As I mentioned in my last post, I am a big believer in cleaning house. Spring cleaning is incredibly beneficial for your home and, guess what? Spring cleaning is also incredibly beneficial for you as a human being. For me, I like a little daily "spring clean". Let me explain.
I struggled with ridiculously poor health, eating problems, anxiety, and troublesome teenage skin for several years. I think most people experience all of these in some capacity (with the exception of poor health, which I hope most of the planet is not cursed with!). This is the part where I insert cheesy midi-file music, and the screen suddenly goes from grayscale to technicolor, and I reveal the new and incredible, must-have, tv infomercial product (yours for only $19.99 AND, if you order now, I'll throw in some worthless item - absolutely FREE!). Drumroll please... Spring cleaning, for me, consists of mindful eating, exercise, and awareness. I have found, and continue to discover, that those three simple (yet not easy) aspects of my livelihood make me a saner and happier person. So yes, this is a bit of a pitch for health and wellness. But hey, advice is free.
Mindful Eating. I am currently on a quest to once again become a "raw foodist". No, this is not a cult, although some who adhere to the raw way of living definitely treat it as such. Being "raw" means consuming food which, for the most part, has not been cooked above around 110F. Now, some purists claim that raw eliminates all dairy and all meats. Call me crazy, but if you were raised in Texas and are now a vegetarian, your parents never took you to a good BBQ joint (I suggest 'The Swingin' Door' in Richmond, which has always been a staple for my family). I understand and admire vegetarians, but I am not one. I like chicken, I like fish, and I like occasional red meat, occasional being the key word. Most Americans do not realize that you should limit red meat consumption to two times per week. I was reading an article over the weekend about being veggie, and one of the FAQs was, "But if I'm a vegetarian, could I get sick from a lack of protein?" The answer went along the lines of: No. Have you ever heard of someone dying from a lack of protein? Nada. Yet people die from over-consumption of animal products and from an overload of trans-fats, found in animal meat, all the time. So, eat your lean brisket and your jalapeno burgers, but eat them in moderation. Everything in moderation is the key to balance.
Back to raw philosophy. Raw foodists:
1. Eat predominantly (but not exclusively, unless super strict) uncooked foods (tons of fresh fruit and vegetables, or dehydrated and unsulphured fruits). The ideology here is that the enzymes and natural health benefits of many foods are stripped away once they are heated beyond a point (110F).
2. Eat foods in certain combinations. I know this sounds absurd and like way too much work, but it helps your gastrointestinal and digestive system like you would not believe. The biggest one? Don't eat fruit with anything else, period. This is especially hard for me when it comes to salads - who doesn't like a chicken salad with cranberries and mandarin oranges tossed in? But fruit needs to be digested alone, so eat it at least 30 minutes before a meal or at least 3 hours after a meal. Trust me, you will feel the difference. If you've ever wondered why your diet doesn't get rid of your puffy tum, try this one on for size.
3. Eliminate foods which have been processed or contain additives or sugars or artificial sweeteners - all the really bad stuff. You would not grab a bottle of kitchen cleaner and gulp it down. This is common sense for most people, thanks to Mister Yuck (whom I labeled everything with as I child because I was, and still am, obsessed with stickers). So why do most people - many of whom have college degrees - not think twice about downing food that is packed with chemicals? There is a great raw saying that "waste = weight". Even though things like diet food are marketed to be healthier for you (don't be fooled by items like frozen yogurt and diet coke), your body doesn't recognize their chemical compositions and doesn't know how to process these foods, so they literally just sit and rot inside your system, making you feel ill, fatigued, tired, etcetera.
4. Eliminate soy and dairy. Soy and dairy are other over-hyped products in our society. Yes, you need calcium, but your body gets that in other forms. Many people think soy is a great substitute for milk, but it actually creates more mucus than most foods and "clogs" your system. Soy was originally praised, because people saw skinny, beautiful Asians using it, and assumed it was the key to longevity and good looks, but Asians eat things like edamame, and in small portions; they don't chug soy milk and tofu. Do yourself a favor and switch to almond milk, or coconut water, both of which are very good for you. As far as cheese goes, although it can be hard if you love cheese - as I do - try to either phase it out gradually, or switch to goat cheese, which is what I did. It's an acquired taste, but I quite like it now.
Those are the basic principles of being raw. When I first read about them, I assumed people who ate that way were insane and had far too much time on their hands. Yes, making your own food, and making it well, takes longer and requires a bit more planning ahead. However, as someone who is on the go from dawn until the wee hours of the morning, I have been able to make time. A simple shift in priorities and a big shift in mentality can go a long way.
Before I got serious about thinking about what I put into my body (about a year ago), I got sick, on average, once or twice a month. I had pneumonia at an early age, which wiped out my immune system, so I grew up for twenty-one years being sick around half the time. That's absurd - 10.5 years of my life! I had mono for four months. I had to get exemptions from the school board in grade school so they would let me move to the next grade. I was on antibiotics all the time. Now, after having eaten mindfully for the past year and going off of almost all prescription meds, I have been sick once in the past year. Going from being sick every few weeks to once in a year is enough proof for me that you truly are what you eat. Not only was not being sick all the time incredible, but my skin got better (raw foodists are often recognized by their glowing complexions and healthy eyes), weight managed itself naturally (without yo-yo dieting or diet pills), and I had more energy than I had ever had in my life.
Trying to be raw in LA is difficult, because unfortunately, there are no financial incentives in America for eating healthily. It's sad but true that low-income families need health coverage, but when all you can afford to put on the table for your family is rice, or microwave dinners, or $5.99 buckets of fried chicken, of course there will be health consequences. Eating produce, or lean, organic meats, or wild-caught fish, is expensive, I admit this. I often got annoyed in college when I would spend $80 on a week's worth of healthy groceries, and my boyfriend would spend $30 on his sausages and chili and hot dogs. However, I see eating well as an investment in myself. The money I spend to buy better fuel for my body and mind is money I am saving now and for years to come on medical costs, not to mention pain and unknown ailments. If you're going to invest in anything, invest in yourself.
With this shift in mindfulness of what I eat came a shift in terms of where my food comes from. But that's another post. ;>
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