Eating For Health

…an alternative to the standard USDA food pyramid

by Edward Bauman, M.Ed., Ph.D.; Bauman College

Many people come to me and ask, “What diet is right for me? Is it the Zone, Atkins, Ornish, Pyramid, or Blood Typing? I need to lose weight, gain energy, and get fit. I've tried and failed so many diets that I am ready to give up, but I can't. I feel lousy and look worse. I've turned my mirrors inside out to no avail. I am raging about my aging. I need help!”

For the past 25 years, I have been guiding people of all ages and stages of life with a myriad of health problems: some cosmetic, many life threatening. To address the wide range of issues my clients face, I devised a system -- not a diet – called Eating For Health™ (E4H).

Each one of us has unique genetic tendencies, needs, tastes, and tolerances, all of which should be factored into a customized food and nutrition plan. One size does not fit all when it comes to proper nourishment.
We all need differing amounts of healthful foods and nutrients to cope with a fast paced, stress-filled, and toxic world. Similarly, our metabolism is challenged to continually adapt to changes in seasons, situations, climate, and health challenges. It stands to reason that what we ate as children, a mediocre Standard American Diet (SAD), will not nourish us as aging adults.

Change is the one constant in our lives. Let's investigate how to change for the better and improve our health by supporting our metabolism, brain function, and ability to self-heal. Cleaning up the diet by clearing out the debris in our pantries, refrigerators, and medicine cabinets is a good start. Finding out how to shop for, prepare, and enjoy healthy foods is the key that unlocks the door to your rejuvenation.

A map can help you find your destination in the most direct way. Therefore, a great step forward on the path to nutritional wellness is to meet with a professional Nutrition Consultant to receive an in-depth assessment and analysis of your individual situation. If you are struggling with one or more health issues, the consultant can review and evaluate the latest research and advise you on the specific therapeutic foods, herbs, and nutrients that will support your healing.

You are the co-creator in the E4H process. Consider the foods that were nourishing and healing for you in the past, as well as the foods you currently rely on for energy or emotional gratification. Some of these foods are probably loaded with caffeine, bad fats, and sugar – ingredients that will sabotage you when the momentary distraction wears off, pleasure fades, and disease takes over.

Proper nutrition is a major form of health investing. It is safer than the stock market as a hedge against the risk of illness. When you eat poor quality food, you are dipping into the nutrient reserves in your bones, soft tissue, organs, glands, skin, and hair. You wear the results of being overdrawn nutritionally – an unhealthy appearance, and feel the warning signs of ill health – fatigue, pain, and mood swings.

Vow to wake up and Eat For Health by choosing fresh, seasonal, chemical-free, nutrient-rich, organic foods that can replenish the reserves that have been drained by the poor quality foods you have been living on.

The usual suspects, also known as health banditos, are the stimulants, sugars, pastries, pastas, processed cheeses, artificial sweeteners, and margarine found in white-flour-laden, over-processed, frozen, microwaved meals served in restaurants or grabbed on the run. Such foods are formulated in laboratories to over-stimulate our taste receptors so that we are no longer satisfied by the crunch of a carrot, the refreshingly sweet juice of a fresh mango, or the zing of fresh garlic. While it's easy to overeat nutrient-poor, sugary, salty, greasy snack foods, you can enjoy naturally satisfying, nutrient-rich vegetables, grains, seeds, legumes, and lean proteins in abundance.

E4H is a whole foods approach to nutrition developed to provide an alternative to the USDA Food Pyramid and other unbalanced diet approaches, ranging from the protein-heavy Atkins Diet to Fruitarianism. The E4H model guides us in choosing nutrient-dense and diverse foods that are organic, local, seasonal, and unprocessed.

The goal of this unique system is to provide optimal amounts of macronutrients (proteins, fats, and carbohydrates), micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), phytonutrients (plant alkaloids with protective value), and other vital factors (enzymes, tastes, energetic properties) that can be most efficiently digested and assimilated.

The Four Levels of Eating

About the Author:
Edward Bauman, M.Ed., Ph.D. (University of New Mexico), is the Executive Director of Bauman College. He is a ground-breaking leader in the field of whole foods nutrition, holistic health, and community health promotion. After three decades of in-depth study of worldwide health and nutrition systems, Dr. Bauman created the ‘Eating for Health’ nutrition system which is the foundation of the Bauman College Nutrition and Natural Chef Training Programs. In addition to his Director responsibilities, Ed works closely with the Academic Dean on ongoing curriculum updates. He also facilitates the bi-annual Bauman College Vitality Rejuvenation Retreats in Northern California.

Ed Bauman is the Director of Bauman Nutrition, a natural health clinic in Sonoma County, California, where he and his staff provide nutritional consultation to individuals, families and business groups. Their work includes a wide range of functional metabolic assessments and health research for serious health problems. For more information see: www.baumannutrition.com

Dr. Bauman is currently an adjunct faculty member at JFK University in Pleasant Hill, CA. He is the past president of the National Association of Nutrition Professionals (NANP) Board of Directors. Dr. Bauman is an active member of CAN-C, the Sonoma County Community Activity and Nutrition Coalition. He is working to bring the Eating for Health approach to community agencies and clinical health care settings, both locally and nationally.