Healthy diet

Was the pig cut up granny-a? And dead?

Oh but now I've just read the whole of granny-a's thread and I'm starting to waver (waiver?).

Screeeeam!

From today onwards I'm going back to my low fat way of eating. It's too easy to get caught up in the "fat is good" thing, and then start overdoing it. The remains of the Anchor spreadable is going in the bin, and I'm back on Benecol Light.

I have always watched the fats in my diet and usually chose the low-fat /low calorie option for anything I bought.
After Christmas I changed my diet:
Breakfast - bacon, egg, mushroom
Lunch - veg soup (maybe with a bit of cream or bacon or cheese in it) or a meat/cheese/avocado salad
Dinner - meat/fish and veg
For snacks I have hummus with carrot/celery or full-fat Greek yoghurt, sometimes I'll munch on a few almonds.

I think it's actually the first time for about thirty years that I've deliberately eaten fat and I am LOVING IT. I don't count calories or weigh food. It's not a weight loss 'diet', I'm simply eating what used to be regarded as 'normal' meals. I serve my meals on a dessert plate because that's the size dinner plates used to be. I have yet to feel hungry even though I'm eating far less between meals; after having a cooked breakfast I can only manage a small serving of lunch and I've started eating dinner slightly later because again I don't feel so hungry until 7ish.

I didn't change my diet for weight loss reasons, but because my husband and I started an experiment of not buying any food (dairy products and salad being the exceptions) and only eating what was in the fridge/freezer/store cupboards. We quickly ran out of the sweet stuff and gradually I realised I was eating the same sort of foods that I ate as a child - really basic staples. And now I am losing weight! Not much, just a pound or so a week, but whilst eating fatty pork chops and swirling full fat cream into my soup!! I seem to have more energy and for the first time in years I am generally sleeping well (although I'm having some very strange dreams!!).

(If you're wondering about our experiment I can tell you that we actually started at the beginning of November and still have quite a lot to get through from our store cupboards and we recently had a delivery of a pig that seems to have gone a long way to refilling one of the freezers. We ran out of potatoes some time ago so rice, quinoia, bulgar wheat and cous-cous are replacing them. Who knew we had so much tea and coffee? Or chick peas and lentils? The fruit and veg we froze last summer has been dented, but still plenty left. I'm missing onions, but we still have leeks on the allotment and lots of garlic. I'm very impressed with my husband who's made some amazingly inventive meals.)

Many thanks for the list of Alkaline food Faye.

There is plenty here for me as I am a Veggie and on the edge of being Gluten intolerant.

I do find bananas very indigestible.

The problem with chewing gum is one of the many ingredients is aspartame, you can't win, it's everywhere.

I still use bicarbonate of soda, which is one of the ingredients in babies gripe water and alkaseltzer, for heartburn and indigestion or eat I some cucumber, celery, watermelon or an apple, they all work. Not that I have problems very often anymore, I know what causes it.

I don't seem to have a problem with hot/warm liquids, just cold (and not often) but thankyou for the tip.

I thought it was like a cramp, which I get anyway.

Have those of you having difficulty swallowing liquids tried thickening them slightly. In the NH where I worked, we used a product called Thick & Easy. It comes in very fine granular form and mixes to a smooth consistency in all liquids either hot or cold. We used to thicken tea, coffee, soup and fruit juices, even water! It is lactose and gluten free. Available from Amazon etc.

I dislike chewing gum though

Tegan my yogurt stuck and hurt as it went down yesterday, although a piece of Christmas cake was fine.
The yogurt was cold.

I went on an elimination diet connected to migraine 30 years ago. I can only say that most food addictions are over in 5 days if an elimination diet is followed. and that just cuttung down doesn't help. l.

I don't read what 'experts ' say, I eat pork and pork fat and prepare eveything from real raw food into meals. Real food is food and it cannot be unhealthy we are humans and able to eat everything.

Smoothies are not the answer either. Saliva is an important stage in digestion and the breaking down of the food. It is better for your dates and nuts to be in contact for several seconds with saliva.
Thats why chewing gum is good for heartburn, it makes a lot of saliva which calms ( neutralises) the aesophagus

I have problems with swallowing as well . Mainly liquids. No problem with anything I shouldn't eat such as cake or chocolate though .

I know that feeling. I panic if I'm running low on diet coke.

Yes I sometimes drink fizzy water, but I always end up needing my 'fix' of diet coke. I crave it I'm afraid, and I'm the same with the mints. I actually panic if my supply of mints is running low.

Same here. I thought I was addicted to the caffeine and replaced the diet coke with coffee but it didn't work. That's when I discovered it was the aspartame.

Have you tried flavouring your water with a small amount of fresh fruit juice or fizzy water? Be careful of the flavoured waters on sale as they often contain aspartame.

Vampire Queen.....I too am addicted to diet coke. I don't drink tea or coffee and struggle with just water. I know it's bad for me, and have really tried to reduce the amount that I drink.

I realise it's the aspartame that's addictive. I also have a problem with sugar free mints and eat a packet a day.......again aspartame.

Until I tried to give up/cut down, I had no idea just how addictive aspartame is.

Thanks, Faye, I will have a look when I get back from town. We have 2 bottles of olive oil in the cupboard as well.
However, the cold pressed organic rapeseed oil (British) doesn't look as if it has been bleached - it is a bright yellow!

Very occasionally I have a problem swallowing - water feels like a painful lump going down but it is more like a spasm similar to cramp. Is it when you have something cold,*ana*?

Here is a list Falconbird. I notice it has almonds as alkaline but almond milk as acidic. I think they may mean processed almond milk.

I would love to know more about the Alkaline Diet. I Googled it but it's a quite difficult to work out.

Keeping acid low has got to be a good thing.

A list of tried and tested alkaline food would be much appreciated.

My mother had difficult swallowing all the time I remember. It wasn't anything sinister - just pent up emotions. I have the same feeling from time to time.

A friend swallowed some food recently and said "Oh that went down heavy"
and I knew what she meant.

It really, really helped me, also my arthritis seems to have gone too, except for my crooked fingers. There are lots of benefits with an alkaline diet.

Thank you, although I'm not sure I'm reassured, because it's food I have trouble swallowing at times. Or at least, I panic and think it's going to get stuck.

Perhaps I'll try the alkaline diet route.

My mother had her eosophagus stretched because she had difficulty swallowing her food. She never had problems just swallowing. They didn't find the cancer until about three months before she died.

Why did she have her oesophagus stretched, Faye? Was it because of the cancer, or just because she had difficulty swallowing?

Ana I think my mother having her eosophagus stretched every year and up to three times in as many months some years caused more damage. Plus she should have been eating a more alkaline diet. My mother was 88 when she died and had the swallowing problem for around ten years, sometimes it caused her to pass out.

rosequaertz here is a short film clip about canola and rapeseed oil. I found the same film clip used elsewhere and the voice over says how healthy canola oil is whole showing it being cleaned with solvents and bleach.

Phew! Thanks Galen, it can't be that serious then...(I hope!)