities, keep them in the fridge and pull several out at a time so I always have enough ripe ones around.  

om

                 Sound baths have gone mainstream, as the NY Times reported in an article last year.  I am listening to one as I write this - these days you can find anything on the internet, in this case YouTube, even a sound bath.    Sound can be every bit as healing as say a massage, or a pill, or acupuncture.  Sound is of course frequency and our bodies all vibrate at a particular frequency.  A healthy body vibrates above 62MHz.  Darker emotions (sadness, anger, frustration) are an expression of lower frequencies by the way, as is illness, lighter emotions (pleasure, joy, contentment) of higher ones.  The higher on the frequency scale we operate the"holer," the more whole or healed we become.    Sound and gong baths  help to realign us with our natural frequency.  In sound baths Tibetan singing bowls or crystal bowls of different sizes are made to vibrate at different frequencies when a wooden mallet is rubbed around their rims.   While listening our body attunes to the frequency of the bowls.  Read more here about the science behind sound and gong baths.

the human touch

            Most of the time I feel a bit guilty when I take care of myself (and call it pampering).  But massages actually accomplish several worthwhile things besides pure indulgence.  For one you get total downtime (your only obligation is to show up, lie on the table, enjoy and think sweet thoughts), you also reconnect with your body, get to enjoy the pleasures of caring human touch, and last but not least knots and tension dissolve under the massage therapist's knowledgeable hands.  Author and physician Christiane Northrup writes "Touch is a basic human need, so meet it shamelessly."  Did you know that gentle touch actually releases the pleasure hormone oxytocin and melts away stress?

            It's easy to make excuses, especially the money kind.  Consider swapping a massage for something you do well through an hour-exchange.  No money spent. What better way to spend 30 or 60 minutes?

super superfoods

                      A lot has been written in the past two decades on the need to return to real food, which consists of one-ingredient foods from nature put together in a meal (i.e. fresh spinach sautéed with garlic and olive oil), as opposed to manufactured foods that come in boxes and packages (i.e. breakfast cereal or Western omelet mix).  But evolution is always about shifts and new developments in order to evolve to higher levels.  Going "back" to grandmother's foods is a good thing but not necessarily sufficient and the end-all.  Our soils, even organic soils, have been depleted of minerals and trace elements resulting in less nourishing produce, and our bodies are subject to more pollution than ever.

       superfood dried goji berries

              Superfoods to the rescue.  These are foods that are only now available to us outside their geographic growing area, both because enlightened interest and scientific research have brought them to our awareness, and because modern transportation logistics make them accessible.  Superfoods are foods with an incredible amount and array of nutritional components.  David Wolfe, Renaissance man and superfood guru, has been researching superfoods for over twenty year and has written many books on greater nutrional subjects.  I hadn't even heard of some of his superfoods such as maca, AFA blue-green algae, or marine phytoplankton.  The others on his list of 10 were more familiar to me: goji berries, cacao, all bee products, spirulina, aloe vera, hempseed and coconut.  From radiation protection to cleansing the body from toxins and metals, to immune system rebuilding and activating the body's own healing powers, these new and not-so-new foods are exciting to learn about and incorporate into your meals. 

superfood AFA algae

gluten or grain free?

                       "Being" gluten free is all the craze these days.  It seems almost chic, like belonging to an exclusive club.  "I'm gluten free, are you?"  On the one hand there is this aura around exploring different dietary constraints, on the other hand are some genuine health issues aggravated by grain and sugar.  Both have a high glycemic index and turn quickly into glucose.  Recreating all that wheaty stuff, especially baked goods, with other flours, like oat, brown rice, or tapioca may work for some.  But it is not sufficient for those with inflammatory conditions and conditions that become aggravated or are caused by an overacidification of the system, such as rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, lupus, or diabetes.   In broad strokes grains, dairy and sugar have an acidifying effect on the body, which worsens inflammation and promotes tumors, while fruits and vegetables alkalize it.  For people with such conditions grain free is the way to go (and sugar and dairy free).  Grainfree literally means no bread, no pasta, no pizza, no pastries, not even in a paleo diet version. 

let's hibernate a bit

                  Yesterday I was dragging a bit.  When I spoke to my husband he replied that he, too, was tired.  Then my daughter mentioned that she was a bit tired.    We spoke about wintertime, that it's very cold outside, that people usually feel like holing up this time of year.  Many mammals in our latitude go into full hibernation and just sleep the winter away; plants go dormant as well.   We obviously can't do that.  But maybe, just maybe, we can slow down a bit, curl up with a good book and a cup of tea, catch up on some sleep by going to bed earlier and spending more time under the warm and soft covers.  It get's dark so early and it feels so good to be in the warm house.  Soon enough, when the days become longer, we'll burst with energy and a zest for life and action.  But for now it's a good time to enjoy the slower pace of life.  Let's hibernate a bit.

why not indulge?

             I admit that I easily feel guilty when I indulge myself.  Not so much on the food side - I did grow up in a food culture and don't feel particularly guilty about some wine and chocolate here and there.  But when it comes to massages, pedicures, meeting friends for drinks or lunch, an hour of slow yoga in the middle of the day, just treating myself in general, I tend to feel a bit guilty about spending money on "frivolous" things.  But it is the frivolity, that it is unnecessary and special, that makes such occasional treats so worthwhile. 

            Whether it's an hour of reflexology, paint night (one of those wine & art events), or anything else that let's you know how much you appreciate yourself, is good for you.  The pleasure of feeling good about yourself, about feeling pampered and taken care of, is very soothing.  You are totally worth it!

fidgeting is good for you

       I am not a very sporty person but because of all the noise about the importance of exercise I did some reading on the necessity of movement.  Our bodies are made to move in gravity, and the much-touted stand-up desk is not the cat's meow either if you stand still all the time.

            Our current computer based work culture condemns us to sit for long hours, yet our bodies thrive on perpetual motion.  Point in case - when your body aches you need to move more, not less.  As a matter of fact, as little as walking briskly half an hour each day increases your life span supposedly by about seven years.  The message of our overcompensating workout culture is to exercise vigorously at the gym.  But that is not necessarily the best answer, unless of course you just love it and thrive on it - everybody has a different need for type and intensity of movement.  Just don't sit for long hours without getting up and stretching often (long commutes are a killer...).  Kids fidget and want to move naturally.  Yet, we force them earlier and earlier to sit still.  Fidgeting is the body's natural way to signal its need for movement. 

            We contract lawn mowing, house cleaning and house maintenance work out, yet, this all makes for excellent exercise.  You don't need an expensive gym membership to move your body.  Joan Vernikos, who studied the effects of zero gravity on the body for NASA, concludes in her book Sitting Kills "Standing up often is what matters, not how long you remain standing," at least 32 times a day she recommends.  It is our interaction with gravity that's so important. The main message about movement is: continuously and gently, not seldomly but intensely. 

diet, exercise and wellbeing

For a while there it seems that Coca Cola had us duped into believing that exercise, more so than diet, is the most important factor for weight loss and wellbeing. The Coca Cola Company gave almost $3 million to the American Academy of Pediatrics over the past three years, as the NY Times reported yesterday in a spill-it-all article, in addition to infiltrating many small community organizations with their web of donations and sponsorships, and having "bought" dieticians and scientists. Talk about covert and not-so covert manipulation and unscientific science.             The bottom line is this: diet is tantamount to a healthy body, more so than exercise. You cannot make up for poor food and drink choices by exercising more, believing in exercise alone as a ticket to a healthy body. It is much more important to clean up your diet, learn to shop and cook, and to make healthy food and drink choices. Once you've got that down pat exercise is a complementary component for sure, keeping in mind that every body - or everybody - thrives on a different type of exercise and on different weekly amounts. A gentle and automatic weight adjustment and an increase in energy and wellbeing naturally follow a switch to a wholesome diet.