I’ve lived through 40 years of fad diets ranging from Adele Davis, living foods, Paul Bragg, juice diets, macrobiotic, low fat, low carbohydrate, Mediterranean, high protein, to the currently fashionable Paleolithic diet. We may be coming around full circle with the recent findings that a high-fat breakfast consisting of foods rich in saturated fats such as bacon is actually good for you. Such are the findings of researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham led by senior study author, Martin E. Young, published in the March 30, 2010 issue of the International Journal of Obesity.

The study found that a high-fat (that’s fat, not protein!), low-carb breakfast jump starts your metabolism so that you have more energy throughout the day and you will process food more efficiently and lose belly fat, insulin resistance, lower blood lipids and prevent coronary heart disease, as well as prevent and reverse type 2 diabetes.

The study consisted of feeding mice either a high-fat (45% fat) breakfast or a high-carbohydrate breakfast with only 10% fat. All mice were given the same number of calories. The mice only had two meals a day; those with a high-fat breakfast had a high-carbohydrate dinner, and those with a high-carbohydrate breakfast had a high-fat dinner.

The mice with the high-fat breakfast had the best metabolic markers which include body weight, glucose tolerance and blood lipids, especially triglycerides, compared with the mice who ate high-fat dinners.

The study concluded that a high-fat meal at the beginning of the day could generate enough energy to drive up metabolism for the entire day, while a high-fat dinner would slow it down, resulting in weight gain. Chief researcher Martin E. Young, Ph.D, said that “The first meal seemed to ‘program’ their metabolism very effectively for the rest of the day.”

Good fats such as the omega-3 fatty acids abundant in salmon are recommended in the study, but it is my observation and experience that even saturated fat from bacon and sausage is the basis for energy storage. As described in Know Your Fats by Mary G. Enig, each pound of fat supplies us with approximately 4000 kilo-calories of reserve energy. Enig describes how this means that a slender person who weighs 150 pounds will be carrying 25 to 30 pounds of fat as energy reserves; the same amount of energy in carbohydrate form would have to weigh 50 to 70 pounds!

The Optimal Diet

Some years back, I was introduced to the work of Chicago Dr. Jan Kwasniewski described on his website as The Optimal Diet. He literally has treated and cured thousands of patients with a wide variety of chronic degenerative diseases ranging from obesity, coronary heart disease, arteriosclerosis, and diabetes, to arthritic conditions.

His dietary recommendation is especially radical to anyone like me, who has been persuaded of the value of low-fat diets. Dr. Kwasniewski recommends three to four times the amount of fat to protein along with one quarter or less the amount of carbohydrate.  The Optimal Diet also strongly advocates the inclusion of organ meats (liver, heart, intestines, kidneys, etc) as superior to muscle meat such as filet mignon or New York cut steaks. Dr. Kwasniewski’s diet also completely downplays the importance of vegetables and fruits, which as carbohydrates occupy the smallest percentage in relation to fat and protein.

A typical Optimal Diet breakfast might consist of four slices of bacon, two or three eggs fried in the bacon fat, and a half slice of whole wheat toast with butter. Astonishingly, I’ve seen individuals whose cholesterol was 265 drop down to 187 after being only two weeks on this high-fat diet.  Many of these also lost as much as two or three inches around the waist at the same time.

So I know it works at least for some, but the problem is that most of us are so heavily conditioned to believe that fat is bad for us and find it very difficult to follow such a strict high-fat diet. Now with the recent University of Alabama study, one can achieve good results by making sure your highest fat meal happens at breakfast. If you prefer, you can use a wide variety of fats including so-called “good fats:” omega 3 fatty acids as found in flax seeds, salmon and sardines.

So my eldest son just called to invite me to his house for a breakfast this morning of delicious pancakes with fruit topping and a couple slices of bacon on the side. I wonder how I should respond!

I find it extremely annoying that the west has gone sweet – that is, sickly sweet.

This occurs not just in mainstream food products, but in health food as well. Until recently, it was easy to find sugarless products in health foods stores, but several years ago when one major brand that contained sugar in every product entered the health food market, all the other brands began to mimic that by adding sugar to their foods, too. Now it’s nearly impossible to find salad dressings, crackers, spaghetti sauce and cereals for example, without any sugar in them whatsoever.

Today people consume 40 more pounds per year – that’s 40 MORE POUNDS – of sugar today than a generation ago*! This is almost double the amount in only 20 years’ time. I find this shocking. Normally this fact would conjure images of people in fast food lines ordering “super size” meals or over-indulging in desserts, but today the situation is much more prevalent than that. Sugar is hidden everywhere and runs rampant in most every food in the grocery store, health foods included. It’s insidious!

Consider this: there are 10 teaspoons of sugar in every can of soda; one can a day can increase your risk of diabetes by 83%. And there are three teaspoons of sugar in every serving of salad dressing (multiplied by the number of servings you actually put on your salad). Ketchup has one teaspoon of sugar in every tablespoon of ketchup – that’s one-third of its content! The list goes on and on.*

What I find even worse is that this situation now affects my choices, too. When health food store foods only included sugar in select products to enhance and provide a certain taste, shopping was easy. Now sugar is in everything. When I can’t even buy salad dressing, spaghetti sauce or crackers because there aren’t any choices without sugar (or to be factual here – just one choice of dozens), that’s poor choice indeed. And bad taste, too!

In fact, I had a good laugh in the health food store today when I saw a spaghetti sauce brand with bold letters on its label: NO ADDED SUGAR. Obviously, someone else has noticed this dilemma, too (so bravo to you!).

While natural foods tend to use alternatives to white, refined sugar, the natural varieties increase one’s sugar load and insulin output, too. Even agave is high on the glycemic index, meaning that it quickly raises blood sugar in the body. On top of that, processed simple carbohydrates actually act like sugar without fiber in our bodies since they convert to sugar very quickly. This includes all those crackers, cookies, chips, pretzels, power bars, juices, breads, muffins, on and on and on. In a natural food store, these products often occupy entire aisles!

Yes, sugar may represent love and comfort, but this really means that the craving for sweet reflects the need to fill a hole inside of us that was created by something else. Sweet foods will never fully satisfy or fill those holes. Instead, we are really looking for another type of sweetness to fill our lives.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the sweet taste nourishes the Earth element and its organs, the Spleen and Stomach. The Earth element is at the center of all the other elements, providing grounding, centering, identity, nourishment and focus. It’s also our relationship with ourselves and ability to manifest our visions and inspirations. It enables us to digest ideas, cultivate our paths, fully commit to ourselves, develop our true identities, love ourselves and have staying power over our lifetimes. A little sweet strengthens these aspects, but in excess, it makes us “sticky” – stuck and needy. In time this not only injuries our digestive processes, but impairs our abilities to develop strong identities as well.

Today, excess sugar is causing one of the fastest growing diseases: type II diabetes. Thankfully, 90% of it can be reversed simply through exercise and diet change. Warning signs of diabetes include: constant thirst, frequent urination, infections that don’t heal, tingling in the toes and blurred vision. If you experience a few of these symptoms, it’s time to make a change, especially if you smoke, have high belly fat, a sedentary lifestyle, and/or family history of diabetes, as all of these lead to type II diabetes.*

So I issue this challenge to the health food industry: make food products without added sugar again! It simply is not necessary. Let’s bring true flavor back and nourish ourselves through our lives instead!

*According to Dr. Oz.

Summer kicharee is not only great for detoxification, but it is also a light summer soup perfect for the hot months of year. It is balanced in protein and can include as many local vegetables as you wish. As well, you can easily cook up a big batch to eat over three days, or freeze for longer, so your time is spent in the garden or hiking, swimming and so on – you get the idea!

Some are surprised with the lightness of summer kicahree and yet how it fills and satisfies them. Many eat it just for breakfast, or for one other meal, while others eat it exclusively for several days or weeks to cool and clean toxins from their bodies. Have fun with it and explore! Your imagination is the limit here.

Here is a sample recipe to follow. You can make it as is, substitute what you have on hand, or change it to satisfy your tastebud desires. To keep it a summer kicharee suitable for this time of year, use only seasonal local vegetables and add light protein (if desired). I give several possibilities here.

Basic Summer Kicharee Recipe

Makes approximately 6 to 8 two-cup servings.

½ cup barley (rice or quinoa)

½ cup green split peas (aduki beans)

½ cup yellow split peas (mung dahl)

½ cup lentils (other dahls)

2 quarts chicken stock

2 tblsp ghee

1 tblsp cumin powder

1 large onion

4 stalks celery

2 big carrots

garnish with ½ lemon per serving of soup and season to taste

Directions:

(Optional but wise first step: Soak grain and beans in water for 12 hours. Strain.)

Place grain and beans in stock and simmer for 30 minutes. In meantime, brown cumin in ghee, then add vegetables one at a time and sauté. Add this mix to grain and beans after the first 30 minutes and simmer all together for another half hour. Eat as is, or add various garnishes, additional protein and so on. Ideas are given below.

Ingredient Descriptions:

Barley is used because it is cool and eliminates dampness, both perfect for the summer heat and balancing the Spleen and Stomach organs, which flourish and rule this season (July to mid-September).

Split peas and lentils are lighter to digest than heavier beans and actually need less soaking time. All are alkalinizing.

Ghee, or clarified butter, is a pure oil that sparks digestion without being too heating. It also doesn’t go rancid without refrigeration.

Cumin is neutral in energy and helps digestion.

Lemon is alkalinizing, cooling and helps digestion.

Substitution Possibilities:

GRAIN: Use brown rice or quinoa instead of barley. (Be sure to soak the brown rice for 12 – 24 hours first to eliminate its outer kernel and make it far more digestible.) Both are cooling and alkalinizing.

BEANS: Use aduki beans (adzuki beans), mung dahl or mung beans. Aduki beans assist kidney function; June through July is when Kidney energy is lowest (this is the opposite time of year from the Kidney/Urinary Bladder time of year, in winter). Mung dahl and mung beans are cooling and detoxifying.

STOCK: You may use a different stock or water instead of chicken stock. Chicken stock is lighter than other stocks and provides additional protein that is easily digestible.

OIL: Try coconut oil instead of ghee. It is light, reduces fat accumulation, is more water soluble and so breaks down more quickly and is immediately used by the liver for energy (see upcoming blog on this!).

SPICES: Try cumin seeds instead of the powder, or also add coriander seeds or power and turmeric. Try other spices according to your individual health needs such as the following (all of which promote good digestion): basil (cooling), fennel (warming, moves Qi), ginger (warming), garlic (warming, anti-parasitical), onions (warming), mustard seeds (warming).

VEGETABLES: Onions, celery and carrots are always a good way to add flavor to a soup pot, but feel free to substitute or add other vegetables as desired. Ideas include: summer squashes, red bell peppers, eggplant, string beans, artichoke hearts, potatoes and tomatoes.

GARNISHES: Try adding yogurt, cilantro, parsley and/or gomasio (sesame salt).

PROTEINS: If you need or desire to increase the protein of this soup and provide more warming energy to your body, add any of the following (all are lighter proteins and easier to digest for the summer months): hard-boiled eggs, sardines or other fish, chicken or pork pieces, chicken sausage, or buffalo (very low fat for a red meat).

I’m rounding out this trio of blogs on diet and weight management with the following 20 tips. Under each tip is a link to a supporting article or study.

1. If it’s on your plate, you will eat it. Develop the habit of taking small portions. This is a variation on the notion that our 'eyes are bigger than our stomach' or rather, 'our eyes are bigger than we want our stomach to become'.

Bottomless Bowls: Why Visual Cues of Portion Size May Influence Intake: This study showed that we are poor judges of satiety and often rely on visual cues to signal when our hunger has been fulfilled rather than relying on what our stomachs actually tell us.

2: Don’t eat mindlessly. Be attentive to the amount as well as the flavor of your food.
At the Movies: How External Cues and Perceived Taste Impact Consumption Volume: This study showed that packaging combined with the distraction of entertainment not only prevented people from judging how much they ate depending on amount, but also with little regard to flavor!

3.  Make a practice of NOT CLEANING YOUR PLATE, especially in restaurants.

Restaurant Portions Are Gargantuan: When you wish to eat a particular food, it is assumed you are eating one serving of that food. Most restaurants serve portions that really are for three or four people. When we see huge portions so often, they start to look normal.

4. In restaurants, ask for half the food to be wrapped to take home BEFORE it is
served to you. See the tip and study above.

5. Keep a diet diary. Record whatever you eat and tally your calories before you go to bed each night. A combination of calorie accountability based on their unique point counting method and the scale forms the basis of Weight Watchers, arguably the most successful dieting method.

Losing Weight: Start by Counting Calories: Studies have shown that dieters who jot down everything they eat in a diet diary tend to eat less than those who don’t keep a written record of their food intake. Bad eating habits are hard to break but the act of writing down everything eaten throughout day goes a long way towards allowing us to consider "Am I really hungry?" before putting that morsel of indulgence into your mouth. It also allows a health professional to evaluate whether in fact you are eating a ‘healthy diet.’ For the serious dieter, I recommend enrolling onto an online data program such as the one found on MyFoodDiary.com will compare what you are eating with a massive database of 65,000 foods, 850 brands and 250 restaurants, showing you all that you need. This will also help you to maintain strict records of the amount of calories you are eating each day.

6: Break up your weight-loss goals into small manageable units of pounds to be lost. Concentrate on losing one unit at a time.

Little Losses, Big Gains: Just the loss of 5% to 10% will relieve symptoms and complications related to being overweight. Don’t intimidate yourself by thinking you have a huge amount of weight to lose. Instead, think of losing 8-10 pounds at a time. Just that small amount of weight lost is enough to make you feel much better.

7: The Nutrition Facts panel on your food is important. Learn how to read it here and be sure inspect it before you purchase or eat a particular food.

"Food Rules" author Michael Pollan offers some basic guidelines to purchasing food and a lot of it has to do with knowing how to navigate that Nutrition Facts label stuck on every package.

Beware of sugar and all its disguises. Learn to recognize it by its many names on the ingredient lists of your food. The ubiquitous high fructose corn syrup is a particularly problematic form of sugar, mostly because of the refinement processes used to make it. It is present in countless food products and is linked to obesity, allergies, and diabetes.

Finally, learn about good fats versus bad fats and how to identify them on the Nutrition Facts label. Don’t cut out all fat but limit it in amount and use good quality, unsaturated fats and oils from nuts, avocado, canola, olive and sesame. These good fats and oils are all high in mono-unsaturated fat which have actually been shown to help in weight loss.

Polyunsaturated fats in the Omega 3 group of fatty acids are also needed in the diet. These lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol and are found in salmon, flax, corn, safflower, sunflower, and fish oils.

Bad fats are saturated and found mainly in animal products such as meat, dairy, eggs (which despite the fat content I consider one of the most perfect proteins) and seafood. Some plant foods such as coconut, palm and palm kernel oil are also high in saturated fat. It is claimed that this type of fat raises total LDL (bad cholesterol).

The seriously bad fats are trans fats. As hydrogenated fats, these were invented by scientists to prolong shelf life. Trans fatty acids are found in many commercially packaged foods including deep fried foods, microwave popcorn, vegetable shortening and margarine. These are known to be carcinogenic and are present in countless foods. As a general rule, don’t eat anything that has "partially hydrogenated" or "hydrogenated" in its ingredient list, even if 0% trans fat is listed in its Nutrition Facts label. For more details on good and bad fats, read this.

8. Eat breakfast every morning.

Long-Term Weight Loss and Breakfast in Subjects in the National Weight Control Registry: This study showed that people who ate breakfast every morning lost weight and were better able to keep it off after losing than those who did not.

Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. Depending on whether we have adequate protein and other nutrients for breakfast, mitigates in a direct one-to-one ratio the amount of abnormal cravings we are likely to have throughout the day.

9. Turn the TV off , especially during meals.

Television Viewing and Long-Term Weight Maintenance:  People who spend less time in front of the TV are more likely to lose weight and keep it off.

Food provides two vitally important aspects to life: nutrition and satisfaction. A lack of satisfaction invariably leads to overeating. These days, the dinner table has been replaced by a seat in front of the TV. Besides all the other richness of life that is lost as a result of enjoying each other at mealtimes, our attention to our food is diverted to what is showing on the TV with the result that we unconsciously tend to eat more.

10: Eat at home as often as you can. Just preparing your own food is an effective treatment for most eating disorders.

Learn to cook. This is especially true for younger people today who have grown to rely on eating out. Some cultures believe as do I, that the subtle vibration that is imparted in the process of cooking is important not only nutritionally but for our psycho-spiritual wellbeing as well.

Association between Eating Patterns and Obesity in a Free-living US Adult Population: A study in Massachusetts of 500 adults over a year found that those with the highest risk of overweight and obesity were those who ate the most meals out. The study also evaluated the nutritional content of meals eaten at home versus those eaten away from home. Breakfasts and dinners eaten away from home were significantly higher in total calories, percentage of calories from total fat, and percentage of calories from saturated fat. Meanwhile, they were lower in their percentage of calories from protein, carbohydrate, and fiber.

11:  Buy a digital scale and a tape measure. Use them every morning.

Despite the occasional plateaus that can be discouraging as we work to lose weight, the act of weighing ourselves helps us to keep our focus.

12: Walk more!

Effects of the amount of exercise on body weight, body composition, and measures of central obesity: Even without diet changes, most people can lose weight if they walk at least 30 minutes a day.

As with other changes start with small ones such as taking the stairs as opposed t the elevator, walking to the grocery store instead of driving, parking your car as far from your destination as possible. If you use public transportation, get off a stop earlier than your usual stop and walk the rest of the way.

13: Chew your food well and eat slowly.

Eating Slowly Makes You Feel Full: This goes along with the limiting the many distractions while we are eating. Researchers at the University of Rhode Island fed a group of women some pasta. Half of the women were instructed to eat very slowly and half were told to eat quickly. When the eaters were interviewed after the meal, the fast eaters had eaten more calories and did not feel full. The slow eaters ate less, and felt full.

14:  Stick to a boring menu. Eliminate choices, and stay away from buffets.

The Influence of Assortment Structure on Perceived Variety and Consumption Quantities: Six kinds of jelly beans versus one? Where there appears to be more variety of the same kind of food, people eat more.

We need to achieve a balance between ‘living to eat and eating to live.’ Too many choices of foods, eating too many different foods overstimulates our senses so that we tend to always look at food and eating as the main event in our lives. One of the most effective ways we use to help people regain their health and lose unwanted pounds is a mono diet based on eating only brown basmati rice and split yellow mung beans in an East Indian dish called kicharee (scroll down for the recipe).

15: Eat alone when possible. Limit your social eating to a few friends. Meet with larger groups of friends while walking, or in a non-food environment.

Environmental Factors That Increase the Food Intake and Consumption Volume of Unknowing Consumers: Many people tend to eat more when they are in a relaxed setting with friends as opposed to eating alone.

16: Serve yourself dinner on a salad-sized plate. Use smaller sized spoons, too. Your portions will look larger and you will eat less.

Unit Bias: A New Heuristic That Helps Explain the Effect of Portion Size on Food Intake: Scientists have found that people eat as much as what one serving appears to be (whether large or small), regardless of hunger.

17. If you have kids, limit their fatty foods and junk foods marketed specifically to their age group. Buy food that is good for you – it’ll be good for them, too.

Adult Fat Intake Associated with the Presence of Children in Households: Findings from NHANES III: This study found that adults living in families with children ate far more fatty foods than adults living alone or with only other adults.

18: Don’t just exercise to lose weight. Take up a sport or some physical activity that you enjoy doing.

Go Figure? Body-Shape Motives are Associated with Decreased Physical Activity Participation Among Midlife Women: This study found that women who had fun and stress relief as their main motivators for exercise led to increased physical activity.

19: Keep healthy foods accessible and visible. Don’t buy and store unhealthy foods in your home or office, because you may eat more than you intend to.

The office candy dish: proximity's influence on estimated and actual consumption: Knowing that visibility and proximity can influence your estimation of how much you eat can be a useful tool in the battle to keep weight off.

20: Get at least seven hours of sleep every night.

Food is used by humans for many reasons, required nourishment, comfort but also for stimulation. When we eat, we momentarily stimulate our metabolism, which provides short-term energy for an exhausted body. Recognize when you are turning to food more for stimulation rather than for nourishment.

Leptin Levels Are Dependent on Sleep Duration: Relationships with Sympathovagal Balance, Carbohydrate Regulation, Cortisol, and Thyrotropin: While they are sleeping humans produce leptin, the hormone that signals the brain to let it know that it is full and it is time to stop eating. The sleep-deprived may produce less leptin, which leads to hunger and overeating.

Herbal Suggestions and Supplements

Planetary Herbal's Triphala Gold used regularly is the one single herbal formula that I would recommend daily not only because it helps achieve balanced detoxification without depleting the system of vital nutrients, but because it is the richest source of natural antioxidants.

In addition for any digestive disturbance, including bloat, gas, acid reflux and other conditions such as headache causes by poor digestion, 2 to 3 tablets of Planetary's Digestive Comfort seems to always bring relief. 

Health and well-being is the foundation for everything, including success in worldly endeavors and spiritual pursuits. I hope these principles derived from my own experience and many other sources will help you to achieve a optimal health and well-being so you can attain your life's dreams and goals in this new year.

As I mentioned in last week’s blog, exercise and wise dieting principles aren’t enough to help you reach your optimal weight. Portion control is essential.

Just how important is portion control? In one study, Cornell University researchers David Levitsky and Trisha Youn offered a group of students free lunch for several weeks. Everything the students consumed was secretly measured and weighed. Meanwhile, portions of soup, pasta, breadsticks and ice cream were increased significantly every week. Guess what happened: the students just ate whatever portions were served! The scientists concluded that portion size determines calorie intake.

Many of us have a problem with knowing when we are satiated. If you’d like to pay closer attention to the amount of food you consume at a meal, read on for serving sizes suggested by the American Dietetic Association. All of these serving sizes may be regarded as "approximate ounce equivalents."

Breads, Cereals, Rice, and Pasta

Grains embody all aspects of a plant in seed form. They are generally regarded as being the food most balanced in Yin (cooling and eliminative) and Yang (warming and building) qualities. Select grains depending on your digestive strength (this is determined by such things as abdominal bloating or gas after meals): eat unrefined whole grains if you have strong digestion, or eat more refined grains if your digestion is weak.

One serving equals:

• 1 slice of bread, a about the size of a plastic CD case
• 1/2 cup of cooked rice, pasta, or cereal, about the size of a tennis ball
• 1 ounce of cold cereal

Vegetables

Vegetables, especially above ground vegetables, generally supply the necessary yin, cooling and detoxifying aspects of our diet. Most root vegetables, on the other hand, tend to be warmer in energy, but perhaps not so warm as grains. As I mentioned in my last post, it’s important to have a balanced diet of yin/cool and yang/warm foods.

Vegetable servings are best measured in cups rather than ounces.

One serving equals:

• 1/2 cup of ovegetable juice or raw or cooked vegetables (about the size of a light bulb)
• 1 cup of leafy raw vegetables

Fruits

Fruit is the most cooling and eliminating food group in a balanced diet. They are also the most seasonally sensitive. Eating fruits as they are seasonally ripened in your area is a way to fine tune blood chemistry in terms of density and other chemical elements that help us to adjust to seasonal and climatic influences. People who live in the country appreciate this more than people who live in the city where awareness of seasonal limitations tends to be ignored in favor of year-round availability. Nevertheless, we all are affected by the barometric, climatic and other elements that are part of the cycle of life. Fruits that are not locally grown or out of season are not completely tree ripened and thus deprived of flavor and nutrients. Most of us can adapt to eating out of season fruits in modest portions. Because fruits come in so many different shapes and sizes, it's hard to say how many pieces of fruit count as a serving.

One serving equals:

• 1 cup of fruit (about the size of 7 cotton balls or 1 baseball) or 100 percent fruit juice
• 1/2 cup of dried fruit
• 1 serving size of whole fruit (about the size of 1 tennis ball)

(Those who may be unable to consume the necessary daily intake of vegetables and fruit may try Planetary Herbals’ new Vita Greens & Berries that contains 59 fruits, vegetables, and immune factors that help you to meet daily fruit and vegetable needs. )

Dairy Products - Milk, Cheese and Yogurt

A common mistake that many make is to use dairy for all their protein needs. Milk is just one molecule different from blood and so it is vitally important that we have the best quality dairy we can find. Ideally it should not be homogenized. Because of its congesting, mucus-forming properties, it should never be taken cold out of the refrigerator, but served warm. I have seen just this practice alone eliminate the symptoms of many who believed they were allergic to dairy.

Many people (especially those of African and Asian descent) are unable to digest the lactose in dairy. Rather than taking a lactase supplement, if would be best if these people would simply eliminate dairy entirely from their diet.

As we get older, our need for the body-building properties of milk is less, and it is better to receive the benefits of dairy from a probiotic cultured food such as yogurt. Because it is still dense and a bit congesting, yogurt should be avoided in the evening and is best taken midday. The same would apply to cottage cheese.

Because the fat globules are closer to those naturally occurring in human milk, goat’s milk is the best dairy to use. While for many the flavor of goat’s milk is not as appealing as that of cow’s milk, goat cheese seems to meet with a lot less resistance and is even preferred.

Choose low-fat options from this group whenever possible.

One serving equals:

• 1 cup of milk or yogurt
• 1.5 to 2 ounces of cheese (about the size of two 9-volt batteries or the size of your thumb)
• 1.5 cups of ice cream

Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts

Protein forms the basic building block of the body. Some people require more protein than others and some may require “first class” protein derived from animal or dairy sources. The best choice for animal protein is organic.

Beans and whole grains have a full complement of all the amino acids necessary to form a complete protein. In order to have a chance at thriving on a strictly vegetarian diet, it is essential that beans and whole grains make up a significant part of the diet.

Animal-source protein is called “first class” protein because it is more immediately assimilated into the body. Vegetable-source protein in the form of legumes is called “second class” protein because the body has to go through more physiological processes to digest and assimilate it. This is one of the reasons that it is necessary to soak grains and legumes 12 hours before cooking, and it is also why some Indian legume dishes are heavily spiced with carminative (digestive) herbs. Switching from animal to bean sources of protein can cause digestive disturbance in the form of bloating and gas. The transition should be done carefully, adhering to the soaking and spicing practices mentioned above.

In terms of fish, the most healthful fish with the least contamination from heavy metals are the fast growing and fast maturing fish such as sardines. One of the lesser known secrets and indeed a corner stone of the Mediterranean diet, considered to be the most healthful in the world because of its emphasis on vegetables and olive oil, is the wide use of small fish such as sardines and smelt.

One serving or ounce equivalent equals:

• 1 ounce of cooked lean meat or poultry (3 ounces is about the size of 1 deck of cards)
• 1 ounce of cooked fish (3 ounces is about the size of 1 checkbook)
• 1/4 cup dried beans, after cooking
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of peanut butter (2 servings is about the size of a roll of 35 mm film or a ping pong ball)
• 1/2 ounce of nuts or seeds

Oils and Fats

Because oils are found in many of the foods we eat, there may not be a need to add this group to your diet. For example, half of a medium avocado or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter provide 3 and 4 teaspoons or servings of oil respectively, while also counting towards your vegetable or nuts allowance. This is a highly controversial food group with recommendations by many to use them sparingly.

• 1 serving/teaspoon of butter or oil spreads should be equal to the size of one die
• 2 serving/teaspoons of salad dressing should be about the size of one thumb tip

Snacks

A portion of snack food, such as small crackers, potato chips or pretzels, should be one ounce.

Keep in mind that most portions in the U.S. are oversized and contain several servings of the recommended categories. Ideally, most of your diet should be composed of whole grains, plenty of fruits and vegetables, low-fat calcium fortified foods (such as milk and cottage cheese), and lean sources of protein (such as fish, turkey, and chicken).

Next up: 20 tips for achieving optimal weight and healthy eating!

After the period of feasting from Thanksgiving through Christmas, the New Year leads many of us to think about getting back in shape and losing some of those holiday pounds.

There's a wide variety of dieting approaches, ranging from raw food, juice, vegetarian, high carbohydrate, low carbohydrate, low fat, and paleolithic diets, to name only a few. Naturally, the contradictions between these different diets leads to a great deal of confusion. What may work fantastically for one person may spell failure for another.

After exploring all of these, it's my opinion that there is no single diet that is right for everyone. Rather than adhere to a rigid program, I think it's better to adopt the following principles that can guide us according to our individual needs and circumstances.

Ten Principles for Healthy Eating

1: Choose foods that you know are nutritionally dense. In that way, you will be more satisfied and experience fewer cravings. Don't rely on either dairy or soy as a primary source of protein. Dairy tends to be mucus forming and congesting while soy is too cooling and can cause low thyroid.

2: Develop a regular eating routine. The body operates best in regular cycles (night, day, the seasons, etc.). When the body recognizes a regular time to eat, digestive juices will flow into the stomach creating a sense of hunger.

3: All meals should be balanced in terms of protein, vegetables and carbohydrates with appropriate attention to serving portions (which I will address in my next blog post). This will help satisfy our nutritional as well as emotional needs and provide a balance of Yin (cooling, detoxifying, eliminating) properties and yang (warming, repairing, building) properties. 

4: Give thanks and bless your food before eating. This fosters a more centered approach to eating and cultivates the virtues of appreciation and gratitude. One way this can be done inconspicuously is to reserve a small portion, say a half teaspoon, of every type of food on your plate to one side. This tiny portion is not eaten and is left as an offering to the Great Spirit.

5: Eat slowly in a quiet, peaceful and undistracted atmosphere. This may mean eating alone most of the time which is best. Feeling anxious or distracted often leads to overeating as a way to dull the senses. Eating too fast does not give the body a chance to signal that you are full until you may have already overeaten. Setting down your fork or spoon in between every couple of bites slows down the process and can give things a chance to settle.

6: Eat when you are hungry and only what you feel you need. Your parents may have told you to eat everything on your plate, but as we get older this tendency should be reversed. A woman I know who is 98 and remarkably fit for someone even 20 years younger makes it a practice to eat only half of everything she is served, saving the leftovers for later.

7: If you tend to overeat, try drinking a glass of room temperature (never cold) water 10 minutes or so before your meal. This helps give a fuller feeling in the stomach and thus you eat less.

8: Eat according to what is as local and seasonally available as possible. Foods that are locally grown acclimatize and adjust your body to the seasonal and environmental influences where you live. This practice is one of the best ways to prevent and treat seasonal allergies. It is also best for the economy and the environment

9: Don't unduly deny yourself. It is better to have a small amount of something that you desire, even if it is not the best for you, than to avoid it altogether; abstaining completely often leads to binge-eating later. If at all possible, try to understand what the real nutritional need is behind a desire. For instance, a diet of carbs, vegetables and fruit, lacking in protein, will often precipitate ravenous sweet cravings later. Protein deficiency leads to exaggerated sweet cravings, making a sweet in the form of candy or ice cream seem irresistibly attractive. Furthermore, excessive self denial contributes to a rigidity that will effect other areas of your life.

10: Avoid ice-cold drinks and foods. Heat is energy; when we ingest ice-cold drinks and foods, we tend to cool our gastric fires and deplete our energy reserves. The feeling of bloat and gas that occurs after eating means imperfect digestion, where food is not fully processed in a timely way, failing to move smoothly through the GI tract.  Ingestion of cold drinks and foods can cause this, as well as inappropriate combinations of heating and cooling foods such as proteins with vegetables (especially raw vegetables) and fruit. 

What About Exercise?

The notion that building muscles greatly accelerates weight loss is overemphasized by many gyms and fitness experts.

The fact is that muscle building, however good for you, has comparatively little effect on weight loss if you cannot come to terms with the issue of portion control. Have you ever seen what happens to the muscles of body builders when they stop building those muscles? They typically turn to flab. Muscles should be cultivated based upon our daily work and activity needs -- not for the sake of appearance. (I used to live in Venice Beach and watched musclebound wonders working out in front of my doorstep each day. The Beat poet Clare Horner wrote, "Hey muscle man, when are you going to start using those muscles you are building?")

Aerobic exercise in the form of vigorous walking, jogging or some other such activity is preferred to muscle-building because it burns more calories and it benefits the cardiovascular system. Getting outside for fresh air (preferably in a natural setting) allows us to get our daily dose of Vitamin D, which is so essential to maintaining a healthy immune system. Anyone who cultivates and appreciation for taking their 'daily constitutional,' be it a walk or moderate jog, will readily tell you how much better they immediately feel. It is the cure for so many ills, including obesity, weak digestion, respiratory diseases, pains of the joints, and of course, cardiovascular disease. 

Just as many of us prefer variety in our food we will find that variety in our physical activities is also preferred and best. Coupling a physical activity with play can be the most satisfying fitness endeavor, especially if we have achieved some level of proficiency in a sport.

In sum, regular aerobic activity along with adherence to some basic principles for eating responsibly rather than fad diets will take us a long way toward achieving our health and weight goals.

Next week we'll take a look at proper portion control.

Driving around Corfu with Spiros

The way I learned about the local customs was to hire a driver whose cab was parked ready and waiting near the dock where our boat was moored for the day's shore excursion. My driver's name was Spiros, a name that is ubiquitous on Corfu because the island's patron saint is St. Spiros. I learned that every family had to have at least one son named Spiros.

In Greece, Spiros told me, no one ever celebrates birthdays; instead, they celebrate their saint's day. This means that December 12, the feast day of St. Spiros, is an occasion throughout all the villages of Corfu for feasting and celebration.

So far as health and longevity is concerned, aside from the health benefits of the climate, air and wonderfully wholesome diet in Greece, not keeping track of one's birthdays at least has the potential of adding years to one's lifespan without one even knowing it.

Olives

As Spiros drove me around to the various villages, monasteries and high vantage points of the island, the first thing to deeply impress me was the importance of the olive in the lives of Mediterranean peoples. Considered the oldest cultivated tree, it spread from Syrian and Palestinian origins throughout the Mediterranean Basin approximately 5000 years ago. The olive (Olea europaea) tree has served as the life blood of the people for millennia. 

On Corfu, practically every square yard of arable land is taken up with olive trees or grapevines (the two major crops of Italy and Greece). Spiros first pointed out how the black olives are the ones that are tree ripened and are allowed to fall to the ground. These are either picked by hand but most commonly there is a plastic net spread under each tree to pick them up after they fall which is usually in late fall. Green olives are picked green off the tree. These are soaked and cured in brine for several weeks leach out their bitterness.

As we drove around I saw some extraordinarily, large, gnarled trees interspersed with young ones. Spiros mentioned how it takes at least 10 years for a tree to bear fruit and that some of the oldest trees on the island date back over 700 years. Considering how plants that seem to take longest to mature usually are the richest in nutrients, the olive tree and the oil extracted from its fruits are a highly nutritious food. According to Spiros, after the oil is extracted, it sits in vats with the clearest oil being at the top. It is this clear oil from the first pressing which is sold as virgin or pure.

Olives contains many known vitamins and minerals as well as antioxidants. According to Olive Oil Source, olives contain "55.5% oleic acid, 0.9% linoleic acid, a polyunsaturate that lowers cholesterol and reduces platelet aggregation and linoleic acid at 0-1.5%."

Linoleic and linolenic essential fatty acids and the antioxidants found in olives have special qualities that promote energy, health, brain function and generally retard the aging process. All of this makes a good case for the use of olives and olive oil being a key nutrient for the longevity and vigor of Mediterranean people.

I also learned that apart from its use as food, the mash (shown above), which is the residue left after the olives have been crushed, is saved and burned as fuel for cooking and to heat the home during cold winter evenings. Still another fine use is in the making of soap.
 

Retsina: Wine for breakfast?

According to Spiros, a typical Greek breakfast consists of bread (fresh, home-baked by his mother being the best), olive oil and olives. Fresh eggs are included occasionally. He said that those performing heavy manual labor requiring extra endurance and strength consume an entire liter of retsina wine in the morning as well. Now I know that anyone looking into the Mediterranean diet might never consider beginning the day with a quart of wine, especially the Greek retsina with its strong resinous flavor from pine pitch, which is at best an acquired taste.

However, realizing that in Greece making of retsina wine dates back 2,000 years I thought about the many other traditional cultures that integrate various pitch and resins as medicine such as the use of myrrh in the Middle East and traditional Chinese medicine, guggul in East Indian Ayurvedic medicine, and pine pitch by Appalachian people. In all of these traditions, indigestible resins are refined and taken internally in small measured amounts for detoxification, anti-inflammation and to counteract arthritic and rheumatic conditions.

Still, I wondered how the average person would fare beginning each morning with a quart of wine? Spiros assured me that while he didn't follow that practice, those whom he knew who did do not get intoxicated. Oh well, I considered, this is just another application of the Hippocratic dictum of "making one's food one's medicine."
 

Sardines

Spiros said that upon turning 50, he decided to slow down, take life easier and not work so hard. Usually during the 10 months of tourist season he drives a cab in the morning and fishes in the afternoon. Now I knew of the importance of olives, olive oil, fresh vegetables fruits, goat cheese and such but I wondered about protein and the important role that fish holds in a typical Mediterranean diet. Spiros said he usually nets sardines for his ‘catch of the day.' It turns out that one of the ways Mediterranean people avoid the risk of heavy metal contamination is to mostly feed on the small, fast growing fish close to the surface of the ocean since these do not live long enough to have accumulated heavy metals.

Sardines and other small fish, according to Spiros, are a staple, served daily in many ways for lunch and dinner.

Many years ago, the oldest man in the US (he lived in Florida) was asked about his diet and he replied that it consisted largely of sardines. One source I read described them as "little supermen" containing practically everything a body needs in terms of nutritional value with substances that are proven to benefit the skin, joints, memory and boost energy.

Sardines are naturally high in omega 3 fatty acids, which is the long chain variety of fatty acid that can only be found in seafood but not vegetables and fruit. They have high levels of Coenzyme Q10, a powerful antioxidant known to increase vitality and promote a strong immune system. In addition because the small bones are also consumed, they are high in calcium and vitamin D. On Corfu and throughout the Mediterranean, these are prepared and served in many ways.
 

Figs, goat cheese and vegetables

One of the most abundant fruits in the region is the fig (Ficus carica). Like practically every other food from the area near to the cradle of civilization, the fig, which is classified as both a deciduous shrub or small tree, is one of the first plants ever cultivated by humans. On Corfu, I think the fig is more of a shrub than a tree as I saw them growing wild everywhere, some spread out to cover the area of half a city block. The fig is high in calcium, fiber and powerful antioxidants. These are also prepared and eaten in many ways.

Cheese is also a supplemental part of the diet on Corfu. A wide variety of cheeses are eaten, but goat cheese is favored. The added nutritional benefit of goat cheese and other goat dairy products is well known. Goats graze more widely than cattle and the variety of weeds, herbs, shrubs and leaves that they consume adds greatly to the nutritional value of their milk. In addition, the milk of small animals such as goats and sheep is more like human milk, with smaller and more digestible fat globules than cow’s milk. This makes goat milk far safer and obviously more beneficial for those who are allergic to (cow’s) milk.

Last but not least, there is a healthy appreciation for vegetables throughout Mediterranean coastal regions. Spiros pointed out the small vegetable gardens adjoining almost every home we passed as we drove around Corfu. He said that every household in his village grows a wide variety of their favorite vegetables including tomatoes, cucumbers, assorted leafy greens and root vegetables, as well as a variety of legumes and beans. At one point, we spotted a man harvesting what looked like a common roadside weed. Spiros pulled over and asked the man for a sprig of what he was picking. It was a wonderfully fragrant sprig of wild oregano, which along with many of the other commonly used Mediterranean spices such as rosemary, thyme and marjoram, are generously incorporated into the diet both for their flavor and their well known medicinal virtues.

Greeks do not seem to consume as much pasta as Italians. However, Spiros said they do eat some occasionally.

My short visit to Corfu gave me a firsthand appreciation for the many elements, familiar and unfamiliar, that comprise the true Mediterranean diet. Occasionally adding just a few elements to one’s own diet,  such as olive oil, more seafood (especially the more common and abundant smaller fish), goat dairy products, vegetables of all types, modest portions of fruity red wine, and yes, even some al dente pasta, shouldn’t be too hard for most of us who wish to gain the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. All we may simply have to do is change the emphasis we place on the use of some of these commonly available foods.

What about pasta?

Being myself of Southern Italian descent, I noticed that the one thing most people who recommend the Mediterranean diet never seem to mention is that Italian staple, pasta.

As a boy I watched my two Sicilian step-grandparents eat pasta literally three times a day. Yes, even for breakfast (for this it was plain and dressed only with olive oil). 

Recently, Andrew Weil wrote an article entitled "Bringing the Pasta Back to the Table." In defense of pasta, Weil refers to the fact that most traditional Italians prefer eating their pasta firm, known as al dente (meaning ‘to the tooth'). Prepared and eaten in this way instead of overcooked and soft, the starches convert to glucose much more slowly. This chewier pasta does not cause the heavy insulin spike that leaves one feeling heavy, lethargic and tired. Instead, it is actually more filling and less fattening.

I don't know when Italians learned to prefer refined and enriched semolina wheat flour as opposed to the grittier whole wheat pasta but many think that the whole wheat pastas currently available are much improved over those of previous decades with the added benefit of whole grain fiber.

Besides pasta, I remember my grandparents eating a lot of other things that might not exactly fit into today's well-known Mediterranean diet. For example, such things as tripe and certain organ meats were enough to make me gag. Fulfilling at least the minimum requirements for Catholics, they substituted fish for red meat on Fridays. They did eat lots of vegetables, which is aligned with the modern idea of the Mediterranean diet. 

I remember that each spring, when the yellow-flowered mustard would begin to bloom in the nearby commercial orchards, my grandparents eagerly filled large paper grocery bags with verduti (meaning ‘greens', specifically mustard greens). These would be boiled and taken as a soup-tea to 'purify the blood,' I was told. Years later, I would come to preach, as I do now, that this practice of tanking up on fresh spring greens in season is a wonderful health practice conforming to the age old Hippocratic dictum of "Let your medicine be your food and your food, your medicine."

Given my traditional Italian upbringing, when people refer to the Mediterranean diet assuming it to be high in vegetables and seafood (which it is), I wonder if they realize the amount of refined starches in the form of pasta, delicious bread, and incredible desserts, including gelato, that are at least also a part of the diet of southern Italians.
 

The Noble Olive

In ancient Greece, the olive tree was regarded as sacred to Athena, the goddess of wisdom, skill and warfare. Athena was worshipped at Olympia, the site of the first Olympic games (around 776 B.C.). The only thing bestowed on the victorious champions during the early games was an olive-leafed wreath.

During the period of the games, which occurred every four years, there was an agreed upon truce and suspension of all warfare throughout the Greek empire to allow the participants safe passage to and from the site of the games. Thus, the olive leaf has become the universal symbol of peace with numerous citations from both biblical and Islamic sources regarding its practical and symbolic significance:

And the dove came back to him in the evening and lo, in her mouth a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. (Genesis 8:11)

~

The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us'. But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my fatness, by which gods and men are honored, and go to sway over the trees?' (Judges 9:8-9)

~

Allah is the Light of the heavens, and the earth; a lamp, the lamp is in a glass, (and) the glass is as it were a brightly shining star, lit from a blessed olive tree, neither eastern or western, the oil whereof almost gives light though fire touch it not - light upon light... (Surat ul Nur 24:35).