Beyone Dieting: How to Eat for Health & Vitality

A friend of mine recently forwarded this article to me. I have heard of Donna Gates and the Body Ecology Diet through the years and find it interesting how all of our messages are the same. In this article Donna points out some essential points to obtaining optimal health that I feel are worth sharing. In addition, she discusses the need for internal cleansing, which ties directly into my work and dedication to educating people on its vital importance. Enjoy.


Beyond Dieting: How to Eat for Health & Vitality
by Dr. Darren R. Weissman for www.InfiniteLoveandGratitude.com

In today's article, I'm going to talk about thesecond of the Five Basics for Optimal Health: Food
If you think about the concept of "eating healthy," what comes to mind? For a lot of people, it means going on a diet. But more and more evidence is showing that diets don't work and in fact, they often create a vicious cycle of yo-yo weight loss and weight gain. On top of that, going on a diet is often all about calories, and not about how to truly nourish your body.

To Diet or Not to Diet

The quantity, quality, and frequency of what you eat is critical to your health. So where do you begin, when you want to start a healthy eating program? First, I encourage you to reframe the concept of weight loss to nourishment. Since the standard American diet (SAD) consists largely of high sugar foods and processed foods, we've lost the concept of which foods are truly nourishing for our bodies. In fact, most people today are experiencing symptoms of poor digestive health, like gas, bloating, indigestion, candida, constipation, and abdominal pain. When clients come into my office with these symptoms, I use The LifeLine TechniqueTM to help them release subconscious suppressed emotions that are causing those symptoms. What makes The LifeLine TechniqueTM come alive is when I teach my clients The Five Basics for Optimal Health, one of which is food. No matter what symptoms you may experience -- and even if you are in good health -- focusing on a healthy eating plan is key for feeling your best. Over the years, I have had the privilege of studying many systems of health and healing and the one that I've found the most beneficial is the Body Ecology Diet, created by Donna Gates. What I love about the Body Ecology diet is that it's not really a "diet," but a system of eating that helps your body heal. The list of conditions Body Ecology has been known to help is long: abdominal pain, indigestion, food allergies, candida, MS, autism, Alzheimer's, chronic fatigue, and more.

According to Donna, the inner workings of your digestive tract can be thought of as your "inner ecosystem." When I asked Donna to describe the inner ecosystem, she said, "Just like the Earth has ecosystems full of organisms responsible for harmony and balance, our bodies follow suit. Inside your intestines are colonies of bacteria and yeast, both good and bad. The key is to have enough of the good guys to keep the bad guys from overpowering your intestines and setting you up for illness and disease." Donna and I both teach that good digestive health is key for feeling your best. It is your digestive system that breaks down and extracts the nutrients your body needs to heal, to regenerate and to thrive. Yet we've gone off track with nutrition and it's become largely about convenience.

Body Ecology actually teaches us to reconnect with nature and with traditional, whole foods and ways of eating. Donna often says, "while we may be living longer today, we are not necessarily living better. In fact, our ancestors were often more hardy and energetic than we are today." It's not all about our genes either. To learn more about how your subconscious mind and emotions play a role, read my interview with Dr. Bruce Lipton. So while we know your subconscious mind and emotions play a role in your best health, Donna Gates teaches us how food plays a role as well.

How Body Ecology Contributes to Your Best Health

The Body Ecology program is a system of eating whole foods that can work whether you eat meat, are vegetarian, or follow the raw food diet. This means you have plenty of options in how you follow Body Ecology.

The Key is Body Ecology's 7 Principles for Healthy Eating:

The Principle of Balance - is based on the concept of yin and yang, the opposing energy forces from ancient Chinese and Japanese traditions. Body Ecology uses the terms expansion and contraction to explain the yin and yang energy of the food you eat. Let's use sugar as an example for an expansive food. It absorbs into your blood stream very quickly and produces energy, giving you a temporarily open and relaxed feeling. With sugar, however, it is damaging because it is too expansive and therefore, not balanced. This is why many people have a sugar high and then a crash. Salt is an example of a contractive food. When you eat contractive foods, they may make your body feel tight and constricted. This is why many people don't feel well after eating too much salt. It makes your body hold on to water, for example. When you eat too much sugar, you may crave salt or when you eat too much salt, you may crave sugar. This is your body seeking a balance between expansive and contractive foods in the form of cravings.

The Principle of Acid and Alkaline - to maintain health, your blood must be slightly alkaline. The foods we eat and the lifestyle choices we make impact our body's ability to maintain that alkaline state. Stress, prescription and over-the-counter drugs, coffee, sugar, and processed foods make your blood more acidic. Body Ecology teaches you the foods and lifestyle habits that help keep your blood more alkaline.

The Principle of Cleansing - your body cleanses everyday through sweat, tears, elimination, and urine. These are ways you rid your body of toxins. Even illness can be a symptom of detoxification. And anyone who has experienced The LifeLine TechniqueTM understands that we detoxify emotionally as well. Cleansing and detoxification are critical for feeling your best and Body Ecology teaches how to cleanse with nutrition and lifestyle habits. In fact, you can really support your LifeLine TechniqueTM session with Body Ecology to help your body detoxify. Emotional detoxification often brings physical detoxification, so they work hand in hand.

The Principle of Food Combining - your digestive system has many different enzymes that digest different types of foods. If you eat protein with grains or starchy foods (think of the standard meat and potatoes meal), for example, you create a burden on your digestive system. This can lead to slowed or impaired digestion, causing the food to ferment in your stomach or toxins to be released in your intestines. It is these types of conditions that make your body more attractive to pathogens and can lead to imbalance in the body that fosters illness or weight gain.

The Principle of 80/20 - this principle says to eat until you are 80% full and leave 20% capacity for digestion. This principle also says that in every meal, 80% of your plate should be vegetables and 20% should be either animal protein or grains.

The Principle of Step-by-Step - we often overdo things and want to master a new habit in too short a time. Instead of taking on too much and feeling overwhelmed, take one thing at a time and go at your own pace. For example, a great place to start is by reducing or eliminating sugar. Get used to that and then add something else!

The Principle of Uniqueness - you are like no one else and your body responds to emotions and food like no one else. It's important to listen to your body and follow your own inner guidance.