Nutrition plans and dietary programs are all over the internet including the Keto, Paleo and Atkins diet; all offering a solution to everyone’s problems. While none of these plans are bad, it doesn’t mean that every nutrition plan is right for every person. We recommend an anti-inflammatory diet, and these guidelines are important for everyone, but may also be used in combination with your food allergy issue, diabetic issues, or whatever you individually need.
When we look at your labs, our recommendations are different. Each person is different, and they can also react differently to certain foods. You need to choose your nutrition based on your individual body. Here at Journey to Wellness we test and then do what your body is telling us is right for you.
Quality Over Quantity in Frisco TX
When it comes to the best-personalized nutrition and dietary programs to fight inflammation, it is more quality over quantity. We want you eating a lot of food, but it needs to be good quality food. One of the first changes we recommend people make is the quality of their meat. All red meats should be grass fed because ones that are fed from sacks are fed on grains, and these meats can become toxic in their own right. If the animals are consuming grain, then you still get the negative effects even though you aren’t the one consuming the grains. Lamb, venison and bison are good options because these animals are natural grazing animals.
All poultry and eggs should be free-range or organic, and the best way of making sure they are is to find a local farmer who has either chickens or even just eggs for sale. Fish are super healthy and full of healthful Omega 3’s when they are wild caught, but if they are fish farmed, they come packed full of antibiotics and other chemicals. Through this diet program you’re allowed to consume meat, but just a better quality meat. All it takes is a lateral shift in your thinking when it comes to your foods. We know there might be budget constraints on hand, but being smart will pay dividends in your health levels.
Carbs
Quinoa and sweet potatoes, wild rice, lentils and beans are good carbohydrates. Stay away from rice and oats a much as you can. Sweet potatoes are a better option than a white potato. An organic white potato may be ok, if from a local farmer, but for some we will recommend you not eat any white potatoes at all. Remove all processed sugar, grain and gluten and stick with healthier carbs.
Sugars and Sweeteners
We all know too much sugar is bad for you. Too much sugar leads to inflammation and feeds yeast inside the body, and can cause bacteria and pain. Any diet on the planet will say too much processed sugar has detrimental effects. For most, a little bit of healthy sugar, like local honey or organic maple syrup or fruits, like berries and granny smith apples are recommended. When it comes to sugars in fruits, don’t cut these out altogether, but only have two servings per day. One serving should be a low glycemic fruit such as berries, and the second can be a regular type of fruit to feed that sweet tooth, like an orange or a banana. Testing will tell us what’s best for you.
In drinks, we recommend using Stevia or Xylitol, and if you are a big baker, then you can use either cocoa sugar or date sugar. Neither of these has the same impact as regular refined sugar. Gluten grains are another thing that leads to inflammation, and can also cause leaky gut syndrome. These can be replaced with quinoa, wild rice, sweet potatoes, lentils, and beans.
Oils and Fats Can Be Good
This is a big one for inflammation and cell regeneration. We need enough healthy fats to make good cholesterol. Cholesterol is the building block for every hormone in your body. Good oils and fats are essential for fighting inflammation. Any nutrition and dietary programs will emphasize the need for introducing good fats to make good cholesterol. We sometimes see patients who are on cholesterol-lowering medication become depressed, gain weight and lack energy because they are draining their body of this necessary building block.
If you are going to heat your fats up, use a coconut oil, or an avocado oil, or grass fed butter – for frying or cooking. Room temperature- use olive oil. Olive oil doesn’t work well if you are using on the stove and should be used for salads, not cooking.
Beverages
If you are a soda drinker or juice drinker – you need to stop. You will load up on calorie and chemicals, even if they’re “sugar free.” A little coffee is OK, it’s usually not the coffee- but what you are putting in the coffee. Are you putting sugar or milk in your coffee? Is it organic, from naturally raised cows that are producing the milk? Sweeteners or flavors, like those at the coffee shops, are not good for you. If you are going to consume coffee and tea- it should be organic, and choose the right things to go in your coffee. You can add almond milk, or cashew milk, or local honey, Stevia or Xylitol for sweeteners, but keep consumption low.
Coffee should be restricted to two cups per day because of its diuretic effects; this makes it much harder to remain hydrated. It’s a good balance. A good rule on the amount of water to drink daily is half of your body weight in ounces. It you are not drinking half of your body weight in ounces every day, you are already dehydrated. To get re-hydrated, you have to drink more than that.We challenge ourselves to drink 100 ounces of water, three times a week, to make sure we are getting rehydrated, from some of the days we might have not reached our quota of water intake. We think it’s a great challenge for everyone- it will flush toxins, and give you energy. Add more water and switch from those other beverages.
If you find it hard missing out, you can get naturally flavored waters; you can drink coconut water, and some of the organically flavored water, water melon juice, kombucha or a refreshing Kiefer. You will also see, when you drink plenty of water, those hunger cravings will slowly vanish. Just make sure they aren’t made with a bunch of added sugar or fructose, and need to be organic. When in doubt, stick with water. Get your water quota first, before drinking one of these other beverages. Hydration is simple, but it’s the last thing the doctor looks at. Sometimes just drinking more water will get rid of so many issues.
Journey to Wellness
We perform many tests to find the best nutrition and dietary programs for each individual. To find out the best nutrition plan for you, call us at Journey to Wellness so we can run our tests and get you back to your healthy and lively self.