Short Summary on Health Seminar (First 4 speakers of 10)

The past couple days I've been listening to some well-known nutritional health doctors online. I've listened to Gabriel Cousens (he's a little too extreme for me but very smart and if I did go completely off all animal products, I would read up more on his information), Dr. Mercola (I have loved reading information from his site in the past, but I'm not into raw eggs), Jonny Bowden and Dr. Joel Fuhrman. I found them all very informative and for the most part they haven't been too contradictory, for example, they each agree that greens are some of the best foods and that all grains (whole grains only) should be limited in our diet. They are all focused on a nutritionally rich diet free of processed foods and eating what works best for your body. I especially liked the the way Fuhrman presented his information and want to read his book Eat to Live. (I went to the library today to pick it up, but, apparently they don't carry it --- so it will just have to sit in my Amazon cart for awhile. Who knows, I may have a different favorite by the time the other 6 speak.)

The main difference (and not a big difference) in what these speakers had to share was their opinion on eating meat. I'm not against eating meat, sparingly. After posting my last blog about my diet, I found and watched Meet Your Meet. (Warning: DO NOT watch if you prefer to continue buying your meat and dairy from the supermarket. I found this video shocking, horrible and terribly disturbing. So, if you do decide to watch, watch it when small children are NOT hanging on your shoulder, arm, or wherever they hang on you when you're at the computer.) Cousens says no meat at all. But there are nutrients (Vitamin B12, zinc, iron, certain types of omega-3s) that you can only get from meat, otherwise you will need to take some quality supplements. The meat-eaters, or rather, omnivors, all agree that these nutrients are best in their natural form rather than from supplements and they all agree that meat should be eaten in moderation. Fuhrman's meat guidelines are that you should receive less than 10% of your daily caloric intake from it (however, a few people may actually need as much as 15% maximum).

As for a raw diet, Fuhrman was the only one to comment on that. He says eating the majority of your vegetables raw is really good but it is easy to go overboard in these areas: sweeteners, salt, dried fruits and oils (oils are best as a whole food). He also finds it limiting and that when a raw foodist adds some cooked foods, such as vegetables and beans, into their diet they seem to do better.

Overall and so far, I like Fuhrman's addendems to "My Diet Rules" best of all. I also like hearing how much the Health/Nutrionists agree overall. I love what they have to share and that they have so many facts, studies and years of experience to back up their methods.



As a side note: When picking up my kids this afternoon, Payton, putting on his seat belt, says, "After school, Mom, I felt my heart beating." "Oh?" "It was beating hard." "Did it hurt?" "No. It didn't feel good." Hmmmmm... I hope it's not something serious. (I ignored his occasional complaints about his tummy until he started throwing up every other night --- only to find out he has gerd. I will have to fine-tune my ears to this and see if we've got another problem. It does make me feel a little anxious about whether I can get our diet changed for the better fast enough.)