Living Fully Nourished

The main error in nutrition is making nutritionism the base to determine the best way of nourishing our body. I think that the guide we should take as a reference should be grounded in food, and not in their nutrients.

The Mediterranean diet is famous for being one of the healthiest in the planet. Comparing the consumption of different food in central and northern Europe with the southern Europe, we can see that there are clear differences regarding nutrition.
The avantages of the Mediterranean diet are usually associated to the extended use of olive oil, the high intake of fish, nuts, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and the moderation on red meat and sugary food.
In order to elucidate what are the true reasons of the success of the Mediterranean diet, we are going to compare the southern countries such as Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey with central and northern countries such as Germany, Nederland, Switzerland, Belgium and United Kingdom.

Alcohol, coffee, tea, chocolate, … are some of the stimulants that we consume on a daily basis.
We think that they are not harmful, and even some studies even claim they may be beneficial in small amounts. But what is really happening in the body of a person when he/she has these products? Why do they seem harmless if they are so toxic? And what happens when he/she tries to stop having them?
Did you know that some foods containing sugar, dairy and gluten follow a similar process in the body?
This article is a review of Herbert Shelton’s teachings about stimulants, from his book “Human Life. Its Philosophy and Laws”.

 

Has you ever felt a little bit sleepy after eating a salad? Or lightly constipated when you eat a very large salad?
Lettuce contains a substance called lactucarium that “is known as lettuce opium because of its curative sedative and analgesic properties”, although it’s not an opium derivative.
“The chemical constituents of lactucarium that have been investigated for biological activity include lactucin and its derivatives lactucopicrin and 11β13-dihydrolactucin. Lactucin and lactucropicrin were found to have sedative activity in measurements of spontaneous movements of the mice.” (Wikipedia)
Not every person will feel the sedative effect of this substance; the sensitivity of every person is very different. But if you are a hyper sensitive person, and you react to food-drugs such as coffee, chocolate, tea, coke, spices, herbs, etc., then I recommend you to be careful with lettuce. Have salads preferably in the evening meals, and avoid lettuce if you have tendency to have  constipation. But also, if you are highly sensitive, you may use it as a medicine as an analgesic!



 

When its cold outside we prefer to eat warm or hot food, such as soup, potaje, stew, legumes and chestnuts in Spain; or fondue, raclette and croûte in the Swiss alpine villages. But, are these the best dishes to consume in winter?