(For Wheat questions, click here. For our family’s tried-and-true recipes, click here. [The recipe blog has been taken down and I am in the process of integrating those recipes into this blog.])
Q. How do I know what is healthy to eat?
A. There are almost as many answers to that as there are people! It is generally accepted that the less refined a food is, the healthier it is. A good rule of thumb is that brown is nearly always healthier than white. Thus, brown rice is less refined than white rice, whole wheat flour (light brown) is less refined than white flour, etc. Brown sugar is an exception to this. Brown sugar is only very minimally healthier than white sugar, if at all.
In addition, I would suggest that the Creator of the universe – including our bodies – knows what we should eat. His Word gives us eating guidelines and I believe that following those instructions is the healthiest way to eat. Eating according to Old Testament dietary guidelines is not necessary for salvation, but I do believe it is beneficial for health. If God gave something as food or a (food) gift, or called it good, our family considers it fundamentally good to eat. (Many foods are then altered or contaminated, and this is another story.) For more information, you may want to read the book, What the Bible Says About Healthy Living
Q. How can I get my family to eat whole foods?
A. A little at a time. If you suddenly change your family’s diet entirely, they will rebel, but small changes are more tolerable. Start with something simple, like replacing table salt with sea salt. When this becomes normal, make another change. Making the switch to whole grains (especially freshly-ground whole grains) is one of the most beneficial changes you can make, from a health standpoint. Of the 44 known vitamins and minerals our bodies need, wheat contains 40 – what a nutritional powerhouse! An immediate switch from all refined grains/flours to all whole grains/flours can cause some gastrointestinal difficulties along with the usual taste bud complaints, while the body adjusts to the new levels of fiber. This fiber is good, but our bodies have to adjust to it gradually! Try making bread with half wheat flour and half white until your family grows accustomed to it, and slowly up the percentage of wheat flour. Or use half regular pasta and half whole wheat pasta.
Q. What about rice?
A. There are basically three “levels” of health in our rice selections. Standard white rice is the least healthy. It has had the nutrient-rich, fiber-rich bran polished off. A tier above this is converted rice (by Uncle Ben’s). This rice has been pressurized during processing to force some of the nutrients from the bran deeper into the kernel of the rice. It has still had the bran polished off. Brown rice is the healthiest of the three options. Brown rice has had the inedible husk removed but retains the nutritionally-valuable brain. It does, however, take about twice as long to cook as white or converted rice, and the texture is a bit different.
Q. What about milk? Is it healthy or not?
A. I think this is one of the great debates of the last century! God evidently considered milk a blessing, calling the Promised Land a land “flowing with milk and honey.” For this reason, I believe that milk is, in its natural state, a healthful beverage/food. However, the white liquid we buy in bottles off the supermarket shelf is far from natural milk. It has been heated to high temperatures (pasteurized) to kill all the living enzymes in the milk. Some of these enzymes are what help our bodies to digest the milk. In addition, it has had the fat globules artificially broken up to keep the cream from rising to the top (homogenized). The reason for this is largely aesthetic. Buyers prefer a homogenous product which they don’t have to shake. Unfortunately, these smaller fat globules probably enable particular portions of the milk to enter the bloodstream, which would not normally be able to, and damage the arteries. As if this milk were not adulterated enough, it is produced by cows eating pesticide-laden feed and given routine antibiotics and growth hormones. Is it any wonder we have modern studies demonstrating that this stuff isn’t healthy?
Q. Why should I eat organic?
A. Most modern food has been produced through genetic engineering and with numerous chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Typical animal products also contain antibiotics and hormones. Organic foods are produced naturally, without any of this tampering or poisoning, as God intended. Unfortunately, organic food is also cost prohibitive for most single-income families. If this is the case for you, don’t stress over it; just do what you can. You might want to consider buying something organic during each shopping trip, just to encourage the food industry’s efforts in that direction.
Q. I don’t have any idea where to start. Can you give me some ideas of changes to make for healthier eating?
A. The number one recommendation I would make is to buy a grain mill. This is a fairly pricey initial investment (about $250), but it is just that – an investment. If you have to plan ahead for it, plan for it, but work in that direction. Once you own it, a grain mill can save you money on baked goods, and it will probably save you money on doctor’s bills in the long run.
Other changes you can make include:
- eliminating hydrogenated oils from your diet. Hydrogenated oils include margarine and standard vegetable shortenings. Essentially, a hydrogenated fat has certain molecules all bound up, so the healthful parts are unable to bond with the parts of your body which need them. Butter and unrefined liquid oils are more healthful choices. There is also a non-hydrogenated shortening available from Spectrum Naturals.
- eliminating fruit punches, other juice drinks, and powdered drink mixes, in favor of 100% juice (or, better yet, water).
- replacing table salt with unrefined sea salt.
- replacing white rice with converted or, even better, brown rice.
- replacing standard pasta with whole-grain pasta.
- replacing white breads (sandwich bread, rolls, biscuits, tortillas, pitas, pizza crust, etc.) with whole grain breads
- expanding your grain/grain substitute repertoire. Wheat is not the only grain! Try amaranth, quinoa, teff, spelt (a wheat), kamut (a wheat), corn, barley, rye, oats, buckwheat, milo, or millet. Each of these grains or seeds has a different nutrition profile. Using a variety will give you a better nutrient balance.
- cutting back on, or elimating, refined sugars. Try honey, or at least raw sugar. It is also possible to sweeten things with fruit juice, rice syrup, barley malt, dried ground dates (known as “date sugar”), etc. (Note that brown sugar is just as refined as white sugar.)
- cooking more from scratch and using fewer prepared foods. Most prepared foods include chemical preservatives, colorants, and flavors, among other things. Cooking from scratch is both less expensive (in most cases) and more wholesome.
- drink water. In the world of health, this covers a “multitude of sins”! Plain, pure water (or water with lemon in it) cleanses the body. Your body will be much better able to clean out any yuckies you do put into it if you’re providing it with enough pure water.
Q. What do I need to know about oils?
A. As with any other food, the more refined an oil is, the less healthy it is. Olive oil has one of the nicest nutrition profiles and most many [9/29/2009: With its greater availability and growing familiarity, coconut oil has also risen to the top of many whole foods cooks’ lists.] “whole foods” cooks use this as their staple oil – or one of their staple oils. Very light, clear oils, however, have been chemically “washed” to obtain that color. Olive oil is no exception. The olive oil you buy should be “extra virgin” from the “first cold press.” Nearly any oil except olive oil should be stored in the refrigerator to keep it from going rancid. Rancid oil does not taste significantly different, but can be carcinogenic (cancer-causing). (Olive oil should not be stored in the refrigerator, as it will solidify.)
There is no real scientific evidence to indicate that naturally saturated fats (butter, for instance) are harmful. (For more information, I highly recommend The Cholesterol Myths
Q. Why do I see “lecithin” listed as an ingredient in some bread recipes?
A. Lecithin is usually a soy product. In its liquid or granular form, it is often added to bread to create a softer “crumb” – the crumb being the inner portion of the bread (the part which is not the crust).
Q. How is “sea salt” different from table salt?
A. It isn’t always. If the salt is pure white and flows smoothly, it is essentially table salt, regardless of how it’s labeled. Good sea salt, which may be pink, grey, or another similar color, is uneven in color and clumps. The difference between this salt and table salt is refining. When salt is originally harvested, it contains a number of trace minerals in addition to sodium chloride. These are minerals our bodies use! In addition, this unrefined salt is hygroscopic
(it absorbs water from the air). This attribute causes the salt to clump, but it also causes the salt to play its proper role in our bodies, preserving the necessary fluid levels.
Table salt has, first of all, had all of these trace minerals removed. (In fact, table salt is not a primary product. It is a byproduct of the supplement industry.) It has also had chemicals added to it to make it flow easily. Most table salt has
also had iodine added. (Due to the low precedence of seafood in our modern American diets, this may be beneficial.) Because it is such a concentrated form of sodium chloride, standard table salt is hard on our bodies.
A light tap of the container against the counter or tabletop should loosen up your finely-ground sea salt so it will flow freely again.
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