Diet for Wellness
By Margaret Wilcox
(Source: Weston A. Price Foundation)
As the year 2012 approaches, our energy bodies’ are shifting to prepare for the higher frequencies coming to the planet. As your body becomes more of a light body, you find that you are also sensitive to harsh environments and chemicals. You may be accelerated on this path if you channel Reiki (and similar energies), practice yoga consistently, recovered from a major illness or are going through deep spiritual work.
Most of the foods in the grocery and health food stores are prepackaged. Granted if you buy alternative products you are getting less preservatives, dyes and refined sugars and flours, but still everything is mostly in a box. Don’t let the labels “organic” and “natural” fool you. Anything processed to fit in a certain shape and size is just that….processed. Case in point….the new whole wheat Wonder Bread. Though whole wheat is used in the process, in order to make the bread so soft and fluffy most, of the good nutrients are removed. When buying fresh whole grain breads, think of the weight of it. It should be heavy and not as light as toilet paper.
Try to eat the foods your ancestors would’ve eaten: Homemade veggie broths and beef stews; butter (pasture-fed cows); raw milk; cod liver oil, lacto-fermented condiments and beverages; and soaked whole grains (yum buttermilk soaked pancakes).
Lacto-fermentation was used by ancient people before canning or freezing. Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits bacteria. Important chemical changes take place during fermentation. The proliferation of lactobacilli in fermented vegetables enhances their digestibility and increases vitamin levels. These beneficial organisms produce numerous helpful enzymes as well as antibiotic and anti-carcinogenic substances. Lacto-fermented foods used around the world are sauerkraut, cucumbers, beets and turnips, pickled herbs, grape leaves, tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, kimchi, onions, squash, eggplant, relishes and chutneys.
Lacto-fermented condiments are easy to make. Fruits and vegetables are first washed and cut up, mixed with salt and herbs or spices and then pounded briefly to release juices. They are then pressed into an air tight container, like a canning jar (leave some space on top). Leave two to four days at room temperature, then the jars should be placed in a dark, cool spot. Salt inhibits putrefying bacteria for several days until enough lactic acid is produced to preserve the vegetables for many months. Whey can be used instead of salt. (See www.wheelsoflight.org/beetkvass to learn how to make whey for many recipes like Beet Kvass, a fermented beet drink).
During the first few days of fermentation, the vegetables are kept at room temperature; afterwards, they must be placed in a cool, dark place for long-term preservation. Use the best quality organic vegetables, sea salt and filtered water for lacto-fermentation. Lacto-fermented vegetables increase in flavor with time. Sauerkraut may need six months to mature. The veggies will keep for many months in cold storage but fruits and preserves should be eaten within two months of preparation. Don’t let bubbles and white spots fool you into thinking the jar has gone bad. You’ll know if it is bad by the odor. Eat these as condiments and not in large quantities.
Soak Your Grains: When white flour and processed foods were introduced to primitive peoples (aborigines) rampant tooth decay and disease soon followed. Whole grain and bran products are being promoted as health foods without adequate appreciation of their dangers. These show up not only as digestive problems, Crohn’s disease and colitis, but also the mental disorders associated with celiac disease. Problems occur when we are cruel to our grains–when we fractionate them into bran, germ and naked starch; when we mill then at high temperatures; when we extrude them to make crunchy breakfast cereals; and when we consume them without careful preparation. A diet high in improperly prepared whole grains may lead to serious mineral deficiencies and bone loss. Modern misguided practice of consuming large amounts of unprocessed bran often improves colon transit time at first but may lead to irritable bowel syndrome and other adverse effects. Our ancestors did not consume whole grains in the form of quick-rise breads, granolas, and other hastily prepared concoctions. My mom always soaked her oats overnight in buttermilk for the next morning’s oatmeal.
Most of these anti-nutrients are part of the seed’s system of preservation–they prevent sprouting until the conditions are right. Plants need moisture, warmth, time and slight acidity in order to sprout. Proper preparation of grains is a kind and gentle process that imitates the process that occurs in nature. It involves soaking for a period in warm, acidulated water in the preparation of porridge, or long, slow sour dough fermentation in the making of bread. Such processes neutralize phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors. Vitamin content increases, particularly B vitamins. Tannins, complex sugars, gluten and other difficult-to-digest substances are partially broken down into simpler components that are more readily available for absorption. Animals that nourish themselves on grains have as many as four stomachs and longer intestines than man. The features of man’s anatomy allow him to pass animal products before they putrefy in the gut but make him less well adapted to a diet high in grains–unless, of course, he prepares them properly through soaking, sprouting or sour leavening. The friendly bacteria do our digesting for us.
Consider reading the works of Ramiel Nagel. He has enlightened me on the subjects of preconception health and tooth decay. Please visit his website www.yourreturn.org and read for yourself how the American diet is a far cry from what it should be. He touches on the works of Sally Fallon in her book Nourishing Traditions.
Cook at home. Put love, positive energy and prayer into what you make to increase the food’s vibration even more. Eat slowly and enjoy meal time with your families.