New Year’s Revelations:
How to Eat Healthy
by Michelle M Pearson
I actually got to thinking on this article when I was asked recently to just outline what I eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s a common question so I thought it fit in perfectly again with our topics this month as we begin a new year.
Seriously, with so many diets, plans, programs, opinions and teachings from dieticians, nutritionists, and coaches with “certifications” from 1000 different organizations, and more, how’s a person to know what exactly is the best way to start eating healthy?
I can tell emphatically what is NOT the way to eat healthy: DIET
That’s right! Are you surprised and relieved? You should be! Yep! Our gal at the left is just the kind of image the main stream marketing would love for you to have in your head as the “picture of health”. But she isn’t!
Sure, the apple is a great start, but it’s time to, once and for all, go ahead and lose the scale and weighing-in bondage! That’s right. Just kick that nasty “Diet” word out of your vocabulary for good and find some real healthy freedom! The first three letters are D-I-E for a reason! So forget about it. That is NOT the way to health for anyone, anywhere, and any time! Period.
Here’s what we have learned over the 40+ years in healthcare, clinical practice, wellness coaching, and many years of personal struggle now turned to a victorious life based in freedom… Ready? Here it is in a nut shell:
If you work with the body’s divine design, it produces health.
If you work against the design, it produces disease.
So what does that mean in terms of selecting what foods to eat? Generally, the primary consideration is the current state of health as exhibited by pH, weight, blood glucose, any symptoms of diseases, etc. Most folks come to us because they are not in ideal health. About 98% of the global population need to begin taking steps to reclaim their health. Steps. 1 – 2 – 3.
1 – For most clients we train back to wellness, dropping sodas, increasing water, minimizing added sugars and altered fats (trans-fats) are the first baby steps to health.
2 – The next level would be to dramatically increase alkalizing veggies and add in some excellent fats.
3 – From there, we focus on introducing some much needed cellular nutrients that will boost the immune system and healing power in the body.
To work with the body’s design, your food intake will need to include clean, naturally occurring sources of protein, animal and vegetable fats, carbohydrates, fiber, and water. All of these elements combine to satisfy the very basic cellular needs of the body, by design.
To work with the body’s design, your body requires 65-85% of plant based nutrition coming from veggies, nuts, seeds, and some fruits. The remaining portions, approximately 15-35%, more or less depending on sex, size, stature, and activity level, should be comprised of good fats, clean proteins, and a handful or two of whole grains or other low-glycemic carbohydrates.
The closer your foods come to their natural state of availability, meaning minimally processed and not genetically altered, the better they can be utilized by the body for health and healing.
Beyond those general steps, the following eating styles work optimally with the body’s design and are safe and healthy for long-term use:
1) Lean, quality natural meats (red meat, fish, eggs or poultry, as you like) with 65-85% veggies, at least 1T or more of good fats per meal, including EVCO, EVOO, even butter in moderation (natural or organic) plus 2 servings of whole grains or starchy carbohydrates (a portion equals your fist size) per day, each portion preferably consumed at separate meals.
Initially, most folks do best by consuming cooked veggies rather than raw and then gradually adding in more and more raw veggies as your digestion tolerates them. Juiced veggies are excellent, just don’t make it all carrot or apple! That’s pure sugar even if it is natural! (Nice try!)
OR
2) Meals that consume proteins/fats and carbohydrates in separate meals, limiting the carbohydrates to one meal or snack per day, eaten within 2 hours. Fruit eaten separately as a snack or late dessert. This method dramatically improves digestion and blood sugar control, usually within a few days to a couple of weeks.
* Persons with extreme gut problems can avoid all grain-based carbohydrates altogether until healed – consuming cooked veggies will supply the body’s carbohydrate requirements while using good fats and long-cooked proteins to heal the gut lining.
OR
3) Daniel Fast – all veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, is an excellent healing meal plan that allows the body to rest, repair, and recover, but only for a maximum time of up to about 3 years. It will assist in the healing of the gut, raise the pH of the body back to healthy levels, and help rid the body of built up toxins and waste in the fat stores of the body.
A fasting period of 21 to 90 days, up to about 6 months, is more than sufficient, as the blood and other cells replace themselves by 120 days. After that, proteins, fats, and carbs should be continued once again in healthy portions.
The reason longer term use of exclusively plant-based meals is unhealthy has to do with the absence of good fat sources and true proteins which are required for both gut health and the entire endocrine system. Things like pea protein, rice proteins, other flax or nut based nutrients, are healthy, yes, but are not sufficient to supply all the building blocks required by the body’s design.
Because symptoms of deficiency do not normally show up until about the 7 year mark, it is unlikely that vegans and vegetarians would relate new disease or function problems to their long-term eating style, especially when plant-based eating plans typically produce great health recovery when first started. Hair loss, structural instability in the spine and joints, emotional instability, hormonal instability, infertility, and sexual dysfunction are common disease signals in long-term raw food, vegan, and vegetarian lifestyles.
You will notice the absence of dairy in the above descriptions. Dairy should be thought of as a condiment rather than a food group. Where milk is concerned, almond milk is a far superior choice for health than cow milk. (We do not recommend soy of any kind, including soy milk; other articles and teachings address why.)
So in closing, let’s make this simple…
Eat real food. Enjoy your meals in a way that let’s you also enjoy long life.
If it doesn’t spoil, rot, or rust, it is not natural! If it’s shelf life is longer than if you made it yourself in your kitchen – toss it out and do without! Preservatives are all about money and marketing, not health. It’s providing convenience to you at the cost of your health.
This is only a very brief look at what a healthy eating style consists of and, of course, leaves a lot of questions! Leave some of yours below and we will try to answer them in upcoming blogs. We also invite you to join us in The Joshua Groups for monthly training on topics like these and more. And right now, it’s free to join – just click the link at the top and fill your plate with the finest nutrition and wellness coaching on the net.
The bottom line folks is to learn to make choices that work with the body so that it works for you! Be here to enjoy the life you are building by building a vessel that will last for the journey!
Oh yes, and as for what I personally eat, here’s a snapshot of our average day – during my training to climb Pikes Peak, Colorado twice last fall, and for Mt Kilimanjaro, Africa in March 2013 –
Breakfast: I do not eat first thing as I usually do my training early, but I do have 4 ounces of ASEA, 32 ounces of Cellfood water while I workout, a training dose of highly absorbable EFAs, magnesium, and a probiotic daily. after I’m done.
BRUNCH: (post-workout) Dr. Pearson’s Longevity Smoothie – 24 ounces – dark chocolate is my favorite, but sometimes strawberry banana. Contains protein, carbs, greens, and fats. The oils and the dark chocolate both increase my nitric oxide levels which boosts blood oxygen and performance.
MID-LATE AFTERNOON: Grilled Veggies and Parmesan crusted tilapia or chicken, or a big veggie salad with grilled chicken, w ranch & balsamic vinegar, homemade chicken vegetable soup, or veggie fajitas with brown rice, beans, and salsa, or occasional small brick-oven spinach feta garlic pizza with a big salad. About 80% of my plate is veggies, again because of nutrition, boosting the nitric oxide and oxygen availability in my blood.
LATE EVENING: If I am hungry: fruit plate perhaps with yogurt, sliced peppers with hummus, carrots w ranch, or a plate of Steamed Veggies with Parmesan and ranch, or some homemade crock-pot applesauce. There you have them, more veggies. Gather, rinse, repeat. 🙂
WHAT I DRINK:
At least 1/2 my body weight in water daily. I enjoy a wide variety of herbal teas both hot and iced, Chamomile and Bengal Spice are favorites, as well as decaf English Bkft or decf Earl Grey; a couple times per week I enjoy healthy gano-cafe. (I like mine with real cream and raw sugar, so I choose to limit the amount I drink because of the sugar. If I drank it black, I would not need to limit it as long as it didn’t replace my water intake.) Oh yes, and an occasional Starbucks venti solo decaf latte with whip. 🙂
Remember, freedom not bondage. All things are permissible. Not all things are beneficial.
Know someone who is struggling with health problems?
Of course you do!
Be BOLD! Love them and share this with them.
Believe. Choose. Activate. Achieve. (Repeat.)
Michelle Pearson is a dynamic wellness coach, speaker, author, and the Founder & President of Picture of Health Inc. (http://thepictureofhealth.com).On a personal health journey for the past 19 years, her mission is to educate, activate, challenge and equip others to live a full, satisfying life through the use of state-of-the-art educational resources to produce significant and lasting health breakthroughs.
Dr. Ray Pearson is a licensed Chiropractic Physician and a Pharmacist, with over 40 years in healthcare. Dr. Ray has post-graduate training and certification in numerous advanced wellness therapies and Chiropractic techniques. Dr. Pearson and wife, Michelle, have more than 1000 hours of continuing education in advanced nutrition and wellness topics.
Picture of Health Inc
164 Preserve Dr F117
Branson MO 65616
417-635-2136
Dr. Michelle's mission is to educate, activate, challenge and equip others to live a full, satisfying life, ever-growing in the Kingdom of God.
Michelle is a mountain-taker in all expressions of her calling. Sometimes it is on literal mountains leading ladies on spiritual adventures in faith. Other days, it is consulting with Kingdom-minded businesses and ministries to develop professional website platforms and social media strategies. Still other times, you will find her training mountain-takers to possess their physical land - their health, spirit, soul, and body - teaching classes and doing wellness evaluations for churches and corporations large and small, as well as providing "secret service" concierge wellness services for other speakers and ministers.
Wherever the call of God takes her, she firmly believes it is time for Christian businesses, entrepreneurs, and ministry leaders to be diligent to ‘write the vision and post it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may be able to read it easily and quickly as they hasten by.’ And then ACT on the vision.
Read more About and Experience here: http://thepictureofhealth.com/michelle-2
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