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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. |
