Workplace Health Programs, DIY Sprouting, and Reducing Accidental Death

 

Holistic Habits by Cheryl A. Mothes, Ph.D. Natural Health Nutrition Counselor

Content is a daily radio script from my KHIS radio spot - tune in at 6:15 (CST) every morning to Justin and Meredith’s morning show on 89.9 FM.

  Workplaces are increasingly interested in wellness programs for their employees, which is great! Thousands of individuals have completed the CHIP – Complete Health Improvement Program - a research-based lifestyle program that targets the prevention, treatment, and reversal of chronic diseases. The Adventists in Loma Linda, California have embraced this program – 7th Day Adventists’ health philosophy is based on the holistic biblical notion that our bodies should be treated as temples. The CHIP works so well for the Adventists, researchers wanted to know if their religious practices were helping them be more responsive to the program. Interestingly, some of the best health results were among the non-Adventists. Additionally, the program worked just as well in very poverty-stricken areas, such as rural Appalachia, not just in Loma Linda. This is exciting because lifestyle changes can have benefits that cross socioeconomic and religious affiliations. What is the fundamental approach to it? More whole plant foods, less meat, dairy, eggs, and processed foods. It is Meatless Monday, everyone – so go for it! 

Most of us have heard of sprouts – bean sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, and broccoli sprouts, but did you know that sprouting foods improve the nutritional quality of many legumes? Lentil sprouts are one of the healthiest snacks we can consume, and we all can make them at home for pennies. We can germinate chickpeas, buckwheat, mung beans, peas, and lentils… and it is easy!  All you need is a large mason jar, a porous cloth like cheesecloth for the top, and a rubber band to hold it in place. Soak them in water overnight, rinse them well, put them in the jar and drain off any excess water, prop the jar so it drains any excess water out through the lid onto a bowl or pan, then rinse and drain them twice a day until they have sprouted an inch long. Put them on a paper towel then store them in the fridge in a regular container and enjoy!  Why sprout? It dials up the antioxidant power significantly to avert the damage to our cells by free radicals. They are anti-inflammatory, and sprouted beans and grains are more digestible also. This is a fun project for your kids and helps them understand nutrition better! Plantify your plates with sprouts and have a terrific Tuesday! 

We have never talked about this health topic – accidental death. You might be saying to yourself, accidents are accidents, so why even discuss it? It is important because there are certain riskier behaviors we can avoid. For example, going under anesthesia carries a one in 100,000 risk of death – the choice to have elective surgeries carries risks we can avoid. Riding in trains and planes is equivalent in the risk of death, but did you know that riding a motorcycle is almost fifty times deadlier than riding in a car? Even bicycling to a destination is ten times more deadly than driving there. Bicycling is a great activity – but you can choose trails that are not in traffic – like the “rails to trails” routes such as the Vienna, IL trail, the Katy Trail, and others, where there are no vehicles near the bikes! Stay safe to live longer and live stronger and have a wonderful Wednesday! 

Is cheese healthy? Just like every other food, the question is, “compared to what?”  If we make a sandwich and choose cheese instead of baloney, then yes, it is healthier. But compared to peanut butter? No way! Dairy products have recently claimed they are health “neutral” – meaning they do not harm but do not help our health, but this is misleading. Cheese indeed would be healthier on a salad than bacon, but not compared to nuts. Nuts and other plant proteins like peanut butter have been found to protect us from heart disease and diabetes – in contrast, meat and dairy do just the opposite. Replacing one hundred calories of fat from cheese with one hundred calories of peanut butter could reduce heart attack and stroke risk by 24%. Dairy products are a major contributor to the saturated fat in our diets, associated with the #1 killer of people – heart disease. Do not let yogurt, cottage cheese, or other so-called dairy “health foods” fool you. There are better choices out there for our magnificent bodies of ours! 

It is FIX IT FRIDAY and greens are for EVERY day! Try this Three Goddess Salad for energy and antioxidant power, from the new "Be A Plant-based Warrior Woman" cookbook!

2 cups chopped kale

1 head romaine chopped romaine lettuce

1/2 head chopped red cabbage

1/2 head chopped napa cabbage

1/2 chopped cucumber

4 chopped green onions

1 and a half cup blueberries

4 peeled and sectioned clementine oranges

1 cup chopped raw walnuts

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

 Toss all the ingredients with your favorite dressing from the Warrior Woman cookbook and enjoy this "party in your mouth"! Also, if you do not have a good "chopper", it is a MUST! The Kitchen Hero on Amazon is perfect.

 From the Archives:

 There is a fundamental lifestyle approach that everyone needs to look at when they have an autoimmune condition, which is looking at the root causes, not fixing the condition but the habits in our lives that are leading us to have this condition. The main three triggers are allergens, microbes, and toxins (much of them in our diets), and stress influences all of these as well. Two-thirds of our immune system is in the digestive system, and the most inflammatory thing we do each day is EAT. Every forkful of what we put into our mouths is either inflammatory or anti-inflammatory. There is no shortage of calories, but we have a huge shortage of nutrient-dense foods - vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, fiber, essential amino acids, and essential fatty acids. We have diets that are full of "energy" but not providing the raw materials that we need for our critical chemical reactions. So, on this meatless Monday, choose foods that are high in nutrients and stay tuned for a list of them!

 As we mentioned yesterday, when it comes to reducing inflammation and the root causes of auto-immune diseases, a key to it is our food choices - we need to focus on the amount of NUTRITION per calorie, and on avoiding foods that over-stimulate the immune system and undermine our health. Gluten is inherently inflammatory, damages the lining of the gut, and feeds the wrong type of bacteria in our guts, all of which over-stimulates our immune systems. It, and other foods, cause what is called "malabsorption". Malabsorption is one of the most overlooked reasons for autoimmune diseases - we eat the right things, but a few wrong things block the nutrients from being absorbed. More to come on fixing this, so stay tuned and have a terrific Tuesday everyone!

 Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, is not a vitamin at all, but an important steroid hormone that we produce when we are exposed to the sun or when we consume foods rich in vitamin D. It is the MOST IMPORTANT immune-changing substance - it alters our immune cell function more than anything else, yet 50% of us are deficient! Try to spend 15 minutes in the sun before 10 am. Also, we also have talked a lot this week about inflammatory foods. There are seven that are bad actors for our guts. Try a 30-day period of eliminating them and see if you feel better, and to live longer and stronger! They are gluten, dairy, soy, corn, eggs, peanuts, and sugar/artificial sweeteners. And have a wonderful Wednesday!

 

 We have talked all week about helping reverse and prevent autoimmune disorders, and what foods to avoid - gluten, dairy, soy, corn, eggs, peanuts, sugar/artificial sweeteners. There are foods that BOOST our immune systems though. Add foods like asparagus, onions, garlic, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, root vegetables (especially sweet potatoes) AND two apples a day will give us the anti-inflammatory effect of the most powerful steroid we can take. The key is to not eat them raw - cook them just a few minutes until the surface begins to get shiny. It breaks them down into pectin, which reduces our systemic inflammation. And of course, the "fermented foods": sauerkraut, tempeh, and apple cider vinegar each week are powerful for our gut health. Lastly, turmeric has eighty-four different pathways to help us! It is the miracle of nutrition :)   Power up your plates with t! e wonderful foods!

 All week it has been about reducing autoimmune disease - what to avoid, and what to eat. Just a reminder to focus on getting as many different good foods each week as possible. Our ancestors consumed almost one thousand different foods - we only consume twenty on average. And another tip - be conscious of chewing your food more. Much more nutrition is extracted from our food when we chew it twenty-five times instead of ten. On the first day, we mentioned allergens as a root cause of autoimmune disease, and it is not just in food. Consider purchasing house-wide filtration systems for your home and replacing all your filters in the furnace with those that are highly HEPA-rated and have charcoal. Have your ducts cleaned including the dryer vent at least once a year, but make sure when they are doing it, they do not use chemicals. Have a fantastic Friday everyone!

 Resource:  Betrayal:  The Autoimmune Solution, by Dr. Tom O'Bryan. Go to http://livingmatrix.com/betrayal-the-series and fill out your life timeline for clues on your health journey.