Small Steps, Sensible Choices, Superior Health.

Healthy Eating Guidelines

Nutrient dense foods are essential for healthy eating guidelines.  We have so many choices today, most of us choose food by what tastes good, rather than eating instinctively and choosing foods that nourish the body.  A hundred years ago there were fewer but much healthier choices to choose from.

A good rule to remember, if you could buy it 100 years ago, it's probably a nutrient dense whole food and would be a healthy choice to buy.  In simpler terms..... if God made it, it's okay, if man made it, stay away.

Even though meat, milk, grains, vegetables, fruits and fats are all natural foods, there is still a lot of controversy over healthy eating guidelines. 

But it's really not that difficult.  If you eat good quality food and pay attention to how your body reacts to certain foods, you will start to understand which foods are compatible with your body.

Healthful Eating That's Right For You

To determine which foods your body needs, pay attention to how you feel when you eat something.   If you feel well, have lots of energy, good digestion, and you aren't suffering from aches and pains or other illnesses, then you're probably making healthy choices.

I know when I eat something that doesn't agree with me, my body lets me know with some type of symptom. 

Symptoms may vary for each person.  I will either get some excess mucus in my throat that makes me feel like I have to keep clearing my throat. 

Or I will develop gas and bloating in my tummy. The latter could also be due to a lack of digestive enzymes causing an inability to digest the food.  Your symptoms may be different than mine, that's why you need to really pay attention.

You may be choosing the wrong or inferior foods if you suffer from:

• headaches
  
• congestion 
• digestive problems
  
• chronic gas and bloating
  
• fatigue
• insomnia
• over weight or under weight
• mental dullness
• physical aches & pains
  

If you're suffering with any of the above you might need to consider making some adjustments.

Building Blocks of Nutrition

So how do you develop healthy eating guidelines that are right for you? Start with these 3 building blocks of good nutrition. Balance your diet to make sure you getting the right amount of proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Protein creates energy and is vital to a healthy body. Protein are complex molecules that are broken down into amino acids in the digestive tract. Your body is 16% protein and is used to build bones, muscles, skin, eyes, heart, blood and the brain.

A lack of protein can cause a loss of muscles mass and weakness, apathy, irritability, a spaced-out feeling, low body temperature, poor nails and hair, mental and emotional problems.

How Much Protein? According to Dr. Carolyn Dean, here's how to calculate your protein needs:

Multiply your ideal body weight in pounds by 0.35. So if your ideal weight should be 150 pounds, then you would need 52.5 grams of protein per day.

For growing infants you would multiply by 0.9 and for adolescents you would multiply by 0.54

The author, Dr. Peter D'Adamo, has done extensive research indicating that certain people are healthier when eating according to their blood type.

He believes certain people are better suited to certain specific protein sources and others do better on vegetables and grains.

He has also recommended exercise ideas for the various blood types as well. 

It's interesting reading, especially if you're having health problems that you just can figure out. His book has many tips that might be helpful in developing your individual healthy eating guidelines.

If you would like to get your own copy, please click the link on the right.  Let me know if it helps you.

Fats are many times thought of negatively when it comes to healthful eating. But fats are essential for proper cell function, healthy hormones and good health. 

Fats like protein are burned to keep our body warm, they are important to our glandular function especially the reproductive and adrenal glands. They also help keep our skin soft and moist.

The key to understanding fats in the diet are the quantity and quality of the fat. Good fat sources are monosaturated fats, olive oil, avocados and nuts. Even some saturated fats are good for you, like organic/grass fed butter and coconut oil.

New research is showing that while they are saturated fats, they are good for you unlike the trans fats found in hydrogenated oil.

I only use olive oil, coconut oil and grass fed butter. These aren't the only ones you can use, but definitely stay away from "vegetable oil", soybean oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, and canola oil (unless organic). It is highly likely that all of these oils are made from GMO foods.

Carbohydrates are starches and sugars from plants. Carbohydrates are very important because they are the energy source for the body. Most Americans eat simple or refined carbohydrates which are basically empty calories that deplete our nutritional reserves.

Simple carbohydrates are high glycemic foods which trigger insulin production and leads to obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Not a good choice in developing your healthy eating guidelines.

The best sources of carbohydrates are low glycemic choices of vegetables and fruits. Try to buy organic whenever you can because they taste better and have more nutrients than commercial produce. 

Grains are a high glycemic food so you will want to limit them. They are one of the biggest reasons obesity is on the rise. I have a gluten intolerance that causes me to suffer with severe skin rashes but even non-gluten grains cause me to gain weight.

So if you can and want to eat grains, try to consume whole grains and stay away from the refined or “white” grains. Sugar is also a high glycemic food as well, try substituting natural sweeteners like, honey, maple syrup or xylitol or stevia whenever possible.

Healthful Eating Tips

A good plan for developing your healthy eating guidelines would be:

• 30% high quality protein
• 30% good healthy fat (about 1 tablespoon)
• 40% carbohydrates preferably in the form of fruits and vegetables instead of grains
  

This balance can also helps establish the right pH balance in your body, especially if you add in some plant based proteins. Consuming fruits and vegetables can help to keep your pH balance in the healthy zone. (Morning urine pH should be in the 6.4 to 7.0 range for good health)

Eating fruits and vegetables help to get more antioxidants which will help fight inflammation caused by free radicals. Unmanaged free radicals are like rust occurring in your body and can lead to premature aging and many diseases including cancer.

It's also important to get plenty of pure water.

Your healthy eating guidelines should avoid any foods containing:

• High Fructose Corn Syrup
  
• MSG or monosodium glutamate
  
• Trans Fat, Hydrogenated or Partially Hydrogenated Oil
• Genetically Modified Foods (GMO)
  
• Chemicals and Food Color Dyes
  

I hope that the above information gives you some common sense ideas on choosing which foods to eat. Just remember to pay attention to how you react to the foods you eat.

It might be helpful to keep a food diary because sometimes reactions might take a day or two to develop. If you're like me, you can't remember what you ate 2 days ago!

Healthy Eating Guidelines Additional Resources

More Healthy Eating Facts

Nutrition is the Building Block

Is Organic Food Really Necessary?

The Movie, Food, Inc.

Healthy Fats and Oils

What is Xylitol?

GMO foods

Chemicals and Food Color Dyes

High Fructose Corn Syrup

MSG