You make sure to eat lots of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and nuts and seeds. You even may go so far as to buy organic, low fat milk.
But, if you’re interested in diving deeper into nutrition and eating as much for health as you do for aesthetics, it’s a good idea to ditch modern dogma and take a look back. And I mean way back.
When it comes to eating healthy, a good rule of thumb is that if your great, great grandmother would have eaten it, go for it.
Here are 7 Facts to Take Your Nutrition Up a Notch:
Fat is an integral part to cellular function and helps you to feel satisfied.
Reach for full-fat dairy (bonus points it’s from grass-fed cows or even raw), coconut oil, butter, red meat, olive oil, bone-in meat, etc.
Fats to avoid: Cheap hydrogenated oils like canola, sunflower, safflower, vegetable, etc.
Much like how one can be lactose intolerant and not allergic, eating gluten can make many people constipated, bloated, swollen, or have diarrhea. Symptoms may even manifest as knee or other joint pain, brain fog, moodiness, acne, and more.
Gluten and its ill effects are still being studied.
And actually, some experts say that the side effects are because of the pesticides that gluten-containing ingredients are sprayed with.
Whatever the reason, try cutting gluten out of your diet and see how you feel.
*Caveat: avoid gluten-free ‘junk food’ like ice cream, cookies, and bread except for on occasion.
But, by simply soaking beans, nuts, rice, and seeds overnight, phytic acid is neutralized, making the nutrients easier to assimilate. If you do eat bread, stick to varieties that have already been soaked and sprouted, like the brand Ezekiel.
It’s also high in calcium, magnesium, iron, and vitamin C.
You can buy seaweed flakes to sprinkle on your salad or garnish your dish with.
You’ll never even taste it. 😉
Do you always add blueberries to your morning smoothie?
Try shaking it up with mango or papaya.
Learn how to prepare some different vegetables like parsnips, leeks, collard greens, etc.
Instead of rice and potatoes, try some other complex carbs like adzuki beans.
Give chicken a rest for a bit and go for barramundi.
It turns out that homemade stock from any kind of bones is a commonality between countries with the healthiest diets in the world.
Mediterranean, Japanese, and the French all simmer their own stocks from leftover protein, even fish!
Nowadays you can even buy bones in the freezer department of Whole Foods.
My favorite way to make mine tasty is to add a strip of nori paper, a kind of seaweed, into my crockpot with the bones.
It makes the soup nice and savory while getting all the benefits and minerals from the seaweed.
This doesn’t mean you have start from scratch with all new products. Just start by trying coconut or another oil for your skin cream and take baby steps from there.
So, try a little whole, raw milk, enjoy some roasted chicken legs with their delicious crispy skin, and turn those bones into a fabulous stock. It’s good for you!
What’s your favorite way to kick your nutrition up a notch? Let me know in the comments below!
I’d love to read it and I know the other readers always appreciate extra tips. 🙂