I Eat Healthy, But I’m Always Getting Sick

I hear this all the time. The truth is, we should get no more than one cold per year, and we should not have acid reflux, high cholesterol, constipation, backaches, headaches, muscle cramps, rashes, warts, fungus on our toenails, baldness, premature graying, difficult menstruation, mood swings, and depression.

So what are you eating? Given the current economic times, most of us are consuming the cheapest food you can find that has not (as far as we know) been on the floor. That may not be good enough. You might be able to do better, if you know how to eat in season and for your condition; how to find healthier foods and prepare them how to save money and eat less while feeling satisfied.

I just visited the Metrowest YMCA, where on Member Appreciation Day (today), they were giving out free (green) bananas, (non-organic) green apples, and small boxes of high-fiber cereal. A great idea to make people smile with free food, but here are the dangers:

  1. Bananas are toxic to our bodies in winter, even when ripe. If you must consume a banana, please cook it (fried as a dessert, in pancakes, or in banana bread), or salt it. They should be eaten rarely, by healthy people, in summer weather (think about where they grow). Unfortunately many of us have bananas often, to our serious detriment.
  2. Green apples are great in small amounts, especially after a meal. But when they have pesticides, it’s critical to wash them and preferable to cook them (baked apples, in oatmeal, apple sauce, jello, apple juice, etc.). Having a whole, unwashed, non-organic green apple in winter is not healthy eating.
  3. Boxed cereal is junk food. Read the label. Even if it’s whole grain, it is highly processed and turns to sugar in our bodies. Sodium levels are extremely high in these products as well. Anything over 50mg per serving is not good. Plus, these dried foods cause wrinkles, constipation, and bad mood.

It may not be as bad as a burger and french fries. But do not expect it to prevent illness. What should you eat?

  • Boiled grains such as brown rice (pressure-cooked, short grain with a pinch of sea salt in winter), millet, barley and quinoa to name a few;
  • Sautéed vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, onions, winter squash, turnips, radishes, broccoli, mushrooms and cauliflower are great, as are blanched or pressed salads, and sea salt pickles;
  • Bean soups and stews, burritos, chili and soy products such as tempeh, tofu and natto;
  • A small amount of smaller, wild fish such as cod or salmon, once per week this time of year is fine.

There are also some superfoods, such as umeboshi plums, shiitake mushrooms, daikon radish, and sesame seeds.

Of course, besides what you eat, there is also:

  • How much you eat
  • How often you eat
  • How well you chew
  • How much sleep you get
  • How much exercise you get
  • What your stress level is
  • What you do all day

Are you getting all this? If it is overwhelming, it may be because it takes time to learn these things. We spend years studying algebra, geometry, perhaps even calculus, and maybe 25% of us use it in our lives.

But learning how to take care of your body so you prevent illness, and live a long and happy life, is something virtually all of us can make use of.

Call me, today, at 508.333.4153 and I’ll come right over. Or keep reading.

Comments appreciated!!

 

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Comments

I Eat Healthy, But I’m Always Getting Sick — 4 Comments

  1. There is nothing wrong with bananas. Where do you get such nonsense? Your closest living relative genetically are the primates. What do you think they eat? Tofuu? Bananas account for the bulk of their diet. Bananas are one of the most delicious and nutricious foods on the planet!

    Stop spreading non-fractual information,

    Banana man

  2. Can you tell me where you get the idea bananas are toxic, especially in winter? I’ve tried finding further information on this and can only find information on how healthy bananas are. If they were really so toxic, I highly doubt they would be the #4 staple food in the world. Do you have any evidence or references to back up your claim?

    I found your article with a search for “I’m eating healthier but getting sick”. For as long as I can remember, I never got sick. Maybe a minor cold once a year, if even that. But even though I wasn’t getting sick, I wasn’t really making healthy choices. I was living on mostly pizzas, cold cereal, and soda. I never exercised, and would go without water for days, relying on fruit juice, powerade, or milk to rehydrate myself. So I decided to make a change. For a month or so now I’ve been taking multivitamins, eating mainly fruits and vegetables, occasionally eggs, chicken, or cottage cheese, and been making sure to drink at least 64 oz of water every day. I also have a daily exercise routine of either alternating a walk/jog for a mile, or maintaining a steady walk for 4 miles, also with a little yoga or dance routine when I get home. Suddenly, now that I’m making healthier choices in my life, I’ve gotten sick with a sinus infection, and when I overcame that I had an upset stomach with diarrhea the next week, and a week after that I caught the flu. What is going on? Why am I suddenly getting sick week after week with healthier eating and exercise, when before I rarely got sick?

    • Great stuff, thanks Scottie! Here are some points:
      1) Bananas ARE healthy, if you live near the equator. Otherwise, they are a stress on the body, and can lead to brain tumors, especially in winter. There is much written about this in books by Michio Kushi and others on Macrobiotics.

      2) You don’t mention your age, but I will assume you are getting older. As we age, we begin to pay for our earlier eating sins. So even with no changes, you may have had some issues coming.

      3) Sometimes symptoms mean your body is finally able to move out the bad stuff. Be patient.

      4) Diarrhea and flu are both YIN illnesses. Cut out raw fruit, tea/coffee/alcohol/soy milk, and bananas, and have brown rice daily, with plenty of sea vegetables and occasional miso. You should do better.

      5) Multivitamins are almost a total waste of time. Better to get organic vegetables and chew well, and stop drinking at the same time you eat. I do believe in getting minerals and omega 3 oils, as well as B12 and vitamin D, but these can come from sea salt, occasional fish, veggie ends and sunshine respectively.

      Good luck!!

  3. Uh No… Our bodies are made for a hunter-gather diet. Can you hunt or gather tofu? No. Do you want to eat it totally on it’s own, no flavors added at all?! No, it is nasty. Soy beans are even poisonous when raw. But I can gather bananas! (I skip them a lot, tho, as I am trying to get rid of the high sugars for now) Fresh food that tastes good is good for you. Hunt it, gather it or in our modern age: Raise it, Plant it so that hunting and gathering takes no time at all (comparatively). I feel great and do well on a Keto diet which is based on this one rule: If I can’t hunt it/gather it = I can’t eat it/use it as an ingredient. Coconut oil = I can gather and press to make so it is fine, same with olive oil, but margarine? well, I don’t know how to make plastic anyway, but it sure isn’t hunt-able/gather-able! I can and do grind meat to make sausage = additive free sausage is fine (though I don’t eat pork but sparingly).
    Amazing how well my body has shifted! I feel good when I stick to it, I loose weight and have energy, I even eat less because I feel full longer. I had 4 boiled eggs with fried cheese on top for breakfast and I am still full!! It’s 1:48pm right now! I do have to remember to drink my fluids though. My young life I lived in a very wet climate and now I live in a dry one so I am thirsty all the time, I mean ALL the time, so I’ve accidentally trained myself to ignore thirst. Now I have a phone app to remind me LOL

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