confronts it. If the body responds in a way that causes problems we call the problems “symptoms”. Science has taken it a step further and gave certain sets of symptoms labels to identify a particular disease. The symptoms are signals that the body is changing to survive the abuse we do to it. You can take charge of your health! We have been programmed to think that we are destined to suffer the same diseases as our forefathers but this is not true. Heredity does play a role in disease in so far as it dictates what disease will manifest if we live in a way that disease is inevitable. Our body doesn‟t know how to be sick, it only knows how to survive! A good rule of thumb is to remember that the food that fuels your body today dictates how your health will be tomorrow.
When we abuse our bodies and neglect our nutrition we find that we begin to catch viruses, bacteria and microorganisms that make us ill. The truth is that our body is designed to resist these invaders and that the germs would have no chance of infecting if our body was kept up. Germs are not a cause of illness rather a symptom of our cells having lost the resistance that we were born with. Germs cannot live in our body if we are in good health, they are merely squatters taking up residence in a comfortable environment that we have provided by neglecting our health. The pathogenic germs are scavengers and are unable to attack normal, healthy cells or tissue. They can‟t feed on healthy cells and can grow and prosper only when the cells have been damaged. Colds however are a different matter all together. Have you ever wondered why modern science can‟t find the cure for the common cold? Well, it is because the common cold is the body‟s way of cleaning out toxins. Improving your diet too quickly can bring on colds. Believe it or not. Colds function for the same purpose as a fever, to clean out toxins when your body is rebelling against excess toxicity.
High protein foods – meat, dairy and grains are the foundation of the American diet and are the biggest toxin producers. The four basic food groups that are second nature to most of us is one of our biggest cause of problems in our health. The primary goal for healthful eating is to change your daily fare so that 75% of it provides the nutrients needed to handle the other 25%. This means that we should be eating 75% fruits and vegetables and 25% high protein foods. It breaks down into 45% cooked fruits and vegetables, 30% raw fruits and vegetables and 25% grains, nuts, seeds, and meats. There are four basic steps you can take to improve your health.
STEP ONE: Increase the amount of cooked vegetables you eat every day.
STEP TWO: Reduce the amount of protein foods you eat every day.
STEP THREE: Cook the vegetables less and include on serving of raw vegetables or fruit every day.
STEP FOUR: Begin to reduce your intake of coffee, tea, cola and processed snack food.
There is a basic time table for making these changes. To start with add whole foods and cooked vegetables into your diet. After about 5 days add a serving of fruit and then after 2 weeks eat one meal a day of fruit and cooked vegetables only. Begin decreasing the amount of coffee, tea, and soft drinks. The third week you can begin to increase the amount of cook vegetables and raw fruits. Once you have reached the one month marker you begin to reduce the amount of high protein foods and begin adding lightly cooked or raw vegetables. During this time it is also a good idea to reduce health inhibitors like alcohol, cigarettes and chocolate. Thereafter you can work toward the ultimate goal of 75% fruits and vegetables and 25% protein foods.
This is not an absolute as there are many people who require high protein diets and other modified diets. This is an ideal type of diet presented by many health care professionals.
These are general guidelines for improving the health and environment of your body. It does take awhile to notice major differences in your health but when the changes become noticeable you will realize it is worthwhile. Beware that if you try to be gung-ho and change your diet to quickly that you will feel lousy and you will probably
have a rapid succession of colds. Your body will be trying to dump the toxins faster than your body can deal with them effectively. Make the changes slow and comfortable, just one step at a time and you will be happy with the results.
- Annette Hasalone, N.D.
From her book Angstrom Minerals - Information
and Reference Guide