The Magic of Vegetables

If the majority of your diet consists of processed food, white flour products, faux meat, fried products, and sugar, well--you aren’t going to be any healthier or thinner than you would be consuming animal products. Instead, aim to eat a plant-based diet that’s high in fiber, vegetable protein, and grains. Minimize added oil, salt and sugar, and enjoy a wide variety of colorful vegetables, grains and whole foods. I know it's a process but well worth it. Don't become discouraged if it takes some time to really feel the benefits. After all, it took me some 40 odd years to get into this poor shape and bad health, so I don't expect it to happen within a few months or even a couple of years, although some changes are pretty quick, like blood sugar numbers, cholesterol and triglycerides. Your heart will thank you!!

Acorn squash is a delicious meal

Plants are rich in fiber which protects intestinal health, moderates blood glucose levels, and may reduce risk for heart disease and cancer. Adopt a whole foods, plant-based way of eating. Your energy level will rise, blood sugars do level out, you will feel lighter, your focus will increase, your mood and sleep will greatly improve, your blood pressure and cholesterol levels will normalize, you'll feel motivated to exercise and you will lose weight at a healthy pace. Use oil sparingly or not at all; avoid processed foods; limit salt and sugar. Eat to live!

Plant powered principles

• Eat fewer animal foods especially red and processed meats.

• Eat cruelty-free poultry and eggs, wild-caught salmon and sustainably farmed fish/seafood that are not endangered.

• Eat more legumes including beans, lentils, peas, and whole soy foods.

• Moderate amounts of nuts and seeds daily. Eat more whole grains in their natural form, a few refined grains. Focus on carbs with a low glycemic index.

• Avoid highly processed and refined bread, cereals, soups, snack foods, fried foods, and baked goods. Make it a priority to buy organic foods, foods produced without the use of most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

• Eat more local and seasonal fruits in a greater variety in their whole form instead of juice. Eat few added sugars like corn syrups which includes white or brown cane sugar, raw sugar, malt syrup, fructose, honey, molasses and maple syrup.

• Choose moderate amounts of healthy plant fats such as olives, olive oil, nuts, seeds and avocados. Increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish also found in walnuts, and flax seed.

• Avoid saturated fats and cholesterol found in animal foods limit tropical oil such as palm, and coconut oil in low and moderate levels. Include flavorful herbs and spices in fresh or dried form.

• Avoid sugar-sweetened beverages like sports and energy drinks, fruit drinks, sodas, and sweetened ice tea.

• Watch portion sizes. Eat mindfully and limit eating out in restaurants.

Try new recipes--don’t get bored of the same foods and always, always prepare yourself a colorful plate!

Carbohydrates feed your body and are vital for brain function. Many high-carb foods have vitamins and minerals that you simply cannot get anywhere else. They are converted to energy more quickly than protein or fat, keep your body from burning the protein in your muscles and organs, and help metabolize fat. It is important to eat complex carbs (lower glycemic) as they are absorbed slowly and do not spike blood sugars. When working out or expending your energy, eat plenty of complex carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes or brown rice to replenish glycogen.

Carbohydrates such as white pasta or white bread, even gluten-free varieties, are processed and leave you feeling heavy and lethargic. Add apple cider vinegar to water to quickly alkalize your system. The pH of your body is in a more alkaline rather than acidic state. The body is always trying to maintain equilibrium at a pH of 7.365, which is slightly alkaline. Why is this necessary? If your body is in a very acidic state, it will seek balance, and may do so by drawing nutrients from the bones.

Cruciferous vegetables such as kale, cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, radishes, broccoli and Brussels Sprouts contain compounds known as isothiocyanates and indoles, which can prevent oxidative damage and fight cancer cells in ways that chemicals from other vegetables cannot. They contain phytochemicals that have a unique ability to modify human hormones, detoxify compounds, and prevent toxic compounds from binding to human DNA, thus limiting toxins from causing damage that could lead to cancer. They enable the body's own antioxidant control system. A study on prostate cancer shows that just three servings of cruciferous vegetables a week reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 41 percent (The Nutritarian Diet in Action)! This is the Best reason to include these vegetables in your diet!

Limit Processed Foods

Increase your intake of plant-based, whole foods high in protein such as quinoa, chickpeas, beans, lentils, spinach, peas, and tofu or tempeh. Eat raw almonds, walnuts, and Brazil nuts, but in small amounts. Proteins consist of 20 different amino acids, 11 of which can be synthesized naturally by our bodies. The remaining nine called 'essential amino acids' must be ingested from the food we eat, so technically our bodies require certain amino acids, not protein.

But these nine essential amino acids are hardly the exclusive domain of the animal kingdom. In fact, they are originally synthesized by plants and are found in meat and dairy only because those animals have eaten plants. They are found in copious amounts in a wide variety of grains, nuts, seeds, vegetables, and legumes such as black, kidney and pinto beans, almonds, lentils, quinoa and even spinach and broccoli. In truth, only one out of every 10 calories we eat needs to come from protein.

Animal Protein

Taking in more protein, especially animal protein, than your body needs is not a small matter. It ages you prematurely and can cause significant harm. The excess protein you are not using is not stored by the body as protein; it is converted to fat or eliminated by the kidneys. Fat and cholesterol from our liver and animal products increases cholesterol in the blood stream. Cholesterol bits then invade the artery wall, causing plaque which strangles the flow of blood to the heart muscle. Setting aside animal products, and keeping fat content low in the food you eat stops this process.

Blood levels of saturated fat in animal protein have been linked with increased risk for dementia. However, the highest circulating saturated fats were measured after subjects consumed a high-carb diet, while eating fewer carbs led to lower circulating levels. Most of the body's saturated fats originate in the liver, where they are produced in response to carbohydrates, a process called lipogenesis. Everything in moderation is a good rule!

Chicken and fish diets are not low enough in fat or cholesterol to do what vegetarian diets can. Fish is by far the most contaminated food. Air currents carry mercury from power plants and waste incinerators to watersheds hundreds and even thousands of miles away, and the metal ends up in tuna and other fish as a matter of routine. Farm-raised fish are given antibiotics. You ARE what you eat! We now stick to canned sardines, ocean salmon or cod, shrimp and crab, usually. I'm not sure for how long because those little legs on shrimp have begun to haunt me! I can't tolerate eating lobster, mussels or clams because they are Alive when cooked! Something I never thought about before and something that never bothered me but now I cannot stop thinking about it.

Angiogenesis

How our body grows blood vessels. A powerful defense system.

Eat Soy. Plant estrogen is fine. 10 grams per day in one cup of soy milk.

Regeneration

From the inside out through stem cells. Dark chocolate doubles the number of stem cells.

Microbiome

Healthy bacteria

Bread pumpernickel

Rye flour lowers inflammation

Sourdough boosts immunity system

DNA protection

Protects us from environment

Kiwi one per day reduces impact of damage

Immunity

Fights infection and cancer

Mushrooms' natural chemical activates the immune system

The mushroom stem has twice as much of the chemical.