Principles on Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.)

Tara Carpenter, NC.

Holistic nutrition for digestion; specialized in yeast overgrowth.

I started practicing The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.) in 2010 with my boys, then ages 3 and 8 years old. Now they are 16 and 21 and though we no longer practice such a restricted way of eating we do still follow the core principles found in this system of health and healing that I will forever be grateful for bringing the kids and I deep restorative healing.

Now my focus and outlook is outwards on helping people begin and stay on this diet through nutritional consultations, meal plans, and cooking.

Principles embodied in the B.E.D.

Expansion/Contraction Principle: This principle from macrobiotics looks at energetic properties of food. Certain foods are contracting such as meat, eggs and salt. Other foods are expanding such as sugar. BED encourages primary food selection from the middle of this continuum, emphasizing vegetables.

Acid/Alkaline Principle: This common principle in alternative medicine and nutrition is where blood is kept slightly on alkaline side of normal range to discourage growth of systemic Candida and growth of cancer. Suggested to have meals contain 20% acid-forming foods and 80% alkaline-forming foods.

Uniqueness Principle: This principle acknowledges one size does not fit all in diets. Some people do better on a slightly higher percentage of protein in their diet than others and some do better with animal protein than others. The principles of “the blood type diet” can be used to guide food choices that might better suit one person versus another, although Donna Gates, founder of B.E.D., does not agree with newer principles introduced by the younger Dr. D’Adamo.

Cleansing Principle: This principle states we must be continually cleansing to attain and maintain good health. Modern-day living is full of exposures to toxins and these toxins must be continuously removed. Regular bowel cleansing is recommended to assist this process.

Food Combining Principle: This principle is from work of Dr. William Howard Hay in early 20^th century. The premise is that different macronutrients need different conditions in stomach to properly digest. For ex. protein requires high-acid environment whereas starch requires a more alkaline environment to digest properly. If starch and protein are mixed in a meal, the stomach can’t properly set conditions to digest, so doesn’t do a good job with either component. By eating fruit separately and separating starch and protein into separate meals, the efficiency of digestion increases and unwanted fermentation reduced.

80/20 Principle: This principle is taken from Oriental medicine, which states you should never eat more than 80% of your stomach capacity in one meal in order to leave you with 20% of your stomach empty, giving it room to properly mix the meal with enzymes and acid.

Step by Step Principle: This principle states healing comes in steps which happen in their own time and own order. When a person is sick, they may not have the healing capacity to handle a full-blown healing crisis, so the body will go through cycles of progress followed by rest period. Each step will get deeper into body and pull out toxins as well as heal the affected organs.

May all bellies be happy!