An Answer to “Magic Hot Button Ingredient” Diets

By Larry Plesent

Did you ever notice how most diets (like cosmetics and supplements) are marketed around a “magic hot button ingredient”? Are you counting carbs? Avoiding sugars? Bulking up on meat? Do you take handfuls of pills for breakfast? Wake to the sound of juicing? Force yourself to eat foods you don’t even like the taste of, then eat whatever you want anyway? If any of this sounds remotely like you, or you are simply as confused as the rest of us as to what to eat, read on! But first a little back story.

Growing up in the counterculture of mid 1970’s Vermont, I have had extensive first-hand exposure to neurotic food fixations. In no particular order, I have tried being vegan (lost muscle mass), ovo-lacto vegetarian, fruitarian (lasted one day then the protein cravings won), “localvore” (only food from the New England Region) and omnivorous (eat the planet).

I once met a guy who claimed he lived on deep breathing and sunlight and only ate real food every four to five days. This sounded impressive until I found a bunch of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Almond Joy wrappers stuffed under his front seat.

I’ve been juiced, pilled and powdered for decades. I once bought a kilogram of pure Vitamin C (thanks Linus Pauling) and took mega doses until I gave myself kidney stones. I took so many vitamins and minerals I had a factory direct wholesale account. I have fasted, cleansed, sweated, soaked and absorbed sunlight prana energy. And I am glad that I did. Because all of that led me to the North Hollow Diet, now revealed to YOU, the honored, informed and patient reader.

The North Hollow Diet starts with facing the reality that our modern world is a chemical war zone. We live in the age of petrochemicals and internal combustion machines. Every moment we exist, we are subjected to a never ending chemical assault. Our air, water, soil, food, clothing, personal care products, furniture coverings and water bottles all leach, ooze and off gas a plethora of unintended chemical hitch hikers which we absorb through our mouth, skin and lungs. There IS no escape from it even though we can reduce our overall exposure by choosing to live on the edge of civilization.

The obvious keys to survive and thrive this mess are to: a) avoid obvious points of chemical toxic exposure b) only eat nutritionally dense foods and c) to make changes one at a time and to do them for 21 days straight so they become a habit.

Fair enough? Are you willing to take the challenge? In each of the next several issues of Green Energy Times we will suggest one change to our diet and one change to reduce toxic chemical exposure.

Let’s start with an easy one, your first tip to reduce your exposure:

Practice being aware of the exhaust that comes out of internal combustion engines. Pay attention to cars in particular, but also to generators, chainsaws and anything else that takes liquid fuel. Don’t stand in car exhaust talking to your neighbor or let others do it around you. Pay attention to which direction the wind is blowing when warming up engines large and small.

Remember to wear gloves and some kind of eye protection when playing with petroleum fuels. If you do get a petroleum fuel (or soap) in your eyes, rinse it quickly with milk to stop the sting. Use castile soap to remove gas from your hands in case of accidental exposure. Gasoline is poisonous!

Remembering that the basis of our diet is to eliminate “fluff foods” and to only ingest nutritionally dense ones, we are going to begin the program by eliminating both sweetened and diet soft drinks from our life. If you do nothing else, this move could add years of healthier living to your time here on earth.

Let’s go one step further and eliminate all liquids in clear flexible plastic containers, including personal size bottles of water. The clear flexi plastic is called PET or poly-ethyl-phthalate. This type of plastic off-gasses chemicals that your body mistakes for estrogen. Male or female you don’t want this, and it appears to make breast cancer cells reproduce 40 times faster in the lab.

“Milk jug plastic” or HDP2 has much less of this and is an acceptable alternative for your drinking water. Plus it costs a fraction of the price of the little bottled waters. The plastic rule is this: The clear and more flexible the plastic, and the stronger the plastic taste in the food or drink; the more plastic off-gassing you are getting. This effect is apparently strongest in water frozen in PET bottles and later defrosted.

Make your own fresh squeezed low sugar lemonade instead. Only use real lemons, which makes this into a super health food. Gradually wean yourself off sugary drinks by using less and less sweetener over time, until you use none at all. Make real, not powdered instant ice teas and iced herbal teas. Experiment and have fun with it!

There is a world of delicious tastes and foods out there and the best tasting ones are usually the healthy nutritious ones. Break out of your food comfort zone and take a cooking course. The North Hollow Diet is less about what you eat as it is replacing empty calories with nutritious ones.

Next issue we will continue with more of this county living style of eating and staying healthy. As has been said before and will be said again, “Common sense? Daaaarn Uncommon!”

This is the Soapman reminding you that Ramp Season (wild leek-like plants) is coming up fast! Harvest the tops and leave the roots. They will double year to year.

Larry Plesent is a writer, philosopher and soap maker living and working in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Learn more at www.vermontsoap.com, www.reactivebody.org, and www.cancereraser.org.