With so many diets out there it is hard to make a decision. While everyone is different, we try and keep it simple – eat real foods. We don’t believe you need to count calories, nor limit certain items. Our basic view is this: eat simple foods with few ingredients like meats, dairy fruits and vegetables, buy organic where and when you can and avoid sugar. More detailed views of healthy eating are outlined below.
Avoid GMO Foods
Genetically modified foods or “GMO” are foods which have been altered in a lab for a number of reasons. Most commonly these foods have had genetic changes from their natural or “heirloom” forms for consumer preferences such as reduced seeds or longer shelf life. They are also commonly modified to be resistant to pesticides, most notably glyphosate.
Avoid Processed Foods
Processed foods contain many unnecessary ingredients. Many of them contain dyes, sweeteners, seed oils and other unfavorable ingredients which cause a long list of health issues. The easiest way to think about this is to avoid the middle of the grocery store, stick to the outside where the fresh food is kept.
Another easy way to notice highly processed foods is read the label, the shorter the ingredient list the better.
Eat Organic where you can
Organic foods have many benefits however the most beneficial is that they do not contain harmful pesticides, chemicals and additives used in their production. Fruit tends to absorb pesticides at higher rates than vegetables. A good starting point for organic produce would be to focus on foods where you don’t peel the skin prior to eating.
Organic grains and meats are also highly recommended to limit unnecessary exposure to antibiotics, glyphosate and other pesticides, chemicals and additives.
Wash your Food
Our fruits and vegetables are sprayed with pesticides and coatings to increase shelf life. The easiest way to wash your produce is by combining two tablespoons of baking soda with a splash of vinegar in a bowl of cold water. Mix around and let soak for a few minutes and then rinse off. Once you see the water left over you’ll never not wash your produce again.
Don’t be scared of salt – be scared of sugar
Sugar has been linked to many forms of disease such as high blood pressure, weight gain, focus and memory issues, cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome just to name a new.
Sugar is also linked to insulin resistance (our blood test helps identify early stages) and diabetes. Recent studies are now calling dementia and Alzheimer’s type 3 diabetes, a direct link to our sugar and diet.
While salt is not an enemy when taken in the right forms (Celtic salt and Himalayan salt) many proceeds foods use poor sources of sodium and iodized salts which do impact our health.
Conclusion
Keep it simple – the less ingredients in your food the better. Less processed food and more real food. Eat high protein. That way you don’t need to count calories.
