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The
“D” Word – How to Choose a Healthy Diet
What should a healthy diet consist of?
When we talk about diet, people automatically think the
“D” word is a four letter word that involves depriving
ourselves of the foods we love. Diet is actually
everything we choose to eat – not just a way to loose
weight.
There is no one diet or eating plan that is right for
everyone, but there are some guidelines that will turn
your regular diet into one that is higher on the
“healthy” scale.
The ideal diet is one that includes more natural foods
than the prepared foods that come in brightly-coloured
packages and cans. It should contain wholesome, fresh,
chemically-free, non-genetically modified foods.
Meals should be easy to prepare and vary with the
amount of activity we are involved in; local climate,
time of year, and provide the best foods available.
With summer just around the corner, farmer’s markets
and local organic farmers will have fresh foods for us
to purchase.
Not only will these fresh foods have a higher ratio of
essential nutrients than cooked food (that loses a
portion of the vitamins and minerals during the cooking
process), consuming more fresh and raw foods makes us
more “green.” (Too many of us who are trying to
reduce, reuse, and recycle reducing the number of cans
and boxes that we have to dispose of on garbage day,
eating more fresh foods makes a lot of sense.)
How can we decide what our individual dietary needs
are?
First –
Listen to your body. If you have forgotten how to do
this, you can relearn. You may need to avoid certain
foods for a while to see if not eating them will help
you feel better or have more energy. When you
re-introduce them into your diet, you can observe if
you feel worse than when you avoided them. This will
tell you if you should be eating those particular foods
or putting them back on your avoid list.
Second –
Listen to nature. Nature gives you the information and
nourishment as you need it. Foods in season are the
most delicious and nutritious. Even if you don’t have
the room for a garden, you can plant herbs in flower
pots for the balcony or mixed into a flower garden.
Lettuce and tomatoes co-habitate well with flowers and
are not easily confused with non-edible plants. There
is nothing tastier than fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and
herbs from your own garden.
A good ratio of fresh, raw foods to cooked foods is 60%
raw and 40% cooked.
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