Health & Fitness
Eating Healthy: Three Things to Increase Health
Do you read your labels? Food never used to have labels- it grew that way! GMO, high ORAC, super foods: Be informed; get the low-down and take charge with a healthier eating plan.
How well-informed are we? Do we know what foods are really good for us? If we take the word of advertisers, so many foods are “natural”. They are labeled “wholesome”, and other pleasant adjectives.
As I fielded questions recently, during a session I gave on healthy eating, I realized I’d become something of an authority. I had studied nutrition for years, in an effort to get healthy. Living for years with an undiagnosed low thyroid had wrought damage to my system. When I finally saw a doctor at age 48, he prescribed a simple thyroid supplement that cured my multitude of symptoms—something that even the healthiest diet hadn’t been able to do.
But I learned so much about healthy foods in the process!
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A friend once told me, “Somehow, the sickest people I know are the ones eating ‘health food’.” But for many of us, who've struggled with one health issue or another, a healthy diet can, in fact, improve our health. We might still have issues, but there's no telling how bad off we'd be otherwise, right?!
If you’re in good health, you are blessed. If you begin to eat more foods in their more natural, whole state, you are wise. Below are three points to consider, in working towards eating healthier.
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1. Eat More “Super Foods”: Close to (or just) how God made them
Incorporate more of the following into your diet. Even if it’s one food at a time, even once a month, it’s a start! (Progress not perfection.)
- FRUITS
- VEGGIES
- WATER
- GREEN TEA, BLACK COFFEE
- BEANS AND LENTILS
- YOGURT, KEFIR, “PROBIOTICS”
- DARK CHOCOLATE (Or better: RAW CACAO NIBS)
- SPICES (CINNAMON, CLOVES, CAYENNE, OREGANO, TURMERIC, etc.)
- CERTAIN GRAINS (BARLEY, BUCKWHEAT, BROWN RICE, MILLET, OATS, QUINOA)(Use less Wheat and Corn- typically GMO; sometimes problematic digesting)
- HEALTHY OILS (AVOCADOS, COCONUT OIL, FLAX & OTHER SEEDS, NUTS, OLIVE OIL, RED PALM OIL)(Use less Canola Oil, as it’s GMO. Limit the typical vegetable oils/polyunsaturates.)
- PROTEINS: QUALITY PASTURE/GRASS FED BEEF, LAMB, CHICKEN and EGGS, plus FISH (wild-caught or sustainably raised)
2. Eat Less GMO Foods: Not quite how God made them
GMO stands for “genetically modified organisms”, and they're relatively new to the human diet.
New food crops have been created by man, that are more productive, larger, heartier. But eventually, the crop's natural predators might become immune to the pesticide in use, so even newer food crops get created which can withstand even higher levels of pesticides. Basically, some DNA, even from a completely non-related species, can be spliced in. That non-related species may have an enormous resistance to a newer, stronger pesticide, and suddenly, we have a "super-plant". Not that it was found in nature, but... it is now!
Here are the most common GMO foods: Tomatoes, Sugar Beets, Papaya, Rice, Potatoes, Corn, Soy, Milk, Canola Oil, Aspartame, Zucchini (Yellow or green), and MSG (“Natural Flavor”)
3. Eat More High-ORAC Foods: Bright colors and flavors often mean more health
ORAC stands for “oxygen radical absorbance capacity”. High ORAC value means that, potentially, less free radicals form in the body. Free radicals may increase risk of disease and premature aging. We don't want that!
Most high ORAC-value foods taste great: Spices, herbs, cacao, coffee and green tea, berries, nuts. cooked vegetables, beans, colorful fruits (raisins too).
How about you? Have you tried any "super foods" lately? Do you have a favorite recipe made with great ingredients? Let me know!
