What I Eat and Why!

I’ve been following the diet my very first metabolic assessment outlined for me over twenty years ago with fairly good compliance. I’ve gotten off track, for sure, but gradually find my way back. The assessment analyzed my metabolism and what was the best ratio of foods for me to eat. It prescribed my own personal perfect diet to consist of 70% fruits and vegetables, 10% grains, 10% protein and 10% dairy. I cut dairy out for the last few years due to it not digesting well anymore. My husband had his assessment done also and his ratio was almost the same: 60% fruits and vegetables, 20% grains, 10% protein and 10% diary.

I think I’m a bit of an addict to learning new things about nutrition and health so I’m constantly searching for what’s newly discovered and how to improve what we’re already doing. This is probably not a bad thing generally, but when new diets come out and don’t have enough time or evidence behind them, I can get sidetracked. (This might have happened once or twice . . . )

In doing some research into all the different ways people all over the world eat, I became acquainted with the Blue Zones of the world. These are the few areas of the world that have the largest number of centenarians. They’re called “Blue Zones” because they were discovered by the National Geographic team who circled these areas on their maps in blue ink. There are five of them:

• the Italian island of Sardinia

• Okinawa, Japan

• Loma Linda, California

• Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula

• Ikaria, an isolated Greek island

It makes a lot of sense to look into what these people are doing since they’re all living very long lives and don’t suffer from many of the common diseases that afflict much of the modern world. While they are not following a completely vegan or vegetarian diet, what they all do have in common is their mostly all whole food plant based diet with only small amounts of meat or seafood, some nuts and seeds, legumes and whole grains. They also get plenty of exercise just doing normal things like walking and gardening – no gym memberships! They stay very connected with family and community and tend to have a strong faith based life and low stress. Sounds like the ideal lifestyle, doesn’t it? Apparently, it is!

If you break this down into the details of an eating plan that we might want to adopt, it might look something like this:

Breakfast: cooked whole grains (oats, barley, rice, quinoa, spelt, etc.) with fruit, nuts or seeds

Lunch: potatoes, squash, legumes, vegetables (small amount of meat once or twice a week), fruit

Dinner: vegetables, legumes, grains, maybe more fruit

It seems pretty basic and simple. I read one article that said we should focus on eating “peasant food” not the rich “king’s fare”.

Some of these Blue Zone folks eat small amounts of cheese but not much. Same with red wine, meat and seafood – small amounts and not every day.

Eating this way is not hard and actually saves you a lot of money! If you go to Costco and buy a ten pound bag of organic brown rice and a ten pound bag of organic beans, you’re more than half way there for around $20! With some onions, garlic, herbs and spices, you can create an amazing variety of meals using just these simple ingredients! Mexican, Asian, Indian – the sky’s the limit! Add in whatever seasonal fresh vegetables and fruit you can find in your area, and you’re going to get a very good amount of nutrition and fiber! Speaking of fiber: eating legumes (beans) and whole grains everyday will do wonders for a sluggish bowel! You might experience some bloating/gas if you’re not used to this amount of fiber, but soaking grains/legumes overnight will help, plus just giving your system time to adjust!

I cook a large pot of brown rice or quinoa, along with several different beans at the beginning of each week so I always have what I need for meal prep. Once a week we usually eat salmon, and have an egg or two on the weekend, and we’re good! We’re not perfect and will enjoy going out to eat, birthday parties and other occasions when we eat not so nourishing fare, but we try to make that the exception, not the norm. Remember that it’s what you do 90% of the time that determines your health!

Also, it just so happens that this way of eating closely resembles my metabolic assessment plan that was given to me almost 24 years ago! Imagine that! Seems like when I deviate and try to experiment, I always end up coming full circle back to this basic plan.

Unless you have an immediate need to switch your diet due to a health crisis, it’s always a better idea to make changes slowly over weeks and months. Our eating habits are deeply ingrained in not only our physical bodies, but the way we’re wired emotionally and mentally, plus the added dimension of who we live with and how we react to the stress of life! Be gentle and kind to yourself and those around you. If you know your diet has not been serving you well, pick a few small changes that you can implement the most easily and really stick with. Keep tweaking and adjusting and monitor how you feel. Food is meant to be enjoyed and nourishing! We just happen to live in an environment that advertises lots of wrong choices so it’s not always as easy as we hope it will be! Do the best you can. Keep educating yourself. It’s easier to make changes, especially the ones that require a bit more discipline, if you’re thoroughly convinced of the science behind them. Doing some deep diving into the Blue Zone data would be quite inspiring!

Comment and let me know how you eat and what you think you could improve!