Eat As Nature Intended
Nature didn't create you to eat ready-made frozen meals with artificial preservatives and chemicals. Our ancestors have always lived in symbiosis with nature, and humankind has always been geared toward natural food. It's simple: eat more 'living' food and eat less 'dead' food. This means plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables (in season and a wide range of colors), herbs, seaweeds, mushrooms, sprouted nuts and seeds, natural yoghurt and cultured vegetables, and if you eat meat and animal products this would also include organic free-range eggs, fish, game and naturally reared animals.
Choose Organic
Organic fruits and vegetables can often contain more vitamins and minerals than their non-organic or conventional counterparts, particular if they have been picked ripe and are locally grown. They are also safer to eat because they are grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and genetically modified organisms (GMO'S), all of which have been shown to have harmful effects on our reproductive health and hormone and overload the liver. If you eat animal products, choose natural dairy from pasture to raised cows, organic free-range eggs, and naturally reared grass fed or wild meats. It is especially important with animal products to ensure they are free from antibiotics, hormones, and GMO feed, as animal fats tend to concentrate toxins. Want to know how organic food affects your body, watch this short video here!
Dust Off your Juicer or Blender
A juice and or blender can be your best friend. Let's say you come home from work and you're hungry and lethargic. Instead of reaching for a bag of chips or a bar of chocolate, whip up a quick juice or smoothie, both of which are loaded with vitamins, minerals, enzymes. It's an instant meal that delivers nutrients directly to cells of your body. Stuck for ideas? Check out our selection of Juice recipes here!
Limit Gluten-Containing Grains
Gluten is a protein found in most grain, including, wheat, rye, barley and spelt. An allergy to gluten – known as – coeliac (celiac) disease – and a general intolerance to gluten are becoming more prevalent. Even if you're not sensitive to gluten, you can do your body a world of good by cutting back on your gluten intake. Gluten can irritate and damage the intestinal lining and cause inflammation or immune reactions. It is also a major cause of leaky gut. Traditional preparation of these grains – soaking them for at least twelve hours and fermenting or sourdough leavening – helps to remove some of the gluten, rendering them less harmful. Great gluten-free grain alternatives include buckwheat, quinoa, rice, millet, corn and amaranth.
Stay Away From Processed or Sugary Foods
Too much sugar or other refined carbohydrates can lead to blood sugar high and lows, causing moods swings and food cravings, if not balanced by fats and proteins. Opt for foods that naturally have a lower glycemic load or glycemic index (GI). Choose vegetables and low sugar fruit, such as grapefruits, lemons, limes, pears, berries and avocados, over starchy grains. If you are going to consume high GI foods, its best to combine them with healthy fats to steady the uptake of glucose into the blood stream. Avoid sweetened packaged food, particularly those sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, glucose syrup, or artificial sweeteners.
Eat Good Fats
People trying to lose weight often try to keep their fat and cholesterol intake to a minimum. This is because fat contains more calories per gram than carbohydrates and proteins. Good fats and cholesterol, however, are essential for the absorption of most nutrients and for hormone production. Enjoy the healthy and stable saturated fats found in coconut oil; wild caught fish; and organic dairy, eggs and grass-fed meat, as well as monounsaturated fats like extra-virgin olive oil, macadamia nuts and avocados. Reduce your intake of unstable polyunsaturated fats such as canola, soy, sunflower, cottonseed, corn, grapeseed and safflower oils. These oils are often generally labelled as vegetable oil and are found in products like margarine spreads, commercially baked cookies and potato chips, store bought mayonnaise and salad dressings, and deep fried foods.
Prepare Your Meals With Care
Ditch the microwave. Eat more raw foods that not been damaged bt the heat. When cooking, saute', steam or grill foods over a low or medium heat with stable fats, such as coconut oil, ghee, or butter, in an old fashioned cast iron pot. These stable saturated fats are less volatile and ideal for cooking, especially compared to most unstable polyunsaturated vegetable oils, which become toxic to the body when oxidised at high temperatures.
Start With A Green Salad
Before your main meal of the day, whether it be lunch or dinner (Not both), start with a big green leafy salad. Ditch the iceberg. Be adventurous - choose from romaine, arugula, cabbage, and kale and add chopped mixed herbs like mint, parsley, cilantro, dill or chives. When you start with a salad, you fill your stomach with nutrient rich plant foods, leaving less room for overindulging in your entrée or dessert.
Read Labels
Chemical food additives can wreak havoc on our hormones and lead to weight gain addiction. Avoid E-Numbers and watch out for MSG, the flavour enhancer that tricks our brains into think we need to overeat. MSG is often disguised by the following names: E621, monosodium glutamate, glutamic acid, hydrolyzed vegetable oil, yeast extract, autolyzed yeast, sodium caseinate and monocalcium glutamate. It is also commonly found in ready-made soups, potato chips, sauces and cookies. When in doubt, remember one simple tip: If you can't pronounce it, or if it includes a number of codes don't eat it. Find out more what labels really mean here!
Eat In A Relaxed State
Our digestive systems are very sensitive. Rushing through your meal or eating on the run will put your body in a state of fight or flight, which compromises or shuts down your digestive system. What we don't digest often turns into bacterial fermentation, bloating, or fat. Make sure you are seated and take the time to enjoy your meal in a relaxed state and with good intention.
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Source:www.foodmatters.com |
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