Tenet #1: Eat fresh, whole, unprocessed, nutrient dense, toxin-free foods
There is a way to be healthy, lean, and fit, free from diabetes, and other modern diseases. If we are prepared to make some changes.
After working in retail health for a great majority of my adult life I know firsthand that many Australians find themselves swallowing down a huge list of pharmaceutical medications as they age.
In 2021 the top medications prescribed in Australia were:
- Statins for cholesterol management
- Blood pressure medications
- Proton pump inhibitors such as Nexium for reflux
- Antidepressants
- Metformin for diabetes
- Antibiotics
This is showing us just how common these diseases are nowadays…yet this is not normal! These are diseases of modern living and what we eat appears to be a big contributor to the problem.
The biggest offenders are:
- Sugar and high fructose corn syrup
- Industrialised seed oils (vegetable oil)
- Processed, refined grains
- Processed soy
These things are wreaking havoc in our body. Add in artificial preservatives, colourings, flavourings, and enhancers…and you have a veritable toxic cocktail ready to cause trouble to your health. Unfortunately, these things make up most of what Aussies eat! Processed cheap white bread, pasta, pizza, pastries, crackers, biscuits, muffins, soft drinks, processed juices, cordials, sports drinks, lollies, and other junk foods. It is not surprising that our health is not that healthy.
Why say No to sugar?
Processed sugar and high fructose corn syrup is a fast track to poor health. The research is clear it is implicated in obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, and cancer. Australians rank 5th in the average amount of sugar consumed every day, at over 95g per day, which is 4 times the recommendation set by WHO.
To put it into perspective Australians consume and average of 28 teaspoons of sugar per day…the recommended allowance is 6 teaspoons per day.
Most of this is coming as fructose in junk food and soft drinks and sneaking into our diets hidden in processed foods. Excessive fructose consumption is linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which is linked to metabolic syndrome which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and kidney disease (1).
Why ditch seed oils?
Seed oils or vegetable oils as they are mostly called have not been a part of the human diet until relatively recently. Their consumption has increased dramatically over the last 50 years due a campaign promoting them as ‘heart healthy’. Latest research is proving they are not.
Our ancestors consumed omega-6 and omega-3 fats in a ratio of approximately 1:1. Today’s average the ratio is about 20:1. This appears to have come at great consequence with an increase in inflammatory diseases. Countries with the highest intakes of omega-6 oils have the greatest risk of dying from heart disease.
Why avoid refined grains?
All grains, even whole grains, contain ‘toxins’ that the plants use to protect themselves. These can damage the lining of our gut, bind to essential nutrients, and inhibit our digestion. Gluten can cause severe gut damage in the case of coeliac disease, and can cause significant gut damage in gluten intolerance, and in both cases is linked with several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
When grains are processed, they are striped of vital nutrients and devitalised. When we process grains into their parts (bran, germ, and starch), when we mill them at high temperatures and process them for cereals, and when we eat too much of them… our health suffers.
Traditional, ancestral diets prepared grains carefully to make them digestible. Our ancestors did not eat refined grains in the form of flour, commercial rice, brans, and cereals. They prepared them by soaking and fermenting.
One school of thought suggests that we should avoid grain all together. The work of Weston A Price suggests that properly prepared grains can have value (2).
Why ditch processed soy?
Traditionally soy was fermented and unprocessed. Today’s soy is genetically modified, processed and overconsumed. Processed soy is linked with poor protein digestion, reduced essential nutrient absorption, increased oestrogen. There are numerous studies linking processed soy to harmful health effects.
Where should you start?
- Start by getting rid of processed foods, vegetable oils and soft drinks.
- Instead eat whole, unprocessed foods.
- Eat fresh vegetables and seasonal fruits
- Include pasture-raised, grass-fed beef, lamb, poultry, organs meats and eggs.
- Include high quality full fat milk products from grass-fed cows that are preferably unhomogenised, raw and fermented.
- Eat wild-caught fish.
- Use animal fats and traditional vegetable oils such as extra virgin olive oil, sesame, flax, and coconut oils.
- Include fermented foods and drinks in your diet daily, such as sauerkraut, kefir, cultured butter, yoghurt, cheese, and sour cream
- Include some activated nuts and seeds and well-prepared grains
- Regularly include bone broths
- Use quality unrefined salt
- Add natural fresh or dried herbs and spices
- Use local raw honey or natural sweeteners
Top tip: eat fresh, local, seasonal, unprocessed food.
Our #1 Tenet of Health could really be summed up as…don’t eat toxins! We elaborate on this in our post the Top 10 Food Additives to Avoid.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2633261/
- https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/food-features/be-kind-to-your-grains-and-your-grains-will-be-kind-to-you/
