The Food Post 2

Here I go again!

If you haven't read my first installment on this topic, I strongly recommend you go back and read it first (or even if you have, it can't hurt to brush up). Once more, I am not a professional of any kind. I have zero certifications or official qualifications. I'm not a doctor, I'm not a counselor, I'm just speaking from my own personal experience here. This post will cover the finer points, tips and tricks, and many other things I pay attention to in the foods I choose to eat. I'll reiterate: this is not a quick and easy fix. This is a journey I've been on for over two years now and I'm STILL fine-tuning my diet, changing things up, running experiments on removing this, getting more of that, swapping things out, cycling elements...it's still very much a work in progress and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I think proper nutrition is a bit of an art form and it's all about listening to what your body is telling you right now...which annoyingly isn't the same thing it was telling you yesterday...or two weeks ago...or last year. It's a constantly changing signal and paying attention to it is really hard.

That said, let's dive right in!

My first tip on how to really improve everything about how you feel is a big one. This will absolutely change your mood, your appearance, your overall health, and your (healthy) relationships with people and with your own body. In my opinion this is the cornerstone of overall good health (besides the obvious: quit smoking, stay away from drugs, anything to do with diagnosed or un-diagnosed eating disorders or self-harm, etc [if these are an issue for you, please get help. I'm serious, you do deserve to be free of this garbage that's holding you back. Be the best you for yourself, there's always help out there!])

Tip numero uno? Quit drinking. Yes, really. Even just one drink at night with dinner, a few drinks every weekend with friends, it all adds up in a major way.

Now let's not get it twisted: I'm not a teetotaler. On very, very special occasions I will allow myself to enjoy a glass of fine red wine (or, ya know, split a whole bottle of the not-so-fine stuff with one of my girlfriends...) but these are by far the exceptions in my year. In the last six months I have had fewer than six drinks and I can't overstate how much of a difference I've felt as I've gotten to this point over the last couple of years. I used to go out and go hard with my guys every weekend. I'd always order a drink with dinner. I'd drink a whole bottle of wine by myself on a night over at a friend's place. I am not proud of my past consumption. It wasn't healthy, it didn't come from a good place, I was just hanging onto bad habits I picked up in college. I am so grateful that I was finally able to identify that I didn't owe it to anyone else to have a beer with dinner. I fielded a lot of uncomfortable prodding from well-meaning friends ("What, are you pregnant?" "Too good to have a drink with us?" "Is one drink is really gonna make you hungover tomorrow?") but I stuck to my guns and explained that even one drink does make me feel worse the next day.

It affects your sleep, your mood, your body's overall inflammation, and at the very least your damn liver! Just because our livers CAN process alcoholic beverages...doesn't mean they should. A family friend once told me the story of a man who came into her veterinary practice and asked her why beer was bad for dogs. Her response? "Well, it's bad for people too, we just still drink it!"

The less alcohol you consume, the better you will feel, I guarantee it. Yes, your tolerance will go down. Yes, that means your ability to stay out all night and "PARTAY!" will decrease. It does not mean that you can't still go out and have plenty of fun. Ordering a non-alcoholic (and non-sugary) drink does not make you "lame", it makes you "well". Personally if I want to drink anything, I stick to water (flat or sparkling, but never flavored with anything other than actual lemon juice), coffee, tea, kombucha, and green juice (I recommended my favorite green juice powder a couple weeks ago, I swear by this stuff).

One of the other things I avoid is soy. I do occasionally enjoy dipping some of my sushi in soy sauce and will use soy sauce as a base for stir-fry sauces and other Asian-inspired dishes every once in a while. (As a side note: some fermented soy products can in fact be beneficial, i.e. miso and fermented soy sauce). However, artificial and processed foods packed with soy are just not great for you. There are many studies that conclude over-consumption of soy products can wreak havoc with your hormone levels. Having your hormones in balance is key, when they get out of whack you're in for a whole world of chronic illness and immune system issues. Best to just avoid any packaged food that features a soy product high in the ingredient list and be aware of how your food is being prepared. If your favorite Chinese food place uses a lot of soy in their special sauce and you order it every Friday, that will still add up. Just be aware of your consumption and pay attention to how your body feels for several days afterward. Some people really don't experience an issue here, but it's very easy to cut it out entirely for a month and see if it makes a difference.

I also do my best to avoid pasteurized dairy. There's a ton of conflicting research on either side of this issue, but I find I just feel better if I limit my overall dairy consumption in the first place. When I do have dairy, I reach for raw, unpasteurized forms first (I'm currently obsessed with a particular local unpasteurized goat cheese...really gives an upscale touch to my Taco Tuesdays). In terms of butter, I always at least get grass-fed, organic butter (so far the only one that meets my standard is Kerrygold butter). If I can't find grass-fed, I draw a hard line that it must be organic and it must be full fat. Low fat dairy products are not only devoid of the best nutrients for your body, they also taste like chalk. Let's be honest: there's nothing appetizing about skim milk. I try not to even stray this far from my golden dairy rule, but I do make exceptions (most frequently when baking, although I'll usually try to find a dairy-free recipe first that doesn't call for a heavily processed dairy substitute). This might be the area in which I'm least perfect, but I do try and it has made a big difference in my skin. As a result of eating fairly little dairy, I do find it helpful to supplement with a few essential vitamins, but I'll address all my feelings on supplements in a later post.

Lastly on the topic of avoiding things: common pharmaceuticals. I know, I know, I sound like a raving hippie, modern medicine has saved millions of lives, scientific progress isn't evil. I do not by any means eschew all modern science or medical advancements. What I mean is that when I have a headache, I don't reach for ibuprofen. When I have cramps, I don't reach for tums. When I'm stuffed up, I don't reach for nyquil. Why? Because I'm interested in addressing whatever it is that caused the symptom, not merely treating the symptom itself.

If I have a headache, it's because I ate something on my "no" list or I haven't had enough water or I worked out too hard for my body to handle that day. I need to fix that in order to fix the headache. To treat the individual symptom if I really need relief, it sounds ridiculous, but I use peppermint oil. The tingly coolness reduces inflammation under the skin that may be exacerbating the pain and it allows me to think more clearly.

Same story with the tummy ache, but instead of peppermint oil on my skin, I'll reach for some fresh or lightly pickled ginger and chew on that. Ginger soothes your stomach so you can deal with whatever caused the discomfort in the first place. Pay attention to this symptom! It means you're having a negative reaction to something you're consuming and the faster you figure out what it is, the better you'll feel later on.

When I get a cold (which is rare these days thankfully, but still a total pain in the butt) I use peppermint oil to reduce my aches and pains and to help open up my sinuses and I use lavender oil to help relax me so I rest and sleep better. Healing from the common cold is all about rest! I also make sure to nourish my body with quality food (a properly made chicken soup is life-saving, I swear) and will frequently drink a tall glass of water with about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and another of lemon juice in it to help boost my immune system. I know I sound like a crazy person, but this works for me. I find that when I take a pill to fix a temporary symptom I often feel worse in other ways. Now, if it comes to being diagnosed with a chronic disease that requires medication that would be a larger discussion. I'm not saying that your doctor is a quack, go with what you feel is right. All I'm trying to do here is provide the things that have worked for me.

My last point here is on something I actually started doing very early-on but that doesn't work for everyone and is not something I would recommend to everyone. It works extremely well for me (I've even tried cycling off it for a month or so to see how I felt and overall I feel much better doing this than not), but it can really disagree with some people and if you have other medical concerns it should be brought up with a professional before you try it. This thing is called intermittent fasting. There are loads of studies coming out lately regarding the benefits of putting your body into a fasted state. This way in particular lets you eat a good amount of food every day, but still experience many of the benefits of fasting.

My method of choice is to replace my breakfast with fatty coffee. Now, I know how gross that sounds, and I know the idea has been popularized by the Bulletproof brand and I'm not trying to step on any toes. Here's what I do: I make my coffee in the morning (I usually buy whole bean, organic, fair-trade brands and grind my own to cut down on oxidization and mycotoxins) with a french press, then I add about a tablespoon of grass-fed unsalted butter (or this organic butter would work also) and a tablespoon of MCT oil (note the unsalted part...I love salt, but it does not go well with coffee! Made that mistake once...never again...). I take this concoction and either blend it with my little Magic Bullet, or I use a milk-frother (super affordable alternative) to blend it all and make a thick creamy yummy drink that keeps me full and satiated all the way until I eat my lunch. Doing the math, that means that I'm "fasting" from about 9pm when I finish dinner until 1pm when I eat my lunch which means I'm spending 15 hours every day in a pseudo-fasted state. The coffee does pack quite a few calories, but it's less taxing on my body to digest it and I find it gives me a ton of energy in the day. In the end, whatever feels best for your individual body and lifestyle is really the best answer!

I have many more posts planned in the future around other related areas of wellness; it has been very difficult to pare these two down just to these points. So look forward to additional linked posts on my opinions on getting better sleep, supplements I take, non-toxic skincare, and more! Please let me know if you have something you'd like to know about or if you have more to add to anything I've mentioned before. I love to talk, so I'm always here to listen. Take it easy, y'all!