So Which Diet Do I Follow?

I don't follow any specific diet.  There are many good diets out there - Atkins, Vegan, Vegetarian, Bulletproof, etc.  From my observations, they all share a common denominator.  Their basic concept is "eat clean, whole foods."  It's true that Atkins sells foods that are processed, but even those have relatively healthy ingredients.  I followed Atkins years ago with great success.  After I became ill, I gave up on eating right.  My mindset was, "it's not going to make a difference anyway, it won't cure my MS."  I feel that I was just making excuses and giving up.  I see things VERY differently these days.

My diet these days breaks down to about 70% vegetables (mostly raw), 25% fruit (I start out putting the fruit in a large container of non-fluoridated (see why in another blog of mine), purified water and then eat it that evening on an empty stomach.  Why an empty stomach?  Because fruit digests VERY quickly, and if you eat it along with a food that digests very slowly it can ferment in your intestines.  You can imagine this can cause a lot of ... ahem...socially unacceptable situations.  >.>

I love my raw veggies.  I buy a variety and cut them up and keep them in the fridge so my son and I will have a quick and easy snack throughout the day.

I also love cooked veggies.  I make crockpot soups all the time.  I like to add turmeric because it is a fantastic anti-inflammatory.  Stir fried Brussels sprouts with a touch of Himalayan salt is REALLY GOOD!  Baby spinach in scrambled eggs for breakfast is a favorite.  I could go on and on.

Meat has gone from my main portion at dinner to a once or twice a week addition to a dish.  Same goes for cheese.  I only eat cheese in the Jalapeno Popper Casserole my son makes, once a week.  I used to eat a LOT of cheese!  Swiss, Mozzarella, Pepper Jack...  I don't even miss it anymore.  If you want to know why I rarely eat cheese anymore, leave a comment below and I'll tell you.  If you are squeamish, don't read my answer.  ha ha

Sometimes in between meals I will snack on various nuts.  I prefer to get the raw, unsalted nuts and roast and salt them myself using extra virgin coconut oil and Himalayan pink salt.  They are sooo much better!  When I am craving chocolate, I will melt some coconut oil, add organic cocoa powder and stevia, and then drizzle it over the nuts.  Surprisingly I don't end up over doing it, which proves to me that it's sugar that makes you over indulge.  That's just my own personal opinion.

I don't know if I mentioned in my previous blog posts, but I had my labs done about three or four months after starting this new way of eating.  My PCP was shocked to see that I had, for the first time in decades, a NORMAL liver function test!  In fact, I cut the number in half!  I looked up the causes for a high liver function test, and of course the main cause was from alcohol, but since I don't drink I knew that wasn't the problem with mine.  The other main cause was malnutrition.  At first I laughed, because I looked anything but malnourished!  However, the more research I have done, the more I learn that you don't always get really thin and emaciated when you are undernourished.  You can eat all you want of the processed, pasteurized foods and still not get enough nutrients into your body.  I probably eat a 10th of what I used to, and yet I'm healthier, thinner, happier, and my lab tests are finally in the normal range.  I'm rarely hungry.  The same is true for my son.  He's 15 now, and since he has started eating whole foods and cut out almost ALL processed foods, he has lost 24 pounds and feels fantastic.  He also rarely eats and still has all the energy he needs.

In addition to my foods, I take supplements.  I put them in a separate post: Rock Star Supplements And A Superb Smoothie

Lastly, and most importantly, I drink a LOT of water!  As I mentioned above, I drink non-fluoridated water.  I have a separate post for that, as well:  Back Away From The Fluoride Toothpaste...And The Fluoridated Water...And The Over Fluoridated Processed Foods...  I cut up fresh fruit, or open a bag of frozen if no fresh is available.  I've read that freezing fruits does not kill the live enzymes, so frozen fruits, if done properly, are just as effective as fresh fruits.  I add about a cup of fruit to about a quart of water.  I will drink one quart of the water and then add another quart to the fruit at the bottom.  I will occasionally add a fruit flavored stevia to it if I want a sweeter drink.  By evening my water is finished and I will enjoy the fruit, on an empty stomach of course.

I should mention that I do drink tea and coffee, but only organic!  I like to have a cup of "bulletproof coffee" in the morning and a cup of chamomile tea with lemon in the evening.  Again with stevia.  Stevia is the only sweetener I will use in my drinks.  It's grown naturally, and I find it leaves no aftertaste.  I will be writing a new post soon about natural and artificial sweeteners.

Enjoy and remember to hydrate!  -J