Six basic healthy tips to get you started!

Hey there! In today's post I will be delving deeper into basic eating habits everyone should adopt in the area of secondary food. We have already established that no one diet works for everyone, and that you need to understand your individual body needs to come up with your unique diet. However, I firmly do believe that there are 6 basic healthy habits everyone should consider irrespective of the diet one prefers to follow. So let's jump into it!

Fruits and Vegetables. Irrespective of your diet, and given you do not have any medical condition that restricts you from eating fruits and vegetables, 60 to 70 percent of your daily food intake should consist of fruits and vegetables. Greens are the most important food group. They are among the most nutrient dense of all foods, and are full of alkaline minerals and amino acids, in addition to enzymes and vitamins. Of all food, fruit is the strongest cleanser; it dissolves and eliminates toxins in our bodies, and is also one of the most nutritious food you can eat. Certainly, people who have a medical condition like diabetes need to watch their fruit intake due to its sugar content, but there are plenty of low glycemic fruits to choose from! These two food groups are the most important in any diet in my opinion. You do not need to be a full vegan or a vegetarian to incorporate a more plant based diet, you just need to be mindful of eating more plants. When you start incorporating more fruits and vegetables in your diet you will start noticing its health benefits almost immediately, from weight loss to better skin and digestion and much more. A quick note on fruits though, fruits should ideally be eaten on an empty stomach, many people eat fruits as a dessert which actually has the opposite effect and increases toxins. When fruit, which generally digests very fast, sits on top of undigested food, it ferments due to its sugary content and contributes to toxicity in the body. When fruits are eaten on an empty stomach, digestion is optimal and it assimilates fast to nourish the body.

Eat good quality healthy fats. For as long as I remember, fat have been demonized and has been a very controversial subject in the nutrition world. In recent years, fat started to gain popularity, as an essential macro nutrient in our diet. Scientific research has acknowledged the importance of good quality fat in our diet. Fat is necessary for a variety of functions, including but not limited to the proper absorption of fat soluble vitamins, supporting proper brain development, providing cushioning and insulation to internal organs, and playing a role in hormone synthesis. Eating quality fat may actually help promote a healthy weight. Having said that, not all fat is created equal! Mono-saturated, poly-saturated and unsaturated fat support cardiovascular and neurological health; this includes food such as avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, omega 3 fatty fish, nuts, seeds, and certain types of organic, pasture-raised meat. However, honoring your own unique bio-individuality, state of health and physical activity, one should adopt a quantity and source of fat that best suits his/her own dietary needs. Trans fats should be avoided at all costs, as they are highly associated with heart disease; this fat often referred to as "partially hydrogenated" on food labels, is highly inflammatory, and unfortunately is present in most of today's typical processed diet. 

Clean Eating: The basis of clean eating is consuming primarily whole, unprocessed foods. Stick to whole foods that occur in nature and don't require flashy packaging. I do offcourse acknowledge that avoiding all processed food is not exactly realistic, but I would avoid food in packages with more than 5 ingredients on their food label. When too many chemicals, additives and preservatives are added to your food, you're not really eating food anymore; no nutritional value in addition to the obvious health issues pertaining to too much toxicity from all additives.

Sugar: I don't think two people can disagree that refined sugar is detrimental to one's health! Only sugar that comes from complex carbs and fruit is a healthy energy

source to the body. Even then, sugar intake is bio-individual and will need to be controlled depending on individual needs and medical conditions. Almost all other forms of simple carbs and refined sugar raises your blood sugar and insulin levels very rapidly causing chronic inflammation in the body. High fructose corn syrup, found in all soft drinks and many processed foods is heavily processed and does not convert into energy but rather gets stored as fat! Sugar increases risk of all metabolic diseases, cancer, weight gain, aging and insomnia to name a few.

Choose organic. I'm very much aware that organic produce is not as readily available or cheap as conventional produce, mainly due to government subsidies that support conventional produce. By definition, organic produce does not include genetically modified organisms (GMO) and is produced without the use of artificial pesticides, antibiotics, synthetic fertilizers and hormones, that can build toxicity in the body. Also organic produce has a much higher nutritional value that nourishes the body. You do not need to buy all your produce organic, but a good guide would be the " Dirty Dozen" which highlights the twelve produce items that are most important to buy organic, please see link https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php . There are also other options like checking out a local famers market and look for local sources. You may also consider starting your own small farm!

Hydration: Goes without saying, hydration is very important for your overall wellbeing. Having said that, I do not recommend a specific "number of glasses" because this too is bio-individual. It also depends on how much fluids you are taking through other sources including fruits and vegetables. Overdrinking water can dilute the minerals in your body, so listen to your body and drink as much as you feel you need to stay hydrated. Did you know? A lot of food cravings originate from dehydration, next time you're about to munch on those crisps, try drinking some water, you may just be dehydrated!

Finally, I would like to say that these are general guidelines to start working towards a healthier lifestyle, but by no means am I advocating a strict approach. My general rule is an 80/20 approach; 80% is healthy and 20% is deliberately "being bad", because life is not too serious, so if you indulge, no need to beat yourself about it! Enjoy it!

I hope you find this post helpful, and feel inspired to start adopting any of its recommendations towards better health! Please feel free to drop any question you have below.