Eat Better. Fuel your life and invest in your health.
Forget Calories and Eat Real Whole Foods!
Real food is not fortified, pasteurized, homogenized, artificially or "naturally" flavoured or sweetened.
If you don't know what the ingredient is then its not a real food.
If it comes in a bag or box and has over a handful of ingredients its likely not a real food.
Eat These Real Whole Foods:
Vegetables, eat lots of them especially the leafy greens and a large variety of all the colourful ones
Pastured WHOLE eggs and poultry, wild fish, grass fed animal meats, sardines, mussels, oysters, organ meats, bone broth
Legumes and WHOLE grains (soaked and sprouted if possible)
Eat Fat! Quality Fat such as avocados, seeds, raw sprouted nuts, nut butters, coconut oil, real grass fed butter, ghee, fresh pressed olive oil, flax seed oil
Do not use corn, canola, palm or other vegetable oils, margarine, shortening, trans fats or rancid fats. These are NOT real foods.
Eat Whole Fruits. The locally grown in season fruits are best. In BC that is generally apples and pears in the winter. Melons, stone fruit and berries in the summer. Figs in the fall.
Fruit Juice is not fruit no matter how "natural, organic or freshly squeezed" it is, it's water and sugar extracted from a once real food. If you buy it in a grocery store it's been pasteurized and squeezed out of a machine. Its not much better than a can of cola.
If you like orange juice? Eat an orange.
Fermented foods - Sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, plain whole milk yogurt (if tolerated), coconut yogurt, kefir, kombucha - if you don't like any fermented foods considering a probiotic supplement is a good idea.
Quality of your food is Essential!
Seek nutrients from quality sources: The most local produce that is eaten closest to its harvest is much more nutrient dense. Not the organic spinach from across the globe (that took 20 days of travel to get to your grocery store) or the limp carrots that have been in the bottom of your fridge for 3 weeks
Organic is not always necessary or better for the above reason but for some thin skinned produce it can be essential to avoid toxic chemicals and pesticides - educate yourself of which matter most by searching "the dirty dozen"
I stress sourcing meat and animal products from pasture raised, grass fed sources if you are serious about caring for your health, hormones, reducing inflammation, antibiotic resistance, your gut and your brain, toxic load, animal welfare and the planet!
Think real food is too expensive, you need to prioritize it. It's most likely you can spend a little less somewhere else to buy good food, its fuel for your life and your future health. It's an investment well worth your money
If you can buy eggs in your town from a small local farmer do that! They cost half the price, and provide over twice the nutrients than any fancy grocery store eggs (which are again likely from across the globe from a giant unethical factory farm often regardless of their labels. They may also be several weeks old)
Forget what you think you know about managing cholesterol, your body creates more than 80 % of your cholesterol and your lifestyle has a much greater impact on it than your diet.
Forget avoiding saturated fat and low fat foods
Go to farmers markets to get the freshest, most nutrient dense, in season produce. Support your community, local farmers and economy
In season foods align with our bodies nutrient requirements that also fluctuate with the months (wow nature is so incredible)
Learn and care about where your food comes from and the impact it makes on the planet to get to your plate. Think about who you're paying and supporting.
DRINK MORE WATER, ALWAYS
Try to drink most of your water between meals and away from eating
Chew your food well. Take your time, don't watch tv, scroll through instagram or work. Just eat, chew and taste each bite. This is smiple but its a big one, if you don't chew properly you are unlikely to feel full or satisfied as quickly, more importantly you are unlikely digesting and absorbing the nutrients you need
Move your body for so many reasons but specifically in this context to supports your digestion, absorption (what you actually get out of the foods you eat) also helps you eliminate regularly which is important for your health
Eat what makes you truely feel good!
Forget rules and calories! Eat real food, take your time, connect and listen to your body.
