Fun with Food

As a yogi, I’ve always been interested in the alchemy of eating. I’ve fasted, tried a variety of diets from carnivorous to vegetarian to raw. I’ve used food as medicine and, more recently have explored a few different approaches to what’s called an anti-inflammation diet.

For Lyme Disease, one of the few proactive actions anyone can take is to eat a diet that promotes healing and won’t aggravate the condition. But the anti-inflammation diet is touted to be good for many more things including weight loss, arthritis, allergies, joint pain and any of a plethora of inflammation disorders.

At a recent visit to a neurologist, I was given the name of a book with yet another take on the diet. The book is The Inflammation Free Diet Plan, by Monica Reinagel. The doctor told me that while he tries to be as unbiased as possible, he is completely biased about this diet. So I went out, got myself a copy and started to read.

At first it seemed daunting. It seemed there was so much to learn, so much to keep track of, and all these new values and figures to add up. As it turns out, there are actually only about 40 pages to read (an easy and interesting read) and the rest is reference charts. It’s not difficult at all. To make it even easier, I made a spreadsheet on my computer to keep track of my intake. I rather enjoy trying to keep my scores in range of my goals. It’s become sort of a game for me to see how great a rating I can come up with while still enjoying my meals and feeling full.

I love a wide variety of food. That makes any diet a lot easier because I only have to choose between something I love and something else I love. This diet is basically the opposite of the Standard American Diet. If you’re serious about your health, you’ll want to stay away from fast foods, highly processed foods and deep fried foods. That said, in all fairness I must add that there is hardly anything you can’t have on this diet - it’s just that you will want to choose with discretion and eat foods to create the anti-inflammation balance you’re after.

As I write this, I am on the road, traveling to Alaska for the summer. I am in Northeastern Montana right now and so far I have had no difficulty staying on the diet while traveling, including an occasional restaurant meal.

Like ayurveda, and yoga, it’s about living a life in balance. The more you practice it, the better you feel, and the easier it gets.

Warding Off Flu Viruses

The Yoga Sutras lists 9 hindrances or obstacles to yoga. These are hindrances to the deep, internal stillness that sets the stage for awakening. The top one on the list is illness. I saw on the news this morning, that hundreds of people are lining up for their flu shots - lining up at one in the morning to stand in the cold drizzly rain hoping to not get the flu! How crazy is that? One of the simplest, most inexpensive and practical practices I know of for preventing illness, and this one goes right along with washing your hands, is salt water.

Use it in your neti pot and gargle with it, morning and evening. If you don't have a neti pot yet, go out today and get one. I know here in Point, you can get them at the SPA Coop, and I believe they are available at Walgreens and Walmart. Since Oprah featured them on one of her shows, they've become mainstream. Neti is pouring salt water through the sinuses - in one nostril, out the other. Think of it. Illnesses like colds, flu, even bronchitis and sinusitis, begin in your nose and throat and it takes a day or two for them to incubate. Your sinuses are designed to get rid of foreign invaders. Slime (salty boogers) forms to remove the evil particle before it is absorbed into the system. In your throat, it'll be phlegm (same basic stuff). When your immune system is working overtime to beat off the assault entering your body through your face, you will feel tired. Don't you want to help it along?

In my experience, salt water is more effective than any supplements I've taken to boost my immune system. Why boost it? Why not just help it out? Give it a break. Salt water breaks up your slime balls and gets them out. Then your immune system can work on other issues - the things you can't reach. If you have a cold or sinus infection you just can't seem to get rid of, you very well may be reinfecting yourself. Salt water helps your immune system by preventing that. My neighbor lady was stuck in a sinus infection that wouldn't leave her body. I had this conversation with her and lent her one of our extra neti pots. The next day when she saw her doctor, he told her to get a neti pot! Once you get over those first two or three tries, it gets easier and you'll be adding it to your daily repertoire, right along with brushing your teeth and washing your hands. With illness being a top obstacle to yoga, its no wonder that purity is the first of the niyamas - part of a basic foundation for a rock solid yoga practice. Salt purifies.