Last Updated on August 5, 2015
I have a somewhat popular review on Amazon.com for Hawaiian Spirulina. It’s generated a surprising amount of discussion in the Review Comments (12 pages of them). This week I was asked the following in the comment:
You are an incredible source of knowledge. Thank u for your review! I browsed your website in hopes of learning more about your diet, for I believe that is key to optimum health. If u don’t mind, would u be able to share what a typical days diet is like for u, as well as foods u focus on and foods u avoid, as well as what macronutrient ratios u feel best following? I know this is a bit off topic, but considering how many comments you have had from this review alone regarding your amazing knowledge on nutrition, I think we could all really enjoy seeing how u construct a typical days foods, as well as how u creatively incorporate the spirulina and other Superfood in.
I don’t generally “think” much about what I eat, and whether it would be of interest to people. I just do what feels natural and life-giving. Answering Shelby’s question brought to my attention (again) that there are people who would find it interesting to know what an atypical human like me eats. So, in the interests of sharing my freakish diet, I am posting here the reply I posted to Shelby on Amazon.com.
Hello Shelby,
I commend you on your interest in taking charge of your health.
I am actually part way through writing a book that will answer your question. I started writing it some years ago when people were asking me to give workshops on health and nutrition. Apparently my odd ways were of interest, and people started asking if I’d publish them. I’ve not worked on it in a while though, so no promises on when it will be available on Amazon. But in essence… from my perspective it’s about staying as true to nature as possible. Modern Man has invented a life-style and food “system” that is almost entirely artificial and unnatural… from the seed and soil used to grow our food, through to the highly processed end products.
I eat relatively little food. It’s my observation most people eat way too much, and this is spurred on by the fact most, if not all, of what they eat is “empty” artificial food. So the body keeps wanting more. My diet is gluten free, GMO free, about 60 to 80% raw alkaline-forming food (fruits and vegetables), almost entirely organically grown, almost entirely vegetarian (includes some basic fish like sardines or mackerel from time-to-time, and occasionally salmon), and includes plenty of ocean vegetables (so-called “seaweeds”), fermented foods (Natto, Miso, Kimchi, Sauerkraut, Raw Apple Cider vinegar, grass-fed yoghurt, Kefir… most of which I often make myself), almost NOTHING from tins, cans, boxes (i.e. unrefined, minimal processing). I use NO modern “vegetable” oils. Just unrefined virgin coconut oil, extra virgin olive oils, hemp oil, and sometimes sesame oil. I only heat coconut oil, none of the others. I’ve never cooked with a microwave oven, and avoid foods cooked in them. I have never been a tea or coffee drinker. I drink no alcohol, take no drugs, and have my whole life avoided chlorinated and fluoridated water. I’d rather be thirsty until I can get decent water. I very rarely eat out (mostly because in NZ there are few, if any, conscious restaurants with decent ingredients, etc.). I make pretty much all my own food/meals, from raw materials. When my situation permits (i.e. not travelling, which I’ve done a lot), I grow as much of my own food as I can. I eat almost no grains, and if I do eat them I try to always soak grains and beans overnight in water.
I eat plenty of nutrient-dense foods (so-called “super-foods”), and have done so for close to 25 years — spirulina, chlorella, sprouts, bee pollen, barley/wheat grass juice, and whatever else I feel drawn to now that there are so many super-food options. When I started out with super-foods, all I had access to (in New Zealand) was spirulina, bee pollen, royal jelly, ginseng extract, and sprouts I would make. These days, there are lots of options and at amazing prices. I’ve been living this way, more or less, for a little over 20 years. I never get ill, never take pharmaceuticals, never use vaccines or other such toxic “medicine”. I don’t eat to a regular schedule. I eat when I am hungry, which means no early morning “break-fast”. It’s nearly 11am here right and I’ll have “break-fast” right after I post this message. My break-fast will be a super-food drink, such as the one you might have seen in the Recipes section of my web site. I don’t adhere to any particular diet or fad, and avoid being fanatical about my diet (i.e. the fanaticism of being strictly raw, strictly vegan, strictly this or that). I have observed that food fanaticism often makes people rigid and is a compensating for deeper repressed psychological issues. It’s not the way nature operates. She’s more relaxed and adaptable.
If someone was to try and determine my “staple” food… I’d say it’s my green smoothies, with 2 to 4 tablespoons of spirulina being the main-stay in the ingredients on any given day.
I hope this helps you in your exploration.
I wish you all the best of health and inspiration to life in service to LIFE (which is just as important as what we eat, when it comes to our health and well-being).
Low priced, easy to access Super-foods?
If you live in the USA, you may find the “Store” I set up on Amazon useful. There’s a super-foods section. I’ve not updated this “store” in a while, so there could well be better options today for some of these products. Here’s a link to the front of the store, and here’s a link directly to the super-foods section.
If you don’t live in the USA, the best source I know of for most of these great super-foods is iHerb. They have really cheap international shipping, and it’s how I buy these products when I am in New Zealand.
Hi Jonathan could you please share some smoothie recipes that you have found useful? Thanks :)
Hi Helen. I don’t have any particular recipe myself, although there’s certain some core elements I tend to include in my “swamp-juice” as I refer to it. ;-) They would be water, a banana (ideally organic), or some pure apple juice in the absence of a banana, and the spirulina, chlorella, gelatinized maca root, barley/wheat grass juice powder, fresh ginger root (finely chopped before putting into blender), hemp seeds, hemp seed oil, bee pollen (I often soak it in water in the fridge first, if it’s not fresh pollen), some cayenne pepper (powder). In terms of quantities… there’s a recipe here (http://bit.ly/1v8vHCV) that gives some indication.
Thanks Jonathan, I’ll give this a try :)
Hi Helen… as mentioned in the above article, in NZ the most cost and time effective way I know for getting super-foods (and a great many other things) is from iherb.com. Their prices work out more than Amazon.com, but Amazon doesn’t ship most food/super-food items internationally, so buying from them involves using NZ Post YouShop service, which is quite expensive compared to iherbs DHL shipping.
Hi Jonathan
Thanks for the info. I had been wondering where to best source the ingredients. will take a look at iherb
When ordering from iherb.com (or any international supplier) make sure your order total doesn’t go so high that you incur GST and Duty. You can check here: http://www.whatsmyduty.org.nz
What about GST? I recently purchased some music gear from overseas and had to pay hundreds of dollars in GST!
The whatsmyduty link I provided will help you ensure you don’t go over the limit after which GST and duty (if any) is charged. It’s a few hundred dollars of nutritional products (around NZ$285 [incl shipping] from memory) before GST/Duty kicks in. That’s for “Supplements (Other)” which have 5% duty. “Supplements (Vitamins)” have no duty, in which case you can bring in NZ$390 [incl shipping] before you’ll be billed by Customs for it. So long as the combined GST & duty amounts to under $60, Customs will not charge you. And yes, it can very quickly add a large cost to whatever you’re buying. I know the feeling, and it’s one I avoid repeating! :-)
thanks Jonathan