In Bama they…
Eat an alkalizing plant-based diet high in vegetables including pumpkins and their seedlings, tomatoes, amaranth leaves, peppers, sweet potatoes and their leaves, pak choi, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and peppers. Their soil is particularly concentrated in minerals and trace elements which get into the plants.
What we can do:
- Eat a plant-based diet including a wide range of vegetables from local, organic sources. Eat them as soon after buying as possible, as antioxidant vitamins diminish after harvesting.
In Bama they…
Eat a diet which has been found by the Japanese International Society of Natural Medication to be high in fiber, protein, and vitamins, and low in calories and fat.
What we can do:
- Take care to eat a balanced diet which is high in nutrients, relatively low in calories, and low in anti-nutrients such as saturated fats, trans fats, additives and sugar.
In Bama they…
Never overeat, having only 1500 calories daily.
What we can do:
- Eat just enough to be full – overeating accelerates aging by promoting the production of endotoxins and free radicals.
In Bama they…
Eat fruit such as bananas, guavas, grapes, and pears daily.
What we can do:
- Try to eat 1-3 pieces of good quality fresh organic food daily, either as it is, in a fruit salad, or in fruit smoothies.
In Bama they…
Eat hemp, corn, brown rice, and millet.
What we can do:
- Avoid white flour products and white rice and instead choose healthy grains such as those eaten in Bama. These grains and products made from them are available in many Western health food stores. Hemp and cold-pressed hemp oil is a rich source of omega 3 and omega 6 essential fatty acids in a near-perfect ratio to each other.
In Bama they…
Eat soy beans and tofu, lima beans, and mung beans regularly.
What we can do:
- Include beans and tofu in our diet for isoflavones, fiber, B vitamins and protein.
In Bama they…
Eat Oil Fish fresh from the Panyang River, a fish which is so oily it can be cooked in a pan without the addition of any cooking oil.
What we can do:
- Eat oily fish for omega 3 essential fatty acids.
In Bama they…
Eat small quantities of pork, goat meat, chicken and duck, all lean and organic and fed on the local mineral-rich plants. Their Fragrant Pig meat has been found to be much richer in glutamic acid than ordinary pork, which is anti-inflammatory, improves cerebral function, and helps maintain gut health, amongst other functions.
What we can do:
- Eat only good quality organic lean meat, and use less of it. It tastes better, is more humane, and has a healthier fat-protein ratio.
In Bama they…
Drink pristine mineral water from the famed Panyang River and from springs which is rich in magnesium, selenium and zinc – all highly beneficial antioxidant minerals with cardiovascular and anti-cancer properties.
What we can do:
- Drink plenty of mineral or filtered water – around 6-8 glasses daily.
In Bama they…
Have excellent levels of ‘friendly gut flora’ in their intestinal tracts thanks to the fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) in their plant-based diet and an intake of probiotics from fermented foods such as tofu. One study showed that the stools of 80-109 year olds had very good levels of friendly flora.
What we can do:
- Eat a plant-based diet for fiber to provide FOS, eat fermented foods containing probiotics, and if necessary use a good probiotic supplement.
In Bama they…
Drink corn wine with snakes in the bottom of the bottle.
What we can do:
- Drink corn wine with snakes in the bottom of the bottle…or just the odd glass of good quality pinot noir or other antioxidant-rich wine.
In Bama they…
Make sure their food is flavorful and attractively presented so that it whets the appetite.
What we can do:
- Find recipes we enjoy and present our food arranged on the plate with appealing colors so as to galvanize our digestive juices – lots of colors also denotes a wide range of beneficial plant compounds.
