1. Nutrition Does Not Equal Diet - You have heard that "Diets don't work" Why? Because diets are about weight loss - not health. Diets do more harm than good. They create a false sense of health, they create poor self esteem, they are a temporal solution to a chronic situation and can make things even more problematic, many can be risky to your health, and most of all it is a superficial outlook masking an internal problem. A diet is something you HAVE TO do - Nutrition becomes something you WANT to do
2. Add To Your Nutrition, Do Not Take Away - I'm not saying eat more, but eat smarter. I absolutely believe there are certain things that should not be in our diet, however, the moment you say you cannot have something, you want it. Some go so strict that at the end of their "temporary" diet - they gain more weight by indulging on the things they had avoided for so long. It is better to add "healthy" choices to replace "bad" choices. Often we make these bad choices, because we buy them and have them in front of us all the time, we don't plan ahead, we have no other options and we skip meals and we need that quick fix. Often these are snacks and unplanned meals. We can easily resolve those issues by planning ahead our meals, eating more often and having healthier choices in front of us to snack on and eat. Add healthier option to avoid the bad ones.
3. Knowledge Is Key - The way to proper nutrition is not to learn from a book, or a diet plan - but to learn for yourself what is out there. I think we all want to be health conscience and make good choice, but companies know this too well and look for ways to trick, catch your eye, and even addict you to certain foods. Companies aren't on your side, the government thinks pizza is a vegetable, and we have hundreds telling us the new fad diet only to sell their book. It is you and only you that can take control of your health. Knowledge of key and so vital.
Where does Nutrition start? On your plate. That's where you have the most control of what you eat and put into your body. Why is nutrition so important? Because of the simple phrase "You are what you eat" It is as true as can be. Our cells replicate constantly, and can only use the nutrients we provide to reproduce properly. Our cells are made by the materials we provide through our diet. If we eat proper, our cells replicate properly and healthy. If we eat junk, our cells become junk - what do we call these eventually? Cancer cells. We are risking ourselves with our nutrition . . . or lack thereof. Linus Pauling, a two time noble prize winner one stated, "You can trace every sickness, every disease and every ailment to a mineral [a nutrient] deficiency." We are sick and ill, simply because we deny ourselves of proper nutrition to be well. According to CDC, only 14% of adults and only 9% of teens are eating the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. And that recommendation is just the minimum. It is sad. This is leading to heart disease, diabetes, mental disorders, cancers and several other serious conditions that are dramatically increasing. Drug intervention has no power, and yet it is one of the most profitable business in the world. It is a smoke screen illusion. Drugs are useless without proper nutrition, and with proper nutrition there is no purpose for drug intervention. Hippocrates said, "Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine your food."
Back to Knowledge, it is important to understand and have a few important guides to help you
1. Understand That Companies Are Not On Your Side - my continual argument is that companies are now putting as much labels on the front of the box, to prevent you from actually looking at the back of the box (the ingredients). Companies are smart. They spend Millions each year to research what you eat and what you like, and research flavors that become irresistible and even addictive. They will put anything as a label to attract the eye. They know the population is becoming health conscience and will put anything on their box to appear healthy. A wolf in sheep's clothing. If it says Fat Free - it has more sugar. If it says Sugar Free - it has more fat. If it says Sugarless, or Sugar Free - it contains more harmful ingredients that are cheaper to make and put in their products. Stay away. Companies want their products to last, and so preservatives are added to maintain longer shelf life. These chemicals create harmful effects in our body. Even restaurants trick you. Their "specials" are merely foods that are going bad and need to sell. Be aware - if it looks healthy, look again. Do not trust companies. And even a more simple rule - eat foods, not products.
2. Educate Yourself On The Basics Of Vitamins and Minerals - learning what vitamins and minerals do to your body help you appreciate the foods you are eating. Eating a salad knowing it is providing you with a load of vitamins and minerals, compared with a fast food hamburger and fries in which it provides . . . . well, it give you . . . . um, so yeah - understanding what you are providing your body creates a greater appreciation for it and a greater satisfaction
3. Educate Yourself On The Different Food Groups - There are the five food groups we all know and love - Grains, Proteins, Fruits, Veggies . . . and essential oils. You remember that one? You may be asking, where's the Dairy? I'm sorry, but dairy as an essential food group is worse than pizza being a vegetable. Learn about protein and what it can do for you. Learn about your grains and whats the difference between whole wheat and white flour, or brown rice and white rice. I appreciated brown rice more after learning that is just the same as white rice, but not processed and contains 90% of the nutrients that white rice lacks. Learn that fruits are more your vitamin packages while vegetable are more your mineral packages. I grew up just thinking fruits and vegetable are healthy - simple as that - and so a fruit is just as valuable as a veggie, which are just as valuable as . . . a cup of milk. Wow, were we ever lied to as kids.
4. Learn A New Food - And Try It - Living in Dallas for a while helped me become more aware of different fruits, vegetables and even grains that I never knew before. Some I had seen at the grocery store, but passed right by them. I never knew the different types of foods that are available, but since it doesn't come on a hamburger - we hardly know its there. Appreciate the different foods that are there for us - given to us by mother nature and God himself. Knowledge is Key
So what is on your Plate?
Now that you have gained an appreciation for the different foods and gained power through knowledge - it is time to put that knowledge on our plate. Now, we all grew up with the food pyramid, and rightly so it has now changed to The Plate. Using the plate as a mere pie chart, it divides the different food groups into the proportional amounts we should have on our plate. It still has dairy, but I do enjoy the fact that it is off to the side in its own circle as a cup of milk. I don't fully agree with the proportions it provides, however, it is better than the pyramid and the false hierarchy of health. But how do we put this to action? A hamburger with all the fixings certainly contains all the foods groups - Yes? So how do we put this Plate into a healthy reality?
1. Make Sure All The Food Groups Are Present For Each Meal - First emphasize is "Each Meal" often we think about this for lunch and possibly for dinner - but not all the time. We need to be aware of what we are eating and see if there is anything that is lacking, or even possibly in excess.
2. Learn And Practice Food Portions - learn about food portions for each plate, as well as for meals. Restaurants often provide you with disproportionate meals - often giving excess of one group of another and even providing meals that serves 2-3 people. A piece of meat should be no bigger than the palm of your hand, fruits and veggies should be the main course of our meal with meat and carbs being accessory, and how about our plate size? I always wondered why there were dinner plates, and then often a smaller set of plates in the set. My wife made sure I became more aware of these smaller plates. My first reaction - Why would I want a smaller plate that holds less food? It was her way of saying that we don't need to eat that much food. It took a while, but my senses kicked in and I realized that we eat whats on our plate no matter how small or big it is. We simply just eat what we are given, and playing mind tricks with smaller plates satisfies just as well if not more than any bigger plate. Just a side note on eating more than our proper portions - it helps to have the left over food away from the table - less likely to take second of it is not right in front of you waiting to be taken, nibbled on, or even devoured unnecessarily.
3. At Least 50% Of Your Plate Should Be Fresh and Whole Foods - compared to processed foods. Hopefully the percentage is higher - but our bodies do not react well to processed foods. It causes inflammation and certain chemicals react with a body's functions. Meals that are more than 50% processed are considered harmful to the body
4. At Least 50% Of Our Plate Should Be Fruits And Vegetables - How does this happen? First, it starts with shopping. We simply eat what we have, and we have what we buy. If we are eating bad, it is because we are buying the bad things. While shopping, our first stop and majority of time should be spent in the produce section. Fill up, fill that cart, and make sure most of your groceries are whole foods and produce. Then we fill in with the rest of the items with what we can afford. I hear a lot of people complain, "I can't afford to eat healthy" First off, you can't afford not to - we value are home, our cars, our things, and we treat our one special gift, or body, as a junk pile. We need to value our bodies more than things. Second, of people can't afford it after they buy meats, milk, crackers, chips, sodas, ice cream - of course they can't afford it. Shop smart, eat smart.
5. Snack Options Are Crucial - This may not be a direct statement about our Plate. But like I said before, our bad choices often come from snacks and in between meals and unplanned meals. And if we snack - that often effects our choices later. If we snack on sugary snacks - we tend to be hungry a lot sooner, maybe snacking again or preparing a quick not so healthy meals or maybe scratching the idea of cooking at all and just going out. It is a slippery slops of sorts, a cycle of bad choices that leads from one to another. We need to plan ahead and provide healthy options to be there in front of us when we need it before we easily slip into the "bad choice"slope. We like to make popcorn on the stove, with maybe a slight sprinkle of olive oil and salt. We also like to have carrot sticks, or cut up apples or pears for the kids to easily grab. I'm sure you have your own healthy options. We need to make those readily available at all times.
Now that we filled out Plate - its time to eat. Appreciate and find satisfaction in the choice you made to fill your plate with healthy options that will benefit your body, yourself, and your family. What's on your Plate?
