Healthy Diet Guidelines
Food rules made easy:
Avoid Sugar limiting intake to small quantities from honey, molasses, maple syrup, raw cane sugar and fruit.
Avoid Unhealthy fats (see below)
Eat foods with the fewest ingredients and only those, which you can identify as food, not additives!
Avoid buying foods with barcodes as much as possible. This makes label reading a breeze!
Eat a predominantly plant-based diet. Plant based diet does not mean vegetarian. Cover half your plate in vegetables at each meal, ¼ in protein and ¼ in starch
Fats:
Choose health-promoting fats to help maintain healthy body weight and lose excess, reduce inflammation and promote proper brain and cellular function.
Saturated fatty acids have a high resistance to oxidation meaning they are best for cooking at high temperature: Coconut, palm oil, ghee (clarified butter), butter and tallow/lard
Unsaturated fatty acids are easily oxidized by heat and should not be used for cooking.
Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) include Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids- in general American diets contain too many Omega 6s which contribute to inflammation in the body and we do not consume enough omega 3 fatty acids.
Limit intake of these high Omega 6 containing foods/ oils:
Corn, soy, sunflower, canola, safflower, ‘vegetable’ oils
Increase intake of these Omega 3 containing Foods:
Sardines, Salmon, flaxseeds, and hemp seeds
Healthy fats are found in these foods:
Nuts: almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, pine nuts, brazil nuts, cashews, macadamia nuts and peanuts
Seeds: sesame, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds and chia seeds
Coconut milk and flesh
Pasture raised/ omega 3 egg yolks- don’t only eat the whites!
Meat from pasture raised, 100% grass fed animals
Fish flesh high in omega 3s (wild salmon, sardines, anchovies and mackerel)
Unhealthy fats are found in these foods:
Prepackaged foods that are fried (chips, crackers, etc.)
Any food that contains partially (of fully) hydrogenated oil. These are trans-fatty acids and are very damaging to your health.
Deep fried food at restaurants/fast food places
Canola, ‘vegetable oils’, or corn oil. These are often the cooking oils used as restaurants, so limit how many meals are eaten out.
Grain fed/non organic dairy products
Margarines
Proteins:
Eat quality sources of protein which will maintain lean body mass, stabilize blood sugar and promote proper growth and development of all body tissues.
Fifteen to 25g per meal is ideal.
Complete proteins:
Found in animal foods such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products
Meat: beef, bison, lamb, pork, venison, elk, moose, rabbit, veal, goat etc.
Poultry: chicken, turkey, duck, goose, pheasants, grouse etc.
Eggs: chicken, duck, emu, ostrich etc.
Milk products: cheese, yogurt, kefir, whole milk etc.
Fish: wild Alaskan and Pacific salmon, sardine, anchovies, arctic char, sole, tilapia, scallops, shrimp are safe fish to consume regularly
Grass fed/finished (pasture raised) and wild game meats are the most healthful sources of animal protein. These meats will have a balanced ratio of omega 6: omega 3 fatty acids which will not promote inflammation. Grain fed meat has and imbalanced ratio of omega 6: omega 3 fatty acids which promote inflammation and have been linked with many chronic illnesses.
Organic meats are the next best choice. Organic meats can still be grain fed meats so be sure to read labels on what the animals are eating
Natural meats- contain no hormones or preservatives. These are the next best choice.
Fish is a very good source of protein stick to low environmentally-contaminated species (listed above) and avoid toxin-accumulating fish like swordfish, Chilean sea bass, tuna, tilefish and mahi mahi.
Incomplete protein
Two complementary protein sources can be combined to equal a complete protein
Ex: beans and rice; hummus (garbanzo beans and sesame paste)
Plant-based proteins
Legumes:
Beans: Black, kidney, cannellini, pinto, navy, black eye pea, etc.
Lentils: red, brown, yellow, green, black etc.
Soy: natto, tempeh, tofu, miso (fermented forms preferred)
Peas: yellow, green spit peas, pea pods, snap peas
Misc: Peanuts and carob
Nuts: almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, pine nuts, brazil nuts, cashews, macadamia nuts and peanuts
Seeds: sesame, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds and chia seeds
Higher protein vegetables:
Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, artichokes, cauliflower, kale, mushrooms, spinach, turnip green, mustard greens
Algae
Spirulina, Chorella
Grains: Quinoa, whole wheat, oat bran etc. (not a significant source of protein) and should not be considered a protein when building a meal
Carbohydrates
Mainly come from plant sources and these foods contain invaluable micronutrients, phytochemicals, antioxidants and fiber to increase overall health, mental wellbeing and body performance. Vegetables and fruits should be the main carbohydrates consumed and grains should be used less frequently. Ideally 7 serving of vegetables should be eaten daily.
Whole foods carbohydrate sources:
Whole grains, beans and legumes
Roots, tubers and fruits: sweet potatoes, squashes, bananas, apples
Non starchy vegetables: leafy greens, asparagus, celery
Nuts and seeds (very little)
Refined sources of carbohydrates should be avoided:
Refined grains: white bread, white rice etc.
Refined starches: tapioca, arrowroot, cornstarch etc.
Sugars: honey, molasses, maple syrup, white/brown sugar etc.
When choosing to sweeten food and beverages it is best to use natural sugar sources that are not high in refined carbohydrates like white table sugar. Limiting intake of refined sugars is a huge step towards a healthy diet. The best sweeteners to use are:
Raw honey (unheated only)
Stevia
Dried fruit
Maple/Sorghum/brown rice syrup
Coconut nectar
Molasses