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pvs is the acronym i use when when talking to people about "food order" and when to eat what. pvs stands for "protein, vegetable, starch." this is not original with me. i read it once 15 years ago in my research and haven't been able to find a source for it since. but the logic of it stuck with me. and so along with my own measure, study and philosophies, i have developed a discipline in which i have become an avid proponent. it changed my life so dramatically that i have been known to get into passionate conversation almost to the point of pleading with friends and loved ones to give it a try. i've had very few takers, but the ones who have stuck with it, have benefited immensely. i won't give you the passionate speech but i will tell you what i think i know.
to explain the pvs technique, lets go backwards for a minute and i'll break down each of these food groups briefly as we build to an enlightening, life-changing punch-line.
starch.
starch digests in an alkaline environment. starch is an antacid.
what constitutes starch? bread, potatoes, pasta, etc..
keep this info in your back pocket for a second.
vegetable.
i want you to see vegetables in a new way. there are all sorts of really good statistics floating around about vitamin absorption and the daily values absorbed from say a cup of spinach etc. in my research we get about 8% to 10% of the nutrients out of a vegetable when we eat it versus juicing, but don't panic, that 8 is enough. inside of that 8 percent lives a break down of percentages that will equal high percentages in daily values so, even though the nutritional value of today's veggies has been greatly diminished within the last 100 years, i don't feel the need to panic. we are not cows. we have incisors. we do not chew cud, thus we do not get all the enzymes out of the vegetables we eat. we never will. its not our design. but that is NOT the end of the story!
here's the flip-side and the one they're not really talking about much. (i could get a lot more complicated than this with the various types of roughage etc but lets skip all that and make this easy.) let me assure you, that if you'll look at veggies as roughage, you'll get more than enough of what you need without the measuring cups or point systems. wrapping your head around this means life or death and nobody really wants to lose their own life. so lets look at vegetables as roughage and consume them for that reason. this way you'll get your nutrients by default but in the the bigger absolutely necessary picture, proteins followed by vegetables will, by design, push the protein thru the colon and strip down any fatty or toxic buildup thus saving your life! nutrients are absorbed more easily thru a clean intestinal wall and seeing veggies as roughage will allow the body actually work. sure, juicing ups the rate of absorption significantly but we can discuss the benefits of that and when juicing is appropriate, separate to this exercise. so roughage. green follows the protein, and the next paragraph will tie all this together, bear with me.
protein.
protein breaks down or digests in one place: the stomach. in order for protein to digest it must have acid to do so. in order for your body to use protein, it must be digested, broken down into dipeptides and polypeptides, so its nutrients can be absorbed. if the protein is not broken down it goes into the intestines undigested and now we have a problem. a BIG problem. i spoke earlier about a matter of life or death. dear friends listen to me. tragically John Wayne and Elvis both died with 35 to 40 pounds of undigested protein in their bodies. forgive this tidbit but Elvis was on the commode doing his best to get rid of some of that when he passed away from a heart attack induced by septic shock. why? (read this slowly and comprehend) THEY WERE MEAT AND POTATOES MEN. protein needs acid. starch is an antacid. make sense? friends, starch and protein eaten together will kill you faster than cigarettes and smog.
summary
most people carry 5 to 25 pounds of superficial weight around because of food combinations that are traditional but NOT healthy. what they carry is undigested protein which distends the colon and thins the walls creating dangerous septic risks. if sickness begins in the colon, and we carry rotted meat around in our belly's, no wonder we can't stay well. no wonder the human race smells so bad. no wonder we are dependent upon deodorants to neutralize the toxins eeking out of our pores.
i've been challenged on this a number of times by doctors, nutritionists, you name it, but none of them can keep off the weight without working their cans off to stay fit. on the other hand, i'm 41 and i have an eight pack. why? i barely work out. i mean, less than 18 minutes a week. yes you heard that right! less than 18 minutes. i walk my dog but he's little and we go slow. i work around the house and mow the yard and do chores and stuff but i'm not killing myself here. if i have an audition coming up and i need to look extra fit, i might up my water intake (see my blog on water) for a couple of days do a lunge or two, some extra push ups and make sure i keep a strict food order. other than that, i just enjoy being slim. alot of people attribute my the way i look to genetics and some of that may be, but i would certainly argue that point for staying trim. i do not believe people are genetically written to be fat. i think, just like i did, they can inherit poor eating habits, but THIS! THIS we can change!!
so lets get started
here is a basic practical application for getting started on PVS
protein
eat a piece of meat.
vegetable
follow it with a handful of mix greens, dry. you won't like the taste but we do a lot of things we don't like. this will just make you have to do less of them.
starch
eat last and at least an hour after you've started your protein. if you make the mistake at a restaurant and go for the bread first, you're done. order a potato or pasta and make it a starch dinner, minus the chicken. if you eat the salad first, you're done. make it veggie dinner.
tip
eat slowly, consciously, gratefully with blessings and thanks and healing given to every single bite. say to yourself, "salmon," and notice every single bite of it. chew!
when its time for your salad, do the same.
if you are 45 minutes into your meal, on occasion it won't hurt you to participate in starch. but as soon as it touches your mouth, your stomach gets a signal to stop producing acid. your mouth is the first step in digestion and it signals to the rest of you "GET READY, I'VE JUST GIVEN MYSELF ______."
part 2
in part 2 i will discuss the role of fruits and the necessary benefits of starch and that its commercially deemed role as a fat maker is absolutely a mistake. let me know if you have any questions so far. i will respond to your questions here :)
jP
(photo by mmckee july2010)
