A Food Regime for Mind Body and Soul

My head has been buried in books - been participating in an on line course in human nutrition and doing a lot of research on line about food and healthy eating to ascertain the best 'diet' (as in food consumed, not as in diet to lose weight) to find out the best eating plan for my particular needs.

This is the apex of a lot of 'research' I have done over the years from growing food (I had an allotment years ago) attended college to learn how to prepare and cook food (City & Guilds Cookery Certificate) plus lots of practical experience in the kitchen and garden at home.  My eating regimes have included vegetarianism, macrobiotics, wholefoods, raw food, high fibre, low fat, dairy free, high protein, organic, super foods etc.  I have also tried different weight loss programmes during the last 30 years.

The last couple of decades have informed us about the negative impact of smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol and we are now being informed by various health agencies that sugar is now one of the biggest risks to our health leading to obesity, diabetes, raised cholesterol and certain forms of cancer. I think we have suspected this all along.  My generation were raised by people who as children,  were on food rations during World War II.  No wonder that when food became freely available again they indulged themselves and their offspring in all that they had been previously denied.  As a child of the '60's sugar was freely available to me and I bought a bag of sweets every night after school.  We had 'afters' (pudding) after each meal and biscuits with tea every day of the week.  My teeth are a testimony to my sugary diet and I lost a lot of teeth in my childhood due to tooth decay.

With so much publicity about going 'sugar free' in the media recently and with my family's medical history and my own health 'issues', I have come to the conclusion that cutting down on my sugar intake is a very positive thing for me to do.  Apart from 2 portions of fruit a day I have not had any sugar since Shove Tuesday and I propose to continue that way.  I have devised a simple eating plan:

• eat fresh
• grow more food in garden - no chemicals
• eat more green vegetables
• reduce carbs intake (pasta, rice, bread, potatoes) and use wholemeal/wholegrain wherever possible
• eat 2 portions of fruit a day
• keep dried fruit as a treat
• eat three meals a day
• drink more herbal teas 
• eat protein; fish, meat, eggs, cheese, nuts

Since I have changed my diet I feel mentally alert.  My eyes are bright like a light shining from within and my skin is clear.  I still have a cold but it is gradually fading.  I have not missed eating sweets (used to eat Haribos a lot), cakes, biscuits, pastries, chocolate etc.  So many times when I did eat sweet things it never really satisfied my cravings.  I think the trick is to fill up on wholesome and nutritious food so you don't feel 'wanting' for something.  I do feel a little sad that I won't be doing the Friday cake bakes any more but I am looking to devise some treats that don't involve sugar - apart from the inclusion of fruit.

The side effects of reducing my sugar intake has been an increased thirst but other than that I feel fine.  Of course I feel obligated to say here that if you are thinking of drastically changing your eating habits seek the advice of a medical professional before you do so!  We are all individuals and what may suit one person is not necessarily a good thing for another.

I hope your week is sweet - but not in a foodie way!