It began with an upset stomach. I couldn’t eat one of my daily staples — onions — without having digestive distress. I’d wake up in the middle of the night with abdominal pain. Nothing I ate was energizing; I was constantly feeling sluggish and fatigued. But I wasn’t surprised. It’s been a little more than a year since I’ve been living in Ohio — i.e. away from the diet that’s kept me healthy. My diet here finally caught up with me. Of course, the pandemic hasn’t helped.
The reality is, usually people don’t get serious about their health until they have a health crisis. I’ve seen it time and again with loved ones and strangers alike, and it was my own experience when I had breast cancer 17 years ago. Even though this recent problem is minor and strictly related to my diet (I’m tuned into my body to know this), it’s still a wakeup call, and it’s prompted me to return to the diet that works for me without delay.
And what is the diet that works for me? It has a long history.
It began a long time ago when I read a newspaper article about the cruel way turkeys were slaughtered at a turkey farm near my hometown. I vowed to give up meat. That Thanksgiving, instead of following tradition, I ate a cheese burrito.
I didn’t eat meat for nearly five years, but I wasn’t getting enough essential nutrients and was getting sick. One day at Sunday brunch, I ate some prime rib and came back to life. As noble as were my intentions, I realized that I would need to eat at least a little meat to stay healthy.
Fast forward to when I was undergoing chemotherapy living in New York City and had just started really learning about diet and nutrition. For breakfast, I would eat salmon and steamed broccoli drizzled with Udo’s 3-6-9 oil. Quintessence restaurant served a slice of raw coconut & chocolate dessert that had more nutrients than most meals. I began to discern the subtle, gentle difference on my body eating macrobiotic and gluten-free at Caravan of Dreams. I bought energizing, alkalizing juices at Liqueteria and Penta ultra-pure water at the 4th Street Co-op. My diet turned hard core.
True story: I moved to Los Angeles after a business trip there and seeing the plethora of fresh, nutrient-dense food.
For two years, I followed David Wolfe’s raw, vegan SunFood diet that relies heavily on chlorella and spirulina for protein sources. For a year I ate Aajonus Vonderplanitz’s eat-everything-raw-including-dairy-and-meat Primal Diet and shopped at the devotee makeshift grocery store, Rawsome, on Rose Avenue in Venice, for my weekly supplies (the stories!)
I was a regular at acclaimed restaurants, Rawvolution (their raw coconut yogurt and desserts — THE BEST), Leaf Cuisine (their raw pad Thai — THE BEST), M Cafe (their macrobiotic soups, salmon and burdock salad — THE BEST), Juliano’s Raw gourmet (their raw soups and beverages — THE BEST), and Mathew Kinney’s M.A.K.E. (renamed Plant Food & Wine, their raw desserts — THE BEST).
I bought a VitaMix and blended green drinks daily. Shopped for sprouts and heirloom broccoli and tomatoes at the local farmer’s markets and staples at the legendary Santa Monica Co-op. Snacked on superfoods: goji berries, noni juice, acai, maca, and cacao nibs.
And I can honestly say that it was all good — mostly. The food was exceptionally tasty, but there were some trade-offs. Despite the health benefits, eventually, I realized that: 1. A lot of it was impractical and 2. There were good (health) reasons for doing it in moderation.
When all was said and done, I took the best of everything and distilled it down to a few key ideas that became central to my diet.
I eat fresh food. Food that comes straight from the land and seas, that you’d find at a farmer’s market. Organic, when I can. Unprocessed, without chemical or synthetic additives or preservatives (or pesticides), which toxify the body and make it work harder than it has to.
Animal cruelty remains an important issue to me. Mostly, I eat I wild-caught salmon, eggs, and cheese for protein sources, humanely sourced when possible. I eat other animal, fish, and seafood food sources when I feel I need the nutrients.
I eat raw as much as possible. Fruit and vegetables, sushi, raw cheese. Cooked food loses many, if not most, nutrients, including essential digestive enzymes and, yes, life force.
Every day I mix up a green powder drink. Which contains, at a minimum, chlorophyll, whether from spirulina or chlorella, which binds with heavy metals such as mercury in fish, alkalizes the body, and keeps cells squeaky healthy clean.
I eat my probiotics in fermented food. My first choice is coconut yogurt, because it’s plant-, not dairy-based, and it tastes delicious. But it’s time-consuming to make and expensive to buy. Instead, I eat fermented vegetables, which can be found in most supermarkets.
I drink pure water. Reiki-charged tap water. Other than spring water that is sourced from an unpolluted area, it’s as pure as water can get. Plus, it’s practical and economical.
I eat macrobiotic and gluten-free when I can. Both are very gentle on my body, and easy to digest and assimilate the nutrients. They energize my body, gently.
I eat superfoods and raw desserts when I can. Raw desserts are more delicious than any baked desserts, and I get a kick when my vision gets sharp and focused. Super foods super charge me.
All of these things are practical, doable, and accessible, whether I’m living in southern California or in the midwest. Where diet is concerned, that’s important, because you need to have access to your basic set of tools — the food that you eat. Plus, this food tastes delicious — which is of the greatest importance to me. If food doesn’t taste good, I won’t eat it.
I’m happy to report that, already, I’m feeling better.
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The Simple Seven © Marlene Veltre 2021 All rights reserved. No portion of this post may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including recording or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of Marlene Veltre. The information in this post is to be used for educational purposes only. It is not intended to serve as a substitute for professional medical advice or to prevent, cure, or heal any illness or disease. You should always see your doctor or health practitioner.