Holistic Review E: eating basics for natural health.

1. The primary key to a healthy diet is simple and obvious: eat more vegetables.

Vegetables are your natural sources for fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The best vegetables are Europen-style raw salad greens. (Exceptions: avoid rhubarb and spinach, which contain high oxalic acid. Avoid salad dressing containing soy oil or "high fructose corn syrup".)

2. Join the boycott of sweets and cereals containing over 25% sugar.

Read the grams of sugar per serving. Multiply by 4. Is the result greater than the total grams? Please boycott all products that do not pass this test. In your own recipes, use only 1/4 the original amount of sugar and make up the difference by adding stevia (see chapter F).

* Other foods "usually known to be unhealthy, but usually eaten too much":

fried foods, hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated fats, corn oil, margarine and so-called "high fructose corn syrup".

3. Draw the line on all foods that contain soy protein or soy oil.

Soy protein and soy oil are leading allergens. Even for people with no allergies, soy is difficult to digest.

In Asia, soy products are a large part of the traditional diet. However, this is largely because of poverty. Slight differences in food preparation and genetic make-up also make a difference. In the final analysis, canola oil is a better oil and whey protein is a better protein. There are also numerous protein-rich beans which are more digestible.

("Soy lecithin" and "soy sauce" are usually harmless and not included in this warning.)

* Other foods "often believed to be healthy, but that often are not":

spinach, coffee, tea, peanuts and chocolate. These foods all have slight benefits. However they also have potential side effects, especially the promotion of acid imbalance or the clogging of the lymphatic system. They are usually safe to eat occasionally but can not be considered "health foods" because it is just as well to avoid them.

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