Never eat standing up
There are certain foods that should always be part of a balanced, rotating diet plan. These include: fresh vegetables and fruit, easily digestible fibrous foods, oatmeal, millet, buckwheat, whole-grain bread, potatoes, eggs, fish, turkey, olive oil, coconut oil, unroasted nuts…
USE FIBROUS FOODS IN A CONTROLLED WAY…
Fiber-rich, high-roughage foods are substances that cannot be digested but are beneficial for health. That said, they cannot be said to benefit patients with digestive complaints. Vegetables that are not particularly rich in fiber, such as cucumber, tomato, zucchini, eggplant and radish, can be consumed in small amounts and without cooking. Fresh vegetables in particular don't cause discomfort.
CHOOSE FEWER BUT HIGHER-QUALITY PROTEINS
Proteins are an important building material for our cells. Our digestive system cannot function without protein, because enzymes are made of proteins. However, our bodies are already quite rich in protein. Many people consume twice as much protein as they need.
Foods high in protein value: Eggs, yogurt, beef, fish…
CONSUME FLUIDS
Our bodies lose 2-2.5 liters of fluid per day; this fluid loss must therefore be replenished. Fluid deficiency in our bodies is recognized by feeling tired and unable to concentrate. For this reason, sufficient fluids should be consumed throughout the day, even before feeling thirsty. Feeling thirsty is a sign of fluid deficiency in your body.
- Mineral water rich in calcium and iron
- Anise tea, chamomile tea, herbal teas
- A mixture of mineral water and fresh fruit juice (2/3 mineral water, 1/3 fruit juice)
- Vegetable juices (mixed with mineral water)
Since coffee and black tea are stimulants, they should be used in moderation. Alcohol consumption should be limited. Alcohol not only depletes fluid in the body but also harms the liver and pancreas.
WATCH OUT FOR MILK AND DAIRY PRODUCTS
If gas or diarrhea occurs when you consume milk and dairy products, this means you're sensitive to milk sugar (lactose). You should therefore develop a separate nutrition plan. Special attention should be paid to substances related to sugar metabolism (sorbitol, mannitol or xylitol).
HOW FOOD IS PREPARED ALSO MATTERS
When cooking food, the goal should be easy digestibility and preserving nutritional value. Vitamins are often sensitive to light and heat. When foods are boiled and washed, water-soluble vitamins, minerals and trace elements are destroyed.
You can preserve these values in your food by taking the following factors into account:
- Prepare meals shortly before mealtime
- Wash foods under running water
- Don't chop vegetables too finely
- Add a small amount of water to vegetables in a covered pot and boil briefly so they don't lose their freshness
- Make use of the water left over from boiled vegetables (except spinach)
- Combine boiled vegetables with uncooked vegetables
- Cook potatoes with their skins on (boiled or baked)
- Cook meat or fish without fat, don't fry it
DO HEALTH CURES
Doing a fruit cure one day a week, or eating nothing from after dinner until dinner the next day, is one of the secrets of staying young. We should let our digestive organs rest at least one day a week. However, one important point is that, unfortunately, in an era when information is so easily accessible—and I say "unfortunately" because the internet in particular has become an information dump—you should not apply every detox program you read or hear about. The main purpose of fasting within religions is, alongside disciplining the self, also to let the organs rest.
WATCH OUT FOR DIET PRODUCTS
Over the last 20 years in our country, the number of diet or light—also known as diabetic—products has steadily increased on store shelves, and continues to do so. It's commonly assumed that "diet product" means it has no calories, or a significantly reduced amount… But that's not actually the case! Because in this group of foods, only the fat, the sugar, or both have been reduced. Artificial sweeteners are used, especially in the diabetic product group, in these foods. So don't assume that diet biscuits, diet chocolate, diet jam, diet cookies, diet baklava... and this long list won't cause you to gain weight.
PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR DIET
When I say pay attention to your diet, I don't just mean eating correctly, varied and in rotation. What I want to emphasize here is turning how many meals you eat per day into a ritual for yourself. Don't snack standing up! Meals eaten standing up nourish neither the body nor the soul. While the digestive system struggles against gravity, it experiences disruptions in its function. What should happen is that, whether alone or with your family, colleagues, or loved ones—whoever you're eating with—you show respect for this vital act. How lovely it is that in Anatolia, or in other faith communities, when people still sit down at the dinner table, they give thanks to the Creator according to their beliefs, offering a prayer of gratitude… Unfortunately, in our increasingly technological, fast-paced and even more materialistic lives, we've drifted away from these beautiful and healthy customs as well.
What we should actually be doing is sitting down at a properly set table during the day and nourishing ourselves with food that benefits our eyes, our soul and our health. If your work pace or lifestyle doesn't allow for this, then the priority problem you need to solve or rearrange isn't your diet—it's your working conditions...