Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. HippocratesI have read both of these books (including the many recipes) written by Dr. Hyman and it confirms what J. J. Virgin recommends via her sensitivity diet plan while also tracking other healthy eating plans such as the Mediterranean, the Paleo and the Daniel diet noted in the Bible.
As Dinner Diva Leanne Ely said on one of her recipe videos (see her website at SavingDinner.com), no one yet knows even 20 percent about our whole foods--veggies, fruits, spices, herbs. We have uncovered very little knowledge regarding all their ingredients, all their medicinal values. As evolved as we are in many ways, our knowledge base here is stunted.
But we don't need to know how they work to make use of them in our bodies, in our lives. Just like electricity, computers, cars, indoor plumbing.
So here is one tip for you as I begin the preparatory phase of this Blood Sugar Solution reset plan. I eat three whole walnuts in the morning while I'm waiting on my (now decaf) coffee. First, the author recommends we break our fast within an hour of waking. Not sure this snack counts, as I figure he means a meal, but there you go.
The reason I start my day with walnuts is because I have been experiencing nighttime leg cramps. They are not fun and the known magnesium in walnuts is the cure in my short experience. And since it is working, I'll continue with my walnut therapy.
The next thing I'm tackling is my nighttime congestion problem. Something about becoming horizontal stops up my nose and throat. I'm hoping removal of diary products will stop that. I'll let you know. If three days can confirm a food sensitivity (see Dr. Hyman's books for the particulars), then I'm hoping within three days of being fully off dairy in all its (sometimes hidden) forms, will lessen my overnight "sinusitis."
Of course, the main agenda for the two books, as well as the titles of each, focuses on our abuse of sugar in its many forms (actual sugars, then of course pastas, breads, grains, white potatoes, other starchy veggies, etc.). The doctor compares our ancestors' consumption of sugar to our present-day figures and it is a showstopper.
The Paleos of old ate 22 teaspoons of sugar a year (truly treating it as a spice not as a meal) to our present-day addiction of 150–180 pounds a year.
That's per person, folks.
Which means a minimum of thirty of those five-pound bags over a year or 1.7 each week. Granted we eat sugar is many forms, but I think this visual helps us all to see the folly of this continued practice.
To further add perspective, for example, take one 16.9 ounce Coke with its 55g of sugar or ~14 teaspoons (4g = 1 tsp) or 4.66 tablespoons (3 tsps = 1 T) or more than 1/4th cup (4 Ts = 1/4 c)! Comparing Red Diamond Sweet Tea, one 8-oz serving has 17g of sugar, or 34g if the serving size is doubled to 16 oz. to be closer to the Coke serving mentioned above.
If you can't go cold turkey off ALL sugars, as Dr. Hyman advises, then I would suggest cutting back. Instead of Coke, drink sweet tea, which would save you 21g for every 16 ounces. Then as you make your own sweet tea at home, keep reducing the sugar you add until you wean yourself off the sweetened variety and enjoy it unsweetened. In my mind, it is about finding better substitutions.
Of course, high fructose corn syrup should never be allowed into anyone's diet. Read labels. You'll be amazed where HFCS has been added.
I was surprised to find that Dr. Hyman didn't allow Stevia (an all-natural sugar) in his program. Although, after the initial reset program, 70 percent chocolate and honey are allowed in moderation. Even the Bible speaks of not eating too much honey, yet this is good food for us. In fact, the manna God made and gave to the Hebrews for decades in the wilderness was probably made of honey.
Proverbs 24:13 My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
Proverbs 25:16 If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you be sated with it and vomit it.
Proverbs 25:27 It is not good to eat much honey, so be sparing of complimentary words.
Exodus 16:31 Now the house of Israel called its name manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.But a small amount of fruit is allowed on this program, so that was a huge selling point for me.
Exodus 16:35 And the people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land; they ate the manna, till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
There is a sage saying about a mind newly stretched by a fresh idea, a novel thought, can never resume its old size and shape.
There are many mind-stretching statements made in Dr. Hyman's books, but here's two I leave with you. First, even if you don't see a corresponding weight loss in the first three days, your body is already being greatly changed (my paraphrase here). Second, 80 percent of the people who follow Dr. Hyman's plan can reset their bodies within six weeks. (The other 20 percent may need another six-week session, or maybe three months. The more stubborn cases require a health care practitioner.)
With my many thanks to Dr. Hyman, let's see now about reshaping the body....
Denise Barker, author + blogger + copy
editor
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