Experimenting with diet
I'm not sure why, but as a child I was eager to learn to eat right. Not that I did it very well, I had an odd approach. I stopped having sugar in my tea, because I heard or read that it was healthier not to, but I happily continued to eat sweets and lollipops. I stopped drinking coke because I heard the caffeine wasn't good for you, no, I didn't realise at the time that tea still had caffeine in it.
I was vegetarian for about a year and wanted to look at turning vegan, because animal welfare was important to me and my best friend at the time was vegetarian, turning vegan. I was talked back into eating fish and chicken by my grandfather, yet it wasn't until years later I realised just how ill I often was on a vegetarian diet. I still didn't touch red meat for years, because there was so much being said about how unhealthy it was. However, it wasn't until I started eating a bit of red meat occasionally that I stopped getting ill so often.
It was common for me to yoyo between 7 and 8 stone in weight in my late teens and early 20s (not great when you're 5' 6”). Just as I'd regain some health and weight I'd get ill again and my weight would plummet straight back down. Yet I was trying to be healthy and eat the right foods that health sources promoted and avoid the ones that were said to be bad. These days my weight stays steady around the 8 stone mark and I rarely get ill.
Over the years and with information now more available on the internet, I've slowly started learning why certain healthy promoted diets may actually not necessarily be right for my body. In fact, apart from the advice to consume less or no refined sugar, I don't think any advice can be 100% accurate for all people.
Investigating to find the right information
When we look at how we've evolved over the millennia to different climates, it makes perfect sense that our digestive systems would have evolved to cope best with the types of foods available to us where we lived. Then if we realise that much of the modern western world is a complete mixture of ethnicities from all the invasions and migrations over the last centuries, we can understand that even within close families we might all have different food requirements and intolerances. So why do so many insist on one diet being the only healthy way we should all eat?
For the last few years I've been trying to figure out how my own digestive system works. I’m still learning, but some things have started to slot into place. The first epiphany I had was that I have the physical appearance of a typical Viking, or North Man. Yes, I'm a red head and in order for that gene to display itself, both of my parents had to carry it. Judging by the surnames and research I did on ancestry, the Scandinavian genes on both my father and mother's side came through France, then at some point over to England.
My sister and mother tend to put on weight easily and are more Mediterranean in appearance. My father and I have the opposite issue and struggle to gain weight, as did my paternal grandmother. My father has a distinctive condition with the tendons in his hand hardening and tightening as he ages which is traced back to Viking ancestry. So if we are physically displaying attributes of a people who evolved to live in cold climates where few plants grow for a large part of the year, then it starts to make sense why we might struggle to digest a plant only diet well enough to thrive on.
While it's a fact that plants contain all the nutrients we need, our digestive system also needs to be able to extract and convert those nutrients into forms our bodies can use. A good example here could be an anecdote I heard about someone's mother being low on vitamin A despite eating plenty of carrots. When she had blood tests done her beta carotene levels showed as high, but her vitamin A levels were incredibly low. So while carrots contain vitamin A in the form of beta carotene, if your body can't convert that into usable vitamin A (retinol), then you're just going to have it flowing through your bloodstream as beta carotene doing nothing at all for you. It seems that those who argue for a carnivore diet do so because meat and eggs have nutrients that are readily available for the human body to use without the need for conversion.
A large amount of plants also have what are known as anti nutrients, in varying forms. Gluten is a well known one, phytates is another problematic one which can inhibit your absorption of minerals. Given this, it shouldn't be surprising that different people might have issues with different plant foods. With so much advice out there on the health benefits of vegetables and the campaigns to eat your fruit and vegetables, I'm coming across more stories than ever of people trying to heal chronic health issues and allergies with plant based diets or by increasing their veggies, only to discover that they have issues with a particular group of vegetables. It's not that the advice to eat plenty of vegetables is bad, it's more that we still aren't taking into account we are not all alike, so not all vegetables are equal for us. We often hear that leafy greens are pretty much a super food, but if you're someone who can't tolerate them, then they are a super toxin.
I think the science is still trying to explain exactly what it is in our bodies which allows us to digest or not digest certain foods well, but enzymes seems to be a plausible explanation. If we lack the right enzyme production, then certain foods just won't be digestible to us. An obvious example here is dairy, which can cause a lot of people discomfort as they don't produce the lactase to digest the lactose in it. Hence, lactose intolerance, particularly in certain ethnicities.
Re-arranging my food pyramid
As I look at the evolution of the food pyramid over the years it’s good to see that it's changed as we learn more about how diet affects us. Thank heavens the bulk is no longer recommend as carbohydrates like bread, however there does still seem to be an equal importance placed on them to vegetables in some countries (although Australia now places vegetables at the base of the pyramid, with carbs in the smaller section higher up). For my husband, and indeed for many of us, bread was a staple growing up. Yet I now know that any wheat based products I should only eat sparingly. I probably shouldn't be eating them at all, but I can generally tolerate them in small amounts occasionally. I also struggle to digest legumes properly. Thankfully these foods don't cause immediate issues for me as long as I don't eat them regularly.
So here I have two foods, often touted as healthy, that are apparently not healthy for me. Then on the other end of the spectrum there's that unhealthy seasoning known as salt that we should apparently limit our intake of. This is something I'm discovering I actually need to increase my intake of. Who'd have thought that a move away from junk food could cause a nutrient deficiency? This is something else I cut back on as a child when told that it was unhealthy to have too much salt. I used to love adding this liberally to my roast potatoes.
Another thing that usually sits at the tip of the pyramid is fats. Yet here again is something I'm finding I probably need more of, the healthy fats that is, definitely not trans fats. It was my husband who alerted me to this when he was telling me off for not eating properly because I was struggling with my energy levels at the climbing gym one day. I was arguing that I had eaten and he reeled of a list of nutrients; did my meal include:
Protein? Yes!
Carbs,? Yes!
Fats?…oh…it hadn't included any fats...
Maybe that's why I get my avocado cravings…
I'm still learning what my body needs, but now I'm moving forward with an open mind instead of just believing what the loudest voices are saying. My first steps are decreasing my glutinous grains and legumes and increasing good fats.
This is written in response to the latest @naturalmedicine challenge, What's your healthy eating pyramid?
I have been told it is easier to change someone’s religion than it is to change their diet.
PS can you even get a scale that measures in stone?
I can actually believe that. I'm sure food is more addictive than religion. 😅
I thought they all could. Digital you can usually switch between metric and imperial and our manual scale has both on it. Not that I usually bother weighing myself these days.
I had to go convert stones to pounds because it is not a thing at all in the US. We use imperial in a lot of ways but most of us wouldn't even know what someone was talking about if they said something weighed "x stone." I only became familiar with it after meeting Brits on the internet, lol.
I forgot they just use pounds in the US. I always had to convert to stone to get an idea of what it meant. Australia uses metric much more, so I'm trying to become more familiar with that.
I'm OK with metric in like, distance type measurements? When people say something is x kilometers away or 6 meters tall I can envision that. But weights in metric I absolutely suck at. 😅 No frame of reference at all.
I’m terrible with metric when it comes to people's heights...
If people say they are x cm tall, yeah, me too. Meters and yards are close enough for government work that I can understand meters though, lol.
What an informative post, very interesting. I feel that I have been blessed with an iron stomach. I love all types of food and I'm always willing to try something new. Eating is such a pleasure, thank goodness I have no issues with weight gain or weight loss.
I watch what I eat, and try to avoid all refined sugar. Everything in moderation works best for me and that includes some red meat.
I also take a few supplements. I have been taking them for over 20 years now and swear by them.
I do know one thing and that is that big pharm companies have convinced many of us that if you have something that bothers you, they have a pill for it. Rather than add to their bottom line and possibly experience all of the side effects that go along with their magic pill, I prefer to do my own research to address a health issue.
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The Health Science Institute has so much to offer in addressing health problems, in a natural way.
One product that I started using about a year ago to keep my blood pressure where it should be is BP Complete 120. It consists of celery seed extract, garlic, and beet seed extract.
Your approach, realizing that one shoe doesn't fit all is the best avenue to solving most things, including what a person consumes.
I've got to give you a lot of credit for all of the research you are doing to find out what works best for you, most people would just continue to stay ignorant and live with what bothers them.
Good luck, you sure seem to be on the right path to a diet that works for YOU.
I've always loved trying different foods, too. I can't say I have an iron stomach, though, unlike my husband. Although even he's figured out that he might be lactose intolerant.
That looks like a good book collection. I'll have to look out for them or see if anything has been published online.
!ENGAGE 30
ENGAGEtokens.Hard yes to all of this. I went through a similar journey, being either lacto-ovo vegetarian or vegan for over a decade, and when I finally stopped that, a host of health issues I would have never thought were diet related went away.
Me too! My blood pressure is so low I've been asked on more than one occasion if I'm actually alive. I also get wicked leg cramps and the cures for it are: magnesium, pickle juice, electrolytes, and salt. When it starts to hurt I go into the kitchen, pour some salt into the palm of my hand and lick it up. The cramp backs off for a while. My friends have long threatened to buy me a salt lick like a horse, lol.
My husband recently suggested I could have low blood pressure and when I looked it up there were a few more symptoms that seemed familiar (hopefully my mum will remember her blood pressure cuff today so I can find out for sure). Not to the extreme that you seem to have though, so hopefully I won't find a salt lick on the table for me one day! 🤣
Every time I read anything promoting the eating of greens I think of you now. I never realised how problematic they could be for some people before reading about your experiences. I'm so much more aware of the bias in articles these days and just wish they'd acknowledge that some foods aren't good for everyone and some foods that are said to be bad can actually be good for some.
!ENGAGE 20
When a friend and I went to a Walmart out in the boonies years ago, their pet stuff section actually had horse stuff, and she was all SALT LICK LOOK THEY'RE CHEAP I'M BUYING YOU ONE.
I pointed at the part where it said "not for human consumption" and she was like, "technicality." 😂
I'm sorry I'm now the greens monster for you. 😂 I do miss them. Sometimes I just want a salad. Or a spanakopita. But the digestive pain and annoying rash would be not worth it.
🤣🤣🤣 salt lick technicalities and greens monsters!
I couldn't imagine not be able to eat greens. I love those salads and I'm quite partial to a bit of spinach too...although I'd probably never have said that as a kid.
When I was a kid it was peas. I HATED peas. But I only ever knew them the way my mom served them: frozen peas boiled in water with a dab of margarine on top.
I love them mixed in things, like pot pies and ramen and stuff like that (allergy now tho, sob).
I've come to realize in adulthood that a lot of the veg I hated as a child is because the only way my mom ever cooked veg was to boil it and put margarine on it.
Lol! My mum is not the best cook. We just got it boiled, plain and simple and in big chunks. The cabbage put me off cooked cabbage for years. Stringy nastiness. I prefer it raw even now. It doesn't help that the smell of cooked cabbage reminds me of my grandma's farts. She used to fart as she walked, apologising as she went. 🤣
I’m also not big on peas, but hubby likes them, so I've gotten used to them on occasion.
Here we call that crop dusting. 🤣
ENGAGEtokens.I believe the body needs different things depending on what it’s doing, what emotional state it’s in and which organs and muscles have more stress or imbalance. Certain foods help certain systems in the body function and if one is overactive or underperforming, a change in diet can help. That’s why I’m always experimenting.
Your idea about our body type and ancestry fits in well with this, as certain people have more predisposition to certain weaknesses and strengths. I love spicy food for example but it destroys my stomach...unless I’m really in balance, then it helps me detox.
I just started another low gluten and refined sugar diet. It seems like my body can handle gluten for a few days but if I don’t give it a rest then I’m more prone to all kinds of inflammation and imbalance.
I can keep going with this but maybe I should make it a post later this week
Yes, you sound definitely write a post on it. I'm already hooked, it makes sense. In nature we ate with the seasons, so I'm a big believer that we were never meant to be eating any one thing all of the time. Plants often grow at the time of year that we need them, as well, so we likely adapted to that.
The journey towards finding what is right for your body is indeed quite personal and there isn't really any one size fits all solution. I believe in intuitive eating and trusting your body to tell you what's good for it. Personally, I've been blessed with a good metabolism and haven't changed height or weight since I was about 15 years old. I also agree that your landscape really does influence you. There is a certain type of nightshade berry that every report online will tell you is poisonous, but the locals have found a way to consume it, sun drying it and curing it in yoghurt for weeks before it's consumed. I've grown up eating rice as a staple as that's what was commonly used in the diets of people from my hometown. Even now, if I don't eat rice for long periods of time, I feel a certain something lacking. Also, that cover image looks absolutely delicious and I would love to devour everything in it!
That layout does look amazing, doesn't it! I'm sure @barge was teasing us all with those photos. I wish I could have attended that buffet.
Rice seems to be one of the few grains that doesn't cause issues for most people. I gather it was cultivated long before wheat. It's a shame were didn't stick with it, but I guess it's hard to grow in most of the world.
Oops, rather late to get in on this 😃 ......here's a vid from the 'open day' that featured the feast and those who attended:
Was this the place in Portugal where you stayed and helped out?
Exacto! It was the first place I stayed at and I'd only just arrived in Portugal a week before the vid was shot. Amazing land - fertile, South-facing...I stayed for 5 weeks then moved on. I loved being on that land and for a while experienced a lot of happiness and joy.
I have never thought about how much I eat... I mean, I do care WHAT, but I didn't count my calories, etc... Until a few days ago when I broke my record weight... lol... It's not that I'm obese or something, but I don't like how this all develops... I began to go to the gym last year and gained 4 kg... Yes, I know that some of those are muscles, but still, I see my tummy... :)
The time has come to eat more healthily...
Thanks for an awesome post!
I have picked this post on behalf of the @OurPick project and it will be highlighted in the next post!
Generally, I think as long as what you're eating is good, then how much you're eating shouldn't be an issue. However, as we get older the things that might not be as good for us as we thought aren't as easily dealt with and that's when we need to take a closer look at what we're earning and how much of it and even whether or lifestyles have changed.
I really love this. I don't necessarily follow any traditional nutrition advise, but I try my best to trust my body. If I am craving something, which doesn't happen often, I assume it is because my body needs something that is in that food. So I often pay attention to what nutrients, or fats or sugars are present in the foods I'm craving. I'm glad to hear someone else who thinks nutrition should be a little more individualized.
It's amazing how many doctors/health professionals still believe in the traditional food pyramid when it seems quite clear to me that for a lot of people this is just not correct... I have known for a long time that I just can't eat carbs without gaining weight. I then developed a severe allergy to something in bread. Now I eat Keto and am so much healthier for it - I think sugar was killing me!!
So good you found out what was causing you so many issues. I'm not sure if I could go keto myself. I've been looking more and more at paleo, though.
My husband worked with a guy who had diabetes and his medication was costing him so much that he looked into alternatives and went keto. He lost a lot of weight and was able to come off his medication completely.
I have been vegetarian since eight, it was for me a moral choice being aware what I was eating but I never preach about it. I still eat some free range eggs though I hope to have my own hens in the future. I think key is moderation, let's not forget not only animal welfare but how contaminating meat industry is. I think a healthy vegetarian diet can be done but most vegetarian/vegan people I know don't really bother to research, not saying that was your case, some bodies are different and and have different requirements. I tend to have anemy and be low on iron, and turned out that though a carnivore diet would have been a fix it was not the underlying reason it was happening, nor my vegetarian diet to blame. Every body is different.
I did try lots different ways to get the most from a vegetarian diet and even started cooking myself, because my mum just gave me what she made minus the meat. Unfortunately, it just turns out I struggle to convert what I need from plants alone. I still love my veggies and vegetarian meals though. Never been good with the meat replacements like Quorn, however, but that could be because they are legume based.
Have you researched lectins? - they seem to be a very major issue for a lot of people.
And nothing messes me up quite like nightshades!
I haven't, but I have been coming across mentions of them, so I probably should. Step at a time at the moment, though, because I'm cooking for the while family, so I can't just change everything at once or they'll complain and get McDonald's.
I've heard nightshades can be a real issue for some. I use tomatoes and potatoes a lot, so I'd hate for them to be an issue for any of us. How do they affect you? Is it digestive issues or more visible reactions?
Any potatoes or tomatoes and I'm in agony for 24 hours - worked that out about 15 years ago.
Severe joint pain.
And I stopped eating gluten in 98.
I’m finding it hard to move away from wheat with my husband and daughter in the picture as well. My husband particularly could do with dripping it, but he likes his bread and noodles too much. Made himself a breakfast of toast and instant noodles just the other day. I told him the other day that if he won't do anything about his aches and pains I'll by a tiny violin to play every time he complains about them. 😉
Didn't realise nightshades would do that. Are they inflammatory?
Yes they are very inflammatory - quick way to see - fully eliminate them for a week - notes what happens - then add them back in (be conservative, this can REALLY hurt) and see what happens.
Same with gluten - but make sure there will be a toilet available for most of the day
A fail on either of these and a person will never be tempted to try them again...ever!
Using a pressure cooker can help with some foods - not nightshades though, those are poisons!
A red head!??? You must be beautiful. I think red head's are the most beautiful people. Inside and out. This was such a refreshingly honest post @minismallholding. I totally agree with you; why do people feel that a diet is one-size-fits-all. I am always intrigued at how food affects people differently. While food is definitely our medicine. It doesn't necessarily mean we can eat the same and have our bodies thrive the same
Opposites attract, so I think redheads are pasty with to many freckles! Lol! I prefer darker hair and complections. Not that I want that for myself any more, I'm happy being me.
Food is absolutely fascinating. I love learning how our bodies priced and react to it.
Very true! I agree. It doesn't matter you hair colour, blood group, height, homeland - it's important to be happy being yourself
I think the most important thing you hit on, for me at least, is how most westerners are a blend of different genetic backgrounds, so the genetic diet doesn't really work for us. Much like you, I am ginger, but my parents could pass for Mexican if necessary. That being said, the science is increasingly pointing towards there being no such thing as a healthy diet for everyone.
There are definitely some foods that are unhealthy for everyone, but I feel each individual has their own metabolism, intolerances, and foods that work well with them. I feel lucky I am able to just listen to my body and eat what it feels like I'm craving, which is usually beans, beans, beans, so I shed a tear for you not having a good relationship with them. !LUV
I envy you that you can enjoy your beans healthily. I love Mexican food and that often incorporates them, so I have to moderate it.
Yamiiiii
Very interesting post. Cool you made the connection between body types, ancestry, and nutrition.
It took me a while to make that connection, but it made sense when I did. One downside to us being such a mixture of ethnicities is that it's not as convenient to all sit down for the same meal if we all have different needs. My mum was wanting us to support her by joining in with her diet changes as she tried to heal, but doing so would have caused issues for my dad and I. We tried to accommodate as much as possible, but she loves her food and didn't like seeing us eating things she was trying to cut out.
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