10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR DIET
 

10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR DIET

Lauren McGinley, 2005

1. ELIMINATE ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS

If one is looking for a healthy way of eating, eliminating all artificial
sweeteners is a great place to start. There's not enough safety
information on some sweeteners and too much clear and scary info
on others.

http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-information.html

http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/

2. ELIMINATE PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED OILS

A process to lengthen shelf life can shorten your life! Trans Fatty
Acids created by hydogenation have been linked to cancer,
cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Don't risk it!

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/70/81100.htm

http://www.recoverymedicine.com/hydrogenated_oils.htm

http://www.bantransfats.com/

3. ELIMINATE CORN SYRUPS and HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN
SYRUPS (HFCS)

Linked to obesity and now so very prevalent in just about any food
category; tomato sauces, sodas, baked goods, even natural foods. They are also genetically modified. It's cheap, easy to manufacture
with and it's making us fat and unhealthy.

http://www.antiaginglifeextension.co...minutes/articl

es/high_fructose_corn_syrup.asp?a=1768&c=&p=

http://www.leaflady.org/fructose.htm

4. LIMIT PACKAGED FOODS and EAT FOOD IN ITS MOST
NATURAL STATE

Ultimately, food in packages has more chance of having additives
and chemicals. Unnecessary ingredients that can burden your body
and decrease your health. You don't need the chemicals, extra salt,
sugar and saturated fat that are prevalent in packaged foods.

Today, labeling is very complex. There are many ingredients that
are used in processing and manufacturing that are not required to
be on the label. You truly do not know what you are getting in some
packages. So save the bags, boxes, cans and make your food
from scratch.

Eating foods in their most natural state is best. Fresh broccoli (raw
and cooked) will get you the most benefit nutritionally but if you can't
get fresh, frozen is your best bet. Though be diligent about label
reading as some brands again add unnecessary chemicals.

5. ELIMINATE FOOD ADDITIVES; MSG, CHEMICALS IN
GENERAL, DYES

Chemicals in our foods are not doing us much good. Dyes are
made from coal tar (carcinogen). MSG sensitivites are well known. Our bodies are not meant to process a multitude of chemicals. We
need to fuel our bodies with proper nutrition and foods that are
wholesome and healthy.

http://www.nomsg.com/

http://www.msgmyth.com/

http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm

6. ELIMINATE WHITE REFINED PROCESSED FOODS (white
flour, white rice, white bread, white pasta) and INCREASE WHOLE
GRAINS

These refined foods are devoid of nutrition. Empty calories. White
flour has only a small percentage of the nutrition of whole grain
flour.

http://www.newstarget.com/000441.html

http://waltonfeed.com/grain/flour.html

Whole grains on the other hand contain the oils, the bran, and all
the vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber nature intended. Whole
grains are a fabulous source of fiber which has been shown to
reduce colon cancer. Some rich sources are; brown rice, whole
wheat, bulghur, millet, buckwheat, rye, barley, spelt, oats, quinoa.

7. EAT AT LEAST ONE SALAD and FRUIT EVERYDAY

We should be eating at least 5 servings of fruit everyday. The
vitamins, minerals, phytonutritients help protect us from disease.

I've found that by just trying to eat one salad each day that it's
enough to keep me eating well. I sometimes will have more but if I
follow this one salad rule, it seems to help us eat healthy all day.

8. CHOOSE ORGANIC

I read once that the average american eats a pound of pesticides
per year. Yuck! Can you imagine the toll that takes on the body
(combined with all the other toxins from the environment)? The
vitamin and mineral content of organic foods is said to be higher
than the convential counterparts.

http://www.ewg.org/reports/ops/risk.html

http://www.elsonhaas.com/articles/article_02.html

http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/guides/242

http://www.sdearthtimes.com/et0996/et0996s5.html

9. EAT HIGH QUALITY FATS

Fats contained in fish, nuts and seeds pack a whollup! Essential
fatty acids are "essential" to optimum health. If you're not taking an
EFA supplement be sure to sprinkle freshly ground flax seeds on
salads, oatmeal, in smoothies, etc. One tablespoon of ground
flaxseeds a day can and will improve your health. A handful of
walnuts is a great source as well.

http://www.pcrm.org/health/prevmed/ess_fat_acids.html

http://borntoexplore.org/omega.htm

10. EAT 90% FOR NOURISHMENT AND 10% FOR FUN

I read this somewhere recently and I thought it really hit home. If
you maintain a healthy foundation, you CAN stray and have fun
eating those foods that might not be considered so healthy.

Some more links to help;

http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/article13.aspx

http://www.holisticmed.com/food.html

http://www.healthyeatingadvisor.com/healthy-food.html


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Written by Lauren McGinley, copyright 2005
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Re: 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR DIET
 

That is confirmation for me! Thank you for posting this. We are taking steps to improve our diet and I was thinking that we eat at home about ninety-nine percent of the time . . . we have an occasional dinner out and dinner at church on Wednesdays (but as we are changing churches, that will stop) .. . so I figured that if I kept our at home choices good at least ninety percent of the time, that we would be fine. I tend to be an all or nothing type of person so this is a big challenge for me . . .but I see the wisdom in it and this gives me great peace and freedom.

Thanks for the info.

Re: 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR DIET
 

That one is for me! Sometimes I realize that I am doing exactly the opposite! (90% for fun, 10% for nourishment)! :banghead

Re: 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR DIET
 

Thanks for posting this :)

Re: 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR DIET
 

Re: 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR DIET
 

:tu

Re: 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR DIET
 

That's all awesome advice. :tu I've been doing Weight Watchers for almost a year, and I've lost over 50 pounds, which is great, but I don't feel that much healthier. I think that's because I eat less, but I still eat things that aren't giving my body what it needs. And because I still crave the junk, I'll eat that and have fewer points left over for healthy foods! I'm so burned out on WW right now, I might adopt this plan as my new *diet* and see how well I do. I still have about 25-30 pounds to lose, and I'd like to get there before my birthday in December, but I don't want to feel run down and spent and yucky - and that's how I feel right now. Ironically, I was just snacking on a 100 Calorie pack and a Pepsi, which is very WW friendly. When I read the ingredients, though, after reading this, my snack violates just about every one of these 10 things!

Re: 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR DIET
 

What great advice!

Wow coblue
 

this info is great. I probably follow all 10 of those for a long time but especially since my son was born 2 y rs ago. That's for the reminder. We have been healthy over here, son never had ear infection, eats organic and healthy and none of that hyrdoganted, sugar stuff (so far). He also isn't vaccinated either and so I know he's really healthy because of that too since he doesn't have any toxins inside his body!

Re: 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR DIET
 

:amen
You have put some thought into this post and I have been trying to follow this for many years.
It is always good to have a goal that we are working towards an can get back on track.
Without the vision you shared it is hard to have the goal.
Thanks for the reminder and I know this info will bless a lot of families :amen

Re: 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR DIET
 

We cleaned out the cupboards this week...everything that had corn syrup, sugar, and yucky preservatives in it got thrown out...or given away.....now to replace some of those things with good things and to just curve our way of eating.

Re: 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR DIET
 

:tu Good advice!

Re: 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR DIET
 

Cobluegirl
Wow you have made a big decision. Let us know if you go through withdrawel. People don't usually realize how much of the addictive sugars are in the food they eat. I am so alergic to corn of any kind Dextrose, maltodextrin, dextrin, splenda, fructose, powdered sugar,can be hidden corn in a lot of products.
I get such horrible sinus infections and headaches :banghead if I get corn. I gave it up over the years but got serious about it after going gluten free. I felt so good after going gluten free that I noticed the only times I felt bad :banghead was after eating corn.
I am not recommending going gluten free to people that don't need to it is very dificult and a lot of radical changes that are too much work if you don't need them but if you do they are lifechanging healthwise.

Re: 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR DIET
 

:tu

Re: 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR DIET
 

Feingold was a wonderful program because it got all of us eating this way! I am trying really hard to eat seasonally and also to eat more salads and fruit this summer.