Here we share tips suitable for most people who want to change their diet to a healthier level.
No diet fits everyone, that is something we have learned. But regardless of which diet you follow, there are certain things you can do to elevate yourself to a healthier level.
What should we be careful about?
1. Limit white sugar
Limit or completely remove white sugar.
It’s easy to understand that soda, candy, cookies, and pastries are not good for us and provide no nutrition at all. But even things that turn into unnecessary sugar in the body like white flour, white bread, pizza, white pasta, boiled white rice, corn, conventional juice, and conventional yogurt need to be limited.
This causes blood sugar to rollercoaster, which is hard on the body, regardless of age.
2. Avoid gluten
Gluten should mostly be avoided. Sourdough bread made from, for example, rye is fine in moderate amounts.
Organic grains like quinoa, millet, brown rice, buckwheat (an herb) are preferable. These grains are best soaked overnight before cooking; they become easier to digest and much tastier.
3. Limit dairy products
Limit or remove certain dairy products from your daily diet.
Choosing lactose-free is not enough; it’s better to remove dairy products entirely because casein is not good for most people. If you want dairy, goat and sheep products are usually easier for the body to handle.
Cow products are harder to digest, and drinking milk is not recommended. If/when you choose dairy products, choose organic.
4. Minimize animal protein
Limit animal protein to wild fish, game meat, or white organic meat a few times a week at most.
Remember this is not only good for you but also for the animals and the environment. Preferably avoid red meat and cold cuts entirely as they contain many additives that are not good for the body.
If you want to eat eggs, that’s up to you and depends on how you feel afterward. You can tell how you feel about what you eat about 2-4 hours after the meal.
If you are vegan, make sure you get good protein from other sources like legumes, nuts, and seeds as well as plenty of vegetables.
What can we eat a lot of?
5. Vegetables – eat the rainbow
Let most of your diet be vegetables; fresh, raw, steamed, and oven-baked vegetables as well as sprouts, seaweed (sea vegetables), and herbs, both fresh and dried.
Eat all the colors of the rainbow every day on every plate. Vegetables work for everyone regardless of age or diet.
Also enjoy raw grated root vegetables or cooked root vegetables that have cooled down, such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, rutabaga, beets, or carrots. If they cool first, they don’t turn directly into sugar in the body. Beetroot juice is also good as it supports healthy blood pressure.
6. Fruit & berries
Feel free to eat two servings of fruit and/or berries a day; if you find it benefits your health positively, eat more. But keep an eye on your blood sugar to make sure it’s not negatively affected.
Fruit and berries are very positive, full of vitamins and phytonutrients, but if you are sensitive to fructose, very sweet fruit can be hard to handle. Berries work well for most people.
7. Legumes, grains, seeds & nuts
Enjoy fiber-rich legumes, seeds, and nuts such as sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, peas, beans, lentils, almonds, and other nuts like walnuts and pine nuts.
If you follow Paleo, legumes are excluded, but the choice is yours. All seeds, nuts, and legumes (except some like lentils and cashews) are best soaked overnight before eating or cooking; they become easier to digest and much tastier.
You shouldn’t eat large amounts of nuts as they can be hard to digest, so the best is a moderate amount.
8. Pure water, herbal tea & green juices
Drink pure water, water with lemon or lime. Other ways to enrich your water can be with cucumber, vegetables, berries, goji berries, chia seeds, citrus fruits.
Drink herbal tea, green tea, white tea – choose organic.
Green juices provide that extra super nutrition. If you can’t make cold-pressed juice at home or buy it nearby, choose a greens supplement instead.
If you like coffee, drink it in moderation and choose organic or pesticide-free, preferably from coffee roasters who roast the coffee themselves and know its origin. These are now available everywhere.
9. Fatty acids
Eat good, pure fatty acids. Algal oil for Omega 3 (EPA, DHA). Other good oils are olive oil which provides Omega 9, flaxseed oil & hemp oil which provide Omega 3, 6 & 9.
There are also special oils like black cumin oil and pomegranate oil that are good for many things. Coconut oil is a good oil for frying and cooking.
10. Take supplements
We don’t always get enough vitamins and minerals from our diet. Then supplements can be an excellent idea.
The name says it all; it’s meant as an extra addition alongside our diet, not a replacement.
It’s also a very good idea to take supplements when you are on medication or birth control pills to replace the deficiencies they create in the body.
11. Mini fasting
Try taking breaks from food, like a small fast one day a week or more. It’s simple: no food after 6:00 PM and before 12:00 PM the next day.
This gives the body a chance to recover. Note that if you have tired adrenal glands (chronic fatigue syndrome), this is not always good, and it may be better to eat a little and often. You shouldn’t get shaky but feel energized.
Remember: of course, we can all make exceptions now and then. It’s just as important to relax, feel happiness, and connection as it is to eat healthily. So if you end up at a dinner where the food isn’t what you would have chosen, you can handle it too!
It’s what we do every day that affects us the most.
We are here if you have any questions. Warm regards, Rahima
