The Body Ecology Diet
The Body Ecology Die t Stage 1 Overview
Are you still suffering from imbalances in the body? Now that you've gotten the hang of cleaning up your diet and upregulating digestion, it's time to take the training wheels off and transition on to Stage 1 of the Body Ecology Diet. This mini book can guide you.
Catalina Martone
Healthygutgirl.com Nutritionist & Chef
Stage one is the strictest version of the Body Ecology program and is the best place for everyone to start, especially if you have candida, digestive problems or autoimmune problems. Stage two is the less strict version that allows you to add more foods back into your diet. The goal of the Body Ecology system of health and healing is to help you create more energy, conquer infections and inflammation, correct digestion and cleanse out toxins. Stage one is followed while you are reestablishing your inner ecosystem. (this is your gut bacteria/immune system) Stage two is followed once your inner ecosystem has healed. In general, people are able to start adding new foods to their diet at around 3 months. However, everyone is different so your body is your best guide for when you are ready to move to stage two. Some typical ways you will know you are getting better include improved digestion, fewer cravings for sugar, more energy, fewer colds and flu, clear skin, better sleep and of course improved symptoms if you have a disease. Once you feel these improvements are pretty stable, slowly introduce one new food at a time and really observe how your body responds. Here are foods that are NOT on stage one, but are great to add once you are feeling better and to see if you are able to tolerate without reactions. Milk kefir Beans (soaked and sprouted) Fermented soy products like miso natto and tempeh More sour fruits, like pomegranate, grapefruit, kiwi and blueberries.
THE 7 BODY ECOLOGY DIET PRINCIPALS 1. Expansion/ contraction Some foods are contracting, others are expansive and some are right in the middle, perfectly balanced. The goal on this diet is to eat foods that balance and complement one another. On this diet: The fats, oils, spices, herbs, teas and kefir are all expansive. The animal protein, eggs and sea salt are contracting. The vegetables, almonds and grains are the most balanced. 2. Acid/ alkaline When we are too acidic, our body is toxic. The diet aims at restoring the pH balance in our bodies for bodily functions and for proper beneficial bacteria to flourish. Certain foods are considered acidic, some are neutral and others are alkaline. You will want to eat 80% alkaline and 20% acidic in order to create the perfect pH balance. On this diet: The animal foods, the oils, buckwheat and stevia are acidic foods. Butter and ghee are neutral. The land vegetables, sea vegetables, millet, quinoa, amaranth, herbs, sea salts, seeds, fruits and cultured foods are alkaline forming foods. 3. Principle of uniqueness It is important to learn to listen to your body to find out what works best for you. 4. Principal of cleansing It is one of the most important principal on the diet. It is very important to cleanse as part of the healing process. Donna Gates recommends enemas or colonic for colon cleansing. Colon cleansing should be done before cleansing your liver. The foods and principals on this diet naturally supports cleansing.
5. Proper food combining Eat grains and starchy vegetables with non starchy vegetables and fats/oil. Eat proteins with non starchy vegetables. Do not combine grains or starchy vegetables with protein. Eat animal proteins with fats in limited amounts. 6. 80/20% rule Eat until you are 80% full. Eat 20% meat or carbohydrates with 80% vegetables. 7. Principal of step by step Start with one principal or one tool and work your way up from there. Foods to AVOID Throughout the diet: Any food to which you have a known allergy. Dairy: milk, cheeses, yogurt All glutencontaining foods All sugars and highglycemic fruits Tomatoes, tomato sauces, and corn Lectins: Nuts, beans, most potatoes, eggplant, peppers Alcohol and Caffeine: This includes coffee and black tea. Soy or Soy Products: soy milk, tofu, and soy oil Peanuts or Peanut Butter: Including peanut oil. Processed foods and canned foods Also, many popular skin care products have hidden estrogens in them, which will dampen results, so be sure to read labels carefully. Teas that are flavored Kombucha
FOODS ALLOWED ON THE DIET Animal protein Meats poultry fisheggs Apple cider vinegar (Unfiltered and raw with the mother like Braggs) Cultured vegetables Eggs Fats and oils Cultured butter – ghee olive oil – sunflower oil – flax seed oil – pumpkin seed oil – hemp seed oil – coconut oil. Flavoring (Must be alcohol free. Glycerinebased flavoring is fine.) Fruits Lemons – limes – cranberries granny smith apples Grains Amaranth – buckwheat – quinoa – millet Sea vegetables Sea salt Shiitaki mushrooms (All mushrooms are too expansive but some people do fine with shiitaki mushrooms.) Spices (LIMITING YOUR SPICE USAGE IS WISE, YES THE FOOD IS BLAND BUT WHILE HEALING THE GUT IT IS BEST TO MAKE THE FOODS SIMPLE AND LESS COMPLEX TO BREAK DOWN. THE MORE WE ADD TO THE FOOD THE MORE DIFFICULT IT IS TO BREAK DOWN AND THE HARDER IT IS TO TELL WHAT MIGHT BE CAUSING REACTIONS) Sweeteners Lakanto – Stevia – Xylitol Vegetables
All vegetables are allowed on the diet except for yams, eggplants, tomatoes which are considered fruits, beets and potatoes. But all vegetables can be eaten as cultured vegetables. Red skin potatoes are okay to have occasionally. Red bell peppers are the only peppers allowed on this diet. Wheat grass and mung bean sprouts are not allowed. Xantham gum (Used for making dressing) Young coconut kefir Herbal Tea like Peppermint, Ginger, Hibiscus (no added flavorings or caffeine) Young coconut kefir cheese (Made from the meat of young coconuts.) Body Ecology Supplement Suggestions Vitality SuperGreens 1 drink/day LivAmend 13 capsules morning and evening Assist SI 2 capsules, 3/day (with meals) Ancient Earth Minerals: 1 to 3 2 x per day CocoBiotic or Coconut Water Kefir 12 oz., 3 times/day It is normal to have bloating, brain fog, gas and constipation or diarrhea when taking the cultured foods. If it’s intolerable please reduce your dosage of these foods until you have less of an issue but for a time it will be the case as the good bacteria clear out the “garbage” present and you reestablish your gut terrain. If you have a histamine reaction, itchy eyes, skin rash, sneezing, reduce your intake to one eye dropper of the cultured veggie juice 2 x per day for 10 days and then d evening before bedtime and with every meal (about 1/2 cup portion size). No less than 3 x per day. (work up to this amount)
Grains must be soaked for at least 8 hours before cooking or eating. All fats and oils should be unprocessed, cold pressed and organic.Don’t eat for at least 3 hours before bedtime. Wait at least 4 to 5 hours after a protein meal to have a grain or starchy meal. Wait a minimum of 2 to 3 hours after a grain meal to eat protein. Proteins are best eaten between 11:00am and 2:00pm. No flour is allowed on the diet except the ones made from the BED grains but these should only be eaten occasionally. All cruciferous vegetables should be cooked or fermented but should not be eaten raw. Here is a list; Arugula Bok choy Broccoli Brussels sprouts Cabbage Cauliflower Chinese cabbage Collard greens Daikon radish Horseradish Kale Kohlrabi Land cress Mustard greens Radish Rutabaga Shepherd's purse Turnip Watercress Juicing is not allowed on the diet. It is considered too sweet and can be hard on a person who is not used to having so much raw vegetable content. But it is recommended to drink smoothies made from the whole vegetable including the fiber. Please see the Green Smoothie PDF in the Total Gut Makeover recipes.
BODY ECOLOGY VOCABULARY CV’S Cultured Vegetables YCK Young Coconut Kefir 80/20 Referring to the 80% acidic 20% Alkaline Rule LACTO FERMENTATION the anaerobic process by which cultured foods are made, sealed off from the outside air in a jar or crock. WILD FERMENTATION Fermentation process exposing the product to airborne bacteria, like Kombucha, Beer and Wine. The Body Ecology Diet does not approve of consuming these foods as they can worsen Candida. CULTURED FOODS When a probiotic culture or ‘starter’ is added to the fermentation process of a food product to make it more probiotic rich.
Tips: Breakfast is usually the meal that most people struggle with on this diet here are a few ideas you can count on; A Body Ecology Soup is a delicious way to get your vegetables and hydration to start your morning right. Soft scrambled eggs with spinach and onions topped with a cup of cultured veggies Quinoa flakes can be prepared like porridge with your favorite herbs and veggies for a much more healing breakfast option that won't feed candida! If you like it sweeter add stevia and cinnamon. You can also add raw butter or any of BE's wonderful oils just skip the milk! If you are having a very hard time at first and feel terrible, you are most likely experiencing the dieoff of bad bacteria, yeast and fungi, and for a short time, you may feel worse than before you began the diet. Your symptoms are normal! As these pathogenic organisms die, your body must eliminate them. "Dieoff " reactions can show up in many ways. From your skin, your bowels, from mucus in your lungs, from unseen substances in your urine and even through the vagina toxins will be eliminated. It's something to be grateful for but that's not always easy to do. Feeling fatigued or even feeling that you are coming down with a cold or flu is common. To minimize this sometimes very miserable early stage of die off we recommend colon cleansing. This is a challenging diet and keep in mind this is for a short time in comparison to how long you may have been suffering. Those who commit to these changes always see progress.
Are you still suffering from imbalances in the body? Now that you've gotten the hang of cleaning up your diet and upregulating digestion, it's time to take the training wheels off and transition on to Stage 1 of the Body Ecology Diet. This mini book can guide you.
Catalina Martone
Healthygutgirl.com Nutritionist & Chef
Stage one is the strictest version of the Body Ecology program and is the best place for everyone to start, especially if you have candida, digestive problems or autoimmune problems. Stage two is the less strict version that allows you to add more foods back into your diet. The goal of the Body Ecology system of health and healing is to help you create more energy, conquer infections and inflammation, correct digestion and cleanse out toxins. Stage one is followed while you are reestablishing your inner ecosystem. (this is your gut bacteria/immune system) Stage two is followed once your inner ecosystem has healed. In general, people are able to start adding new foods to their diet at around 3 months. However, everyone is different so your body is your best guide for when you are ready to move to stage two. Some typical ways you will know you are getting better include improved digestion, fewer cravings for sugar, more energy, fewer colds and flu, clear skin, better sleep and of course improved symptoms if you have a disease. Once you feel these improvements are pretty stable, slowly introduce one new food at a time and really observe how your body responds. Here are foods that are NOT on stage one, but are great to add once you are feeling better and to see if you are able to tolerate without reactions. Milk kefir Beans (soaked and sprouted) Fermented soy products like miso natto and tempeh More sour fruits, like pomegranate, grapefruit, kiwi and blueberries.
THE 7 BODY ECOLOGY DIET PRINCIPALS 1. Expansion/ contraction Some foods are contracting, others are expansive and some are right in the middle, perfectly balanced. The goal on this diet is to eat foods that balance and complement one another. On this diet: The fats, oils, spices, herbs, teas and kefir are all expansive. The animal protein, eggs and sea salt are contracting. The vegetables, almonds and grains are the most balanced. 2. Acid/ alkaline When we are too acidic, our body is toxic. The diet aims at restoring the pH balance in our bodies for bodily functions and for proper beneficial bacteria to flourish. Certain foods are considered acidic, some are neutral and others are alkaline. You will want to eat 80% alkaline and 20% acidic in order to create the perfect pH balance. On this diet: The animal foods, the oils, buckwheat and stevia are acidic foods. Butter and ghee are neutral. The land vegetables, sea vegetables, millet, quinoa, amaranth, herbs, sea salts, seeds, fruits and cultured foods are alkaline forming foods. 3. Principle of uniqueness It is important to learn to listen to your body to find out what works best for you. 4. Principal of cleansing It is one of the most important principal on the diet. It is very important to cleanse as part of the healing process. Donna Gates recommends enemas or colonic for colon cleansing. Colon cleansing should be done before cleansing your liver. The foods and principals on this diet naturally supports cleansing.
5. Proper food combining Eat grains and starchy vegetables with non starchy vegetables and fats/oil. Eat proteins with non starchy vegetables. Do not combine grains or starchy vegetables with protein. Eat animal proteins with fats in limited amounts. 6. 80/20% rule Eat until you are 80% full. Eat 20% meat or carbohydrates with 80% vegetables. 7. Principal of step by step Start with one principal or one tool and work your way up from there. Foods to AVOID Throughout the diet: Any food to which you have a known allergy. Dairy: milk, cheeses, yogurt All glutencontaining foods All sugars and highglycemic fruits Tomatoes, tomato sauces, and corn Lectins: Nuts, beans, most potatoes, eggplant, peppers Alcohol and Caffeine: This includes coffee and black tea. Soy or Soy Products: soy milk, tofu, and soy oil Peanuts or Peanut Butter: Including peanut oil. Processed foods and canned foods Also, many popular skin care products have hidden estrogens in them, which will dampen results, so be sure to read labels carefully. Teas that are flavored Kombucha
FOODS ALLOWED ON THE DIET Animal protein Meats poultry fisheggs Apple cider vinegar (Unfiltered and raw with the mother like Braggs) Cultured vegetables Eggs Fats and oils Cultured butter – ghee olive oil – sunflower oil – flax seed oil – pumpkin seed oil – hemp seed oil – coconut oil. Flavoring (Must be alcohol free. Glycerinebased flavoring is fine.) Fruits Lemons – limes – cranberries granny smith apples Grains Amaranth – buckwheat – quinoa – millet Sea vegetables Sea salt Shiitaki mushrooms (All mushrooms are too expansive but some people do fine with shiitaki mushrooms.) Spices (LIMITING YOUR SPICE USAGE IS WISE, YES THE FOOD IS BLAND BUT WHILE HEALING THE GUT IT IS BEST TO MAKE THE FOODS SIMPLE AND LESS COMPLEX TO BREAK DOWN. THE MORE WE ADD TO THE FOOD THE MORE DIFFICULT IT IS TO BREAK DOWN AND THE HARDER IT IS TO TELL WHAT MIGHT BE CAUSING REACTIONS) Sweeteners Lakanto – Stevia – Xylitol Vegetables
All vegetables are allowed on the diet except for yams, eggplants, tomatoes which are considered fruits, beets and potatoes. But all vegetables can be eaten as cultured vegetables. Red skin potatoes are okay to have occasionally. Red bell peppers are the only peppers allowed on this diet. Wheat grass and mung bean sprouts are not allowed. Xantham gum (Used for making dressing) Young coconut kefir Herbal Tea like Peppermint, Ginger, Hibiscus (no added flavorings or caffeine) Young coconut kefir cheese (Made from the meat of young coconuts.) Body Ecology Supplement Suggestions Vitality SuperGreens 1 drink/day LivAmend 13 capsules morning and evening Assist SI 2 capsules, 3/day (with meals) Ancient Earth Minerals: 1 to 3 2 x per day CocoBiotic or Coconut Water Kefir 12 oz., 3 times/day It is normal to have bloating, brain fog, gas and constipation or diarrhea when taking the cultured foods. If it’s intolerable please reduce your dosage of these foods until you have less of an issue but for a time it will be the case as the good bacteria clear out the “garbage” present and you reestablish your gut terrain. If you have a histamine reaction, itchy eyes, skin rash, sneezing, reduce your intake to one eye dropper of the cultured veggie juice 2 x per day for 10 days and then d evening before bedtime and with every meal (about 1/2 cup portion size). No less than 3 x per day. (work up to this amount)
Grains must be soaked for at least 8 hours before cooking or eating. All fats and oils should be unprocessed, cold pressed and organic.Don’t eat for at least 3 hours before bedtime. Wait at least 4 to 5 hours after a protein meal to have a grain or starchy meal. Wait a minimum of 2 to 3 hours after a grain meal to eat protein. Proteins are best eaten between 11:00am and 2:00pm. No flour is allowed on the diet except the ones made from the BED grains but these should only be eaten occasionally. All cruciferous vegetables should be cooked or fermented but should not be eaten raw. Here is a list; Arugula Bok choy Broccoli Brussels sprouts Cabbage Cauliflower Chinese cabbage Collard greens Daikon radish Horseradish Kale Kohlrabi Land cress Mustard greens Radish Rutabaga Shepherd's purse Turnip Watercress Juicing is not allowed on the diet. It is considered too sweet and can be hard on a person who is not used to having so much raw vegetable content. But it is recommended to drink smoothies made from the whole vegetable including the fiber. Please see the Green Smoothie PDF in the Total Gut Makeover recipes.
BODY ECOLOGY VOCABULARY CV’S Cultured Vegetables YCK Young Coconut Kefir 80/20 Referring to the 80% acidic 20% Alkaline Rule LACTO FERMENTATION the anaerobic process by which cultured foods are made, sealed off from the outside air in a jar or crock. WILD FERMENTATION Fermentation process exposing the product to airborne bacteria, like Kombucha, Beer and Wine. The Body Ecology Diet does not approve of consuming these foods as they can worsen Candida. CULTURED FOODS When a probiotic culture or ‘starter’ is added to the fermentation process of a food product to make it more probiotic rich.
Tips: Breakfast is usually the meal that most people struggle with on this diet here are a few ideas you can count on; A Body Ecology Soup is a delicious way to get your vegetables and hydration to start your morning right. Soft scrambled eggs with spinach and onions topped with a cup of cultured veggies Quinoa flakes can be prepared like porridge with your favorite herbs and veggies for a much more healing breakfast option that won't feed candida! If you like it sweeter add stevia and cinnamon. You can also add raw butter or any of BE's wonderful oils just skip the milk! If you are having a very hard time at first and feel terrible, you are most likely experiencing the dieoff of bad bacteria, yeast and fungi, and for a short time, you may feel worse than before you began the diet. Your symptoms are normal! As these pathogenic organisms die, your body must eliminate them. "Dieoff " reactions can show up in many ways. From your skin, your bowels, from mucus in your lungs, from unseen substances in your urine and even through the vagina toxins will be eliminated. It's something to be grateful for but that's not always easy to do. Feeling fatigued or even feeling that you are coming down with a cold or flu is common. To minimize this sometimes very miserable early stage of die off we recommend colon cleansing. This is a challenging diet and keep in mind this is for a short time in comparison to how long you may have been suffering. Those who commit to these changes always see progress.
