In late 2020, I was introduced to a concept of health and wellness that is referred to as the Terrain Model of Natural Hygiene. It is a way of understanding human physiology and disease pathology that is a more hands-off approach coupled with a whole-food/plant-based diet. A diet where adherents also take a hands-off approach to the foods they eat. Consuming foods the way they come out of the ground or fall from the tree. Consuming foods in a raw state without any prior processing or heating.
This made a lot of sense to me considering I had been moving in this direction slowly over the two to three years leading up to my introduction of this way of thinking and living. In 2019, after a prolonged fast, I decided to remove all dairy from my diet. No more milk, cheese, or butter of any kind. A bummer at first, but I got over it pretty quickly and my physical and emotional state started making a turn for the better that I didn’t expect or plan on. Shortly after that and as a result of my studies I concluded that it would be best to also step away from all things related to beef and pork. And then over the following year leading up to the summer of 2020, I removed eating any kind of meat whatsoever. No more fish or fowl as well. I did keep eggs in my diet though until the end of November 2020. That was when I was introduced to a group on Facebook that promoted Natural Hygiene and the consumption of a fully unprocessed whole-food/plant-based diet.
This group in particular even goes so far as to suggest that much of what we call vegetables are not appropriate for human consumption and that the healthiest of diets consist of only fruit and leafy greens. Some might consider this a little extreme, but I had already done most of the hard work already in removing all of the animal-based food sources over the prior eighteen months.
Was it hard at first? Absolutely, I was eating as much as I wanted to, but never quite felt like I was fully satisfied until I started consuming a rather large salad every morning to set me off in the right direction for the day. From there it was all fruit and some occasional nuts until the evening. And what I can say for sure is that this way of eating is just what the doctor ordered. It really helped my body move to the next level of health and overall hygiene. But then there came a point where my body felt like something was missing. I began to suspect that this diet is/was not the full answer. That it is/was good for healing or cleansing, but that it alone was not what the body needs for ongoing health and wellness if one is trying to reach their fullest human potential.
I was really hoping I would be able to say that eating fresh fruit and leafy greens was all that was necessary for complete nutrition. I was standing at a crossroads and it was time to turn a corner.
Can we live on juicy fruits and leafy greens alone in our modern world? I cannot say that in good conscience. I cannot say that has been my experience because I am well convinced that the WAY our modern produce is grown for those of us that need to buy it is squarely where the blame is to be found. Not in the diet itself. Yes, plant-based/whole foods are still the answer, but alone they are just not quite enough on their own. Not until a more sustainable way of soil management is implemented on a larger scale. Fortunately, there are people that are currently working on that.
Not only do we need to be getting the right KIND of foods, but we also need to be getting a sufficient amount of the nutrients that are supposed to be in those foods.
Some might want to suggest that you can supplement vitamins and minerals in a daily capsule, but I would wholeheartedly say they likely make no difference. Especially considering, long-term studies of those in their 90’s demonstrate that there are no health benefits conferred to those that took a supplement daily versus those that did not. We are likely just making expensive urine for someone else’s benefit.
Simply put, our body needs the things that we call vitamins and minerals, but only in the form that nature creates them, bound up in their natural plant-based/whole food forms.
Two good options that can fill in some of the missing dietary components, even though not technically raw, in their cooked form, sweet potato, and legumes(beans) do seem to provide some of the things that would be missing in a fully uncooked whole-food/plant-based. Because of this, I would recommend limiting the intake of these two treating them like you would any supplement, consumed in smaller amounts. Sweet potatoes once or twice a week. Legumes could be consumed daily but should be limited in quantity to less than one cup, like in hummus as an example.
Another one which I’ve had the pleasure of trying out for the last month is called Daily Green Boost. Found at www.dailygreenboost.com. Currently, I am on their monthly auto-ship subscription program where they send out 4 bottles per month. They even cover the cost of shipping for a grand total of $91.76/mo.
It really seems to be filling in on anything else that might be lacking in my diet. I’ve even gone so far as to commit myself to this supplementation protocol for 6-9 months to see what difference it makes.