That's inflammatory! Part 4

The Biblical Diet is the focus of Part 4 of this series.

Who would know better than our Creator what makes our bodies function properly, and give us overall well-being? Feeling whole in body creates a calm in our minds and souls and helps us in every area of life.

~~~~~
Meat:
~~~~~
Beef: on special occasions
Lamb: on special occasions
Pork: never
Shellfish: never
Domestic Fowl: chickens, geese, pigeons, partridges, duck and quail: more frequently
Fish: frequently
animal fat and blood: never

Some folks might think God was a vegetarian, Apparently not. We are instructed to eat red meat, such as beef or lamb, but *sparingly*, meaning on special occasions. Not daily, or even weekly. Just at feasts or festivals. We are instructed *not* to eat pork or shellfish *at all*. Maybe that's why Jesus fed the masses with loves and fishes, not loaves and ribs. When i asked my Jewish roommate why Jews did not eat pork or shellfish she said "It's because they eat garbage." OK! That's a good enough answer for me!

Animal fat and blood are where the toxins are stored. For me, the idea of eating either is so repulsive, I don't need a reason to not eat it, but if this is a delicacy for you, then know this is where the most toxic stuff is.
~~~~
Fats:
~~~~~
eat only 30% of your calories from fat

Olive Oil (virgin or extra virgin only): 2 thumbs up
Canola Oil: 2 thumbs up
canola, safflower and sunflower: also good
butter: in moderation
margarine: avoid
cheese: in moderation

~~~~~~~~~
Grains
~~~~~~~
wheat- good if it's not refined
barley - ditto
millet- ditto
Spelt: highly recommended
legums (beans): strongly recommended (try not get to overprocessed salty canned beans)

Spelt has never become a mainstream grain, and so of all the grains, it is a rare one in that it is still in its original form. The spelt seeds of today are just like the spelt seeds of biblical times. Wheat has been manipulated and modified so many times that a large part of our population has become intolerant to wheat, in the forms of celian disease, gluten intolerance, and carbohydrate addiction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fruits and Vegetables:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eat lots of these!

veggies: leeks, onions, garlic and cucumbers: yes!
Fruits: apples, figs, grapes, berries, apricots, melons and pomegranates, grapes, olives.

in the Bible, fruits were eaten fresh, dried, pressed into cakes, and squeezed for juice. But beware, fruit juice on the typical grocery store shelf can contain as little as 10% juice. It cna also contain a *lot* of pesticide. You want organic 100% juice, which you can either buy or make yourself.


Yes, it is more work and costs more to eat well. It takes more effort to find healthy food (in Harlem, you have to travel 45 minutes each way to buy a tomato!). But what good is it for modern medicine to keep up alive to 100+ years old if we are riddled with disease. The cure for many ills is to simply stop eating and drinking garbage. Granted, if I eat garbage, then I won't be kosher, and if I run across a kosher cannibal, they won't want to eat me. But even taking into account that one potential encounter, the odds are still pretty low that eating garbage will save my life.

However, my odds of inflammation are 100% if I eat garbage, and my odds of heart disease and obesity are quite high. When you survey people and ask them if they want to live to be 100, the answer is always "it depends.." on what? Most people are afraid they will be sickly. If you could guarantee they would have their health, then the answers would be quite different.

We are not victims. yes, some of us have more health problems than we deserve, while others *do* eat garbage and seem to never gain weight or have other consequences. But most of us *know* in our hearts that if we want peak performance from our bodies and minds, we should be fueling our bodies real food, not cartoonish boxes of "fun food."

It's tempting, but I will not purchase a box of "relacore" or whatever the latest fad diet pill is on TV (that will probably later prove to be the cause of many heart attacks), nor will i be getting liposuction (have you ever seen footage of this violent invasive procedure?), so that I can keep on eating whatever I please.

Eating real food also appeals to the rebel in me who wants to thumb their nose at the system and say "I'm not buying into your crap! You can't control me with your ads and your promises of something for nothing!"

So if you can't get motivated by doing what the Lord recommends, or by knowing you're taking back control of your health, then do it to get back at The Man.

That's inflammatory! Part 3

The Chinese have a great saying: Eat to Live, not Live to Eat.
We Americans live in a "Eat to Live" culture. We eat foods we like, rather than foods that are good for us. We think eating should be fun, and every meal should be a "treat." And there is often no eye open to the consequences of our eating habits. The when our arteries harden up or we get irritable Bowel Syndrome, no one tells us to stop drinking a 12-pack of soda every day. Our doctors tell us it's genetic. While it's tempting to just pop some pills and continue with our destructive lifestyles without having to suffer the consequences, wouldn't it make more sense to cooperate with nature? Because, as one who's had ot take a lot of pills, I can tell you, it's expensive and they all have side effects, some of them quite serious and potentially permanent. Like cataracts, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, and oh yeah, death.

This segment of "That's inflammatory" deals with the sources of LDL (the "bad" cholesterol). Saturated fats and trans fats increase LDL ("bad" cholesterol) in the blood, and high LDL increases inflammation.

Avoid: full-fat animal products (fatty meats, cheeses, cream), commercial cakes, cookies, crackers, pies and breads.

Eat: extra-virgin olive oil, canola oil, fatty fish such as salmon and tuna, nuts and seeds—especially walnuts and flaxseed. Omega-3 fats, decrease inflammation. It's not wise to avoid consuming *all* fat, which would leave you constipated, but about eating the right kinds of fat.

Avoid: refined grains, white bread and potatoes, candy, soda, sugar, sugar, sugar. things that elevate blood sugar render LDL (the "bad" cholesterol) more dangerous.

Eat: fruits, vegetables, "real" bread (whole grain), beans, sweet potatoes, red wine, cocoa and turmeric.

If you're looking for a diet-type to follow, the Mediterranean Diet is a good model. When I first decided to avoid gluten (wheat products mostly), I discovered food such as hummus and babganoush were quite tasty.

There's also the biblical diet. apparently, God was quite specific about what to eat in the Old Testament. I'll post a summary of that diet in Part 4.

That's inflammatory! Part Two

Inflammatory? Not sure. toxic, yes.
Sodium Nitrate. This chemical is used in meat packing plants to preserve meat. Pretty much any meat you buy at your average grocery store or deli is going to have been preserved with sodium nitrate. I sincerely doubt that the guy behind the deli or meat counter wants to kill you by feeding you something toxic. But did you know that you *can* kill someone with a large enough dose of sodium nitrate? In fact, a woman who was in love with another woman's husband purposely dosed the wife with sodium nitrate (which she obtained from her job at the meat-packing plant). She gave her enough to make her sick, not kill her.
http://www.NaturalNews.com/023873.html

according to "How Stuff Works.com," Stuff like salami, hot dogs, pepperoni, bologna, ham, bacon and SPAM all normally contain sodium nitrate as one of the ingredients. Fresh meats generally do not contain any added chemicals.

The chemical is added to inhibit botulism and keep the pink color, so when you open a can of SPAM, it's pink instead of grey.
I don't know about you, but it really makes me think about whether I want to keep eating lunch meat.

Is it inflammatory? well, we know it's toxic. large quantities of sodium nitrate have caused cancer in animals. Meat itself can be inflammatory.