Health Basic Missed By Many Nutritionists

There is a basic fundamental of health that is missed by many nutritionists.

I understand why they make the mistake, but it is most unfortunate.

It is natural to start from where you are, and it's a good idea to do so. Where else would you start from? But when you are looking at what is optimal nutrition, you need to start from an optimal position. The optimal position to start from in regards to human nutrition, is whole grains fresh from the fields.

You see, because grains in our modern world have mostly been processed and destroyed before being put into our food products, they have been made very unhealthy for us. That is why many nutritionists will tell people to avoid grains in their diet. Unfortunately that is a very big mistake.

Whole grains, that have not be processed to death, should be the base of your food supply. Grains do wonderful things for the body that have often been overlooked. They contain lots of fiber, which we now know is key to good health. They contain the essential amino acids for building healthy bodies. Grains contain the best kinds of carbohydrates for fueling the body. They contain many vitamins and minerals.

Whole grains are digested slowly, thereby giving you long term energy. This slower digestion also has several other advantages that have only more recently began to be understood. Besides being good for helping to keep blood sugar levels balanced, it helps to balance the pH of the body.
Wheat in particular is very balancing for the body. It even contains a combination of proteins, carbs, and fats, that help to balance and maintain healthy intestinal flora. Thereby helping your digestion to be more efficient, and allowing you to get more of the nutrients from the foods you eat.

One of the more recent discoveries that you may find interesting is that whole grains contain just as many antioxidants as most fruits and vegetables. These antioxidants had not be recognized previously because of the method used to measure antioxidants in food. It turns out that the whole grains kind of act like time-release capsules for antioxidants. As the grains digest, they gradually release the antioxidants into your system. Thus you have a sustained antioxidant effect over a longer period of time. That is definitely good for your body.

Grains are the ideal base for a healthy diet. They also store very well, so that you can stock a supply for years without worrying about them going bad.

I strongly suggest that you base your diet on whole grains. Buy whole grains. They are very inexpensive and are easily used at home for healthy meals. They are delicious, and even more nutritious when they are sprouted. Sprouting grains is very easy! Or you can just soak whole grains overnight for a delicious breakfast cereal in the morning.

I perhaps should mention one other mistake that many people make in regard to grains. There is a saying, that has been repeated many times, to the effect that farmers feed their livestock grains to fatten them up. This simply is not true. Grains are used to promote health and vigor. Yes, grains give animals what they need to grow and mature and produce. But if a farmer really wants to fatten animals just before going to market, he feeds them polyunsaturated fats.

Grains are natures time-release capsules to give health promoting nutrition to the body. They are fairly low in fat. But our ancestors ate them with raw milk and eggs, thereby enhancing the effects with good and healthy fats.

So just remember that when a nutritionist speaks negatively about grains, they are only speaking of processed, denatured grain by-products. Whole grains are some of the best nutrition you can get.

I recently updated and improved this, so I wanted to share it again. You can get a nicer copy for printing (PDF) from HERE.

I just know you all want to print it out and live by it! :-)

8 Rules of Healthy Living
(With Elimination List)

1. Eat more fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts. (Aim for 90% of your diet, with 80% raw) Try to make wheat your foundation. Dark leafy greens are particularly important.
2. Work up to exercising at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week.
3. Stop as many toxins as you can from entering your body. (See elimination list below)
4. Forgive.
5. Give thanks.
6. Give service to others with a cheerful smile.

7. Drink plenty of good clean water. (Your weight in pounds divided by 10 is the minimum number of cups of water you should get each day.) Be sure to get minerals, including trace-minerals with water.
8. Try to get to sleep 2 to 3 hours before midnight each night.

They say variety is the spice of life. Variety is also the foundation of good health.
If you eat a variety of whole natural foods you will get all the nutrients you need.
If you do a variety of exercises you can get all the muscles and joints of your body active and strong in all the different directions of motion.
If you eliminate all variety of toxins your body can rebuild cleanly.
If you forgive for all variety of offenses, you can let go of all sorts of pain.
If you show gratitude in all things, and serve others in many ways, you can always be happy.
However, you should hardly ever vary from your daily minimum consumption of water(body weight in pounds/10 cups each day) or from getting a good nights rest.
These are simple rules, that if truly followed will bring great blessings into your life.

Coach G. (For more details see http://garnerhealth.blogspot.com ) Email : CoachG@ghl.zzn.com


Elimination List: (Eliminate as many of these from your lifestyle as possible. No particular order.) Suggested alternatives are in italics.

1. White Flour (Dead food, like glue to the system, drains the body of nutrients) Grind your own.
2. Processed Sugar (Destroys immune function, and the body's ability to rebuild) Use Raw Honey.
3. Table Salt (even if the label says "Sea Salt") Redmond's RealSalt is good to use.
4. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS is toxic to the human body in any amount)
5. Hydrogenated Oils (any hydrogenated oil, even partially hydrogenated oils)(Toxic in any amount)
6. Artificial colors, flavors and sugars (especially Aspartame and Splenda)(Toxic in any amount)
7. MSG (MonoSodiumGlutamate)
8. Anti-inflammatory drugs (over the counter pain medicines) Use eggs, wheat, Vitamin C, coconut oil, and water to control inflammation.
9. Drugs of all kinds. (This includes most supplements.) Instead use whole tonic herbs, or Vitamin C.
10. Soy products (toxic, deters protein digestion, depresses thyroid[growth], slows mineral absorption)
11. Microwaving Food (microwaved food is molecularly changed, and contributes to cancer)
12. Meats loaded with Hormones and Antibiotics (Most meat that you didn't grow or hunt yourself)
13. Pasturized & Homogenized Milk (Store bought milk) Raw milk is very good for your health.
14. Alcohol and Tobacco (of course)(toxins)
15. Most Processed Vegetable Oils, including Canola (toxins) Use Olive Oil or Coconut Oil instead.
16. GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms)(Nearly all corn or soy is GMO these days)

Basic Rules For Health And Wellness

The basic rules for health and wellness are actually quite simple.

There is no need for a big book with a step by step program and recipes. You just need some common sense and to be able to recognize the true weight behind the different ideas and studies you will see reported in the media.

One reason that it has been easier for me than it is for some others is because I accept the premise that there is a God that created this earth specifically for the use and benefit of mankind. I could go into all the reasons why I accept that, but suffice it to say that the evidence is overwhelming for that conclusion. No matter how many people may try to persuade you otherwise, the evidence in science, philosophy, mathematics, religion, history, or spiritualism is much more dependable and logical for the existence of a creator than against it.

The simple fact is that the earth was made for mankind, and mankind was made for the earth. Once you understand that, it is so simple to see that the natural foods placed for us here on the earth are the best ways for us to remain healthy. That is not to say that anything found naturally on the earth is necessarily beneficial to all mankind. But we are to use our intelligence to learn and to grow and to have both negative and positive experiences.

The foods that mankind has learned are good to eat are always more life- and health-giving if we eat them in their whole, natural state. Modern mankind has made the sad mistake of deciding to cook and/or otherwise process most -if not all- of what we eat. In so doing, we have destroyed much of the health-sustaining properties of our food. On top of that, the foods that we do tend to eat without cooking, we have contaminated with pesticides and other man-made chemicals that are also detrimental to health.

One of the interesting things that you see as you review study after study after study is that the more we try to break food down into its separate elements to find out which parts we can use to cause health, the more we discover that the raw, natural food as a whole is much better at balancing the systems of the body and avoiding an over-stimulus in any one area.

Looking at study after study, it can become mind-blowing just how ignorant we are of the natural goodness that is built into the grains, nuts, fruits, and vegetables that the earth provides for us.

Another amazing thing that you see is that every time raw, natural, pesticide-free food is used as the major or sole source of food for people, they become much healthier and stronger than when they ate man-made, processed foods.

The basic rules for health and wellness all come down to doing what is right for mankind.

1. Eat a variety of good, wholesome foods (raw whenever possible).

2. Drink good clean water.

3. Exercise regularly (ideally six days a week).

4. Rest regularly. One day a week lay off the hard physical labors, and get a good nights sleep every night.

5. Breathe (deeply) plenty of good, clean air. The best way to breathe deeply is to make sure that you blow out as much air as possible when you exhale.

6. Get good doses of sunshine regularly.

7. Think positive, happy thoughts as often as possible. That often comes from helping your fellowman.

8. Give thanks sincerely and regularly.

That's it! Those are the basics that have been proven time and time again in test after test as well as in common sense. Of course we could fill in much more detail as to what things are better for given times and situations, but the basics are still simple. If we all just followed the basics there would be much less disease and sorrow in this world.

Follow the basics and have a great life!

Just eat a high quality natural foods diet, exercise, drink plenty of good clean water, make sure you get fiber (whole raw foods), get plenty of sleep, breathe deeply and have a gratitude attitude.

Your body will take care of you, if you take care of it.

Coach G.

Back to Basics : It Really Is This Simple.

People are always looking for that magic pill that is going to solve their problems.
Here is my last response to one of those questions like "Are there any good pills for...":

"Not that will do you any long term good, in my opinion.

But try this.
Cut out all sugar, caffeine, vegetables oils, and artificial sweeteners from your diet.
Eat whole grains and veggies as much as possible, along with fresh fruit.
Make sure that your are drinking lots of good clean water.
Start with a minimum of 12 cups of water daily. Put a pinch of real sea salt (with all the trace-minerals in it) in each cup of water.

And to help balance everything out and help heal the nerves, etc, take 3 or 4 tablespoons of coconut oil a day.

Also make sure you are getting regular exercise. At least 20 minutes at a time, at least 3 days a week.

Also, try to get to sleep 2 or 3 hours before midnight each night."

I think most people would be amazed at the improvement in health if they would just try these simple basic things.

Fat Discussion Leads To Comment

A discussion about fats on Dr. Mercola's site got interesting, when you got down into people's comments. There is so much confusion and misinformation going around.

I decided to comment there to see if I could help some people out. Here is what I said:

It is important to realize that a healthy lifestyle is the key to living healthy.

That sounds like stating the obvious, but many people don't seem to get it.

A 16 week test (as sited in the article) is interesting, but hardly long enough to show any cause and effect relationship.

Most of today's diseases have been developed by negative lifestyle choices made over years.

The human body is an amazing machine and can compensate for bad choices for a long time before finally reaching a breaking point and manifesting a disease.

I like the works of people like Ray Peat. Even though it can be hard to understand because he goes into so much detail, that many of us are unfamiliar with, he does a good job of explaining what happens in the human body.

It is very important to understand that the basics are the important thing. So many people are looking for that magic supplement that will make them healthy, but at the same time they don't exercise, or drink plenty of good clean water with good minerals and trace-minerals, or eat fresh fruits and veggies, or whole grains and nuts.

Health in the body is all about balance. The problem with most supplements is that you don't know how much you need to be in balance. Any supplement you are taking could be putting you out of balance. The wonderful thing about natural whole foods is that they cause balance in the human body.

As far as fats go, taking omega-3s or omega-6s could put you out of balance.

If you are not having health issues, just continue to eat good whole foods, and avoid toxins, and you will probably be fine.

If you have health issues, I would go with coconut oil, as it seems to help balance out the fat systems of the body.