What the bleep CAN I eat?

I get this a lot. In one word the answer is “whole” food.

Whole food is a natural substance that has not been processed or refined and is free from additives or other artificial substances. This includes lunch meats my carnivorous friends. There is no such vegetable as canola and high fructose corn syrup does not occur in nature. In fact, this substance alone may have triggered the obesity epidemic worldwide, depending on who you chose to believe.

High fructose corn syrup showed up as a sweetener in the 1970s. It was concocted in a laboratory in Japan in 1965 and became a cheap way to sweeten processed food to make it palatable. Our body is not equipped to process it and the result is a fatty liver not dissimilar from that caused by alcoholism. If you are into horror movies I would highly recommend watching What The Health, Cowspiracy, and Food, Inc.

So back to whole food (not the grocery store). Here are some simple ways to eat healthier.

1. Shop along the periphery of the grocery store. That is where the whole food resides. Fruits, vegetables, dairy, bakery, water, seafood and meat.
2. Read the labels. If it contains an ingredient you cannot pronounce put it back. This includes condiments like ketchup and salad dressings. If it contains high fructose corn syrup do not get it.
3. Size matters! Portions size should follow the one hand rule. A fistful of grains, meat that is the size of your palm and fats about the size of your thumb.
4. Water is odorless and tasteless. You cannot not like the taste of water. If you find water bland your taste buds have been hijacked by sugar. This is a very serious condition. Jokes aside. Drink more water 4-8, 8 oz glasses a day.
5. Give yourself at least 12 hours between dinner and breakfast. If you feel adventurous go two days a week with a 16 hour fast between dinner and breakfast.
6. Do not eat in a hurry. Give yourself 20 mins for each meal. At around that time the satiety signal kicks in.
7. Include a spoonful or cup of fermented food once daily for microbiome diversity.
8. An easy way to start you love affair with fruits and vegetables is to put together rainbow smoothies. Be creative!

Red: Beets, spinach, celery, apple….

Yellow: Carrots, oranges, mango…..

Green: Kale, spinach, celery, apple…

9.  Every week bring home a fruit or vegetable you have never had before. Find a recipe        and have fun.

If you are eating whole food you do not need additional vitamins or supplements.

Combine Good Nutrition With Other Healthy Habits

Exercise, sleep and learn how to manage stress. Chronic stress results in excessive production of cortisol with is linked with the metabolic syndrome, leaky gut syndrome, hypothyroidism, chronic fatigue….

But that is a discussion for another day!

And even though Victor Frankel would cringe if he heard this version…

-Between the food and our mouth there is space, and in that space there is a choice, and in that choice lies our health and well being.