It is not needed to say that I did not folow at all my eating habits. Sugar was probably floating on my bloodstream and in 1 1/2 day I was full of gases. I would just put it this way: my body had no idea what to do with all those sugars and carbs. Yes, very simple to explain. When you are used to feed you body all the kinds of vitams, minerals and so on, what happens when out of nothing you just feed it carbs and sugars? You feel sick, you are intoxicated!

In 4 1/2 days of this adventurous bad food journey I gained 6.6 pounds (3kg)! Not to mention the gases and the bloating and swelling on the flight back.  I’ve never been so swelled during a flight than this time. My feet looked like french rolls and where really hurting. It was scary, I was very chubby! I felt like Aunt Marge Dursley from Harry Potter (on the 3rd book – Prisoner of Askaban -, when he inflates her). It was a clear red and urgent alert that I needed to get back on track and it was time to detox.

It’s been 2 1/2 days of being back to the old habits and I already lost 4.4 pounds (2kg) of those 6.6. And I feel great again. Every function of my body is working perfectly again.

As things come altogether in life, I got an email this morning from Body Ecology Diet with the subject ‘Need to detox? Here’s how you’ll know”. Yes, feels like Donna Gates can read my mind. I know when my body is trying to say I should watch what I put in my mouth; the question is: do you? Here are the signs, according to Donna Gates:

• Cravings: physically cravings can come from an abundance of highly processed and concentrated foods that artificially stimulate dopamine (the pleasure neurotransmitter), which plays a role in addiction. So, you will “feel good” and naturally want more of the food that is making you feel good. Adding in fermented foods can help teach your body to crave what makes you really feel well
• Food Allergies: Food allergies are often a sign that you don’t have the proper beneficial microflora to absorb and assimilate the nutrients from your food. This occurs when toxins like candida yeast proliferate and cause a leaky gut.  Over time, you can recover from many food allergies or sensitivities by detoxifying your body and restoring that microflora with a balanced probiotic-rich diet
• Heart Disease: The accumulation of toxins in the body allows for increased risk of heart disease.  A diet lacking in living and fermented foods can lead to mal absorption of nutrients. As a result, a domino affect of nutritional deficiencies, high cholesterol, heart attack, or even stroke can occur. Purifying the body of harmful substances is one significant way of lowering the risk of heart disease
• Adrenal Fatigue: If you are exhausted, having trouble losing weight, or finding it hard to focus, adrenal fatigue could be the culprit. The adrenal glands interact closely with the thyroid, liver, digestive system, brain function, and reproductive systems. When the liver and other vital cleansing organs are hindered from performing their tasks due to toxins, adrenal fatigue often results
• Mental/Emotional Instability: The hazards of allowing dangerous chemicals into the body are not limited to the physical being. Mental and emotional disorders can be caused by a toxic system, and, much like food allergies, may be corrected. Depression, anxiety, and even some eating disorders have been linked to an abundance of certain toxic substances. A build-up of harmful chemicals can block the absorption and release of beneficial chemicals, leading to an imbalance that can have negative physical, psychological, and emotional effects

So, what do you say. Time to detox?

Since winter is just around the corner (in Brazil), lets warm up with some yummy vegetables!

While you wait, I want to share a ‘look where we got’ scene I had to see yesterday. Going back home from the gym, while in the mall, I saw a crying kid; impossible not to be noticed. The kid was standing in the hallway, between Burger King and McDonald’s, and the dad was saying: “it is the same thing here, son”. It did not take me that long to understand what was going on: the boy was crying because his parents where getting ice cream at Burger King and not McDonald’s.

What got my attention was the fact that a 2,5-year-old could already recognize McDonald’s logo and cries for it. Isn’t it crazy? On my way back home I got myself thinking how often those parents take their kids to McDonald’s. Not that is any of my business and not to sound too strict but to my mind this food trip should be limited. Our body can only take so much! And if it is not for being healthy, it is for education…

Jamie Oliver – Food Revolution Campaign

The food revolution campaign was created to change America’s eating habbits. The focus is USA, but we should all think about what we can change in our habbits. As Jamie Oliver said: “Educate yourself about food and cooking. Find out what your child is eating at school. Make only a few small changes and magical things will happen. Switching from processed to fresh food will not only make you feel better but it will add years to your life”.

I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but it looks really good (and healthy!). I will try it over the weekend and then I will let you know! If you try it before I do, please let us know if it is as yummy as it looks.

PS: I am considering addind some vegetables to this mixture, to make it even healthier.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup rolled oats
2 cups cooked quinoa (soak quinoa overnight and then rinse it. For each cup of quinoa, add 2 cups of water, and let it cook for about 20 minutes. It is the same as cooking brwon rice)
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley and/or 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
10 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped
1 cup (about 1 onion) chopped red onion

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch loaf pan with oil; set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, put beans, oats and 1/2 cup water into a food processor and pulse until almost smooth. In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, bean mixture, quinoa, peas, parsley, tomatoes, onion, salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to prepared loaf pan, gently pressing down and mounding it in the middle. Bake until firm and golden brown, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Set aside to let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

(From Whole Foods website: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2672)

I feel like packages are a fairytale: they say what you want to hear but not what is real. Okay, thy might not add real sugar, but they add other sweeteners instead (as high fructose corn syrup), worst than sugar. We buy the idea of what a “health food” is.

Looking at Dr. Mercola’s website today, I found this really interesting list with five foods we are told (and believe) to be healthy, but we are much better off without them.

Wheat Bread

Since 1990, it is recommended that individuals eat six to 11 servings of bread and other grain foods every day, and many consumers dutifully purchase wheat bread as opposed to white bread because they believe it is more nutritious. While this may be true to some extent, wheat bread should not be considered a healthy or necessary part of the diet. Wheat is often related to some kind of illness, not to mention wheat and nearly all other grains rapidly convert to sugar.

Unless you are seriously underweight, most of us would best be served by limiting or avoiding wheat altogether. If you have a metabolic type that is carbohydrate oriented (this is only one-third of people) and you are not overweight and don’t have high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes then grains are a possible option for you. But, rest assured that if you indulge in grains to excess you are heading for any number of diseases.

Vegetable Oil

Polyunsaturated oils, which include vegetable oils like corn, soy, safflower and canola , are the worst oils you can eat (omega-6 fatty acids). Experts looking at the dietary ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, which are the healthy fats found in fish oil and cod liver oil , suggest that in early human history the ratio was about 1:1. Currently most people eat a dietary ratio that falls between 20:1 and 50:1. The optimal ratio is most likely closer to the original ratio of 1:1. For most of us this means greatly reducing the omega-6 fatty acids we consume and increasing the amount of omega-3 fatty acids.

Further, polyunsaturated oils are the worst oils to cook with because they tend to become easily oxidized or rancid when exposed to heat from cooking. This results in the formation of trans fat and damaging free radicals.

Unfortunately, the truly healthy oil, coconut oil, is regarded as the ‘dangerous’ oil and vegetables oils are regarded as healthy, when it should be the other way around.

Soy

In recent years soy has emerged as a ‘near perfect’ food, with supporters claiming it can provide an ideal source of protein, lower cholesterol, protect against cancer and heart disease, reduce menopause symptoms, and prevent osteoporosis, among other things.

However, numerous studies have found that soy products may:

• Increase the risk of breast cancer in women, brain damage in both men and women, and abnormalities in infants
• Contribute to thyroid disorders, especially in women
• Promote kidney stones
• Weaken the immune system
• Cause severe, potentially fatal food allergies

Perhaps the most disturbing of soy’s ill effects on health has to do with its phytoestrogens that can mimic the effects of the female hormone estrogen. Drinking even two glasses of soy milk daily for one month has enough of the chemical to alter a woman’s menstrual cycle.

Pasteurized Dairy

Despite the widespread notion that milk is healthy, drinking pasteurized milk is frequently associated with a worsening of health. This is particularly sad because milk is one of the healthiest foods available prior to its being pasteurized. The pasteurization process creates many problems in milk. As Sally Fallon of the Weston Price Foundation states: “Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamin B12 and vitamin B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer”.

Orange Juice (and All Fruit Juice)

Fruit juice has about eight full teaspoons of sugar per eight-ounce glass. This sugar is typically a fruit sugar called fructose, which is every bit as dangerous as regular table sugar since it will also cause a major increase in insulin levels. Further, many commercial orange juices are contaminated with mold from damaged fruit that are processed. So if you drink commercial orange juice regularly you will be exposed to these mold toxins.

This doesn’t mean that you should avoid fruit, just fruit juice. When the fruit is intact and whole, its fiber will somewhat moderate the release of fructose into the bloodstream as well as somewhat moderate insulin release.

Source: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/01/31/food-warnings-part-two.aspx

Nutrients are the substances that enrich the body: a chemical that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism’s metabolism. They build and repair tissues, give heat and energy, and regulate body processes. Since humans cannot synthesize its own food from inorganic material, nutrients in sufficient quantities must be obtained from an external source.

There are two types of nutrients: macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients are needed in large quantities and provide bulk energy; the three classes are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Micronutrients are required in only small quantities and include vitamins and minerals (calcium, sodium, magnesium, and potassium are sometimes added to the list of macronutrients).

Carbohydrates: are compounds made up of sugars. Foods high in carbohydrates include breads, pastas, beans, potatoes, bran, rice, and cereals. Carbohydrates are not essential nutrients in humans: the body can obtain all its energy from protein and fats. The brain and neurons generally cannot burn fat for energy, but can use Glucose.

Based on the effects on risk of heart disease and obesity, the Institute of  Medicine recommends that adults get between 45-65% of dietary energy from carbohydrates. The Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization jointly recommend that national dietary guidelines set a goal of 55-75% of total energy from carbohydrates, but only 10% directly from sugars (their term for simple carbohydrates).

Because refined carbohydrates made from sugar and white flour rapidly increase insulin levels, they can permanently exhaust the pancreas (the insulin-producing organ), causing diabetes. Another factor that contributes ro diabetes is mineral malnutrition. Eating sugar in large quantities can cause mineral loss, most notably chromium, which is particularly important for blood sugar regulation.

Proteins: are organic compounds that consists of the amino acids joined by peptide bonds. In nutrition, proteins are broken down through digestion by proteases back into free amino acids.  Protein-rich foods provide the amino acids needed to build and repair muscles. Most microorganisms and plants can biosynthesize all 20 standard amino acids, while animals (including humans) must obtain some of the amino acids from the diet. The amino acids that an organism cannot synthesize on its own are referred to as essential amino acids. Some ingested amino acids are used for protein biosynthesis, while others are converted to glucose, or fed into the citric acid cycle.

Since brain and mood chemicals can be made only from protein, moods and thinking can deteriorate withhout enough of this fuel. You can find it in eggs, fish, chicken, red meat, nuts, seeds, cheese, avocado and oils (the last 5 are called Protein Fats).

Fats: consist of a glycerin molecule with three fatty acids attached. Fats are needed to keep cell membranes functioning properly, to insulate body organs against shock, to keep body temperature stable, and to maintain healthy skin and hair.

Fat and fat cells offer the most ideal and efficient way to store energy for future use. Each gram of fat stores more than twice as much energy as a gram of protein or carbohydrate, so fat gives us a long smooth energy source to keep us strong and steady all day.

While most people see fat as a vilain, fat is innocent if you eat the right kind, quality and ammount. Fat actually keeps the carbos in your meals from hitting you too hard. It also makes you feel satisfied so that you know when to stop eating. So relax and put some extra virgin olive oil on your salad and some butter on your grains.

Good fats can be found in: fish, flaxseed, vegetable oils such as soy, canola, sesame and sunflower, fresh seeds and nuts, olive oil, butter, coconut.

Minerals: are chemical elements necessary for the health and maintenance of bodily function – healthy bones and teeth, transfer of oxygen between tissues in the body, maintain electrical potentials of the nervous system, control the volume of extracellular fluid in the body, maintain the acid-alkali (pH) balance in the body, functioning of skeletal muscle, healing build-up of toxic substances in the body.

There are 22 minerals that we know of that are vital to health. Without minerals, the foods we eat and the vitamins we take do little or no good because our body can’t make use of them unless it has minerals.

Minerals are found in: dairy, eggs, green leafy vegetables, cereal, nuts, meat, fresh fruits, some grains and salt.

Water: every living thing depends upon water for its life and sustenance. Every cell of our body requires water to carry nutrients and energy to them and to carry away toxins and metabolic waste.

Vitamins: promote growth, health, and life itself as well as regulate the metabolism and assist the biochemical process that release energy from digested food. So, they are essential for the normal growth and development of a multicellular organism. In humans there are 13 vitamins: A, D, E and K (fat-soluble), 8 B vitamins and vitamin C (water-soluble). Water-soluble vitamins dissolve easily in water, and in general, are readily excreted from the body. Because they are not readily stored and for the most part obtained with food, consistent daily intake is important. Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed through the intestinal tract with the help of lipids (fats).

Vitamin Deficiencies

Because human bodies do not store most vitamins, humans must consume them regularly to avoid deficiency. A lack of one or more vitamins can cause a variety of deficiency symptoms and health problems. A deficiency intereferes with many bodily processes and how the body utilizes other nutrients as well.

And this is why it is so important to eat lots of vegetables every day. While energy provided by carbohydrates, proteins and fats can be stored for later use, vitamins provided by vegetables cannot. Generally speaking, you eat it, you use it.

Deficiencies of vitamins are classified as either primary or secondary. A primary deficiency occurs when an organism does not get enough of the vitamin in its food. A secondary deficiency may be due to an underlying disorder that prevents or limits the absorption or use of the vitamin, due to a “lifestyle factor”, such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, or the use of medications that interfere with the absorption or use of the vitamin.

People who eat a varied diet are unlikely to develop a severe primary vitamin deficiency. In contrast, restrictive diets have the potential to cause prolonged vitamin deficits, which may result in often painful and potentially deadly diseases.

Vegetables are Vital

Vegetables are of primary importance, aim at 4 cups a day of colored veggies. Also, they should become your primary source of carbohydrates. The most intensely colorful vegetables contain the highest levels of nutrients. Shall we add some colour to your life and health to your body? Let’s make your mama proud of you.

This is easy and fast to make and delicious to eat, and goes with everything. It is a great side dish (or main, for the vegetable lovers).

Green Bean with Red Onion and Lime

*1 tsp olive oil or sunflower seed oil
*300 g green beans (the thinner and greener taste amazingly good! Do not use the frozen green beans, or you’ll miss the crunchiness!)
*juice of 1 lime (just the lime, no need to add water)
*1 large onion, chopped
*3 cloves of garlic, chopped
*salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the onion and garlic on the olive or sunflower seed oil, add the green beans, cover and let it cook for about 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and seasoning and let it cook until the green bean is vivid green (about 4 to 5 minutes).

That is it, you’re ready to eat!

Just a note: I read on the newspaper today that the use of narcotics is higher than the use of drugs (such as weed and coccaine), according to ONU. Included on the top list of narcotics is the one to reduce appetite. I was not surprised. The body is urging to get more nutrients to keep ones alive. What do we do? Just take a medicine and the problem is solved. Once again, food can heal it. How? Watch for the next post!

Waistlines are expanding so rapidly around the world that health experts are calling this phenomenon ‘globesity’. One in three of the world’s adults is overweight and one in 10 is obese. If we stop and think about it, a few years ago it would get our attention to see someone overweight, since it was not common. Nowadays it is normal and it starts early: go for a walk and pay attention to the kids and young adults. It will get your attention if you see a few that are healthy.

That said, my next point is that the stereotypical picture of malnourishment – a very thin person – is no longer accurate. It is possible, and quite common, for people to be both overweight and malnourished. And this takes me to those comments. If you shopping cart remains empty, good for you! That means that you will have to visit another session at the supermarket, where you will find the fruits and vegetables that can load your body with the right nutrients… and then your shopping cart won’t be empty anymore, and your food will stop feeding your doctor – since one won’t have to give you medicine which will only hide the symptoms that you might actually be malnourished and your body is unbalanced. The cure of your health problems doesn’t lie on the newest medicine available, but on what your body really needs to recover.

What it all comes down too is your choice of lifestyle. I remember my mom waking up at 5 in the morning to cook us real food. Not only because back then frozen entries where too expensive, but because she wanted to make sure we ate the real thing. There’s no need to spend hours in the kitchen to eat healthy. On the contrary, the simpler the best. Just cook lots of vegetables at once, and eat it through the week – if you tell me you don’t have time because you are working late, maybe it is time to check your professional vs. personal life!. For lunch, as most people don’t eat at home nowadays, there is not excuse. Restaurants do have healthy choices on their menu – just watch for the sauces, they are usually packed with sugar and HFCS, or is a fake olive oil. I know macaroni and cheese is appealing to your cravings at first, but once your inner ecosystem is restablished, a plate of vegetables will be like a dream.

Maybe it is a good time for a delicious recipe. A very healthy pie from The Body Ecology Diet book, Heidi’s Onion Pie. I will only give the recipe for the dough, because it goes well with different vegetables topping – I’ve tried eggplant and red bell pepper, spinach and ricotta cheese, and it tasted amazing.

Heidi’s Onion Pie – Dough

*2 cups of amaranth flour (I think amaranth flour’s taste is too strong. So what I do is:  1 cup amaranth flour, 1/2 cup of quinoa flour, 1/2 cup of flax seed flour – in the next few weeks there will be a post about grains)
*1 teaspoon of sea salt
*5 tablespoons of melted butter or 4 of unrefined coconut oil (I usually do 3 of butter and 1 of coconut oil)
*1/2 cup of water

Stir in the first three ingredients together, and then add half of the water. Mix it a little bit and add the rest of the water until the dough forms a ball. If you have the bread machine, you can use the “mix” cycle – what makes it even faster to make. Flat it on a Pie Dish and put in the oven (220 celsius) for about 10 minutes.

Cook the vegetables (with onion and garlic, some salt, pepper and herbs) or use the leftovers.  Add the vegetables to the pie and put it back in the oven for 20 more minutes.
PS: the dough doesn’t go over the vegetables, only under. It looks like a quiche.

Enjoy the crunchy crust! It’s a good way to start and prove to yourself that healthy is good!

Note for Brazilians: you might be asking yourself ‘where do I find these ingredients?’. I’ll talk more about it on another post, but most of the supermarkets in São Paulo sells quinoa flour. The problem is that it is expensive. So, instead, visit Zona Cerealista (Rua Santa Rosa, opposite side from Mercado Municipal). It’s a great place to buy nuts, different flours, cheese, and other healthy ingredients. My favorite spot is Armazén Santa Filomena, which has all the kind of stuff, but if you don’t live in São Paulo or doesn’t feel up to going there, Cerealista Helena ships to all states.