Vary the foods you eat.
Pay attention to the foods you eat throughout the day because you may be eating the same thing for all meals and snacks. Wheat can be the biggest culprit in a diet lacking variety. If you have toast, cream of wheat or a bagel for breakfast, a sandwich or burger for lunch, crackers and cheese as a snack and pizza or pasta for dinner, you have managed to eat wheat (most likely not whole grain) at every meal. This type of repetitive eating can result in food sensitivities which cause inflammation in the body which in turn results in water weight gain. The lack of variety also sets us up for deficiencies in those nutrients that are not present in that food we keep eating over and over again.
Eat a colorful variety of foods mainly consisting of vegetables and fruits.
One good and simple indicator of nutrient variety is how colorful the foods on our plates look (artificial coloring does not count). The natural chemicals in fruits and vegetables that produce their vibrant colors fall under the category of antioxidants which protect our bodies from inflammation and degeneration. Conversely, refined, white foods (like white breads and pastas) stripped of their fiber and nutrients actually promote inflammation and strip the body of more nutrients than they provide. So eat the deep green romaine lettuce vs. the light green iceburg and any other dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, arugula, collards, kale and mustard greens. Minimize the amount of wheat you eat but when you do, eat the naturally dark whole wheat pasta or bread. And really try to focus on those vibrantly colored foods like berries (frozen in the off-season and organic is best), beets, pomegranates, herbs and spices (turmeric, chilies, hawthorne berries, rose hips), grapes (organic and as red wine when out of season), carrots, tomatoes and peppers to name a few.
Eat the whole food when possible.
In other words, it should be easy to picture the food on your plate in its’ natural state, growing in a field or garden. That means eating potatoes with the skins, brown vs. white rice, whole fruit as opposed to just the juice and it bears repeating…no bleached or refined foods like white flours (read labels!). Don’t be misled by “wheat flour” or “wheat snack” or “enriched” since that only means the product was made with wheat flour and is in fact white and refined. Look for ingredients that include “whole-wheat flour” or at least “unbleached wheat flour” if you must use white flour. Other things to watch out for are processed cereal flakes. It is nutritionally superior to eat whole oatmeal rather than oat flakes which have been processed at high temperatures and more often than not contain additives like sweeteners and preservatives .
Healthy fats are imperative in a healthy diet.
We need them for brain function, hormone production and to minimize the inflammatory effects of less desirable fats like vegetable oils (canola, safflower, sunflower, corn) and trans fats like margarine/hydrogenated fats. The best fats to include in the diet are: extra virgin olive oil, flax oil (do not heat, always refrigerate), fish oils, butter (organic) and some animal fats. It may be surprising that I include saturated animal fats but these fats are actually more stable than vegetable oils. In other words, they do not go rancid (get damaged/oxidized) as easily, thereby having less of an inflammatory effect on the body. Less inflammation in the body translates into less weight gain, heart disease, pain manifesting as headaches and joint pain, gastrointestinal issues and many other chronic diseases.
Be conscious while you eat.
Appreciate who made the food, how it was made and the food itself. Digestion begins in the mouth with enzymes in saliva, so be sure to chew each bite thoroughly so the next step in digestion will be thorough and efficient. Nothing interferes with digestion like stress and eating in a hurry. It’s no wonder soo many people have indigestion and heartburn. “Throwing something down the hatch” will do you more harm than good. If that is all you have time for, it is better to only have a few well chewed bites than having a complete meal that will not be properly assimilated by the body. You will be amazed how much better you will feel after a small meal that has been well digested. If you can savor each bite and be appreciative and grateful for the food before you, no matter what you are eating, you will have made great progress in providing your body with the sustenance it needs.
