When it comes to our health, there are few things that affect our body more than the fuel we give it to operate. You are what you eat is a truth we must embrace if we are going to live healthy lives. Since my grandparents on both side of the family as well as my dad’s siblings, lived well into their 90’s, I decided if I am going to be around that long, I want to be healthy. I think by most standards, I have eaten a healthy diet for decades. However, the problem I have found is that what is touted as healthy is a moving target. Lower fat intake, avoid gluten, increase proteins, and eat more healthy carbs are just some of the different messages we have received in recent years. I have poured myself into reading, listening, studying, and reading some more over the past few years, to come to terms with my present understanding of a healthy diet.
Keep in mind that when I refer to diet, I am not talking about a weight loss program, but a mindset for healthy eating. It is unfortunate that a greater market exists for weight loss programs than for healthy eating campaigns. There are boxed food operations that promise weight loss in the short term, but do nothing to change our habits or health. While weight loss is often the result of healthy eating, it should not be the goal of healthy eating.
Although nutritionists and doctors often focus on their differences in what they view as problematic in the diet, there are several things that everyone agrees on and therefore, demand serious thought and consideration.
Eight Changes For Improving Your Family’s Diet
The experts all agree on making these eight changes for improving our diet:
- no refined sugar, corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, fructose, glucose, and the like
- no processed food (it’s usually processed if it has more than three or four ingredients, you do not recognize the ingredient list, and it comes in a box or bag)
- no food dyes
- no nitrates
- no artificial or trans fats
- more fresh (or frozen) fruit
- more fresh (or frozen) vegetables
- more protein (fresh caught fish, beef and chicken that has never been administered growth hormones or antibiotics)
If you want to increase the health of your family, change as many of these things as possible. Start with one if that’s what it takes. Then start reading to educate yourself on the importance of making the other changes. You have to own it and understand both the benefits to the health of your family, and the harm in not making the changes.
What is Not Agreed Upon?
While the literature clearly agrees on the changes above, there is no consensus with regards to how much, if any, of the following we are to include in our diet- meat, dairy, beans, soy, and grains. Since diet has the ability to improve our health and even reverse some diseases, it is worth the effort to determine on an individual basis, which of these items may also need to be eliminated for optimum health. For example, some people cannot process dairy. Their bodies revolt with digestive issues, skin problems, and for some children- behavior issues. Others find that gluten, a protein found in most grains, triggers a negative physical response. This is especially true for those with celiac disease.
Do Your Homework-Read
A few years back, I read Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. It was a book that transformed my thinking and gave me the jolt that I needed to make some radical changes. It is good to be informed, or even submerged in understanding a new way of thinking. Reading this book motivated me to read other books on nutrition to learn about how food can benefit or harm us. The books I read, for the most part, were grounded in research. I have explored the concept of leaking gut, the raw food diet, the Paleo diet, the Grain Brain, the Wheat Belly, Bone Broth diet, and others.
Diverse Opinions
Dr. Josh Axe’s mother was seriously ill and recovered after following her son’s recommendations for a diet change. His latest book Eat Dirt, discusses leaking gut and the need for good bacteria to balance and heal our gut. Dr. Amy Myers, while in medical school, went on a quest to unmask her own health issues. She discovered that a leaking gut was a major cause for her problems. In her books, The Autoimmune Solution: Prevent and Reverse the Full Spectrum of Inflammatory Symptoms and Diseases she offers help for others suffering from inflammatory diseases. She practices functional medicine and provides an integrated approach in helping patients achieve optimum health.
Dr. Joel Fuhrman shares stories of families who children’s ADHD symptoms were abated by eliminating sugar and dairy, and adults who no longer have diabetes as a result of the diet he espouses. Dr. KellyAnn Petrucci shares the benefits of consuming bone broth as a way to better health.
The expertise of these physicians varies, along with the dietary emphasis they espouse. Dr. William Davis who wrote the Wheat Belly, is a cardiologist concerned with heart disease. Dr. David Perlmutter, author of the Grain Brain, is a neurologist looking at the effects of diet on the brain. Some physicians have experienced success with their patients using their brand of healthy, while others believe another factor in the diet is significant to the success of their patients. I do not doubt the testimonies of those who have greatly benefited from a particular diet. And I value the different perspectives and experiences of these professionals. Reading a variety of books on the topic of dietary healthy and nutrition will inform you and give you an ability to think critically for yourself. Keep in mind, research is important in substantiating a dietary claim on health. Lastly, when looking for a doctor, physicians practicing functional or integrative medicine are more likely to view food as medicine.
Three Steps to a Cleaner Diet
If you are inspired to clean up your diet, here are a few easy steps.
First, do your homework. Start with one of the books suggested above. Then read another, and another to give you a broader view of the landscape. Here are some website to visit as well.
Second, begin to make the changes suggested in Eight Changes For Improving Your Family’s Diet listed above. These are things all the experts agree upon.
Third, I recommend you visit Clean and Delicious with Dani Spies. She offers healthy, clean eating tips and recipes that are practical and doable for the modern family. She has a Youtube channel, where she will show you how to take steps to transform your family’s eating habits with clean and delicious food.
I would like to know what books you have read on nutrition and healthy eating that have inspired you. Please leave a comment below.