Friday, March 2, 2012

EAT YOUR WATER and the CHOCOLATE

I'm back in Berkeley for awhile and near my mother after 35 years. It's funny, but I didn't realize what a rule follower she was and how I am at heart a rule breaker! I hear the rule, and automatically it seems (maybe more as I get older but hey) I say ..."um...no."

For instance that rule about drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day? I've never been a big water drinker. Drinking water is always something I've had to consciously think about. I carry water bottles in the car, in the backpack. I still have to remind myself to drink. I must be a camel, but I'm just not thirsty! I eat a lot of raw fresh food though so I figured a long time ago that I must be getting my water that way. But always people would pound me with "are you drinking enough water?"

Juicing and raw foods are hydrated, which means they carry a high water content! So, I'm gratified to read this morning on Yahoo's Healthy Living that we get to break the old rules...at last!  I feel vindicated! I feel justified. I feel...unthirsty and it's ok!!

The old rule >> 'drink 8 glasses of water a day' was written in 1945!!! Folks, talk about not updating our software programs! Sheesh~
New rule >> eat fresh food every day. That's raw folks! EAT YOUR WATER! Get that fresh food into you and you'll be hydrated! You gott admit, you can see it in people's skin if they eat fresh.

The other 3 rules to rethink according to the article:
Old rule >> Eat 9 servings of fresh food
New rule >> fill half your plate with fresh and enjoy

This means less counting portions and more just reach for fresh. I hate counting. This a simpler, user friendly rule so again, we've been advocating this already! Remember that the darker the color the more nutrient dense it is.

But my rule: eat as much raw as you can and simply don't worry even about the half a plate thing! EAT THE FRESH FIRST!

Avoid red meat >> eat the meat, just make it lean and organic.
I know this is a raw-ish food blog but you know if you need red meat, so eat it when you feel like it.

OUR number one rule here is FOLLOW your body's lead. Pay attention to the internal signals and relax around food!

Rule number 4 to bust out of >> BMI! Oh for the love of Pete, I've always hated statistics. I almost flunked it in school. Mathematical experts really take the cake out of life you know? When mathematicians started dictating that we had to fall within a range of numbers, people started looking at the numbers instead of tuning in to how they FELT!

""People come in different sizes and shapes," says Joanne Ikeda, nutritionist emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. "The idea that everyone should fall under 25 is ludicrous." A person can have a high BMI and still be healthy, Ikeda argues. Research supports the theory: A Journal of the American Medical Association study found that fit women--even if they were overweight according to their BMI--were less likely to suffer a heart attack than those who were out of shape. Ikeda advises her patients to stop obsessing over their BMI, eat a nutritious diet, and log 150 minutes of exercise per week. "A healthy lifestyle results in a healthy weight." 


Thank you BERKELEY and Joanne Ideda. YES! We are NOT all going to fall into an optimum range. And we are NOT all going to die if we don't hit those numbers. PLEASE-start living your life! Eat a little chocolate-make it the GOOD STUFF! DRINK a little wine-make it the GOOD STUFF

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