Healthy Diet

What is a Healthy Diet?

The opinions of doctors and nutritional experts vary widely, leading to a huge amount of conflicting data and statistics. In frustration most people give up trying to diet, or lean toward one of the ‘official’ low fat, high carbohydrate diets.

For some basic guidelines it is wise to listen to and observe what other people or populations have done in the past. There are several that exist in which the population in general reaches a ripe old age, at the same time maintaining a record of good health both physically and mentally.

The Hunza people are such an example. They live in the Kashmir valley in Pakistan and are known for their extreme longevity, living up to between 120 and 140 years of age. The main causes of death are old age, disease or poverty, and not degenerative diseases as is the case in the West.

The traditional Hunza diet consists of unprocessed whole foods which are rich in fibre: 40% calories from whole grains, 30% calories from vegetables, 15% from fruits, 10% from beans, 4% nuts and seeds and only 1% from animal products. The Hunza people eat 80% of their vegetables and 100% of their fruit raw. A combination of their low-fat diet and the fact that they are very active, a result of living in the rugged mountains, means that the Hunzakuts are not obese.

And ... they are happy! They have a certain relish and passion for life - perhaps brought on to some extent by their daily rigorous exercise and simple lifestyle.

What can we learn from the Hunzakuts? Three things:
• eat raw fruit and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds
• exercise daily
• have a positive outlook on life

In our hectic lives it sometimes pays to give the body a rest and to follow a cleansing diet for a couple of weeks. The simple guidelines below will help you to feel the difference.

Basic Cleansing Diet

Breakfast:
1 glass of lemon water or water with apple cider vinegar (1Tbsp)
Fruit salad with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and a few almonds
or
1 bowl of porridge
or
1 slice of sour-dough bread with avocado or a little butter
Herbal tea
No coffee or dairy products

Mid morning: 1 glass of fresh fruit juice (apple, pear, grapefruit..)

Lunch:
Salad (Lettuce with celery, tomatoes, cucumber or anything else that you want) or a
salad sandwich with or without a small can of tuna (in spring water)

Dinner:
Any vegetarian meal, for example vegetables with brown rice or brown noodles, chickpeas, beans, lentils, vegetable bakes, stir fries or soups.
Dishes can be made with any vegetables except potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn.

No alcohol, dairy products, coffee or refined carbohydrates (white sugar, white flour, soft drinks etc.)

Drink at least 2 litres of water a day

Snacks in between meals are allowed, and can include fruit (no oranges) or dry crackers with avocado, humus or tahini.

After 2 weeks you may introduce chicken or fish 2 times a week.

Supplements:

Vit C 2000-3000 mg with meals
Vit.E 500-800 mg with meals
Lipoic Acid (at the health food store, aids fat metabolism)
Taurine 500 (at the health food store, supports your liver)