The Healthy Gut Cookbook: How to Keep in Excellent Digestive Health with 60 Recipes and Nutrition Advice. Marguerite Patten
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The well-respected American nutritional therapist, Paul Pitchford, takes a comprehensive approach to food combining in his book, Healing with Whole Foods. He presents three different eating plans. The first (Plan A) is designed to improve normal digestion, and is based on four rules:
1 Proteins are eaten early in a meal, followed by carbohydrates. For example, meaty antipasti before pasta with herbs and garlic, followed by fruit. Remember: simpler meals digest better.
2 Salty foods should be eaten first.
3 Proteins should be combined with non-starchy green vegetables.
4 Sweet foods and fruit should be eaten alone or in small quantities at the end of the meal.
Plan B is for people with sensitive digestive systems or who are ill. The basic rules are the same as for Plan A, but in this case proteins and carbohydrates must be separated into different meals, with green non-starchy vegetables eaten with both. Tomatoes, lemon and the juice of limes can be combined with meat because they add to the acidity during digestion. (This makes a small steak served with a lettuce and tomato salad, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, a healthy meal – if you skip the chips!) Fruits are to be eaten alone. Milk and dairy products are not to be combined with meat.
The third Pitchford plan for food combining is a surprise. Plan C champions the ‘one pot meal’, which echoes traditional cooking in India, China and other parts of the world. No attempt is made to separate foods: they all go in a pot with plenty of water and are allowed to cook together slowly over a low heat where a kind of pre-digestion takes place. One expert in this kind of cooking is quoted as saying, ‘The various foods have settled their differences in the pot.’ These are watery foods – stews, soups and congees – and ideal for people who are weak, chronically ill or who have trouble chewing. They are also good for the rest of us. A home-made soup or stew is a real treat when you are tired and cold. This is old-fashioned comfort food at its best!
the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, apples and toast
A bad case of diarrhoea and vomiting can lead to the body becoming dehydrated. These symptoms of bacterial infection rob the body of fluid and minerals needed to survive. It is essential that the fluid loss is reversed (rehydration) as quickly as possible. Only a few decades ago, people, especially the very young, died from dehydration caused by gastric illness. This changed when a cheap, fast and easy means of reversing fluid and mineral loss was discovered: a simple mix of table salt and sugar in clean water.
It is just as likely that you will experience fluid and mineral loss due to stomach illness at home as in some remote part of the world. Rehydration mixes will help (see here), but that is only part of the answer. You will also want to get your gut back to normal. A few years ago, a research team at Harvard University devised a simple diet that gently restores the body’s fluid balance and digestive processes. Based on bananas, rice, apples and toast, it is called the BRAT diet, and is highly recommended for all those who want a safe way to restore normal function to an ailing gut.
Remember: you may feel better soon after a bout of ‘stomach flu’, but it takes time for the delicate tissues of the intestine to regenerate.
THE BRAT PRINCIPLES
• During the course of severe vomiting and/or diarrhoea, sip a rehydration mix (see here). As you feel better, slowly increase your fluid intake.
• About 24 hours after the last bout of illness, begin eating small amounts of foods from the following list. Increase your intake over a 24-hour period.
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• After about 48 hours you can supplement this diet with a little boiled potato (skip the butter), cooked eggs and boiled vegetables, such as carrots. If these are tolerated well, slowly return to your normal diet.
The BRAT diet may work wonders, but it can also be depressingly dull. Marguerite Patten has devised a variety of practical, tasty and easy-to-eat dishes based on these foods. They are delicious any time, but particularly when you are not feeling well.
Alcohol and certain foods wreak havoc on the stomach and digestive system if taken in excess. If you plan to maintain a healthy gut, here is the bald truth about how we should temper our intake of food and drink!
• Alcoholic beverages – men should limit themselves to 21 units per week; women should consume no more that 14. That translates into 3 and 2 units per day respectively. Avoid binge drinking – your stomach may rebel, but your liver will suffer in silence until it is too late. Each of the following is a single unit:
• Spirits: single pub measure = 25ml
• Fortified wine: single pub measure = 50ml
• Wine: single pub measure = 125ml
• Ordinary beer or lager (3.5%): small can = 275ml
• Strong beer or lager (7%): ½ small can = 135ml
• Avoid foods that are too hot (temperature).
• Go easy on foods containing excessive quantities of hot peppers.
• Limit your caffeine intake. Experts suggest not drinking more than six caffeinated beverages a day (tea, coffee, cola). Drink less if you suffer from stomach ulcers, kidney disease, heart problems or high blood pressure. Caffeine is a mild stimulant commonly used to improve alertness and mental performance. Used in excess it causes insomnia, loss of calcium from bone, palpitations and tremors. In some people it triggers joint inflammation and migraines. Caffeine is addictive and can cause unpleasant withdrawal symptoms such as severe headaches and irritability.
If you want a healthy gut, live a healthy life!
How can we be surprised that diseases of the gut are on the increase when we know that our modern СКАЧАТЬ