Permaculturist Health

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

If allergic to wheat or cow dairy products then eliminate them from the diet. Often goat and sheep cheese can be consumed and there are many excellent gluten free baked goods in the marketplace these days; spelt is one of them. For a time I bought refrigerated probiotic supplements from a local health food/natural nutrition store and Whole Foods. I used New Chapter products, specifically All Flora but NC has a few others to consider too including prebiotics. There are foods that feed probiotic microorganisms called prebiotics. These are worth looking into. Chickpeas and maybe lentils and potatoes are some of them. Google prebiotics; they seem to be really important when trying to maintain healthy microflora. Probiotics and prebiotics are trending in a big way and for good reason. I was in Whole Foods the other day and they had an entire refrigerated display case filled with nothing but probiotic supplements. For improved digestion, regularity and GI tract health these fermented foods and drinks have always worked for me: kim chee eaten every day, sauerkraut, miso, umeboshi plum with shiso, natto, kombucha tea, soy yoghurt, dairy yoghurt if not lactose intolerant and many other foods too numerous to list. Books on the subject are plentiful but some stand out, Sandor Katz and Bill Mollison. Chelsea Green publisher carries a giant array of books on this subject and much more, visit their website. Start a sprout farm in your house. Works by Kulvinskas and Wigmore are a wonderful way to learn about this and there are many more recently written. I have to say kim chee works really well for me, eaten as often as possible and a small cup of it is usually enough. Walmart has excellent kim chee. Often I eat it as a topping on rice and tofu or tempeh. I went through food allergy hell from birth to age 45 not realizing what was causing such gastric distress and prolonged colds in winter. A friend showed me a book "One Man's Meat Is Another Man's Poison" which connected blood type to food types safely consumed and which ones to avoid. I went home and chucked out most of what was in my refrigerator, discovered fermented foods and probiotics shortly afterward, regained my health and never looked back. I recommend against consumption of any alcohol and tobacco use. Raw foods along with fermented foods are the ultimate diet as far as I am concerned. Make sure you get adequate protein in whatever form you like. There are methods of combining different types of vegetarian foods for maximum protein content and there are food combining rules for maximum health through maximum nutrition that guide you through optimum meal preparation. There are foods that clash and cause improper digestion and ones that complement each other and provide good nutrition and health.