Healthy Diet Basics And Unhealthy Food – Part 1

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By Dr. Michael Wald

greenpeppers1. Increase the amount of whole, unprocessed foods in your diet (fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, beans, raw nuts and seeds), relative to the amount of processed foods you consume (pasta, bread, packaged foods).

Suggestion: Switch from white bread to whole wheat or multigrain.

2. Diversify your diet by including new and different foods in your diet each week. Rotate the foods you eat so that you do not consume a given food every day. The foods should not be processed, fried or contain added sugars and preservatives.

Suggestion: At the very least, eat one or two new and healthy foods per week and increase from there. Focus on adding new foods as opposed to removing everything that you currently eat. Overtime your diet will transform for the better!

3. A fat free diet is not healthy! Fat should constitute 20-30% of your total diet generally speaking. Limit saturated fats (fast found in animal products) to less than 10% of your daily diet. Avoid fried foods, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils and cottonseed oil (read the label). Healthy oils to consume include: unsaturated essential omega 3, omega 6 and omega 9 fatty acids found in flax seed oil and seeds, olive oil (cold pressed, virgin, imported and in a tin to protect from light), canola oil, salmon, cod, tuna, mackerel, currants, raw nuts and seeds (roasting the nuts and seeds saturates the oils in them and this is not at all healthy). Store oils and nuts/seeds in the refrigerator. Roasted nuts and seeds contain saturated fats that put on weight and increase your risk of heart disease, cancer and other degenerative conditions.

Suggestion: Eat avocados, use fresh olive oil in salads and cooking, eat raw nuts and seeds. Eat baked or broiled salmon

fruitsalad4. Eat a high fiber diet by consuming vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds, and by minimizing your intake of meats and refined foods (i.e., desserts, table sugar, candy).

Suggestion: Exchange meats for chicken, turkey and fish. Limit fish to no more than once per week or less if you are overweight and have hypercholesteremia (high blood fats).

5. Ensure you eat sufficient protein each day (about 15-20% of your diet). Good protein sources include lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, soy products, beans, low-fat dairy products, nuts and food combining of grains/beans/vegetables.

6. Decrease or eliminate refined and processed sugars from your diet. As a substitute, use natural, unprocessed sugars high in the vitamins and minerals needed to help digest them, including 100% pure maple syrup, fruit-only jams, fresh fruit, honey, molasses, barley malt, brown rice syrup and carob.

Suggestions: Not all sugar is the same. Sugar found in most desserts and table sugar (sucrose) is called simple sugar; simple sugar consumption (even in small amounts) is known to cause inflammation in the body, increase blood fats, promote weight gain, reduce ability to loose weight and increase your risk of developing these and other diseases: diabetes, heart and vessel disease, hypertention, cancers, autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue, etc.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this article shortly…..

– Dr. Michael Wald, aka The Blood Detective, is the director of nutritional services at Integrated Medicine of Mount Kisco, located in Westchester New York. He has appeared on ABC World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer, Channel 11 PIX, Channel 12 News, CNN, The Food Network and other media outlets. Dr. Wald earned the name Blood Detective for his reputation to find problems that are often missed by other doctors. He earned an MD degree, is a doctor of chiropractic and a certified dietician-nutritionist. He is also double-board certified in nutrition. He has published over a dozen books with three additional titles due for release late 2013 including: Frankenfoods – Genetically Modified Foods: Controversies, Lies & Your Health and Gluten-A-Holic: How to Live Gluten Free and the Blood Detective’s Longevity Secrets. Dr. Wald can be reached at: www.intmedny.com or www.blooddetective.com or by calling: 914-242-8844.