Health Food -  Guidelines to Embrace -   An Ideal Diet Health Food Guidelines to embrace An ideal diet                               Health Food Health food shops are mushrooming all over the world. They are slowly coming up in India too. But how much of what is available in these shops is actually good for health? One thumb rule is, the things available in these shops are generally more healthful (or less harmful) than what is available in regular shops. But that does not mean that they are ideal. However, they are useful in many ways. Firstly, as transition food. Most people are used to eating a particular way all their lives, and suddenly, they have the motivation to change their way of eating. They drop all the unhealthy foods. But out of past habit, there are cravings and they miss the foods  eg milk, cheese, ice-cream, deep-fried chips, sweets, chocolates, other snacks, etc etc. At these times, the temptation to have "just one bite" of these unhealthy foods is too strong to be overcome, and it creates a lot of mental tension too and effort to stay away. So the health food shops provide an easier way out. By offering non-diary milk (soy milk, for example), tofu (instead of cheese), roasted chips, sweets without sugar, healthy snacks etc  these shops provide healthier alternatives that still satisfy the cravings. These foods thus can be used as "transition foods" until you can do away with them altogether and go to the truly healthy foods i.e. raw foods. Of course, these shops have plenty of things in cans, bottles, jars and packets (which are termed as processed food), which are to be avoided as an ideal. However, even if you indulge in these, at the health food shop they are likely to be without preservatives, colourings, flavourings etc. And even if they have them, there will be a label so you know what you are getting into. In general, they provide healthier options. Organic produce (grown without fertilizers, chemical pesticides etc) is usually available in health food stores. Items prepared from organic ingredients are also available. Organic generally means more expensive, so make sure you are getting organic stuff. Ask the shop people how they are sure it is organic. There are standards and labelling in Europe and US, unfortunately nothing yet in India One unfortunate fact is that even in health food shops, there are rows and rows of bottles of vitamins, minerals and supplements. These are actually best consumed in their natural raw form in fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. So as a rule you should stay away from them  except for specific situations where it has been prescribed by a doctor or natural hygienic physician.  Vitamin B12 supplements are a good idea for vegans. Folic Acid supplements are useful for pregnant women. Some other vitamins or supplements may be useful for people having specific problems and deficiencies. But take them only under prescription. Health food shops are also good places to meet with other people with similar interests, interact with them and make new friends. There is usually a bulletin board with info about events, courses, seminars, workshops etc and this is quite useful.  So all in all, health food shops are a good idea  to go for specific things, and for general things, treats, snacks  once in a while. It is perfectly possible to do without these things and by no means need one spend a fortune on the things in these shops. Buy what you need, when you need it, and only as much as you need. Leave out the rest. Guidelines to Embrace Printout this list and stick it on the door of your refrigerator! But remember, these are just guidelines and not rules made in stone! Do's - Only fresh fruit for breakfast - 50% salad  before lunch and dinner - Drink fresh water when thirsty - Get some sunshine every day - Go out into the fresh air when possible - Get at least 20 min of aerobic exercise daily preferably in the outdoors in the mornings - Have your dinner by 8 pm and go to bed by 10 pm Don'ts - No Non-veg food - No diary products - No eggs - No alcohol or smoking or drugs - No deep fried food or very oily food - No processed food and soft drinks - No sweets, chocolates and sugary foods - No very spicy food - NO OVEREATING - NO drinking water with meals An ideal diet The unfortunate thing is there is no such thing as the ideal diet for everyone. There is only an ideal diet for YOU. And this ideal diet too does not remain the same. It might change depending on your age, your goals. It even changes on a day to day, meal to meal basis. If you are sick, your ideal diet today is nothing  just water. If you have had a heavy lunch, go for a light dinner if not skip it entirely. So everything is subjective, situational.. An ideal diet for a marathon runner would be different from that of a sumo wrestler Things also depend on where you live. Asking an eskimo to subsist on raw fruits and vegetables would not be possible because they are not easily available in the first place. And even if they were, they would be too expensive and in the cold weather, one would like to have some hot food with the meal. In India, when people are struggling to get two square meals a day, then advising them to eat avocados or mangoes is not practical. So everything really depends on the individual, his environment, needs, age, health, income etc etc. So it is futile to draw up an ideal diet for everyone. However, that being said, the principles mentioned in this section can help you to draw up a suitable diet for yourself. But you will have to observe carefully how well it suits you. And modify it as needed as per the circumstances. The general guideline is to avoid smoking, alcohol, animal products and processed food, deep fried, oily, sugary and spicy foods. And eat more of raw fruits and vegetables and lighly cooked food. Within these guidelines there is a vast scope for improvisation. If you can't afford to buy fruits and vegetables, settle even for one or two bananas a day. You can get a banana in India for I rupee (2 cents). That's even cheaper than one cigarette! And the banana is one of the ideal foods  in terms of carbohydrates, sugars, vitamins and minerals. It is a complete food. You can literally live on it for days. And if you can't even afford this, then fine. You won't be able to afford meat or milk anyway. Just stop the poison habits- smoking, drinking, chewing tobacco, eating meat and you will still be better off than before.

RESOURCES Articles and Links Professional Practitioners Click to meet professionally qualified Natural Hygienist Doctors Organisations Not-for-profit organisations spreading the word of natural hygiene. Study Courses Formal courses where you can learn more about Natural Hygiene Products and Services A link to our Products and Services section

Main Home Page Translate Traduzca /Traduire Übersetzen Sie / Tradurre/Traduza About us About Chrysalis Yog Events Forthcoming events Newsletter Register for our FREE email newsletter Email Counselling Click here for online email consulting Recommend this site Disclaimer

">

">

">

">

">

">

">

">

RESOURCES Articles and Links Professional Practitioners Click to meet professionally qualified Natural Hygienist Doctors Organisations Not-for-profit organisations spreading the word of natural hygiene. Study Courses Formal courses where you can learn more about Natural Hygiene Products and Services A link to our Products and Services section

Health Food -  Guidelines to Embrace -   An Ideal Diet Health Food Guidelines to embrace An ideal diet                               Health Food Health food shops are mushrooming all over the world. They are slowly coming up in India too. But how much of what is available in these shops is actually good for health? One thumb rule is, the things available in these shops are generally more healthful (or less harmful) than what is available in regular shops. But that does not mean that they are ideal. However, they are useful in many ways. Firstly, as transition food. Most people are used to eating a particular way all their lives, and suddenly, they have the motivation to change their way of eating. They drop all the unhealthy foods. But out of past habit, there are cravings and they miss the foods  eg milk, cheese, ice-cream, deep-fried chips, sweets, chocolates, other snacks, etc etc. At these times, the temptation to have "just one bite" of these unhealthy foods is too strong to be overcome, and it creates a lot of mental tension too and effort to stay away. So the health food shops provide an easier way out. By offering non-diary milk (soy milk, for example), tofu (instead of cheese), roasted chips, sweets without sugar, healthy snacks etc  these shops provide healthier alternatives that still satisfy the cravings. These foods thus can be used as "transition foods" until you can do away with them altogether and go to the truly healthy foods i.e. raw foods. Of course, these shops have plenty of things in cans, bottles, jars and packets (which are termed as processed food), which are to be avoided as an ideal. However, even if you indulge in these, at the health food shop they are likely to be without preservatives, colourings, flavourings etc. And even if they have them, there will be a label so you know what you are getting into. In general, they provide healthier options. Organic produce (grown without fertilizers, chemical pesticides etc) is usually available in health food stores. Items prepared from organic ingredients are also available. Organic generally means more expensive, so make sure you are getting organic stuff. Ask the shop people how they are sure it is organic. There are standards and labelling in Europe and US, unfortunately nothing yet in India One unfortunate fact is that even in health food shops, there are rows and rows of bottles of vitamins, minerals and supplements. These are actually best consumed in their natural raw form in fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. So as a rule you should stay away from them  except for specific situations where it has been prescribed by a doctor or natural hygienic physician.  Vitamin B12 supplements are a good idea for vegans. Folic Acid supplements are useful for pregnant women. Some other vitamins or supplements may be useful for people having specific problems and deficiencies. But take them only under prescription. Health food shops are also good places to meet with other people with similar interests, interact with them and make new friends. There is usually a bulletin board with info about events, courses, seminars, workshops etc and this is quite useful.  So all in all, health food shops are a good idea  to go for specific things, and for general things, treats, snacks  once in a while. It is perfectly possible to do without these things and by no means need one spend a fortune on the things in these shops. Buy what you need, when you need it, and only as much as you need. Leave out the rest. Guidelines to Embrace Printout this list and stick it on the door of your refrigerator! But remember, these are just guidelines and not rules made in stone! Do's - Only fresh fruit for breakfast - 50% salad  before lunch and dinner - Drink fresh water when thirsty - Get some sunshine every day - Go out into the fresh air when possible - Get at least 20 min of aerobic exercise daily preferably in the outdoors in the mornings - Have your dinner by 8 pm and go to bed by 10 pm Don'ts - No Non-veg food - No diary products - No eggs - No alcohol or smoking or drugs - No deep fried food or very oily food - No processed food and soft drinks - No sweets, chocolates and sugary foods - No very spicy food - NO OVEREATING - NO drinking water with meals An ideal diet The unfortunate thing is there is no such thing as the ideal diet for everyone. There is only an ideal diet for YOU. And this ideal diet too does not remain the same. It might change depending on your age, your goals. It even changes on a day to day, meal to meal basis. If you are sick, your ideal diet today is nothing  just water. If you have had a heavy lunch, go for a light dinner if not skip it entirely. So everything is subjective, situational.. An ideal diet for a marathon runner would be different from that of a sumo wrestler Things also depend on where you live. Asking an eskimo to subsist on raw fruits and vegetables would not be possible because they are not easily available in the first place. And even if they were, they would be too expensive and in the cold weather, one would like to have some hot food with the meal. In India, when people are struggling to get two square meals a day, then advising them to eat avocados or mangoes is not practical. So everything really depends on the individual, his environment, needs, age, health, income etc etc. So it is futile to draw up an ideal diet for everyone. However, that being said, the principles mentioned in this section can help you to draw up a suitable diet for yourself. But you will have to observe carefully how well it suits you. And modify it as needed as per the circumstances. The general guideline is to avoid smoking, alcohol, animal products and processed food, deep fried, oily, sugary and spicy foods. And eat more of raw fruits and vegetables and lighly cooked food. Within these guidelines there is a vast scope for improvisation. If you can't afford to buy fruits and vegetables, settle even for one or two bananas a day. You can get a banana in India for I rupee (2 cents). That's even cheaper than one cigarette! And the banana is one of the ideal foods  in terms of carbohydrates, sugars, vitamins and minerals. It is a complete food. You can literally live on it for days. And if you can't even afford this, then fine. You won't be able to afford meat or milk anyway. Just stop the poison habits- smoking, drinking, chewing tobacco, eating meat and you will still be better off than before.