Health Diet
HOW TO GET WELL
THE DRUGLESS WAY
CONTENTS
First Draft © Dennis Rocke & Dr J. M. Mungavin 1983
Updated Dennis Rocke © 2022
HEALTH DIET
DIET OF HEALTH GIVING FOODS
WHY LACTO-VEGETARIAN?
Why? A simple explanation is that it is a healthier way of eating and many diseases are diet related. Too much intake of food derived from animals contribute to these diseases. Salt and sugar in excess are instrumental to heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Two alternatives to salt are sea salt and ‘Gomasio’ or Sesame Salt. You can purchase Gomasio at a health food shop or preferably make it by mixing five parts of ground roasted sesame seeds with one part sea salt. A lack of fibre in the diet contributes greatly to diseases such as diverticulitis and cancer of the bowel. Some preservatives, colourings and flavourings can also have a diverse effect on health.
Increasing the amount of vegetables and decreasing the amount of animal foods helps to combat these diseases.
The food industries explain the virtues of meat, fish and poultry and how beneficial they are to our health due to the fact that they contain essential proteins. The same beneficial proteins are in abundance in numerous vegetarian sources.
Another benefit from the nuts, etc., is that they all contain fibre. A vegetarian diet is only healthier when it is in balance.
The main groups of a Lacto- Vegetarian diet are:
- Beans
- Dairy products
- Fruit
- Nuts
- Pulses
- Seeds
- Vegetables
- Whole grains
THE HEALTH DIET
Be adventurous with your vegetarian diet and tickle those taste buds.
It is necessary to encourage certain eating habits:
- Always eat slowly and try to make sure that you are in a relaxed atmosphere and that there is no need to rush
- Better to eat several small meals a day than to eat a few large ones. It is more beneficial to eat something at two hour intervals when that something is an apple or a slice of watermelon. Count every food you eat as one meal, e.g. an apple is one meal. Chew it slowly and well. Start the digestion in the mouth. A lot of people make the mistake of rushing the chewing act and swallowing their food too soon. This overloads their digestive system causing something like hypoglycaemia (an abnormally small amount of sugar in the blood)
- Educate yourself to under-eat rather than over-eat. Over-eating is one of the main causes of disease. Under- eating on the other hand is the ‘numero uno’ for health and long life
- Only eat when you feel hungry. Never eat just because habit tells you to have breakfast at 7.30am or lunch is 1.0pm. If you eat food when you have no appetite, the food will be harmful. It could overburden the digestive system and cause wind or indigestion.
- Some salads have mixed raw vegetables and raw fruits. This is not advisable as raw fruits and raw vegetables require different enzyme combinations completely for digestion
- Try to make the amount of differing foods less at one meal, e.g. when cooking a main meal try three items instead of four or five. Your digestive system handles difficult situations better the fewer foods you eat at the same meal. Every food from an apple to a potato needs a different enzyme for its assimilation.
- When there are foods in a meal that differ, e.g. protein rich foods and carbohydrate rich foods. Always eat the protein rich food first. Protein rich foods need a lot of hydrochloric acid in your stomach for digestion and assimilation. Carbohydrates such as vegetables do not need hydrochloric acid for assimilation and therefore the stomach does not secrete much of it. If you eat a salad first as some experts suggest is the best way the stomach fills with predominantly carbohydrate foods. The protein foods will then largely remain undigested due to lack of hydrochloric acid as the stomach is catering for the carbohydrate salad.
Don’ts
- Do not become a couch potato. Exercise as much as possible
- Drink too much alcohol
- Drink too much tea, coffee, hot chocolate or soft drinks
- Smoke
- Use salt to excess
- Use spices, mustard, black and white pepper or white vinegar except in small doses and then only for taste
- Use white flour, refined white sugar or anything made with them i.e. pastry, bread, pies, doughnuts (donuts), ice-cream, sweets, chocolate etc
Supported by the previous information a daily menu for health consists of the following. Adapt different recipes to the diet keeping in mind the organisation of the diet.
Immediately you rise in the morning:
Pour yourself a glass of water. If preferred add some lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit juice for taste, but only use pure water and only pure fruit juice.
If Preferred:
Fruit juice made of fresh fruit, e.g. strawberries, cherries, pears, apple, pineapple, etc., etc.
Or choose:
Cup of herb tea made from your favourite herbs, e.g. rose hips, camomile, peppermint, etc., etc. Sweeten with honey.
A good idea after you have had the drink is to engage in some sort of exercise, for instance, walk for an hour or so doing some breathing exercises as you go. After the walk you should take a hot and cold shower to freshen you up before breakfast.
Breakfast:
An apple, orange, grapes, banana or any other fresh fruit even berries. Tub of yoghurt of your choosing preferably home-made.
If Preferred:
Bowl of fresh fruit salad made without sugar.
If desired:
A pint of goat’s milk.
Alternatively:
Bowl of yoghurt with sprouted seeds and a fresh fruit.
Mid-morning Elevenses:
Fruit of some sort, i.e. an apple, orange, banana or any other fresh fruit.
Luncheon:
Bowl of soup, any sort that does not contain meat or product derived from meat. Soup such as bean, chestnut, chilled mint and yoghurt, or celery and lentil. Have one or two slices of whole-grain bread with the soup.
Otherwise:
Potato, corn and spring greens. A good idea is to alternate daily between the a three vegetable lunch and soup, such as, soup one day, vegetables the next.
Or:
A fruit such as an orange or a bowl of freshly made fruit salad but only if breakfast did not consist of fruit.
Alternatively:
A bowl of cereal made from whole-grain such as buckwheat, millet, oats, corn, rice or barley. Prepare the cereal with water and dry milk powder (the non instant type). If the cereal needs sweetening, use honey not sugar.
A glass of goat’s (cow’s milk).
Two slices of whole-grain bread or Russian style black bread with two slices of cheese (only use natural cheese which you can purchase in health food shops try never to use processed cheese).
Afternoon snack:
A glass of fresh fruit juice or fresh vegetable juice.
Alternatively:
A fruit of some kind such as an apple. Try to vary the fruits, for example if you have a banana for midmorning elevenses then have an apple for the afternoon one.
Otherwise:
A cup of herb tea, any type that is your own favourite. Sweeten with honey.
Dinnertime:
Two or three middle sized jacket, boiled or baked potatoes. A portion of Green beans not overcooked and a portion of artichoke or aubergine. Other vegetables can be substituted as preferred.
After the vegetables serve a large plate of green salad. Use any or an obtainable fresh vegetables. Include alfalfa seed sprouts, mung bean sprouts, carrots, avocados and tomatoes. Garlic is so beneficial that if your social life permits it then garlic dressing is essential. Try to make tasty if used in a dressing. Do not toss the salad. Every vegetable should be placed on the plate individually because of digestion. Make your salad dressings as tasty as possible, for instance a cold pressed oil seasoned with sea salt, black pepper, garlic juice or powder, vinegar (apple cider vinegar is very satisfying) and herbs make a very winning combination.
Follow this with some home made cottage cheese or two slices of natural cheese.
A tub of yoghurt (home-made if possible).
A glass of goat’s (cow’s) milk or any soured milk.
Alternatively:
Rotate lunch menu for dinner and vice-versa.
Supper:
Milk drink made from goat’s milk and nuts or goat’s milk and seeds. Add honey to sweeten. Make the drink in a liquidiser making sure the seeds or nuts have been thoroughly liquidised.
Or:
Tub of yoghurt (if not included with dinner).
Alternatively:
A fruit of some sort for example an orange.
Otherwise:
A cup of herb tea and one slice of whole-grain bread with a portion of home made cottage cheese
Obviously the above menu is only meant to be a guideline and it is up to you the individual to mix and match the ingredients for your diet plan. If you stick to the plan as closely as possible then you will feel and become more healthy. Of course you can stick to the diet as it is but the availability of fresh vegetables and your partialities will often make you vary the diet. Take all supplements with the meal or directly after you finish. Never take the supplements before you eat.
Brewer’s yeast is very beneficial and it is advisable to take two tablespoons of brewer’s yeast powder mixed with milk or fruit juice every morning with your breakfast.