A healthy lifestyle, including the food you eat, will condition how you live your life.

 

The food you eat will have a considerable impact on your health. I would like to tell you about my conversion to a healthier lifestyle.

 

The food I ate as a small child

I was raised in Holland on a diet of white bread, butter, eggs, cheese, and marmalade. In the evening, we had potatoes, meat, and vegetables. Apart from that, Mother baked gorgeous cakes.  Now, looking back, I realize that this type of food is not what I would consider healthy.

 

Main entrance to my farm on the south side

The main entrance to my farm on the south side

 

Adapting to the food in other countries

Spending my youth in various European countries, I ate the foods typical of those places. In 1975, I moved to Spain where I changed my way of eating to fit the Mediterranean diet. Butter was out and olive oil was in.

 

Again a change in my daily food

In 1986, I stopped working as a tour guide and retired to my old farmhouse in the country. That was when I started thinking about what food was actually doing to me. I made healthy changes like lots of mixed salads and had my own chickens, so I ate healthy eggs.

Still, I went in the wrong direction when I changed to full-grain bread instead of white and to soy products instead of yogurt.

 

Information on the right fats

For about a year, I have been following Dr. Mark Hyman and his recommendations on healthy eating. I love his videos when he answers a question submitted by one of his followers. He is an advocate of having the right fats in your diet. Fats like olive oil and coconut oil.

A great quote of his is “Your fork, the most powerful tool to transform your health and change the world. He has written several books including one titled, “Eat Fat, Get Thin”. He followed this up with the “Eat Fat, Get Thin Cookbook”.

I am convinced that it does not matter how good the food you consume is if your body is full of toxins. Dr. Hyman has also written a book titled “10-Day Detox Diet”. Both of these books I highly recommend.

 

This book will change your idea about fat

Here you will read why fat is important for weight loss. You might find this difficult to believe as we have heard always the contrary. You will find practical tools in this book. Meal plans, recipes, and shopping lists as well as step-by-step, easy-to-follow advice on the road to a slimmer and healthier you.

 

 

My experience with fasting

I also experimented with fasting cures which I started in early 1990. Since that time I have done 41 fasting cures of 9 days, not pure water fast but based on fresh vegetable juices and vegetable soups (no solids).

Living in the country, I am blessed with having my own fruit trees (oranges, lemons, mandarins, grapefruit, figs, plums) and I also have avocados trees and a walnut tree. Here you can read how I make my organic orange marmalade.

In late 2013, I got a computer, and that opened a whole unknown world for me. When previously I had to read books, I now had the latest news on the tip of my fingers. I started to follow Master classes and Summits online.

And in April 2015, I followed the “Fourth Annual Food Revolution Summit” which was presented by Ocean Robbins and his father, John (Ocean’s grandfather is the founder of the Basking Robbins Ice-cream stores.) Some of the topics in this summit included discussions about blood sugar, GMOs, and organic grass-fed beef.

 

The food revolution

Afterward, I started receiving Ocean’s newsletters which are very informative. You can view their website here: Food Revolution

The Annual Food Revolution Summit is normally held from April to May and you can view replays of the summit. The links above automatically update to the current Food Revolution Summit so do not fail to check back here to log in to watch the new discussions.

 

The 8th Annual Food Revolution Summit, April 27 - May 5

 

A famous anti-aging doctor in America

Another doctor I have been following and find a valuable resource is Doctor Al Sears. He is a leading anti-aging authority. He writes Nutritional supplements are now a requirement. He states:

“Our world has changed! In today’s environment full of genetically modified foods, hormone-pumped-up livestock, and vegetables growing in over-harvested, nutrient-bankrupt soil, it is difficult to get even a fraction of the vitamins and nutrients you need from your food. You now have to eat 10 servings of vegetables to equal the nutrition of 1 serving from 50 years ago.”

He gives some precious insights on nutrition and offers a range of nutritional supplements to aid our goal to live a long healthy life. Check out his website here: Doctor Al Sears.

 

Conclusion

I believe that we are eating too many men-made foods. When you look at the labels, one cannot pronounce what is written anymore. Normally apart from the basic ingredient, there are so many additives that hardly anything natural is left. That is the type of food millions of people are putting into their mouths every day. No wonder we are so sick.

Mother nature provides so many eatable things, it is a shame we have turned away from her. For 2 years I have lived Gluten-free, I now bake my own bread. Also, no more Soy.

I take Coconut oil and milk, seeds, and nuts, lots of fruits and vegetables, some fish, beef, turkey and chicken, I should not forget the eggs from my happy chickens and I have also added Kefir and for sure I have my glass of red wine and some black chocolate.

Before you leave, you might like to visit Recommendations. It is a special page I have made for you. It holds a collection of things you could find interesting.

 

Source: My Life

Photo Source: Private Photo

Comments

Ingrid Hegenberg

Very good hints !

May 01.2017 | 11:59 am

    admin

    Thank you Ingrid for reading my website and leaving a comment
    Regards, Taetske

    May 01.2017 | 12:52 pm

Ryanne

Thank you for the links. Your diet now sounds very nice ánd healthy to me.

May 11.2017 | 05:01 am

    admin

    Thank you for stopping by Ryanne, it is ever so important to take care of one’s health so one can enjoy the things life has to offer. Regards, Taetske

    May 11.2017 | 06:20 am

Diana

You sound as if you live in a wonderful place, full of all the right things to eat. Thank you for your helpful information, which I do agree with completely.

May 15.2017 | 06:56 am

    admin

    Hello Diana,

    Yes indeed, the south of Spain is a blessed place to live and with wonderful things to eat. Thank you for stopping by. Regards, Taetske

    May 15.2017 | 11:17 am

Dennis

Awesome information. I do believe you are what you eat. You hit on some great points. I am trying to go healthier with my foods. Organic for sure. Do you have any tips on how much red meat vs chicken or fish? I am an avid fisherman and am definately spoiled on fresh fish. I just worry about the water they are in sometimes.

Jun 12.2017 | 04:51 pm

    admin

    Good afternoon Dennis,

    You are right to worry about the water the fish swims in. Do have a look at my post on Salmon. Then there is also the post on Happy Cows.
    I personally think that once a week a decent piece of grass fed beef and organic should be enough. Don’t forget the eggs of happy chicken.

    Regards, Taetske

    Jun 12.2017 | 05:06 pm

Magnus A. L. Mulliner

Many thanks for sharing some of your wonderful life experiences Taetske.
I was once told that, ‘We are what we eat’! Not strictly true. We become that which our body processes!
Anything with a SHELF LIFE does not have a SELF LIFE. If it comes in a tin, plastic bag, bottle, etc, then we probably have smarter more empowering choices to make in order to ‘re-cell’ us.
The perfect food right for us are the ones that: 1. Do NOT cause irritation internally and or 2. Inflammation.
Dr Weston A Price back in the 20’s clearly proved what ‘White man’s’ foods can do for us and indeed remote indigenous populations… They lead to ‘White man’s dis-eases’, such as Auto-immune, cancer, CHD, Osteoporosis, etc. What are they? The four white sins… Processed white Salt, Sugar, pasteurisation and grains.
Dr Joel Fuhrman once said, “The whiter your bread, the sooner you’re dead. The more you eat green, the sooner you become lean”. There may well be some truth in that statement.
You stated two years ago you removed wheat, barley, rye, etc (gluten). That was in my opinion a very smart choice. The crux of improving our quality of life though is to control our blood sugar and not damage our mucosal barrier.
As Lucretius stated over 2K years ago, “One man’s food is another man’s poison”. There is no one food right for everyone! That’s why I follow my Metabolic Typing. My physical body will never, ever lie to me, if it did I’d die! So, I LISTEN to what it needs. Essential fats (as you’ve discovered years ago); essential proteins (grass fed/organic) and seasonal veg/fruit. The idea is to ensure for each meal we consume the right MACRO-NUTRIENT ratio, which may change throughout the day. For me c705% fat and protein vs carb’s each morning satiates me for ca 4hrs+
‘Listening’ to my energy levels, looking at my stools, being mindful about WHAT, WHEN & WHERE I eat/drink (Everyone would benefit greatly by allowing their body to produce its own cephalic response whilst in a Parasympathetic state. Mindfulness whilst eating!). Swedish bitters, Apple Cider vinegar, and or lemon water taken c15 mins before food could help too!
The bottom line is: How we THINK, BREATHE, DRINK, EAT, SLEEP and undertake CREATIVE MOVEMENTS daily will pretty much determine our quality and quantity of life on this amazing planet.
Kind regards, Magnus

Jul 15.2017 | 08:22 pm

    Taetske

    Good Morning Magnus,

    Thank you for the long and in depth comment, you left on my website. I try with my website to wake up the people to be aware of the dangers of modern time foods.
    I personally try to eat as natural as possible. Here in the south of Spain, one is blessed with the good climate and so one tries to make good use of that growing one’s own vegetables and fruits.
    Of course, no pesticides allowed here on the property. I have written posts on Sugar, Salt, Fats and happy Cows. People should realize that the positive way to commercialize a product be it on Radio, TV, and Internet is really not a guaranty that it is beneficial for our health. The same applies to Big Pharma when they again bring out a new pill, we, most of the time, suffer the side effects while they stuff their pockets.
    We are also depending on who rules at a given moment, the laws on clean air and clean water are changing the whole time which again affects our health.
    This is a difficult modern world we live in with a lot of health hazards.
    We do not take good care of Nature but she is the provider of so many good and healthy things. Perhaps you might care to take a look at my other website which is on this subject. https://www.motherearthstreasures.com Going back to Nature would do us good but we should treat her with loving care as our planet is, at least for the moment, the only place we have to live.Thank you for visiting, I hope to see you again sometime.

    Regards, Taetske

    Jul 16.2017 | 06:30 am

Aisha

Thanks for this great insight. I do believe that just the way we are what we think about…same goes with what we take into our system…The only difference is that one goes up to the brain and the other goes to down to the stomach but one way or the other affects us positively or negatively.

Thanks for sharing your insight on this. Very useful.

Aug 17.2017 | 03:19 pm

    Taetske

    Good afternoon Aisha,

    It has been proven that there is a big connection between the intestines/gut and the brain. If you want to prevent these modern diseases like Alzheimer, Dementia, Parkinson to name just a few it is so important to take care with your food as it definitely impacts the brain. We are body, mind, and spirit and to be healthy and happy all 3 need to be in balance as each of them influences the other 2. Thank you for visiting my website.

    Regards, Taetske

    Aug 17.2017 | 03:47 pm

Terencio White

I really love the insight on your change of diet when you move from Holland to the spain. Gives a lot of perspective on diet & culture. My motto is the less ingredients the better it is for your body. You make a cake from scratch 6 ingredients. Store bought 60. Thanks for the info.

Jan 11.2018 | 09:39 pm

    Taetske

    Good Morning Terencio,

    Thank you for visiting my website. Each person will probably go through their own food evolution. I am happy I have discovered so many new things which I have added to my life while taking the bad stuff away. I feel much better now than 30 years ago that is for sure. I find it crazy that when you buy a man-made product one cannot even pronounce the words on the ingredients label. I hope to see you again.

    Regards, Taetske

    Jan 12.2018 | 07:11 am

debsGft

Hi,
I need to lose weight. I am also wanting to change how I eat. I really want to cut out all the rubbish they slowly killing us with. I am looking at some of your recommendations. I love your articles on how you also love to help the planet and how you are helping us to protect ourselves from harmful foods etc. I see also that you are super knowledgeable in all aspects of harmful foods and helping the planet. I am going to take up some of your recommendations.
Thank you so much looking forward to reading more from you. 🙂

Feb 02.2020 | 03:26 pm

    Taetske

    Good afternoon Debs,

    Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. I hope you have downloaded your free PDF? Tulip widget.

    To tell you the truth I also want to lose some weight, I call these my computer kgs.
    I used to work quite a bit in the garden but now I spend more time sitting on my derriere and that is not good.
    Fast food should be a no-no, I hope you do not eat that as it is loaded with sugar and the wrong fats, not to mention additives, etc.

    Fresh fruits and veggies, olive oil and coconut oil, seeds and nuts. Even if having to cook yourself takes up some time it is well worth the effort and your health will thank you.

    Best wishes and let me know how the transformation to a healthier diet is going.

    Regards, Taetske

    Feb 02.2020 | 04:22 pm

Sheen

Hi 

I agree that the food that we eat will affect our long term health.

I too like to follow Dr Mark Hyman and listen to his advice.  I like that he promotes healthy fats such as olive oil and coconut oil.

You live in a gorgeous place and have the fortune to have your own chickens

You are truly blessed to be able to be doing what makes you happy and help others with great advice.

Best wishes

Sheen

May 18.2021 | 05:53 pm

    Taetske

    Good Morning Sheen,

    Yes, I am blessed with my little paradise. Especially last year when movement was restricted to have a place where you can stretch your legs is priceless. The closest 5G cell tower is 1 km away and tall trees surround my farm and protect it. The contact with nature is so positive and healing. 

    I worked hard since 1981 to build up this ruin but now am enjoying the benefits. My chickens live a pleasant life and stay as long as they can. I once had a chicken who reached 12 years of age. She did not put eggs anymore but had a good life as long as it lasted.

    It is interesting to find out about what food does for our health. Sadly, we have turned away from nature and now suffer unnecessary ailments.

    Thank you for your comment. Remember, you can download a free PDF of your choice at the tulip widget?

    Regards, Taetske  

    May 19.2021 | 07:11 am

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