JoeGoldfarb.com

a foundation for personal growth is based on our personal diet. to have a healthy spirit one must first have a healthy vessel to fill.

and so i detail my diet.

last year i saw a t shirt with the message printed in all caps “EAT JUNK, BECOME JUNK.” the truth of that clear and poignant statement really struck home with me. while i later learned that phrase is a title of a music single from the rock band Six By Seven, regardless it tells us of the direct connection between our bodies and the food that we eat. consider the following statement for comparison: rolling in dirt makes us dirty. just as jumping in mud makes the outside of our body dirty, eating poor nutritional quality food causes the inside of our body to become impure. therefore, eating healthy keeps our body healthy. that in turn fosters a healthy mind and spirit, which is the ultimate point of adopting a healthy and conscientious diet.

my current diet (everything but the tofu meal, yogurt, rice bread, rice milk, almond milk, i have followed for years. it is the exclusion of daily meat intake that is the significant change):

1st meal — clif bar, caffeinated beverage such as energy drink, tea, enhanced water.
2nd — protein bar or a tofu dish with celery and ginger either seasoned with spice and salt or mixed with a sugar marination mix like jerk sauce or a southwestern sauce.
3rd — which ever of the two above i did not have earlier.
4th — varies. can be fruit or rice bread or a random health bar.
5th — another clif bar with a protein and sugar containing drink like chocolate milk, whey protein mixed with almond milk, or drinkable yogurt.

note: clif bars are a 70% organic vegan health bar where protein, fiber and carbohydrates are evenly balance giving me three hours of lasting fuel.

additional drinks — water, rice milk, fruit/plant blends, or heavily diluted coffee, tea or juice.

snacks — rice bread with oil spread, or i will chomp on seeds like sunflower or eat nuts like almonds.

once per week i tend to have meat, soup or some other handmade dish that is different from my weekly diet. for example, this week i had an interesting tuna salad flavored with apple cider vinegar. also, i had a awesome smoothie made from two frozen bananas, apple, a huge scoop of blueberries and a big bunch of pressed parsley juice. it was so good!

details of my diet:
nearly all the food i consume is labeled organic and likewise purchased at an organic market. artificially sweeten drinks and refined carbohydrates are both consumed once or less per day. fairly consistently i have been having an energy drink in the morning. since energy drinks i buy often contain Sucralose and Acesulfame potassium it constitutes my one serving of something fake for the day ;) sometimes in replace of an energy drink i will have tea instead. this helps in reducing my daily intake of artificial sweeteners.
artificial sweeteners should be restricted or better yet totally avoided in our diet. there is plenty of literature online from reputable sources indicating health risks or possible health risks from ingesting artificial sweeteners. moreover, paying for artificial sweeteners only pads the pockets of the corporate man instead of the man who farms our land. (not that there is anything intrinsically wrong with corporations ;) for example, many independently funded research studies has linked long term aspartame use to brain tumors, brain lesions, and headaches. industry sponsored research always indicates otherwise. conversely, saccharin has been proved to be safe for human consumption (although it tastes not so great). Acesulfame potassium and Sucralose are probably non-toxic as well.
why are artificial sweeteners used in the energy drinks i buy? because i choose to buy drinks that have no sugar (and also no aspartame). i limit the amount of sugar otherwise known as impact carbohydrates in my diet. i find that impact carbs such as refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and refined bread (but interestingly not rice bread or fruit) destabilizing to my body energy levels. when i drink a small beverage containing high fructose corn syrup i become dizzy. in addition to dizziness, the sugar quickly impacts my blood sugar levels sending my energy up and then after those impact carbs burn out i crash. this event strongly effects my mood. from the high of sugar in my brain down to the depression and irritability generated from it’s immediate lack in my system i really have no need for the problems sugar and impact carbs cause to my emotional and physical well being. however, combining impact carbs with fat, protein, or ideally fiber helps in reducing the strong effect simple carbs have on our bodies. this is why fruit — known as a natural carb even though containing simple sugars — is largely ok to eat on an empty stomach.
rarely do i eat more than one slice of rice bread per day. rice bread is a simple item made from ground rice flour and not much else. it does not taste very good. in fact, it’s quite bland. this is why i top out my slice with a tablespoon of delicious oil spread. a daily slice of rice bread is the only instance of refined carbohydrates in my diet. why is this important? because refined carbs have less fiber and nutritional content than the unrefined counterpart. translated they are not the best thing to eat. refined carbs are impact carbs which will quickly effect blood sugar levels.

since i am back to eating meat once per week i will share some things i know about meat and health. it is generally not considered healthy to eat more that once serving of red meat per week. additionally, processed meats such as salami, hamburger, sausage, sandwich meat, pasta meat, hot dogs and even bacon should be consumed no more than once per month. ideally, these processed meats should be completely removed from our diets for the rest of our lives. thousands of studies have shown a direct relationship between red meat and processed meats increasing the risk common colon, breast and lymphatic cancers. the instance of cancer among those eating fifty grams of processed meats daily is alarmingly high to the point where cancer rates are 2x-3x greater than normal. furthermore, processed meats often contain many chemicals (stored in the fat of the meat) from either the doped up beast from which the meat was born (in factory raised animals) or the chemicals that were added later during the manufacturing of the meat itself (like sodium nitrate). it is not unreasonable for a heath conscience individual to consume only lean muscle meat for the purpose of avoiding the chemical ladened fat.
lastly i will explain the reasoning for fruits and vegetables in my diet. one of the mysteries of a diet high in fruits and plants is that there is a reduced risk of cancer, notably colon cancer and no one knows why or how that happens. this mystery seems to apply only to a diet with raw fruits and vegetables — not cooked, simmered, boiled or fried. it is believe to be either the fiber or the phytochemicals found in fruits and vegetables that reduce our cancer risk. in addition to reduced cancer risk, the huge assortment of phytochemicals found in plants and fruits have plenty of other benefits. from the powerful antioxidant lycopene in tomatoes to all the flavonols in blueberries that lower stroke damage, inhibit cancer and protect our brain, there is now clear and strong reason to consume our fruits and vegetables raw because cooking and processing fruits and vegetables removes much of their nutritional value.

it is also known that a diet of fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke. the reason why is believed to be because eating fruits and veggies end up replacing or reducing the foods in our diet which increase risks for heart disease. for example, people who tend to eat healthier foods such as apples and salads tend not to eat unhealthy foods such as processed meats. even though a diet where fruits and veggies supplement or instead replace unhealthy foods in our diet, fresh raw fruits and plants have by their own merit a tremendous benefit on our health and well being.