Week 18: Travel eating & staying healthy š„³
Leaning into the power of plant based nutrition.
I love this glorious town, marked by once the tallest free-standing tower in the world.
Our amazing summer holiday is coming to a close and I couldnāt be happier with our days wandering a safe and vibrant city and reconnecting and breaking bread with my favorite people.
T Colin Campbellās 8 Principles of Food and Health
PRINCIPLE #4:
āGenes do not determine disease on their own. Genes function only by being activated, or expressed, and nutrition plays a critical role in determining which genes, good and bad, are expressed.ā
Dr. Campbell goes on to say:
āWe can safely say that the origin of every single disease is genetic. Our genes are the code to everything in our bodies, good and bad. Without genes, there would be no cancer. Without genes, there would be no obesity, diabetes or heart disease. And without genes, there would be no life.
This might explain why we are spending hundreds of millions of dollars trying to figure out which gene causes which disease and how we can silence the dangerous genes. This also explains why some perfectly healthy young women have had their breasts removed simply because they were found to carry genes that are linked to breast cancer.
Dormant genes do not have any effect on our health. This is obvious to most scientists, and many laypeople, but the significance of this idea is seldom understood. What happens to cause some genes to remain dormant, and others to express themselves? The answer: environment, especially diet. In our body, nutrition is the environmental factor that determines the activity of genes.ā
Dr. Campbellās advice on how to eat? We donāt have to be militant about it but make sure to eat a variety of whole plant foods. The āwholeā is his most important point.
If we get this right, weāre doing better than most (fortunately and unfortunately).
G E N E SĀ
I have an area in my right boob that starts to act up (I feel a weird, dull pain) when I eat a certain way. Itās eating too much oil and other highly processed foods (like meat products) that stir up this feeling.Ā
Itās my bodyās way of communicating with me as if sheās telling me, āslow your roll. Eat whole plants and take a break from all the rest even if itās just for one day.āĀ
(I always immediately feel better and the pain subsides.)
I used to think Iād get and also probably die of breast cancer since my grandma got it and it eventually spread throughout her body and took her life.Ā
I remember the night she passed, the doctor came into her hospital room and said that cancer usually skips a generation. For some reason, I thought it wouldnāt be any of my many female cousins who would get cancer, it would be me. I assumed for years that I was powerless when it came to developing this terrifying disease.
T Colin Campbell was the first to teach me that we can control our genes (for the most part) by turning them āonā and āoffā by what we come into contact with in our environment.
Food is the greatest contact we have with our environment
We worry about the devices radiating around us, the polluted air we breathe, and so much more, but itās the food we directly put into our bellies that becomes the closest contact we have with our environment.Ā
Every single cell in our bodies has a chemical reaction with every single thing we eat.
We are literally putting the outside world into our bodies by the food we eat and those food chemicals become part of us in many ways.Ā
Some notable doctors say eating deep-fried foods can damage cells (cancer is damaged and mutated cells) and instead, eating a variety of whole plants (not just salads but rice, beans, corn, potatoes, fruit) can and does heal and protect us.
How I eat out & maintain a healthy(ish) lifestyle
I start with a drink. Most days itās water but Iām on vacation and itās summertime in the city so that means chilled sauvignon blancs. (And water too of course - staying hydrated!)
I choose a main that will bring me joy. It probably looks like a burger or pasta or a rice dish. And I choose a side salad instead of fries because I can always have a few of someone elseās fries. š¤ This is the new āportion controlā for me - simply controlling the high fat and high risk foods.
This is in no means a completely low fat meal but by not choosing fries (because theyāre deep fried not because theyāre potatoes), I omit a ton of calories and probably more importantly, Iām making sure I get a variety of whole plants in me so Iām getting the nutrients I need to have my body simply work the way itās supposed to.
Iāve been trying a series of Torontoās vegetarian burgers - this one from Mugshot Tavernās Homemade Veggie burger is made with real plants š®š„³ (mushrooms, beans, quinoa, sweet potato), hold the goat cheese, and it was excellent! The patty was probably deep fried but for me, thatās much better than having a fake meat burger (that just wreaks like chemicals to me now š¤¢) or a real meat burger (as delicious as they are).
We may all have genetics that can trigger chronic disease but if we eat well most of the time (and have love in our lives and contribute back to our communities and/or companies in meaningful ways) we can keep those harmful genes in ādormantā mode.Ā
What that means is those genes donāt have to cause us any issues, or develop into any pain, and hopefully never grow into cancerous cells. Ever.
Campbellās book, The China Study, is incredible because of the empowerment it gives us. After reading it, you truly believe you have control over whether chronic disease is going to grow within you (based on the food choices we make), or if health, wellbeing, vibrancy and high energy is whatās fed and nourished and therefore grows!
I choose the latter. Itās not perfect, but tipping the scales towards the latter is how Iāve been enjoying outings in this glorious city while staying strong (hitting hot yoga almost every morning), having great energy to play around the city all day, and shockingly, keeping my weight steady.Ā
Food highlights from the week!
Mornings started with my preferred fuel: steamed Korean sweet potato + coffee. I had this on the mornings when we hit hot yoga. It was a perfect detox so I can have another full day of playtime in the city visiting restaurants, patios, tourist attractions and connecting with old friends.
Toronto may be the best city to be a plant-heavy eater with a very healthy appetite
Hand-pulled noodles with pickled cabbage, daikon, cilantro; hold the beef, add the chili oil.
Weekly High
Connecting with old friends with my little family, Cryder and Elle. Itās been one of the best vacations Iāve ever had because I get to see my husband and daughter relaxing and having so much fun.
Low
I decided to take Cryderās approach and not hold any expectations about having a āgreat weekā. Iām just living through each fun day and enjoying the moments, people, city, and energy of Toronto. There are no lows this week!
Lesson
I have so many more city food adventures to share with you, Iāll start continuing the conversation on my website.
Week 18: Home from holidays
Iām going to keep things almost the same as while weāve been here in Toronto except of course no more sauvignon blanc and much more eating at home. š„²
You have the power to shape your destiny. āØ What do you want that to look and feel like?