Each year, more nutritional research studies demonstrate that following a whole food, plant-based diet can prevent and even reverse chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, other autoimmune disorders, and several types of cancer. These studies have repeatedly shown that such illnesses stop progressing and even go into remission when patients reorient their diet to more foods found in the produce aisle and the farmers’ markets: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.   Unlike treating illness with pharmaceuticals, the reported “side effects” of this approach to wellness are all positive, such as improved energy level, mental clarity, loss of unwanted weight, elimination of pain, improved complexion, improved sleep, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and reduced dependence on prescription medications. The largest managed health care system in the United States, Kaiser Permanente, recently issued a health bulletin to all of its physicians, recommending that they “prescribe” a whole food plant-based diet—discouraging consumption of meat, dairy products, eggs, and all processed and refined foods—as the first line of treatment, especially for patients with high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes or obesity.

What makes whole plant foods so beneficial?

First, only plant foods contain fibre. Fibre is important for keeping the digestive tract flowing smoothly, which removes toxins from the body and also helps to remove excess levels of circulating hormones, such as oestrogen, that can lead to hormone-dependent cancers [e.g., breast and ovarian]. Fibre also helps us feel full and satisfied after a meal. Perhaps most importantly, fibre is essential for maintaining the good bacteria in the digestive system that are critical for a properly functioning immune system. When people eat a mainstream diet that is high in animal-derived products and contain no fibre, and refined and processed foods, that contain minimal fibre, they miss these beneficial effects, thereby increasing their risk of developing chronic diseases.

Whole plant foods are also rich in micronutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals, which play a key role in helping our immune system function optimally, so we can fight off communicable illnesses as well as genetically mediated diseases like cancer. When our immune systems are functioning properly, inflammation is minimised. In some, this may mean elimination of chronic pain [including migraine headaches and joint pain], reduction in inflammatory markers related to arthritis and a decrease in body mass index [BMI]. Studies have repeatedly shown that elevated BMI is a risk factor for heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and cancer.

How much does it matter whether or not those foods are organic?

Ideally, we want to minimise our exposure to toxins, like pesticides. However, it may not always be possible or affordable to eat only organic produce. A good rule of thumb is that, if a vegetable or fruit is consumed in its entirety, such as leafy greens, apples, berries and peppers, choosing organic is more important, but if the vegetable or fruit has a skin or rind or similar outer coating that is not typically consumed, choosing organic is less important. The Environmental Working Group maintains a list of the “Dirty Dozen” and the “Clean Fifteen,” so you can see which crops are least and most heavily sprayed.

If you purchase conventional produce, wash these items well and, where applicable, peel them to remove possible chemical residues. But always remember that it is better to eat conventionally grown produce than no produce at all.

Once you begin eating this way, your taste buds adapt and you begin to enjoy more intensely the natural sweetness of fruit, the saltiness of leafy greens, and the astringent nature of legumes. You will soon find that eating is even more pleasurable than ever before! It is important to note that even when you are eating healthy whole plant foods, you should eat only until you are satisfied, and over-full. Although whole plant foods are generally low in calories and nutrient-dense, over-eating these foods, like any other foods, can cause problems such as indigestion, bloating, and lethargy, and weight gain if done habitually. Overeating too close to bedtime may cause gastric reflux and interfere with sleep; best to allow 2 – 3 hours after the last meal before lying down. However, whole plant foods, with their high fibre and high water content, are naturally filling, and the body gives clear signals when sufficient calories, nutrients, and bulk have been consumed.

How to get started

If you are hesitant about jumping in with both feet, start by increasing the proportion of healthy whole plant foods in your diet. Allow vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains to make up the majority of your plate, and consciously reduce consumption of meat and dairy and processed foods. These changes alone will make a positive difference in your health. But if you want to see more substantial results, give an exclusively whole food, plant-based diet a “test drive.” Try it for three weeks and see how you feel. There is no need to make a long-term commitment; just pick a day to start and mark your calendar to note how you are doing at the end of 21 days. To help get you started, try out this free online program, starting next month: Every day for 21 days, you will receive an email in your inbox with recipes, tips, and lots of encouragement along the way.

Food as medicine

Our genes are not our destiny. Rather, it is our lifestyle choices that most profoundly affect whether we can live longer, healthier lives, with the freedom and mobility to participate in the activities that bring us joy and to share precious time with our loved ones into our advanced years. Do yourself a favour and watch the documentary “Forks Over Knives.” In this film, you will follow the inspiring stories of several patients as they transition to a whole food, plant-based diet and experience remarkable health transformations. As the film so powerfully demonstrates, we can all benefit if we remember and apply the maxim, “let thy food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be thy food.”

The post Using food as medicine appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Hmm, surprise! It tasted good too.

Wholesome delight

My friend Rukmini Chatterjee, a dancer who combines her knowledge of Bharatanatyam with that of hip hop artistes, western music players, Indian singers, Kathak dancers, and heavy metal bands to create amazingly varied shows for stage, had created a soup out of the dal, and a macaroni dish to go with it.

Neither of them had any spice. The soup had some spinach leaves, coriander and garlic as embellishments, and she squeezed a large lemon into it before serving. It was astonishing, how good it tasted.

Suddenly I knew the meaning of wholesome food. “Do you need some salt?” she asked, pushing the minuscule salt holder towards me. “I have added almost none.” I shook my head; it seemed perfect as it was.

On to the macaroni. Rukmini had stirred in some tomatoes, garlic and herbs into the pasta, and though it looked dry, there was a moistness that was just right. My idea of pasta is loads of tomato and cheese, but I realised this worked just fine. “This is yum,” I said, my mouth still stuffed.

“Everything is organic,” she explained, “which is why it tastes so good. And we need to add no spice at all.”

It was quite an eye opener. Why, I wondered, did I think organic was equivalent to boring and tasteless? Everything I ate that night and the next day; the crackers made from organic wheat, the organically matured cheese, the grapes that tasted like none other I had tasted, was delicious. I hogged.

You are what you eat

“It is our way of celebrating Nature,” Rukmini explained.” We learnt it from friends we met some time ago. They were around 70 when we met them, and they inspired us to start eating organic food. They only eat organic food and their entire being radiated perfect health. I have always been aware of the fact that whatever you put into your mouth, who cooked it, where it comes from has an immense effect physically and psychologically on the being. Annie and Noel Blotti are physical proof of what organic food taken over a long period of time does to the body. It changed me,” she added.

Luckily for Rukmini, her husband, Pierre La Cloche De Vallombreuse, a renowned photographer who creates socio-anthropological photo documents that he puts together as books, also respects the natural way of eating. Organic food has been on their table ever since that first meeting with the Blottis.

Whatever you eat—who cooked it and where it came from has an immense physical and psychological effect on you

Shopping for organic foods

Eating organic in Europe is not tough. A growing awareness about a more holistic approach to life has resulted in organically grown food and clothing fibres being more easily available. It might cost a bit more, as organic produce yields are not consistent and are also easy prey for natural enemies, but the benefits are seen to be much greater than the inflation in costs.

Rukmini who lives in the heart of Paris finds shopping for food easy enough. “I buy everything at Naturalia, which sells organic food and other organically grown produce.”

Though she has spent her younger years in India, and returns frequently, Rukmini’s acquaintance with typically Indian food is limited to eating it on visits home.

In a way it suits the couple, as finding organic Indian condiments in Paris might be a bit of a challenge, or is at least one not worth taking up.

“I cook as I feel,” Rukmini says, “the simpler the better. Mostly I make vegetables or lentils, which taste better when they are organic so a simple spinach soup can be real treat.”

I agree, I have proof of this in the meal I have eaten.

In her own way, she decides whether a meal should have Indian or Western leanings: “I guess it is in the herbs or fresh leaves I add to the different preparations that make my food taste more Indian or European. If I add fresh coriander to a quinoa soup it tastes more Indian and when I add Basil to an Indian dal it tastes more European,” she says laughing. “Anyway, for us food is a celebration for our body, a toast to good health, and strict recipes are not necessary.” Listening, Pierre nods in agreement emphatically.

A growing awareness about a more holistic approach to life has resulted in organically grown food and clothing fibres being more easily available

No compromise on nutrition

Celebration of life is a part of their work. Pierre travels extensively, spending up to six months with tribes as he acquaints himself with their ways, and lets them understand his reasons for being there, even before he starts shooting. This, he finds, gives him uninhibited glimpses into their life and results in real unselfconscious photographs. When she is not working on a production, or performing, Rukmini travels with him, though, “we always end up taking different flights to and from the same destination,” she laughs. “With Pierre we usually travel to tribal places where the food is very simple yet wholesome, because the vegetables, fruits, poultry, everything is grown or raised on that very land. They are usually far away from polluted places. So again we are more or less eating organic food. The tribal people are hardy and enjoy simple meals, organically grown, and I see that as further vindication of our choice.”

And nothing about organic grains or food—which has no extra nutrients added artificially—makes for lesser goodness. Pierre has trekked vast distances, crossing hilly terrain in pursuit of his pictures, and more than once, Rukmini has gamely trotted along, not aware of the tough paths she would be traversing. And of course her rehearsals and performances need their own brand of stamina, which their brand of eating does seem to provide in good measure.

“Of course,” Rukmini explains, as a dancer touring countries as far flung as Norway and India, she cannot be rigid about food habits. “On my dance tours I eat and relish the food of the country I am in. I am not a hardcore organic food eater, though I try to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, to keep as close to my food habits as possible.

“And when I am back home in India I eat Indian food, organic and non organic, and relish it completely!

“I think eating the way we do has changed us a lot,” she adds, “I see the difference in my skin, and hair. I see it in the way it gives me stamina and endurance.”

I am beginning to see her point of view. Especially when I see the bright sparkle in her eyes, that even the worry over her mother’s pending operation back home cannot dull!

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