Part 10 of my interview with a very healthy octogenarian:
Q: Based on your routine, do you get hungry throughout the day or how do you keep yourself motivated if you’re hungry?
A: We always have grapes and we have fruit. And we have apples. And if we feel the need, we have a piece of fruit. But you don’t really get hungry. In other words, we have learned that just because you’re nervous at times – people tend to either chew their nails or they eat. Well, we know that by eating properly we’re getting the part of the thing that we haven’t discussed yet, is that you have to have the mental attitude that hunger doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re hungry. It’s a – a mental condition that you have to learn that just because you’re nervous it’s not a factor that it means that you have to eat.
A lot of days when the sun isn’t out, dreary, it’s rainy, that makes a lot of people depressed. Well, when you have read the books that we have and learned about the power of the subconscious mind, we have to continually reinforce our good thinking and good thoughts, and happy that we’re here, and that goes a long way into – you know, into continuing your day. And that’s how a lot of people get into difficulty, because if they don’t have a lot of do then they go eat. Well, we realized that after reading the book, like we have done, you realize that eating is not the secret. It – it doesn’t do anything good for you unless you’re eating the proper foods.
When you eat the proper foods, then your body digests those foods and the fat is not present because you’re not getting much fat. And therefore you don’t gain any weight. You can have – you can have several meals a day or you can, you know, have some nuts during the day. We always have pecans and we always have walnuts. And – and so we’re not really hungry because we understand that we’re – our body’s getting the vitamins and minerals that it needs. Because we feel good and we’re healthy.
Q: I’ve heard this term used before by other – in other articles like this idea of grazing throughout the day and it seems like it’s what you’re indicating here, is it’s okay to graze as long as you’re not, over stuffing yourself but just make sure that it’s the right kind of food that you should be eating, whether it’s a small piece of fruit or maybe a very small handful of nuts. The right foods will help take care of that small hunger that you have until you’re ready for regular meal at noontime and at dinnertime. What else can you tell us about food choices?
A: I remember years ago when we ate iceberg lettuce. Well, now we know, for instance, after studying diet a little bit that iceberg lettuce, we’ve been told by different nutritionists there’s no nutrition in iceberg lettuce. And so romaine lettuce is the lettuce of choice for those of us who know a little bit about nutrition. And it’s like eating celery, we’ve always got celery sticks. We’ve always got carrot sticks in the refrigerator.
When you want to eat a little bit of something, you eat a piece of either fruit or a piece of vegetable. And, as a result of it, you’re not gaining any weight because you’re not eating any fat. And your system will digest this stuff. And the other part, that I had mentioned earlier, is that how and what foods you eat at the same time. By not mixing the food, you’re not taxing your body. And your body’s not overworking, and your heart is not overworking to process these foods. It’s working – it’s like a good – it’s a car burning the right kind of gas, your motor runs a lot smoother.
When your body’s running smooth, you won’t have any ailments. You’ll find that it – in a few months, after going on to this kind of a lifestyle, that your body is functioning and it’s detoxing properly. And it just doesn’t cause you any problem and you’ll find that your – things like sinus trouble or rhinitis or other things, hemorrhoids, for instance, and people that have gas, people that are miserable and that they’re overweight, or they’re diabetic, you don’t have any of these problems. And you find that you really don’t take – don’t need any prescriptions.
For instance, in my case, I take a little Xalatan because the eye pressure’s a little bit high and sometimes there are some things that you can’t control. This is why I do not eliminate the fact that we use the medical profession. Because I think there’s a definite need for the medical profession. But there’s a definite need also for the natural way of living and the natural foods to help us in our longevity.
