Eat well. What does it mean?

Fundamentals of nutrition.

Proper nutrition is the foundation of an optimal state of health and is the basis of any physiological alteration that eventually becomes pathological.

"Strange ... I eat well!" This is a phrase that I hear very often because we think wrongly or rightly to eat properly only because we introduce foods considered officially nutritious, considered by our tradition "important", considered by advertising "healthy".

It is essential to eat little and well, possibly following your physical conformation, your Ayurvedic constitution (we will talk about it in another article) and your blood type.

Let's take the first steps in what I mean and consider "eating well", always according to my experience and my studies.

Eating well in my opinion means eating little, not overcooked, unprocessed and paying attention to the introduction of some substances that can be harmful. Eating well means not gorging and not associating foods that should not be combined. Sometimes it is very simple, it takes much less time and sometimes even less economic effort. However a lot of imagination and ability to go beyond what has been inculcated in us.

The most important precaution in my experience is to avoid cow cheese and dairy products as much as possible (the former undergo a seasoning process unlike the latter).

But why? What does this food contain?

The vitamins and minerals that this food contains are overwhelmed by the harmful saturated fats and cholesterol they contain, along with sodium. Cow milk also holds a protein that has proven to be harmful: casein.

These are the main reasons. I will not dwell on other more detailed, technical or ethical reasons here.

But why do these substances hurt?

Saturated fats found mainly in butter, dairy products and cheeses, lard and pork sausages, in some vegetable oils, such as palm oil (and in part also olive oil) and in cream brioches, have a deleterious effect on our health. Now confirmed studies have observed that the intake of saturated fatty acids is related to an increase in cardiovascular risk, in particular of myocardial infarction and coronary artery ischemia (occlusion or narrowing of the arteries that bring blood to the heart).

Cholesterol must always remain in perfect balance in our body, because otherwise it dangerously damages our vital processes. It is an indispensable fat for many functions. In part it is produced by our own body (by the liver in particular) and in part it is taken through food. Whatever the source of origin, however, the final appointment is in the intestine. Cholesterol, being a fat, does not dissolve in the blood which is a water-based liquid: in order to be transferred from the liver to the organs that will then use it, it must be transported by some special 'carriers', the "lipoproteins": the HDL (the so-called "good cholesterol") and the LDL (the so-called "bad cholesterol"). LDL lipoproteins transport cholesterol from the liver to the tissues and, if present in excessive quantities, bind to the walls of the arteries forming plaques that can obstruct the passage of the blood to block it completely in cases of high degree of occlusion. HDL cholesterol, on the other hand, has the path that goes from the tissues to the liver and acts as a real cleaner of the arteries, which is why if its quantity is above the norm, it is even a positive factor. In general, if an altered value of cholesterol levels is found, it is good to pay attention to the introduction of food such as butter, cheese, milk and diary products. This food can therefore be responsible (along with other factors, such as a family predisposition or even poor physical activity) for an abnormal "bad" cholesterol value.

Sodium, a mineral present in nature practically everywhere and in every animal and plant organism, must be present in the right amount in the blood plasma. It plays an essential role in our body as it performs several vital functions but if in excess it represents a threat. It raises blood sugar, causes water retention and increases blood pressure. Consider that in 100 g of a normal cheese sodium is present at about 25%.

Casein can be presented in two different chemical forms, thus giving rise to two different types of milk: A1 milk and A2 milk. Breeds such as buffalo, yak, goat and sheep secrete A2 milk, while those most widespread in Europe produce A1 milk. Cow milk proteins are made up of 80% casein, while in breast milk the percentage drops to 35%. When casein (both A1 and A2) is subjected to pasteurisation temperature (about 70 ° C), in one of the most important processes that cow milk undergoes before it goes on the market, this protein coagulates and decays, becoming a colloidal and insoluble substance. In this form and in another context, casein is used as an industrial glue becoming the substance that allows labels to remain glued to glass bottles. Let's imagine what happens in our body when we introduce degraded casein. Depending on the degree of denaturation, there is a more or less marked alteration of the intestinal permeability which predisposes to many atopic, inflammatory and autoimmune pathologies; the list of diseases of which degraded casein would increase the risk is long: dermatitis, eczema, hay fever, asthma, otitis, tonsillitis, urticaria. Casein irritates the intestinal and respiratory mucous membranes, stimulating the production of mucus. In recent years, then, observations have been made on the carcinogenic power of casein. There are no official studies on this but it can easily be deduced that a protein of this kind, especially if degraded, can seriously damage our physiological balance.

A second precaution is to avoid pork meat including cold cuts and sausages.

Certainly with regards to cold cuts and sausages, the amount of fat is considerable but a further element that suggests not to exceed with these processed products is the fact that they have been included by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) among the foods that expose you to greater risk of cancer. Meat processing and storage procedures increase the carcinogenicity of the food. In particular, it has been observed that there is a correlation between the consumption of sausages and processed meats and colorectal cancer. Obviously, sporadic consumption, selecting quality products and cleaning the fat part does not cause certain damage to health. Pork is more saturated with toxins than other meats, mainly due to the fact that the pig is a dirty animal that ingests everything from its own or non-own feces to the dead body of sick and non-sick animals, up to insects. Another reason is that the pig has a very fast digestive system. It takes about 4 hours to digest, unlike the cow which instead takes about 24 hours to absorb everything it has ingested. During the digestion process, animals (including humans) get rid of excess toxins and harmful components of food. Since the pig takes so little time, many of these toxins remain in his system and are stored in the fatty parts, ready for our consumption. In addition, pigs have few sweat glands, a fundamental tool that the body uses to eliminate its toxins. Conclusion: when we eat pork we also ingest all these toxins. Another reason is that swine flu is a virus that has infected humans. Flu viruses can be transmitted directly from pigs to humans, from man to pig and from man to man. This swine flu can be transmitted to people through improperly prepared and undercooked pork food.

A third precaution is to limit cereals with or without gluten.

Cereals are heavy foods for the body to digest and rich in sugars and therefore of fast energy. They are often processed as in the case of pasta and contain another colloidal, viscous and elastic protein mixture (as well as casein), called gluten. It is no wonder that many people are gluten intolerant, such as cow milk intolerant and therefore often casein (as well as lactose). We talk about two glues! I leave it to you to draw conclusions on the consequences that an organism can present after eating glue! I consider it more than a good luck that so many people show intolerance to these products. It gives me comfort and joy that the body for some of us is so clear in its communication. In reality it is explicit with each of us, but it takes time, experience and silence to learn to listen to it. When I speak of cereals I am referring above all to cereals with gluten, i.e. soft or hard wheat, spelt grain, kamut, rye, barley, oats, as well as couscous and bulgur (balls of durum wheat flour worked and moistened and then made into grains). Gluten-free cereals are rice, corn and millet. Belonging to other families but erroneously called cereals (or paracereals) are quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat. The latter, both gluten-free cereals and paracereals, are definitely less harmful than the foods that contain it. For those with glycemia or celiac disease problems, gluten-free cereals for the latter and these "paracereals" for the former are unquestionably better. Buckwheat, amaranth and quinoa raise the blood sugar much less, also because they contain much less starch than corn or rice. In any case, according to my experience, I believe that cereals with or without gluten (especially if with) should certainly be consumed in extreme moderation as they are responsible or in any case enemies of diabetes, cholesterol, overweight, hypertension and much more. Let's think what derives from our beloved cereals coming from wheat: pasta, bread, focaccia, pizza, cakes, brioches, rusks, crackers and so on. All these foods are not present in nature and if they are not, it is important to wonder why. Especially if processed, cereals should be avoided.

Having said all this, I return to the concept of "eating well".

Eating well for me means first of all being very careful with these foods and then introducing minerals and vitamins necessary for our body and which we find in fruit and vegetables.

Oil seeds (walnuts, almonds, pecans, pine nuts, hazelnuts etc ..) and eggs are essential for our diet, always according to my experience. Meat and fish according to your blood type and constitution are important. Fundamental are legumes that are allies of our physiological balances and regulators of cholesterol and blood sugar, as well as suppliers of complete proteins. They reduce the risk of different types of cancer and prevent hypertension.

But how to start eating well? How do you know which food to combine? And above all, what can you eat if it is not recommended to introduce dairy products, pasta and ham? What's left?

For all those who ask themselves these questions, it will follow 17 recipes, 17 ways of eating, 17 new styles of nutrition, in my next article.

Seeing is believing! Always experiment! Question everything, starting from my words up to those of an expert. Building on your experience is the key.

That's exactly why I'm here writing to you today. Because this way of feeding myself saved me in many ways and improved life of many people I know who are following this way of eating.

Let’s try!