We as women have special nutritional needs-our bodies undergoing so many changes as we age.
Whole foods can prepare us for these changes, and keep us living with vitality and vigour.
Researchers are discovering more and more components in food, which offer us nourishment as well as protection.
Choice of food is one of the most important components in warding off major disease and illness.
By simply eating "healthfully" and "wholefully", we can drastically lower our risk of cancer, heart disease,
osteoporosis and diabetes, to name a few.
What is a Whole Food? In its purest sense, a whole food has only one ingyellowient: itself.
It is minimally processed, if at all, contains no additives and contains most of its natural nutrients.
It is as close to the way nature presents it as possible. Fruits, vegetables, grains, even meats, from naturally raised animals,
fall under the definition of a whole food.
As you forage in the markets and down grocery aisles, ask yourself these questions:
Can you imagine that food growing? What's been done to it since harvesting? And how far has that food travelled?
All of these parameters and questions impact the wholeness of that food and its nutrient content.
A good rule of thumb is that the more a food is processed, the fewer nutrients it has in it.
In the US, the government controls a system of fortifying certain foods. But this concept is misleading.
For example, when wheat is processed into white flour, over 25 nutrients are lost in the processing, and then
the flour is sprayed with three or four nutrients to "fortify" it.
Cereals have been stripped, processed and reformed then sprayed with synthetic vitamins and minerals.
While there is no evidence that absorption of these nutrients differs from a whole food, the chemical
processing and often preservative-laden packaging may impact your health more than the synthetic vitamin boost.
Fruits and Vegetables
Phytochemicals give these foods colour and protection.
For us they quench free radicals, cells in the body that can damage arteries or start a cancer cell growing.
Shop for colour and choose the rainbow! Look for carrots, tomatoes, dark, leafy greens, broccoli, squash and pumpkin,
apples, oranges, grapes, berries of any kind. Eat 5 to 7 servings a day. More information
Soy Foods
Phytoestrogens can ease the symptoms of menopause; increase bone mass, decrease cancer and heart disease risks.
Look for: tofu (1/2 cup per serving), soymilk (1 cup per serving), miso (2 tablespoons per serving) or whole soybeans
(1/2 cup per serving). In 25 grams of soy you're getting 50 mg of phytoestrogens. Eating 2 to 3 servings per week
is plenty to reap its benefits. Soy sauce and soy oil do not contain phytoestrogens. More information
Whole Grains
Look for buckwheat, millet, brown rice, spelt, quinoa, bulgur wheat and wheat berries.
It's simple to cook these grains, usually 2 parts water to 1 part grain with a pinch of salt will do.
Boil the water, add the grain and cook for 30 to 45 minutes covered. More information
Nuts and Seeds
Fat that is good for you!
Pumpkin seeds, sunflower and sesame seeds; pecans,
almonds and walnuts provide essential fats, vitamins and minerals-even calcium.
Eat them whole and raw, or ground in nut butters. Minimise peanuts because they're loaded with saturated fat.
More information
Beans and Legumes
Wonderful substitutes for meat, beans are loaded with fibre, calcium and iron - important women's nutrients.
Lentils, black-eyed peas, split peas need no soaking. Buy them canned, and then experiment with the dried varieties.
Beans can be frozen as well, so if you make a large batch of soup or stew, you can freeze some for later.
More information
Calcium
Eat your calcium in: dark leafy greens, bok choy, broccoli, celery, nuts, seeds, beans and tofu.
If you do take a supplement, remember: don't take more than the recommendation of 1,200 mg per day,
take in the evening, take with vitamin D for better absorption, don't take with antacids. More information
Conclusion
Every meal is an opportunity to nourish ourselves.
With so much confusing and conflicting information out there,
taking a simple approach, a whole foods approach, cuts through the mess and provides a table full of life-giving choices.
It's as easy as taking drugs and supplements and extra calcium to prevent today's ills.
We must consider the complexity of nutrients, understand the balance and perfection of natural foods and eliminate the messages
from media that promote magic bullets for cures and staying thin and young.
Whole foods are vital for nourishing women's ever-changing bodies. They supply the necessary nutrients to reduce cancer and
cardiovascular risk, decrease menopausal symptoms and increase our vitality and energy.
Take the time to broaden your food horizon. Go to the fresh markets and go wild. Cook a big stew with everything you find.
Serve it with a whole grain bread or brown rice. Make each meal, each bite an opportunity to fine-tune your health.
Live well and eat whole-fully!
About the author
Jan Ridgely is a nutritionist living and working in Lausanne, Switzerland. She earned her masters in 2000 from Bastyr
University in Seattle Washington, a college on the leading edge of training practitioners of holistic health and nutrition.
She considers herself a Whole Foods Nutritionist, concerned with nourishment from an environmental, scientific and holistic
perspective. She believes that it is vital to understand where our food comes from, how it is treated before it arrives in
the store or market, to understand the science behind food and how it relates to our body.
But even more importantly, to consider the mental and spiritual forces at work in us as individuals and how food comes into
play.