BETTER HEALTH with Nutrition
Look around, if there are two people with you then one of you is predicted to die from heart disease. The National Cancer Institute states that if you are male your chances of getting cancer are 48%. Sedentary lifestyle and eating habits are primarily at fault. There is case after case of people retarding cancer growth, and even minimizing tumors, until the tumor is gone with NO surgery, chemotherapy, or drugs…… just with food from the earth. Our bodies can heal themselves, but not with fast food and no movement.
Disease can not live in a healthy body. Nutrition has the power to vanquish any sickness or disease. This is why people who eat more fruits and vegetables are 70% less likely to get cardiovascular disease, which 1 out of every 3 people will die from in this country. We are living in a county where 30% of the population is obese, meaning they are over 30% body fat: one third of their body… is fat. We can be healthy at 10-18% body fat. This is an epidemic affecting our children, as they are also tipping the scales. 60% of our population is overweight, and being just 1 pound overweight can put 7 extra pounds of pressure on your knees, and make your heart pump blood an extra mile through your arteries and ventricle system! This epidemic is real AND preventable!
Sedentary lifestyles and ignorance about nutrition cause more deaths than any other modality, including cigarettes, and can easily be prevented. It is called preventative medicine. As Hippocrates once said hundreds of years ago…”let food be thy medicine”. Nutritional enlightenment will make you feel better, look better, sleep better, think better, and even have increased sexual performance. In fact, back more than 50 years ago, Dr. Graham made a cracker out of whole grains for patients with low sex drive...named the “graham cracker”! So you can think better, and fill the world up with better thinkers. Studies have shown that proper prenatal nutrition can increase the IQ of children. These benefits do not stop with age. Many epidemiological studies show us this. There is a definite correlation of the concentration of centurions within Okinawa; where fish, grains, and fresh produce are the staple foods in the diet.
So let’s start simple. Start by eating more “live foods”. Foods that are living and breathing as you are chewing them. I don’t mean to bite into Billy’s dog or to eat sushi. I am speaking of the magic medicine that can cure cancer, stop heart disease, thin your blood, clear your acne, and even make your upset stomach feel better. This magic medicine can be found all over the world. When live food is taken, populations show less heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. These three are kill the majority of people in the United States….far more than cigarettes, terrorists, and drugs combined. So why do we all let ourselves succumb to this killer and pass it on to our children? Is it our habits? Is it our choice? Or is it because of availability? Do you really know about nutrition and food? Do you have variety in your diet, or is food limited to your 7 day meal plan- and pizza on Fridays? Are you satisfied by junk food and coffee to produce limited energy? Or…are you so full of energy that you have to workout daily…or do you workout because you have to?
Eating is a science and it must be learned and practiced one step at a time. You cannot assume today is the last day you will eat junk food or sugar. It could be the day you learn why and how to eat for health….to have incredible energy, think better, look better, live longer, live healthier, and happier.
The magic medicine is a beautiful portrait that your plate should resemble. Your palate will thank you. Color your plate and your diet with the colors of the earth in fresh seasonal and preferably organic fruits and vegetables. “Living food”! Lose the need for sugars by fulfilling your needs for energy with natural fuels. Fruits and vegetables will aid in healthy, permanent weight loss more than any other supplement or surgery known to man. Various studies have proven that the added fiber in your diet alone will help you lose more than 10 pounds a year.
The vitamins and minerals in fruits and vegetables can assist with the production of energy and the metabolism of body fat. The photo nutrients in fresh fruits and vegetables help prevent heat disease, cancers, and aid in immunity of your body so it can fight sickness and heal itself. Fresh seasonal, preferably organic, fruits and vegetables are some of the healthiest attributes of a diet. One cannot replace the nutrition found in these foods. The fruit and vegetable at hand must look beautiful, fresh and crisp. If it is wilted, discolored, and unappetizing, you will not eat it. Be sure to experiment with different varieties of colors shapes, sizes, and textures to ensure maximal nutrition through synergy, and the complexity of all vitamins and minerals.
We all hear about “portion control” and its importance but serving sizes do not apply to fruits and vegetables. Eat pounds and pounds of every fruits and vegetables, not just small packages of berries. These foods are practically void of calories when accounting for their fiber content. The sugar content of fruit should be of no concern unless you are overweight or diabetic…and even in this case your diet should not be void of fruit. Just add them slowly in the diet until your insulin resistance factor is working properly. In fact, years of neglecting healthy eating may create an insulin production disorder. Proof of this is the exponential growth of diabetes.
Adding pounds of produce to your diet is not easy. It should be done gradually to prevent excessive gas or bowel movements. It is best to eat more frequently, eating 4-6 times per day, instead of 2-3 times per day. This is an essential component to increasing metabolism. This is also essential to the consumption of pounds of produce. The bulk of the foods alone demand multiple servings. This is just the beginning of a healthy diet.
Every individual’s diet can not be the same. Balance must exist between calories consumed, and calories burned through activity and basil metabolism. Your calorie expenditure can vary from 1,800 calories to 9,000 depending on muscle tissue, overall weight, age, and gender. Even more factors may affect the way you gain and lose weight. Start by the simple tips that I just went over.
Eat every 3-5 hours to avoid going in a catabolic state which will slow metabolism. This includes before going to sleep, do not go to sleep hungry!
Eat 5-10 servings of fresh fruit and vegetables every day. Do not overcook or saturate with oils, optimally eat raw or steamed, or cooked with very low heat. Overcooking can not only make vegetables less appetizing but can also destroy precious nutrients.
Eat fiber at every meal. This can be easily accomplished by adding a fruit or vegetable to any meal, which has shown to reduce cravings and meals sizes.
Follow these 3 simple tips and you are sure to reduce the amount of calories consumed per meal. With this reduction of calories, and an increased metabolism you are sure to lose weight. With the increase of fruits and veggies you are sure to increase your health by bringing cholesterol and blood pressure to desirable levels. With the addition of all this healthy eating practices you are sure to increase activity!
As I mentioned earlier, eating is a science. It should constantly be evaluated and enlightened with knowledge. In my next lecture I will explain the specific foods that should be eating and in what combination. It is important to start with slow and gradual steps towards better heath. Nutrition is a never-ending journey of happiness and new flavors. Everyone enjoys eating new exotic foods and that feeling should not be altered when experimenting with new exotic HEALTHY foods.
