And now, a healing diet

Postscript to Mother’s Day: Mom was right, after all, when she nagged us to eat our vegetables (those strange leafy greens on our plate) when we were children. Because, according to health experts, vegetables – and fruits – seem to protect against cancer, heart disease, and other common ailments as well as help immunity and healing. Yes, healing!

"Eat right, exercise, die anyway." Author Dr. Andrew Weil of Spontaneous Healing (376 pages, available at National Book Store) saw these grim words on the T-shirt somebody was wearing when he conducted a workshop on natural health. Here are a few words from the good doctor: "There is truth in that motto. We will all die, and our life span may be genetically programmed. Nevertheless, our choices about how we live may interact with genetics to determine the quality of life we experience as we age. I believe that lifestyle significantly influences our risks of contracting common diseases and certainly affects our ability to heal. Of all the choices we make, those concerning food are particularly important, because we have great potential control over them. But, as you probably already know, there is great disagreement as to what constitutes a healthy diet.

"I have seen too many people who have lived to ripe old ages on ‘bad’ diets to believe that food is the sole or even chief determinant of good health. It is simply one influence, one that we can do something about. Books about diet and health appear with great frequency, many of them contradicting each other. Even on the Big Questions, such as the health hazards of dietary fat, major disagreements exist among experts. Some doctors extol a low-fat diet as the key to health and longevity, while others say that cutting fat in the diet may add at best a few weeks to one’s life span. There is similar disagreement about the benefits of vegetarianism. Many surveys find that vegetarians have lower rates of heart disease and cancer, but doctors argue about the reasons for that, with some maintaining that vegetarians tend to be more health conscious and take better care of themselves in general, while others say animal foods are hazardous, and still others say that if nonvegetarians ate the same amount of fat (less) and fiber (more) as vegetarians, there would be no differences.

"I do not have time or space to enter into these kinds of arguments, and I do not wish to add to your confusion. Instead I want to outline simple, practical suggestions for modifying diet in ways that I believe favor healing responses. You will have heard some of this before, but essential truths cannot be repeated often enough. I am not interested in nutritional fads and will concentrate only on what I see as key areas of consensus emerging from studies of diet and health. These findings concern (1) total calories, (2) fat, (3) protein sources, (4) fruits and vegetables, and (5) fiber.

In brief, Dr. Weil prescribes the following:

• Try to eat fewer calories. Eliminate high-fat foods and modify recipes for favorite dishes by cutting fat content. Also, try periodic fasting or restricted dieting.

• Cut down appreciably on saturated fat. Eat fewer foods of animal origin and none containing palm or coconut oils, margarine, vegetable shortening, or partially hydrogenated oils.

• Do not use polyunsaturated vegetable oils for cooking. Use only good-quality olive oil.

• Learn to recognize and avoid sources of trans-fatty acids (margarine, vegetable shortening, partially hydrogenated oils, and common brands of liquid vegetable oils).

• Increase consumption of omega-3 fatty acids. Eat more of the right kinds of fish or add hemp oil or flax products to the diet.

• Eat less protein of all kinds.

• Try to replace animal protein foods with fish and soyfoods.

• Eat more fruits and vegetables of all kinds.

• Eat more whole grains and products made from whole grains.

Of course, there’s no escaping the reality that there are toxins in our food. Fact is, according to Dr. Weil, it is easier to get pure drinking water than to rid our food of toxic contamination.

At best, we can minimize our toxin exposure. Here’s how, according to Dr. Weil:

• Reduce consumption of animal products and buy only meat and poultry certified to be free of drugs and hormones.

• Minimize consumption of foods known to contain natural toxins like black pepper, celery, alfalfa sprouts, peanuts and white button mushrooms.

• Eat a varied diet rather than eating the same items every day.

• Always wash fruits and vegetables (even though that will not remove many contaminants).

• Peel fruits and vegetables if possible, especially if they are not organically produced.

• Try to buy only organically produced fruits, lettuce, carrots, green beans, potatoes, and wheat flour.

• Look for sources of organic produce and let store managers know that you want it.

• Reduce consumption of processed foods and try to avoid those containing chemical dyes and artificial sweeteners.

Also, be wary of cosmetic products that contain chemical dyes. It could be a case of "do or dye." Opt for brands that are colorless, white or tinted with vegetable extracts (look for them at your favorite health store).

Happy eating – and healing!