NUTRITION- THE BEST PRESCRIPTION

ADVICE FOR CLEAN EATING- February 2016

1. Change your personal  FOOD – policy.

• Where possible opt for whole unprocessed fresh foods.   This could be as simples opting for a baked apple over a pop tart at breakfast or bringing a roasted chicken thigh for lunch rather than a chicken tender.
• Eat food the way it grows. Resort to processed food as a last resort; use boxed, fast food and convenience foods sparingly- IF at all.   At least 2/3 of your meal should be characterized by fresh fruits and vegetables and whole unprocessed grains.
• Know that the top three addictive foods are fat, salt, and sugar. The corporate food industry has carefully titrated the ratios of these ingredients to identify a “bliss point” at which you are more likely to crave more. Evaluate an ingredient list in order of predominance.  If a fat, sugar or salt synonym is in the first, second or third ingredient, note that that’s what’s predominantly in it!

2. Go Organic- sometimes….

 While you don’t have to eat only organic, there are certain foods where this is a necessity. The food list known as the “Dirty Dozen” contains a list of foods where pesticides and preservatives can build up and therefore be consumed and ingested by you during digestion. When you choose the right organic foods then you avoid the toxins that can be harmful to your health. This is a simple way of detoxifying the body and all it takes is making good choices at the grocery store.

Be diligent about knowing which organic foods really count, reading labels, and staying away from foods that could harm you. Making healthy choices like this will really help you to get rid of toxins that you were previously ingesting, and get your body to a much cleaner and healthier point.

The rule of thumb generally goes that if you eat the peel or the outside of the fruit or vegetable then you should really opt for organic. Strawberries, apples, and tomatoes are good examples of the types of foods where organic really does matter.

The Clean Fifteen:

Of the fruit and vegetable categories tested, the following "Clean 15" foods had the lowest pesticide load, and consequently are the safest conventionally grown crops to consume from the standpoint of pesticide contamination:

•Avocados

•Sweet corn

•Pineapples

•Cabbage

•Sweet peas (frozen)

•Onions

•Asparagus

•Mangoes

•Papayas

•Kiwi

•Eggplant

•Grapefruit

•Cantaloupe (domestic)

•Cauliflower

•Sweet potatoes

The Dirty Dozen:

. The following "Dirty Dozen Plus" had the highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy organic versions - or to grow them organically yourself:

•Apples

•Strawberries

•Grapes

•Celery

•Peaches

•Spinach

•Sweet bell peppers

•Nectarines (imported)

•Cucumbers

•Cherry tomatoes

•Snap peas (imported)

•Potatoes

3. Get plenty of water.

Even if you think that you are drinking enough water in a day, take your intake to a whole new level. If there is one thing that can easily and naturally help you to detox your body, it’s definitely water. We tend to think that we’re drinking enough when we really need to increase our intake dramatically.

Water can help to flush out your system naturally, and if you drink enough if it then this happens routinely. Proper water intake can contribute to clearer skin, properly functioning organs, and a more effective circulatory, respiratory, and digestive system. So this one simple substance can offer great help to our entire body and the way that it functions.

As rule for every pound of weight target ½ ounce of fluid, minimum.  Forget all the rules that you have heard through the years about how much water is enough. Eight glasses is the minimum, so it’s time to dramatically increase your intake if you want the best health benefits. Water should be your drink of choice and should be your choice with meals, as well as before and after. You will see some of the health benefits readily and enjoy some of the longer term ones down the line.

4.  Eat more fiber in its most natural form:

You’ve probably heard it time and time again that you need to be eating more fiber in your diet.  The goal is a minimum of 25 grams/day for women and 35 grams/day for men.  Not only is this part of a healthy diet that will contribute to weight loss, but it’s also an essential way of cleansing the body in its most natural form. Fiber can be an excellent supplement for a variety of reasons, and cleansing is just one of them.

Our bodies, particularly our digestive tracts, tend to hold onto substances that enter after time. This may be toxins, preservatives from foods that we eat, or just waste that is not being properly disposed of by the body. Whatever the cause, the end result is that you may feel bloated, weighed down, unusually tired, and therefore health problems may result out of this.

When you introduce a proper serving of fiber into your diet, it helps to keep the digestive tract working properly. This means that all toxins, excessive waste, and anything else that has built up in the digestive tract will move through rapidly. You feel healthier and your digestive process works in the way that it is intended to.

There are some great fiber supplements out there, but you should try to eat it naturally whenever possible. Fresh fruits and vegetables, beans and legumes, and whole grains are all excellent sources of fiber.

Start slowly to avoid adverse effects, but when you become regular with your bowel movements you will know that cleansing is happening and the body is working in the way that it is intended to.

5. Focus on Super-Foods. Learn to incorporate superfoods into each meal:

The great thing about superfoods is that they contain important nutrients and antioxidants which our bodies need to fight off infections. The presence of these antioxidants and nutrients in the body help to fight off harmful toxins and substances that may compromise our immune system and our overall health—so the inclusion of them in our diets is critical.

Superfoods are a delicious and nutritious group of foods including foods rich in Omega 3 fatty acids like:

*Salmon

*Tuna

*Avocado

*Walnuts

*Almonds

*Olive Oil

*Flax Seeds

You can also turn to fruits and vegetables that are bright in color as that means that their dark hue contains plenty of antioxidants. Options such as these make great choices for this reason:

*Blueberries

*Raspberries

*Spinach

*Kale

*Eggplant

*Tomatoes

*Carrots

*Sweet Potatoes

*Apples

*Oranges

*Butternut Squash