āA good diet is the most powerful weapon we have against disease and sickness.ā - T Colin Campbell
Itās interesting that Iām following a picture of my refined pasta meal and glass of white wine with a quote telling you that our diet is our most powerful weapon to stay healthy and well.
Iām a realist and as a fairly practical gal, I must share how I still have my fun and eat my favorite foods (šš¤¤) while keeping it tight most of the time by eating whole plant foods.
By āmost of the timeā I mean 90% of my meals. I say that with confidence because Iāve tracked what I eat, got into a habit of eating mostly whole plants, cook a lot at home (where thereās total control of what we eat), learned how to eat well when going out, and I give myself two wildcards every week to eat whatever I want.
Some people do very well eating less whole plants but since Iāve got a track record of eating poorly, this is my sweet spot.
90% of the time means I eat a variety of whole plant foods mostly brown rice or brown rice pasta, a variety of veg, fruit and popcorn for snacks, and two meals every week are refined (what I used to solely eat), maybe even complete ājunkā food, and may not have a speck of a whole plant in sight.
If we eat 3 meals a day, in a week thatās 21 meals in total. 19 out of 21 meals (90%) consisting of whole plant foods is an absolute game changer.
It doesnāt have to be perfect (for me, Iām not on any medications and have good health) and some weeks I hit less than 90% but thatās the formula that works best for me. Iāve eaten 100% whole plants for a year (and have never felt or looked better!) but then I went to London and Paris and ate animal, cheese, croissants š„ š¤¤ and never felt worse.
Hormesis - possibly my favorite theory
A little bad can be pretty good.
Hormesis is a theory that shows that mild stress on the body can be beneficial. A good example of this is the mild stress our bodies feel when we exercise resulting in immediate and longterm benefits.
Or in the case of food, I like to have some refined and processed foods to make sure my bodyās able to recognize and deal with it. (And obviously itās also intensely joyful too!)
This isnāt a back door to succumb to some of our worst habits but in my experience living a very up and down food journey, Iām a strong believer that eating a little ābadā (slightly refined to even ultra processed foods) is pretty good for me (10% of the time) so my system doesnāt completely shut down like it did during our London and Paris trip. What a way to experience one of the most beautiful cities in the world! I barely remember it, I was feeling miserable and was in such a fog. (But dang, we still looked cute, especially Cryder.)
Letās stay (or get) in the prevention game
Weāve experienced the worst outcome because of disease, with the loss of one of Cryderās best friends. Kevin was only in his early 30s.
For many years, Iāve lived in deep fear for anyone with a cancer diagnosis.
I was never one to think āthatāll never happen to meā - quite the opposite, I tend to think that can absolutely happen to me!
T Colin Campbell taught me in his book The China Study that even if we have cancer in our genes, a good diet can control and avoid āexpressingā these gnarly genes. We can avoid feeding and growing them, and eventually metastasizing (spreading) them to other parts of our bodies. That final stage of cancer development (proliferation š„“) is when things can be uncontrollable. Prior to that stage, Campbell makes it sound as if we have the time to act and change the course of cancer growth. (Many other doctors and scientists believe this too.)
Side note: for anyone whoās going through cancer and believes (or hopes) in the powerful healing effects of whole plants, this is a program you should look into.
Cancer is, most of the time, a very slow growing process over many years (decades).
Campbell proved that cancer cells can be āturned on and offā based on what we feed them (i.e. by what we eat). Some doctors say that our bodies remember everything weāve ever eaten. They speak of ālifetime dosesā being significant so given my past lifetime of eating lots of fast food, fancy charcuterie boards (processed meats are a class/group 1 carcinogen), martinis for dinner, and a lot of other carcinogens you donāt need to know about, itās important for me to keep it tight for the rest of my lifetime dose.
Canāt blame our parents (okay, maybe just a bit)
Cryder once told me that Godās given us these amazing brains and capacities to learn so that we will learn, empower ourselves and each other, and take advantage of the collaborative expanse that is life today.
We have so much information available to us. Some great, some terrible. I know itās hard to sift through it which is why I feel itās important to share my experience and learnings.
Of all the garbage thatās on the internet today, this was a refreshing recent headline:
Itās refreshing because itās empowering.
Basically, to avoid colon (or possibly any) cancerā¦
eat fiber (only available in whole plants; no animal has fiber, they have bones. Plants have āplant bonesā called fiber). Fiber acts as a prebiotic that our gut bugs eat and create probiotics. No need for yogurt, eat whole plants and let your body create perfectly natural probiotics for good gut and overall health
avoid or greatly limit red meat, and probably all animals and their by-products like chicken periods (my former favorite and regular breakfast and dinner) š³ and animal secretions (my other former favorite) š§ (sorry, I know thatās gross; Iām the worst because even knowing this, I do greatly avoid it but I donāt avoid it completely)
avoid āturning onā and expressing any cancer genes we may have inherited
Bottom line: Eat your veg first
Since we know weāre going to have our fun, whatās a party girl to do?
Eat our greens first.
Or any whole plant, preferably one full of antioxidants which are the color in plant foods. Think of āeating the rainbowā. š ššš„¬š«š
Start by activating the trillions of cells in our bodies with the most powerful, healing chemical components (phytochemicals) that are designed for us to consume.
Even if those protective chemical components come with an oily (and delicious) dressing. This salad was so basic and yet amazing with an olive oil and lemon juice dressing, lightly salted, hold the cheese.
What I loved about this restaurant is that their dishes didnāt come loaded with cheese. I donāt enjoy sounding like a weirdo every time I ask servers to hold the cheese (thankfully itās getting more common to be dairy-free), and I think itās actually pretty traditional not to include cheese on pasta in parts of Italy.
Cheese is what I lived off for most of my life. Iāve never met a cheese or dairy product I havenāt loved.
Note: Campbell, in his studies, used the protein in dairy (casein) to turn on cancer genes (and grow them). Itās primarily why out of all foods, I do my best to avoid eating it. (Again, not perfect but I do my best.)
This dish was amazing. Cheese wouldāve taken away from the perfection that is this dish.
I donāt eat a lot of traditional white pasta so itās a real treat to eat this and dine al fresco with a chilled glass of sauv blanc in hand. (BTW, Jovial is the greatest brown rice pasta and bonus: their rice is grown on Italian soil.)
Weekly high
Last week I admitted my growing anxiety while driving on the freeways of SoCal. But then I remembered in the book Letting Go, the author warns us about attaching ourselves to labels and manifesting them to become true.
So as I drove down the busy freeways this week, I mentally threw my anxiety label out the window and was able to drive with more confidence. And what do you know, no one hit me and no near accidents!
Low
A new anxiety š about going home to visit my parents and brother in Canada. I will fully enjoy my time with them but worry about the American germs š¦ weāll be bringing into their home since itās a house full of compromised health states.
Lesson
Sometimes when we immerse ourselves in one camp of thought, we can get a little close-minded (for me, maybe a bit neurotic). I work with a team of impressive professionals who advocate a (very) low-fat, no-oil diet (they treat very sick patients so thatās the right prescription for them).
So when I eat out where chefs will always use a lot of oil, it can stress me out but Iāve learned and proven to myself that with regular exercise and eating mostly whole plants, I can indulge a little (again, 10%!) because my body fat is at its lowest in years. š
A popular system to follow for weight loss or maintenance:
Move your body: hot yoga is my preference these days (especially good for blowing off pent up steam or stress) and riding a bike and getting outside has been a ton of fun too
Breakfast & lunch: eat like a queen (get abundant and eat a lot of fresh whole plants; mostly carbohydrates 80% of calories, protein 10%, fats 10%. Luckily eating a bunch of whole plants will naturally give us this general breakdown of macronutrients)
Dinner: eat like a pauper (keep it light)
Best thing I ate this week
You know it - that Algio e Olio. Centro Storico Spaghetteria, weāll be back.
But in the meantime, Iāll recreate this at home with 92% less oil and still have an outstanding meal.
Week 14: P.I.M.P (š potato in my purse š)
Possibly the greatest tip in making sure I always have something nourishing, filling, and tasty on me. (Thanks, Chef AJ.) Especially as we make our way 2,000 miles northeast from LAX to YYZ.
We have so much power to enjoy our lives to the fullest.
We just have to remember that weāll still be happy without our inflictions (keep those at 10% or less). š