Behold, the power of FOOD! When I first started this blog I did a post about the best diet ever and I truly believe there is nothing better. So, I'm posting it here again so that it's always available.
We live in a world full of delicious, hearty, and tempting processed foods. They're made to taste good and they're usually pretty cheap, accessible, and have a long shelf life. Hmm.. here's the dilemma: they're also packed full of calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, and lots of chemicals and ingredients we can't even pronounce that are toxic to our bodies. Changing from a diet of mostly processed foods to mostly whole and raw foods is no stranger to me.
I used to think I ate pretty healthy. That was until I was having problems with my health with hormones and fatigue problems. I was instructed to go off of sugar and processed foods and eat a much more raw and simple diet. To tell you the truth, it ain't been easy. Ice cream and me are best friends and we've had a tough time parting ways. I have also found,though, that as I've tried to cut out sugar and processed foods how much I really am "addicted" to them, so-to speak. I crave them and sometimes they mean something to me. Like, I had a long, tough day, I deserve some dessert. Food is sometimes a reward or a comfort. Sound at all familiar?
No matter if you are extremely healthy, if you're an athlete, or suffering from any sort of illness, fatigue, mental health problem, hormonal problem, disease, cancer, etc. seriously, any, you WILL benefit from eating a whole, raw, unprocessed, unrefined, simpler, diet. No matter who you are, THIS IS GOOD FOR YOU!! It is a one size fits all kind of deal, which is awesome!!
Ok, so buckle up, here we go. Some stuff is pretty basic, some is too complicated to explain fully on here, couple things I'm going to avoid talking about all together. First up:
VEGETABLES
-Eat vegetables as close to their natural state as possible
-Eat a variety of colors (deep greens, purples best for you)
-Carefully scrub and wash all produce to remove toxins and chemicals.
-Some of the super vegetables include: Broccoli, Carrots, Kale, Onions, Spinach, Garlic, Tomatoes, Brussels Sprouts, Sweet Bell Peppers
-Top 4 to buy organic: Sweet Bell Peppers, Celery, Spinach, and Potatoes
Seriously, though, you can't really go wrong eating lots of vegetables.
FRUITS
Let's face it...
Fruits are our favorite! Not many people would choose a vegetable over a fruit, am I right?
And the great thing is, fruit is great! (But vegetables even more so, so don't skip the vegetables)
-Eat all fruit as close to its natural state as possible (raw)
-Carefully scrub and wash all produce to remove toxins and chemicals.
-Super Fruits: Avocados, Blueberries, Cherries, Coconut, Kiwi, Raspberries, Strawberries, Lemons
-Top Fruits to buy organic: Strawberries, Nectaries, Pears, Apples, Raspberries, Peaches, Cherries, Imported Grapes
GRAINS
Remember the old food pyramid that had 6-11 servings of grains on the bottom of the sturcture? Yeah, it's suspiciously similar to the pyramid used by farmers to fatten up cattle. If you want to fatten up farm animals, you feed them grain, not grass. Think it's all that different with people? Think again.
So does that mean get rid of grains entirely? No. Although, if you ate a truly balanced diet full of the most healthy foods and never touched a grain for the rest of your life, you wouldn't be missing anything nutritionally. The same cannot be said of the fruits, vegetables, eggs, oils, spices, meat, fish, and poultry.
However, cereal grains now provide 56 percent of the calories and 50 percent of the protein consumed on earth. Without these crops, the planet could not support six billion people. Take away rice, wheat, and corn and half the people on earth would not eat. But on the other hand, cereal grains are a nutritional compromise. They are not nearly as healthy, nor as nutritionally complete, nor as perfectly suited to our ancient digestive wiring, as the foods they have replaced.
So, what are the best options then?
-Oatmeal....best options for oatmeal- groats, steel-cut, or even rolled oats if they're the old fashioned kind.
-Quinoa
-Brown Rice (FYI- Brown rice is the entire grain of rice, while white rice has had the bran layer removed. Stripping the grain of its bran layer strips it of a majority of its fiber content along with many of its vitamins and minerals. A cup of cooked brown rice contains 4x the amount of fiber than white rice)
-There are a lot of other good options too not included on the top 3 list. Those include: amaranth, millet, barley, spelt, rye
BEANS and LEGUMES
Beans are loaded with fiber. They contain protein. They digest very slowly, providing sustained energy and making them an ideal food for those who need to avoid the "blood-sugar roller coaster." They lower cholesterol. nd they're loaded with protective phytochemicals, antioxidants, and vitamins. We'll just leave it at that.
Good options?
-Beans (red ones and black ones get higher health scores
-Garbonzo beans
-Green Peas
-Lentils
We're going to skip Soy for now because there is a lot of controversy surrounding it and we'll get into that sometime later.
I'm also going to steer clear of dairy for right now for the same reason. For me? I don't handle dairy very well so I don't drink milk anymore. I do still consume some cheese and some yogurt but obviously the best would be plain yogurt.
MEAT, POULTRY, EGGS, FISH
-Eggs are great! They contain all 9 essential amino acids, they're loaded with vitamins and nutrients that help your eyes, brain, heart. They're one of the best sources of choiline. Don't skip the yolk. The choline in the egg yolk actually helps prevent the accumulation of cholesterol and fait in the liver.
-Free-Range Poultry (Chicken and Turkey): which means that chicken nuggets, chicken fried steak, fried chicken, crispy chicken, chicken wings in BBQ sauce, chicken fingers, and so on DO NOT COUNT!
-Grass Fed Beef (Whether your food is animal, vegetable, plant, fish or fruit, where a food comes from, how it's raised (or grown), what is ate (or was fed), what soil it was grown on (or grazed on), how it is processed, prepared, and cooked (or not cooked), is vitally important to its nutritional content and absolutely central to its effect on your health.)
-Lamb (lamb is low in calories and high in protein)
-Liver (calf's liver) Sorry, but you won't catch me eating this but if it floats your boat, by all means, it sure it healthy.
-Wild game (Buffalo, Venison, Elk)
Fish in general is a high-protein, low-calorie food that provides a range of health benefits. I personally hate the taste of fish and I'm trying to get over it because I know there are so many great health benefits. Best fish options include:
-Crustacea (crayfish, prawns, shrimp, lobster)
-Mackerel
-Mollusks (clams, mussels, scallops, oysters)
-Sardines (which are full of health omega-3 fats)
-Tuna
-White-fleshed fish (Cod, flouner, halibut, orange roughy, pollack rockfish)
-Wild-Alaskan Salmon
Tips for preparing and eating fish:
-Eat wild not farm-raised
-Eat fresh not frozen
-Wash thoroughly
NUTS, SEEDS, and NUT BUTTERS
People who eat nuts regularly are less likely to have heart attacks or to die fron heart disease than those who don't. They are also full of good fat.
Best options:
-Almonds/Almond Butter*, Brazil Nuts, Cashews/Cashew Butter, Hazelnuts, Macadamia Nuts, Peanuts/Peanut Butter, Pecans*, Pistacio Nuts, Walnuts*
-Pumpkin Seeds, Sesame Seeds/Sesame Seed Butter/Tahini, Sunflower Seeds,
Eat seeds and nuts.....you guessed it, RAW! Although, you can mix them and make a a tasty trail mix!
OILS
Here are some points about fats and oils:
-Some saturated fat is good for us.
-Omega-3s are very very good for us.
-Monounsaturated fats are good for us.
-Omega-6s are good for us in balanced (usually small) amounts and from sources that haven't been processed and refined to death.
-Reused (reheated) vegetable oils are really, really bad.
-Trans fats are metabolic poison. The acceptable level in the diet is zero.
So, best options?
-Almond Oil, Coconut Oil*, Extra Virgin Olive Oil*, Flaxseed Oil*, Hemp Seed Oil, Macadamia Nut Oil, Red Palm Oil, Sesame Oil
SWEETENERS
Ok, so there's different levels I think to this one. There's "better than what I'm doing", then there's "better than that", and then there's probably "the best".
Here's what I survive with and also the best options:
Me?- Liquid stevia, honey, blackstrap molasses, agave nectar
Best?- Raw, unfiltered honey, blackstrap molasses
OTHER FOODS BENEFICIAL TO YOUR DIET
-Bee Pollen, Propolis, and Royal Jelly
-Dark Chocolate
-Green Foods and Drinks (Barley grass, wheatgrass, spirulina, chlorella, wild blue-green alga)
-Kimchi
-Olives
-Sauerkraut (nonpasteurized)
-Sea Vegetables (seaweed)
-Sprouts
-Umeboshi Plums
-Wheat Germ
-Whey Protein Powder
HERBS, SPICES, and CONDIMENTS
You know the old saying, "variety is the spice of life"? Well, it should be the other way around. Spice is the variety of life. There are 25,000 phytochemicals, living plant compounds that have amazing health benefits. Spices are full of these compounds. They also have great healing properties.
-Cinnamon: Lowers blood sugar, can help with pain and stiffness, reduces bad cholesterol, lowers blood pressure.
-Cardamom: Stimulates bile flow for liver health and fat metabolism, digestive aid, eases stomach cramps, stimulates digestion, cuts mucus, terrific remedy for flatulence.
-Cloves: Promotes energy circulation, increases metabolic rate, used as an antiseptic and anesthitic, keeps food fresh because the main active component of cloves is eugenol, which has long been known to help kill bacteria and viruses, contains high amounts of manganese, used as toothache remedy.
-Cumin: Used as a natural remedy for whole range of diseases, especially allergies; helps reduce heartburn and improve digestion, the essential oil of the seeds is antimicrobial, good source of iron.
-Garlic: Lowers cholesterol and prevents blood clots, has anticancer properties, assists weight-loss, lowers blood pressure, helps fight the common cold.
-Ginger: Soothes upset stomach, battles nausea, helps digestion, improves circulation.
-Mustard Seeds: Considered a medicinal plant, loaded with cancer fighting substances.
-Oregano: rich in a host of nutrients, highest antioxidant activity of the herbs and higher in antioxidant activity than apples, potatoes, oranges, and blueberries; has antifungal, anti bacterial, and antiparasitic properties; used as digestive aid; contains antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic properties; has anti-inflammatory properties.
-Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme, Sage (Not going to list all the health benefits right now)
-Turmeric: Contains medinals compounds including curcumin; has anti-inflammatory properties, has antitumor effects, has antioxidant properties, lowers elevated liver enzymes, used to assist in detox programs, other medicinal properties.
-Vinegar (Not going to list benefits at this time)
The information in this blog and in this post are for educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace the advice of a physician or medical practitioner. Please see your health care provider before beginning any new health program.
References include: "150 Healthiest Foods on Earth" by Jonny Bowden, Websites: www.whfoods.org, www.webmd.com, www.healthychild.org, Chiropractors: Dr. Devin Orton www.drorton.com, Dr. Noah Edvalson www.boiseintegratedchiropractic.com.
