WEEKLY ARTICLE 

One common thread that we were very grateful for during our travels was the (perhaps somewhat obscure, but at least present), presence of whole and natural foods. Our travels took us to a region known as "The Mediterranean". I have been wanting to check that particular area out forever!! And there we were, cruising the Mediterranean, and among all of the things we saw, we were particularly glad to see that they don't call the "Mediterranean Diet" super healthy for nothing!  It is not pure hype. We were actually able to find pleasantly and refreshingly wholesome foods in the various cities / countries we visited.

The food was from many origins, it has crisscrossed borders for millennium, along with it's human cultural counterparts, same as in this country except even more so it seemed due to the closer proximity of borders, and also seems to be less diluted by "fast / junk food". And within this culturally diverse region known as "The Mediterranean", a dietary pattern has consistently emerged. Not only has it emerged, but it has been identified / recognized as a major component of, and highly influential in, GOOD HEALTH.

Studies done leading up to the label "Mediterranean Diet" concluded that there are good fats and bad fats. It was found that although Greeks and Italians consume up to 40% of their calories from fat, they live the longest and have the lowest incidence of heart disease and cancer. So also do the Japanese BTW! These longevity star countries derive almost all of their fats from vegetables and fish. The highest rates of heart disease in fact, were found in countries where people consume the most animal fats, like the United States and Finland!

The Mediterranean countries replace unhealthy fats like butter with healthy olive oil, and to our delight, they not only cooked with olive oil, but served delicious heart healthy and naturally pickled / fermented pro-biotic rich olives abundantly as well.

We have listed some of the "Mediterranean Inspired" healthy diet and lifestyle tips we discovered during our travels for you below. They will sound familiar. It is what we consistently teach, and cook, here at Wholly Macro (even before our trip). We are in fact, very culturally sophisticated so it seems!! We are glad to say, that our food is truly without borders. We borrow from the healthiest of practices, indiscriminately, in order to provide the most well rounded diet that we possibly can for ourselves and for you.

Please also note, that the list below follows perfectly with the parameters of the NEW Food Pyramid as mentioned in our previous (August 25, 2011) newsletter.

                                The Main Food Groups

Pile On The Vegetables 

Use all vegetables, root, ground, leafy greens, and sea. Different colored           vegetables represent different nutrients. Variety is key to insure adequate intake of all essential nutrients, known, and also those undiscovered as of yet. Use the vegetables seasonally. Our bodies are very closely intertwined with our planet. We need to move through the seasons along with our planet, and eat produce that grows in the hemisphere that we live in, during the season in which we are living, not produce that has been shipped in from another hemisphere / season.

     Go for The Whole Grain

Whole grains are complex carbohydrates. Their fibrous coating slows their digestion into the blood stream and protects from spikes in blood sugar levels. And the fibrous coating contains the majority of the nutrients contained in the grain. Whole grains contain all of the nutrients needed to sustain life: protein complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, oil, and fiber.

Whole grains are live food. They have the ability to sprout and grow as long as they remain intact. We want to eat food that is alive so it can impart its vitality into our bodies and give as much energy as possible. Once a grain is cracked, rolled, or otherwise processed, it looses some of its vitality and is no longer "alive". It is still useful if it has not been overly refined and processed, and can be reserved to use for specific recipes where a cracked grain is more appropriate than a whole grain. Many cultures use cracked grains in some of their famous signature dishes, such as polenta in Italy (that is Italian for grits!), bulghar wheat in Greece (in tabouli), and so on. But they use the all-important whole grains too.

     Eat Beans!

Beans are the most under valued food. In Mediterranean Diet studies related to longevity, the planets longest living and healthiest peoples most common source of protein is beans. They are low in fat, high in protein, full of minerals, and essential for strong healthy kidneys. Beans are best when eaten in their whole form, the same as the whole grains. In their whole form they will sprout and grow when soaked in water. Canned beans will never sprout and grow. They are not alive anymore. Use canned beans for emergency situations only. Use fresh or dried beans in your day-to-day healthy lifestyle practice.

                                 The Ancillary Foods

 These are not the main food groups. These are foods that you use to decorate, accessorize, accentuate, and further enhance the main foods. Some are recipe specific. All can be used properly in any creative way you can imagine!

     Whole Fruit

Always use fresh seasonal fruit. Try not to use fruit juices and concentrates as they become very high in concentrated amounts of natural fruit sugar (fructose), which is a simple sugar. Use fruit seasonally. It is very important not to use summer fruit during the winter because it weakens the kidneys. Our planet has the innate ability to provide the food that we need during the season in which we need it, which is why it is so important to eat food that is growing in the hemisphere that we are living (or traveling) in.

Use fruit appropriately when called for in a specific recipe. Use it to enhance a dish. The obvious choice that fruit lends itself perfectly to is desserts. But it is also delicious to use in grain pilafs, in salads, on breakfast grains, etc. Use of dried fruit in the winter really perks up a grain or vegetable dish. 

     Go A Little Nuts!!

Nuts and seeds are full of minerals, antioxidants, and omega fatty acids. They have so much power, that one little sunflower seed for example can grow into a beautiful sunflower plant, whose flower is laden with a thousand more sunflower seeds. A small and unassuming pine nut can grow into an entire pine tree. Nuts and seeds are rich and provide us with a lot of heart healthy and protective power.  Use them wisely and sparingly to accessorize a dish, but do not just eat them by the handful, because their very richness can be hard on your liver and digestive organs if too many are consumed at once.

Always buy raw nuts and seeds. They are intact this way, the same as beans and whole grains. You can then dry roast them when you need to use them. This way you control the amount of salt used. And nuts and seeds do not need added oil. They are full of their own natural oils. Their healthy oil remains fresh, perfectly stored inside of them in their raw form until needed in this way.

     Eat Healthy Fats

Again, accentuate and enhance your cooking and food with natural nut, seed, fruit, and vegetable oils: olive, sesame, sunflower, avocado, and coconut.

Healthy fats are very necessary for beautiful and healthy glowing skin and hair, and for properly functioning joints and organs. Avoid saturated animal fats. They are a known cause of heart disease and more.

     Spice It Up!!

Use roots, herbs, and spices appropriately to season and garnish a dish, and also to bring the energy of the five transformations into play. The five transformations relate to the seasons of the year and the organs of the body. In Oriental Medicine, flavors are associated with each season and it's corresponding organ. Ginger is a pungent root, and chives are a pungent herb for example. Both are good for the lungs and large intestine, the organs corresponding to the Fall season. Spices create a mood and ambiance reminiscent of a specific continent and food origin and impart historic energy to a dish.

     Embrace And Toast Your Good Health

In any healthy way you choose. And we don't just mean alcohol! There are so many healthy and fun drink choices. Naturally effervescent sparkling waters and ciders with liver cleansing citrus zest, live probiotic rich kombucha "tea", delicious and creamy amasake brown rice milk (shake). And health permitting, organic if possible, and in extreme moderation, wine, beer, and sake. The Mediterranean's do love their wine!! Since I don't drink alcohol,  I enjoyed their diverse naturally sparkling waters, and the grapes they make their famous wines from!

     Slow Down

Stop and smell the roses. A leisurely pace of life gives you time to enjoy and appreciate your life. Eat slowly. Eating slowly and chewing your food well aids digestion. Eating on the run, eating under stress, and eating standing up, creates less efficient absorption of nutrients, and unpleasant digestive side effects such as heartburn, gas, and bloating.

Eating slower makes you healthier, and makes you feel happier and more satisfied at the end of your meal. Enjoy the fruits of your labor, assuming you actually eat authentically cooked from scratch food (as we do here at Wholly Macro, and they do in the Mediterranean as well), and are not consuming canned and packaged highly processed food, and don't let restaurants fool you, as most of them serve canned and packaged pre-prepared food, not fresh food. Search for, and support the restaurants that serve fresh food!  Linger over your meal like the Europeans do. Make sitting down to your meal an occasion worthy of all of the time and effort that went into the preparation of that meal. Do not mindlessly and wastefully wolf it down in five minutes, thereby greatly diminishing it's health benefits.

We have to say, we liked the Mediterranean custom of "siesta". We think it should be imported, and incorporated into the US culture. It would do all of us "fast lane" Americans some good!!

      Surround Yourself With Positive People

As much as possible avoid negative people. They are toxic and bring you down to their lower level of existence / consciousness. A well known Sufi saying goes like this: If you meet a negative person, RUN AWAY!!

     Detox Your Environment - Go Green

Detox your environment, not only of negative people, but of negative products and surroundings as well. Use natural products. They are better for your body, better for the environment, and better for our beautiful planet that we depend on for life itself. In Italy and Greece we saw that pure olive oil is used as a skin moisturizer and hair conditioner. What could be more natural and less toxic than that??

      Do The E Word - Exercise

In any way that you can. Try to choose exercises that you can do in natural surroundings. If you exercise in a gym, or in a group class, be aware that as people sweat and breathe, they are detoxifying, so be sure that the gym, or classroom, is well ventilated so that you can breathe fresh clean air as you exercise.

Better yet, get outside and walk, bike, swim, and breathe fresh air. Use your healthy, strong body as your vehicle to explore the world, or at least your own backyard!

Please be sure to check out our September 1, 2011 Wholly Macro Delivery Menu below! It crosses many borders, and healthfully borrows from many cultures, including good old American!

In the best of health to you as always.

Gayle and Jaime / Wholly Macro

SPINEALIGNER