Eat Clean

 

“A lot of what you see in the supermarket I would argue is not really food, it’s what I call edible, food-like substances.” – Michael Pollan on the Oprah Winfrey Show

 

Eat whole food

 

Whole food, or as I like to call it real food, is simply a food that is unprocessed and unrefined that usually only contains 1 ingredient. No added salt, sugar, chemicals, fat or vitamins. Fruits and vegetables are whole foods. Unprocessed chicken and fish is a whole food. Fresh tuna is a whole food, canned tuna is not. It’s been processed, and as a result its nutrient value is less.

 

Whole foods tend to have a short shelf life. I love the saying, “if it doesn’t go bad, it’s bad for you”.

 

Scientists agree, across the board, that a higher consumption of whole healthy foods is associated with reduced risks of a myriad of diseases and early aging.

 

Drink a lot of water

 

Your body is about 70% water. Doesn’t that say enough?

 

Okay, water hydrates your skin and gives it a glow. Every time you drink a glass, think of how you are feeding your complexion more than you could with the most expensive skin treatment.

 

Water boosts your energy levels, helps keep your metabolism going and makes you feel full so you don’t overindulge. Water cleanses and detoxifies your body by flushing out waste. Blood is mostly water. Your muscles, lungs and brain also contain a lot of water. Many of the body’s functions are impossible without water.

 

It is the best beverage you can possibly drink for your heath, wellbeing and appearance.

 

Eat a lot of vegetables

 

Preferably raw. And some fruit too.

 

Vegetables and fruit are nutritional powerhouses. Vast amounts of research have made that common knowledge. By making them a large part of your diet you can reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, high blood pressure and heart disease.

 

Vitamins, minerals and antioxidants will energize you, protect your health and make you look better than you ever have before.

 

The more raw, local and organic produce you consume, the higher the nutritional content, the bigger the payoff for you.

 

Don’t eat sugar

 

What does sugar do to your body? Processed, or refined sugar, pumps you up with energy (like putting jet fuel in a Toyota engine) and then let’s you crash after the energy has burned off. You end up at a lower energy level than where you started out.

 

Sugar…
• suppresses your immune system
• raises insulin levels (which contributes to high blood pressure and osteoporosis)
• causes tooth decay
• upsets the body’s mineral balance
• contributes to weight gain
• is an addictive pleasure drug

 

Refined sugar has no upside. And we are addicted to it. From the sugar you put in your coffee, the cereal you eat, most restaurant food, most processed food (like spaghetti sauce, ketchup, etc.) to the obviously sugary donuts and desserts, it’s in almost everything. Sucrose, fructose, corn syrup, glucose, maltose are just some of sugar’s many sneaky names.

 

We are looking at an epidemic of obesity in the United States, and this is one of the major reasons why. Just think, the average American eats about 175 pounds of sugar each year. Compare that to the 1915 average of 15 pounds per year. Big difference!

 

Don’t eat chemicals

 

Unnatural chemicals surround us. We have pretty much made this planet a toxic mess. It’s getting pretty hard not to eat the chemicals. It’s getting pretty hard to buy real, clean food.

 

The first thing you can do is stop buying processed foods in boxes. We’ve all seen the zillion item ingredient lists. Ingredients we’ve never heard of and can’t pronounce.

 

Secondly, if you are going to choose to eat animal products, dairy and meat, buy the best quality you can. Value priced chicken is value priced for a reason. I guarantee that if you saw the live chicken before it was slaughtered, and saw the conditions under which it lived… you would never want to put such a thing in your body. Let alone contribute to that kind of abuse.

I know it costs more. It’s worth it.

 

Number three. Same with vegetables. They are covered with pesticides. Some aren’t only covered, but are like sponges that have soaked up the chemicals. Buy organic if you can. Buy local if you can. There are many farms now offering local, seasonal, organic veggies. Just search your area on the internet.

 

We can’t possibly imagine the effect this toxic environment is having on our bodies.

 

Avoid alcohol

 

Alcohol is poison to your body. Period. Intoxication is the brain’s response to being poisoned.

 

Even small amounts of alcohol consumed over long periods of time have lasting effects on your body. It affects your brain, liver, heart, digestive system and reproductive system. It contributes to cancer.

 

What does alcohol do to your looks?

• It dehydrates (dries) your skin causing wrinkles
• Your liver is unable to remove all the toxins in your body and those that stay inside cause your skin to become red and blotchy
• It decreases your level of vitamin A which supports skin health
• It makes your face (and stomach) bloated
• It causes weight gain

 

We have all heard of the benefits of one glass of red wine a day. Do your body a favor and drink some grape juice instead. According to the Mayo Clinic you’ll get the same benefit.

 

Avoid dairy

 

Raw cow milk is an ideal food for a calf. Not for humans. We are the only animals who drink the mother’s milk of another animal. We give it to our young and even drink it as adults. We are the only animals who are never weaned.

 

The nutrients (yes, calcium) in milk are readily available from plant sources without all the health issues associated with diary. Dairy products are, for the most part, high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Many people are lactose intolerant or allergic to dairy products. About a third of all milk products are contaminated with antibiotic traces, much of it with pesticides.

 

Who benefits from all this? Certainly not the cows, most of  whom live in horrible conditions. It’s the dairy industry who make a great deal of money off the fact that we have been brainwashed into thinking that milk is a necessity.

 

Don’t eat too much

 

Overeating overworks your digestive organs, aside from the obvious side affect of weight gain.

 

It’s still calories in, calories out. No matter how healthy the food is

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To lose weight you will need to cut back. 500 calories/day cut = 1 lb. a week lost

That works in the opposite direction too.

 

In 1960 18% of our national income was spent on food, and only 5% on healthcare.

Today 9% of our income is spent on food and whopping 17% on healthcare.

“The less we spend on food, the more we spend on healthcare.” – Michael Pollen