Hi….
Are you confused with so many different information, study results, recommendations out there?
To tell you the truth, I used to be. So many contradictory information!!! Do you remember the coconut oil “saga”. Not to mention cholesterol. For decades it was blamed for heart attack. The low fat/ no fat diet craze took over the world and hijacked our health. Look at the food pyramid!! Recommending inflammation causing food!!
I could go on and on (trust me on that).
So how can we sort out what information to accept as “the truth” or study result as acceptable, what recommendations to follow? The answer is simple. Depending where is the information coming from. Is the source trustworthy, serving our best health or maybe motivated by profit (you know what I mean; prescriptions, a lot of them).
After many years studying human body, pathology and disease my latest focus in my work is on INFLAMMATION. It is the root cause of many chronic diseases of our modern time, including heart disease.
I would like to share a study with you that gives us hope. Especially for us who have heart attacks in our family history.
INTERHEART study (conducted in 52 countries) revealed that approximately 90% of heart diseases could be simply prevented by diet and lifestyle changes. That means 9 out of 10 cases of heart disease can be prevented without drugs. This is huge!!!!
This is a phenomenal news, because it gives us empowerment and hope that we can change our current situation. So, if you are awake late at night wondering are you going to die of heart attack just like mother did this is a great news for you. No more sleepless nights.
To understand the changes we need to make, let’s examine what are the causes. We know so far, it’s not cholesterol. The two most important causes are
- INFLAMMATION and
- OXIDATIVE DAMAGE
The top four causes of inflammation and oxidative damage are:
- Diet
- Stress
- Physical inactivity
- Smoking
Focusing on reducing the factors that contribute to inflammation and oxidative stress we can create better health and a different reality for ourselves. We can feel empowered and take our health in our own hands.
Let’s explore our diet.
The SAD (Standard American Diet) is inflammatory, making us fat and starving our cells at the same time. It is loaded with chemicals (many of them harmful), voided of nutrients, providing empty calories.
What is in SAD?
- Highly processed carbohydrates
- Sugar and HFCS
- Gluten
- Casein
- Vegetable and seed oil
- MSG
- Aspartame
- Chemicals (emulsifiers, preservatives, colorings etc.)
No wonder why we are inflamed, sick, overweight and overmedicated.
Food should be our medicine. It should make our bodies thrive, create health and longevity. Whole, nutrient dense food gives the right information for our genes (yes, food is information), provides building blocks for our cells, energy and support for our cells to thrive.
In the next email we will explore more in detail food that calms inflammation.
RECIPE
Quinoa Breakfast Bowl
Serves 1
- 1 tbsp ground chia seeds
- 1/4 cup canned, light coconut milk (carrageenan free)
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled
- 1 orange, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp hemp seeds, chopped raw walnuts, or chopped raw cashews
- Mix the chia seeds with coconut milk and nutmeg in a small bowl and let sit for one hour. This can be done the night before.
- Place the cooked quinoa in a medium bowl and add the chia mixture. Mix together.
- Mix in the orange pieces and raspberries.
- Drizzle the maple syrup on top and top with seeds or nuts or choice.
To cook the quinoa:
- Rinse 1/4 cup of dried quinoa in a sieve.
- Place in a pot with 2 cups of water and 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt.
- Bring to a boil, lower to simmer and cook until the quinoa reaches the desired texture. Normal instructions for cooking quinoa would say only use double the amount of water for the quinoa, but for quinoa, time and temperature are key to preventing the quinoa from being crunchy. Adding extra water allows you to cook it to the texture you like best.
- Rinse the quinoa after cooking. This can be prepared ahead of time and the quinoa stored in the refrigerator, or the quinoa can be cooked at the same time as the rest of the meal but start the quinoa first as it will take 25-30 minutes.
To your radiant health, with love
PS! I am still offering free consultation for breast cancer survivors this month. Sign up using this link: https://my.timetrade.com/book/6ZDTG