Avoid blood sugar crash, have more energy

I wasn’t always excited about eating fruits and vegetables. In the past, the only thing I wanted for breakfast was full of fat, processed sugars and caffeine. I thoroughly enjoyed my morning rituals and to take them away would have felt like torture.

What I didn’t enjoy was the debilitating blood sugar crash I would experience about an hour later.

One day, I came across a YouTube video by Fully Raw Kristina who vowed she had cleared up hypoglycemia, skin issues and fatigue through a low-fat, raw fruit- and vegetable-based diet.

I felt incredibly inspired and began devouring all of the information I could find about a fruit-based diet. I was even convinced enough to give it a try. One book that structured the way I mostly eat today is the classic “Fit for Life” by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond.

The book addresses the importance of food combining, eating an abundance of water-rich foods and assisting the body’s eliminating phase.

1. Food Combining.  Because digestion takes up so much energy, it is beneficial to combine your food so that the body doesn’t have to work so hard. Consequently you will have more energy overall. This looks like this:

Fruit alone or with greens and only on an empty stomach (3 hours after or 30 minutes before properly combined dense food)

Protein with greens only

Fat with greens only

Starch with greens only

And never the twain shall meet.

2. Water-rich foods. This includes an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables full of structured water that our bodies know exactly what to do with. When we’re hydrated and using water from plants, we also have more energy and our bodies detoxify more efficiently.
3.  The elimination phase. Between 4 a.m. and noon, we are in the bodily phase of elimination.  Therefore eating only water-rich foods at this time will greatly assist this process. After all, we are what we do not eliminate. Therefore, we want to give our bodies the greatest chance to cleanse during this time.

When I first began eating this way, I had no idea what to eat. I also wasn’t ready for the cleansing my body needed to go through and I wanted to give up numerous times. It took a few months for my body to balance out but once it did, the benefits far outweighed any problems I had in the beginning.

Some benefits I experience from eating this way include an abundance of energy, clear skin, balanced blood sugar, balanced moods, healthy digestion and elimination, and clearer thinking.

Over the past year, I have learned that to succeed at this lifestyle one must:

1. Learn what types of fruits to eat in the morning to feel satisfied. Bananas, dates, mangos and other dense fruit are filling and a good base for smoothies or to eat on their own. And only eat fruit when it’s ripe. Bananas, for example, are ready to be eaten only when they have brown spots on them. Hard, bright yellow or green bananas are not ripe and are hard to digest, which could lead to constipation.
2. Learn how much to eat for your body. You want to eat enough to feel satisfied. You also want to eat enough so that you have enough energy to exercise, think straight and make it through a busy day. Most people have one banana for breakfast, but one banana is only 100 calories and will leave you hungry in about 20-30 minutes. Instead, try a smoothie with 3-5 bananas.

I aim for 600 or more calories of fruit. This would be six medium size bananas or 1 liter of orange juice and 3-4 peaches. You will have to adjust the calorie content to your needs but don’t worry about eating too much fruit. Just make sure to eat enough until you are truly satisfied, even if you have to break it up over the morning.

3. Be ready for a cleansing phase. This most likely will be mildly uncomfortable but should not be debilitating. For those of us on boats and with busy lives, start slowly. Over time, add more fruit into your diet and always accompany them with an abundance of greens. Plus, drink 2-3 liters of water, get more sleep than usual, get enough Vitamin D through sunshine and be sure to get light exercise.

 

Angela Orecchio is a chief stew and certified health coach. This column was edited from entries in her blog, The Yachtie Glow (www.angelaorecchio.com), which offers tips for crew on how to be healthy, fit and happy on board. Comments are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.