Food for thought (literally)!

[SultanOrder]

Anarchist, after watching the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly dead and some more research I am actually on my way to buy a juicer. I'm doing a juice fast for 10 days and my mom will be doing for 30 days. Want to see what this does for my acid reflux and my mom's cholesterol

Your welcome!

[ElfRuler]

.........

[Anarchist]

Anarchist, after watching the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly dead and some more research I am actually on my way to buy a juicer. I'm doing a juice fast for 10 days and my mom will be doing for 30 days. Want to see what this does for my acid reflux and my mom's cholesterol

That documentary became like a cult. I juiced for 15 days twice so far, still juice on the weekends and every chance I get (guaranteed way to get all the needed micronutrients otherwise not consumed). You'll lose major weight, make sure it's not muscle weight that you lose, might want to include either whey protein in to your breakfast juice or eat at least some sort of protein rich food once a day like salmon, boiled eggs, lean chicken, etc. Also do resistance training/weight lifting to combat possible muscle weight loss. I bought the Breville juicer from Best Buy, doesn't come cheap, but is worth every penny - it's top notch in its class, just make sure you clean it after each use, it comes with it's own brush, make sure you use that and never your kitchen sponge (it'll clog up the filter teeth). I used to juice about 60 oz per day, usually fruits for breakfast, then mostly greens, would consume every 3 hours to control blood sugar levels & not kill my metabolism by starving myself. The first few days are brutal, a lot of headaches, make sure you drink a lot of water, at least 75 oz of water. I found out some veggies really go well together and some make you want to throw up. Joe Cross has a website if you google the name of the documentary, it'll come up, you'll find recipes there. Stay away from the collard green, chards, etc. They taste bitter and ruin the taste. Spinach is pretty good, followed by kale, broccoli is alright, a slice of lemon really helps give the bland veggies flavor, green apples too. Cucumber has a lot of water= a lot of juice. Don't bother juicing tropical fruits like papayas, watermelon and mangos, won't yield much that way, instead blend all fruits including berries=more juice that way.

Expect your fridge to look like this:




The Breville Juicer:


The "mean green" juice (spinach, kale, lemon, green apple, cucumber, ginger):


Good luck!

[Anarchist]

K, you should search for a program we have in the UK called, 'The Food Hospital.' It is basically about changing people through food. Whether they have health issues, skin issues or psychological ones, they look at how they can change it through food. A kid with attention deficient disorder was featured, and just by cutting his sweets, fast-food and loads of other sugary stuff he consumes, he improved in his behaviour, school and his training to become a footballer.

I googled it, pretty impressed. I like how the English have a more creative way of bringing issues like this to people's attention. Used to watch "You are what you eat" with Gillian Mckeith on BBC America years ago and picked up a few nutrition related things from her over time. The U.S. is the land of corporations, pharmaceutical companies literally run the medical community and the motto here has always been "a pill for every ill!" The medical community spends very little time on nutrition, most doctors receive very little education on using food to treat many illnesses, instead emphasis has always been treatment through drugs. But yeah, food is medicine. Hopefully with time, people will become more accepting of this and do something about their inactive lifestyles and poor diets first before grabbing for that bottle of Metformin and Norvasc.

[Cherine]

Koronto,
Lool @ we have that same appliance ..diff brand. We've had it for two years and never used it. I was watching a video recently, this lady was saying it's not the most healthy way of drinking juice because it oxidises everything whatever that means.

[AbdiWahab252]

Anarchist,

I used to have bad GERD but strangely it disappeared when I settled in Somalia. I stopped taking my omeprazole and no side effects. I noticed that my intake of processed foods was minimal. I also hardly ate any fast foods in addition to losing about 20lbs bringing me down from my 195 when I left to 175 before settling at 183. Now that I am back, I don't have the GERD at all simply by avoiding eating out and minimizing the amount of processed food I eat. I also make sure to eat to lots of FIBER each day and still knocking on wood, no GERD.

[Anarchist]

Koronto,
Lool @ we have that same appliance ..diff brand. We've had it for two years and never used it. I was watching a video recently, this lady was saying it's not the most healthy way of drinking juice because it oxidises everything whatever that means.

2 years and have never used it?

There's a whole science behind juicing fruits & veggies vs just blending them. This guy does a decent job of explaining the difference.




@Abdi - Funny enough, majority of people with GERD/reflux suffer from constipation & poor diet. That's an established fact. I look at it as a way of the body protesting against years of abuse. Proton pump inhibitors work better than acid blockers, prevacid tends to work better than omeprazole (prisolec) for some and the opposite for others. Prilosec OTC is a game changer now that's easily available on shelves. It's all about marketing too, most of these drugs are long-term; nexium & prevacid have to be taken for months at a time. Unless the GERD has been caused by h.pylori, it's a manifestation of new age disease like hypertension, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune disorders, etc. All linked to processed foods, inactive lifestyles, lack of fiber, lack of consuming enough water, etc.

[SummerRain]

Waa salaaman tihin tutti,

It is well-known that we have ENOUGH FOOD to feed the World and ENOUGH MONEY to clothe everyone, house, educate and generally have the means to live as a human being. Instead, certain countries, and in specifically a small percentage horde the money and amass most of the food. The driving force is usually selfishness and a culture of individualism, that sees a person die from millions that is donated to dogs.

Anyways, I thought this was going to be about the type of 'food' we should consume to help our 'brain' and thoughts. I'm kind of disappointed.

K, you should search for a program we have in the UK called, 'The Food Hospital.' It is basically about changing people through food. Whether they have health issues, skin issues or psychological ones, they look at how they can change it through food. A kid with attention deficient disorder was featured, and just by cutting his sweets, fast-food and loads of other sugary stuff he consumes, he improved in his behaviour, school and his training to become a footballer.

Somali kids in America are increasingly being diagnosed with ADHD and other mental disorders, and i totally think it has to do with their food consumption and behavioral culture in the home. I'm going to look into this Food Hospital program, for personal reference. Thanks

[Anarchist]

@Ismahan - Childhood obesity is slowly creeping up on Somali kids too and since most of their parents fit criteria for federal poverty line and make poor diet choices for their families. Most also live in what are designated as "urban, food drought areas" with miles of nothing but convenience stores selling high sodium, high fructose corn syrup, gelatin filled goo for food. With no farmers markets, high end grocery stores in site. I think it'll be only a matter of time before we have a diabesity crisis on our hands in Somali populations, specially type 2 diabetes in youth populations.





Our kids eat like them, start to look like them, our kids end up with their diseases too. If there isn't already one, there ought to be an outreach program educating illiterate Somali mothers about nutrition for their families, prevention of type 2 diabetes, making the right choices at the grocery store, importance of fiber, evils of corn syrup & sugar, etc.

[SummerRain]

Koronto

Its a big trap wallahi and sadly those Somalis who can actually get out of it think they are being economical and saving their money by choosing to live in those areas and staying in the welfare system.For many, ALDI is the store of choice for grocery shopping You will see all these moms hauling carts full of cool aids, everything crap in the book that is processed in the name of food...cheap food. They sadly have no idea what they are putting in to their body and how their money saving practice is so damaging their health and the health of their children. What is so sad is these kids are so hyper and have little or no attention that school recommend to put them on some serious medication as young as in elementary school and these parents sign off the permission. They are so clueless about their health needs and alternatives available to them that as you said we will soon end up with alot of youth with some serious health issues.
I do agree with you, there needs to be an educational initiative to address this issue...infact Somalis have so many issues they need alot of initiatives

[SimplySerene]

diet makes a big difference. I made a thread some time go, in the womens section, called “Weight Loss & Fitness Challenge ”. I spent two months working out and I gained 8 pounds. Someone really cool on this forum recommended that I watch “Fat, Sick, and Nearly dead.” I didn't do that fast in the documentary. But I did change my diet Instead I decided to just consume only fruits, veggies, beans and meat. I did this for a month and a half and lost 10 pounds.

The healthy eating choices didn't last long. Maybe 2 months. Eventually I introduced grains (i.e.pasta), and junk food back again in to my diet.It's a work in progress

[Anarchist]

@Ismahan - That's the thing though, when you're poor, there aren't that many choices out there. So, while they think they're saving at ALDI, they're essentially setting up their kids for long-term health problems. It's the whole "instant gratification vs delayed satisfaction" thing. And even though I understand these mothers are uninformed and ill prepared (most can't even read the nutrition labels on packaged food), they could show some tenacity in learning about better alternatives. It's becoming a serious problem lately, with the whole school lunch program discussion and revamping nutrition for children. It feels like Somali kids are left behind. Maybe you should start a local grass-roots movement in your ends with other like-minded, young mothers and pitch these ideas to these other mothers? I'm sure they'd be appreciative. There's a ton of literature out there on this issue, not to mention youtube and Netflix documentaries that you can share. How about starting at your local mosque? It's got to start with someone, no? You're fortunate, you are literate and informed, thus resourceful.

[Anarchist]

diet makes a big difference. I made a thread some time go, in the womens section, called “Weight Loss & Fitness Challenge ”. I spent two months working out and I gained 8 pounds. Someone really cool on this forum recommended that I watch “Fat, Sick, and Nearly dead.” I didn't do that fast in the documentary. But I did change my diet Instead I decided to just consume only fruits, veggies, beans and meat. I did this for a month and a half and lost 10 pounds.

The healthy eating choices didn't last long. Maybe 2 months. Eventually I introduced grains (i.e.pasta), and junk food back again in to my diet.It's a work in progress

That was me under Avicenna.

Did you ever give the juicing thing a try? 10 lbs is pretty impressive. You fall, you get up. Don't ever quit.

Approach it as a lifestyle change for the better instead of a quick fix.

You know? My habaryar was recently diagnosed as being borderline diabetic, nobody in her family has a history of diabetes, it was all due to her weight, lack of physical activity and poor diet. I showed her the "Fat, sick and nearly dead" documentary, along with "Forks over knives" and suggested she juice for a month. She did, religiously. She also started going for 40 mins walks x3 per week. After 12 weeks, she went in for her A1C blood work to recheck her for type 2 diabetes and it was reversed. No longer prediabetic, in the clear. Her bad cholesterol had significantly dropped too. She's a firm believer now and has recruited a few other women to try it as well.

Buy a juicer and give it 30 days, you'll lose a ton of weight and feel great. Just commit.

[SimplySerene]

That was me under Avicenna.

Yeah I know it's you . I didn't want to call you out incase you wanted to be undercover

Did you ever give the juicing thing a try? 10 lbs is pretty impressive. You fall, you get up. Don't ever quit.

Approach it as a lifestyle change for the better instead of a quick fix.

You know? My habaryar was recently diagnosed as being borderline diabetic, nobody in her family has a history of diabetes, it was all due to her weight, lack of physical activity and poor diet. I showed her the "Fat, sick and nearly dead" documentary, along with "Forks over knives" and suggested she juice for a month. She did, religiously. She also started going for 40 mins walks x3 per week. After 12 weeks, she went in for her A1C blood work to recheck her for type 2 diabetes and it was reversed. No longer prediabetic, in the clear. Her bad cholesterol had significantly dropped too. She's a firm believer now and has recruited a few other women to try it as well.

Buy a juicer and give it 30 days, you'll lose a ton of weight and feel great. Just commit.

I would like to try the juicing fast. But somethings are stalling me.
One, I have to buy a juicer, because the one I have is broken. Two, I don't want to start the fast during work and school because the first few days are said to be hard. So I would like to start it during vacation.


I won't quit. I will get motivated again

[grandpakhalif]

Did the Prophet (SAWS) do juicing or other weird gaalo customs? No! Follow his advice, do not be gluttunous and leave 1/3 of your stomach for food, 1/3 for water and 1/3 should be empty!

You will be healthy.