Learning to eat foods in rotation is as easy as it sounds. Basically, you rotate your foods on a cycle that is at least 4 days long. If you have signs of digestive issues, bloating, leaky gut, constipation or other, a longer rotation cycle is recommended, such as 5-6 days or more. Because of their propensity to irritate the intestines and their ever-presence in our diets, we will target grains for this rotation, however some people also use it for proteins or anything really. Here is how it works. You will need to write down your meals so get a journal or app on your phone for this purpose, or simply jot down your menu on a calendar. Example: Tuesday (Day 1) Rice…Wednesday (Day 2) Wheat…Thursday (Day 3) Corn…Friday (Day 4) Oat…Saturday (Day 1) Can have Rice again or choose something else. You just need to wait at least 4 days before repeating the same grain.
Here is a partial list of the grains I am referring to: I realize that some may be classed as seeds but just go with it: wheat, rice, quinoa, millet, corn, oat, barley, buckwheat, etc. Most of us have a very high concentration of wheat in our diets. This is a means to change that up as best as we can because the proteins in wheat can be very irritating over time.
Have you noticed that it is easier to “feel” when something is not quite right with a food item since the beginning of the cleanse? When we eliminate then re-introduce foods and when we eat in rotation it is easier to recognize potential problems. An irritating food item that is eaten every single day, or even several times a day, can cause unwell feelings but it is not exactly clear which food is the cause since the symptoms are all jumbled together and always present. Spacing out potentially difficult foods helps you to feel their symptoms more clearly so they can be eliminated more permanently.
By the same token, eating in rotation also helps to prevent new intolerances/allergies/sensitivities from developing by giving your system time to recover and heal from the effects of a challenging food. Those with gut issues may choose to continue complete avoidance of irritating foods such as grains, legumes and dairy until full healing.
One of the biggest advantages of eating in rotation is that it encourages awareness and diversity of our food choices. Most people only eat some 25-35 different food items, or less. And most people eat so much wheat, up to 8/10 servings a day, each and every day. Hopefully, this exercise will help mix things up a bit.
You will see that with a little effort, your health and vitality can improve by not burdening your body with the same foods over and over.
This is our last blog. Thanks for reading along with me as we did this, holding hands, interlaced fingers.
Ing XOXO
Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup —Paulo Coelho
Daily ablutions 