Sunday, June 2, 2013

A Tale of Three Diets, by Robyn Cornwell

First, let's clarify the often misused term: diet. An individual's diet is a long term pattern of eating or general, daily approach to food. Diet refers to a lifestyle of food choices. It could be healthy, convenient, strict or relaxed, but however it is described, it is well known that one's diet has a definitive impact on overall health.

In 1983, upon noticing a marked tendency to retain fluid (swollen ankles) I was introduced to the vegetarian diet as proposed in the book "Fit for Life." Immediately, it made a difference, and I was convinced this was my future. To change my hard and fast habit of meat-eating, I bought all the vegetarian cookbooks that were available at the time, and subscribed to Bon Appetit magazine just to have the one vegetarian recipe in the back.

Then, while working in St. Louis in 2001, I discovered the raw food lifestyle. It made so much sense! For example, raw foods lower your pH and conserves those all-important enzymes. I went "whole carrot" and became 100% raw for a whole year. I felt fabulous - all my aches and pains vanished as the cleansing effects took hold.

Fast forward to a few months ago. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I had heard about Dr. Westin A. Price. He was a dentist, who in 1920 decided to travel the world to examine the teeth and jaws of indigenous people's to compare them with those in the US. What he found was astonishing: People who ate only the foods found in nature had 1. No cavities and 2. Jaws wide enough to hold all their teeth, hence no crowding of teeth and cavities that we take for granted in the US.

In spite of raw food being very healthy for you, I had heard it results in dental problems. I was ready to hear more about the Weston A. Price eating lifestyle. So, I attended one of their conferences last February. This was yet another complete turn-around for me as they advocate eating meat! That is, meat with a caveat: It must be ORGANIC! Of course, that is only part of the story...

At our next CHARG! meeting, we welcome Ruth Ann Foster, a Westin A. Price Foundation Chapter leader from Greensboro to share more with us for What to eat? Rediscovering Truth in a World of Choice. Join us at 6pm on Thursday, June 6th at the Planetarium building of the Catawba Science Center in downtown Hickory's SALT block.

Here's a snippet from the talk:

"Before the advent of the food manufacturing industry, there were no nutritionists or dietitians, instinctively, we all knew what to eat! Today, we are bombarded with all sorts of confusing information and advice, from an endless number of "experts." How do we know what is right? More importantly, now what do we eat?

Learn how the food manufacturing industry has hijacked our health and threatens our futures, travel back in time to discover the foods that sustained our ancestors and kept them in vibrant health. Learn simplest eps to apply their dietary wisdom today."

Hope to see you there!