Eating Is Necessary – Eating Well Is An Art
A big name in the field of food awareness is Suzanne Powell – an Irish woman who specializes in nutrition. She tells how to find the best “eating style” for each person in her book Conscious Nutrition. Suzanne maintains that conscious nutrition is the art of knowing what to eat, how to eat it and when to eat it.
What should we eat?
In general, we live a sedentary life where we do not exercise consistently, eat too fast and do not keep track of our diet. We often do not know what we are eating or how our body is digesting it.
Therefore, it is important to know how the body works, how much oxygen it needs, how to maintain good pH balances, etc.
The human body gets the oxygen it needs through breathing. We can find the oxygen we need in the air we breathe, but since the oxygen reserves in the body are minimal, we must take in new oxygen in the body continuously. Adults breathe between twelve and twenty times per minute, while newborns breathe between 40 and 60 times per minute.
The ratio of acids to bases in the body is measured on the pH scale (hydrogen potential), where 0 is extremely acidic, 14 is extremely basic and 7 is neutral. The blood should have a pH of between 7.4 and 7.45, which is somewhat alkaline.
Which foods are acidic and which are alkaline?
One of the basic factors that influence the acidity of the body is the nutritional intake. Foods that acidify the blood can cause diseases, and it is recommended to avoid them as much as possible.
Here are some examples of foods that acidify the blood: Refined sugar and its derivatives, alcohol, tobacco, everything with dyes and preservatives, etc. Among the foods that help us maintain a somewhat alkaline pH we find raw fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, greens plants (aloe vera, seaweed) etc.
How should we eat?
It is important to be aware of how we should eat our food. It is important to not only know the difference between eating it raw and cooked, but also to know how to combine foods correctly.
Suzanne Powell maintains that the way we eat is important both for our daily lives and for our chances of recovery from illness, and that the right combination of foods can help us digest food better.
Suzanne says, among other things, that if we combine proteins with starch, we will not be able to digest any of them in a good way because each food group requires a specific environment for good digestion. Protein dissolves in acid while carbohydrates need a more alkaline environment.
Our bodies have different enzymes that are produced depending on the foods we chew. When we mix foods that are not combined well, such as rice and salad with lemon or vinegar-based dressing, it makes digestion more difficult and can upset the stomach.
When should we eat?
Different types of food should not only be combined in the right way, but also consumed at the right time of day.
It is also important to remember what season you are in and eat fruits and vegetables that match it. We may have access to almost all fruits and vegetables all year round, but those that are not seasonal are treated with artificial substances.
In the morning, you should eat fruits that are in season along with yogurt and muesli for breakfast. For lunch, it is best to eat salads and carbohydrates along with seasonal fruits. For dinner, you should combine a salad with meat or fish (proteins). If you feel tempted to snack between meals, it is best to eat nuts, green tea, yogurt, etc.
Knowing what to eat, when to eat it and how to eat it will help you digest and metabolize properly. Ultimately, it’s about being aware of what you eat and how to combine different foods to benefit your health and body.
