Nutrition Tips for Health and Longevity: The Cure Is in the Kitchen

We often forget that clean water and healthy food are not only the foundation of health, but have more power than medicines to keep us healthy. But the quality of what we put into our bodies is also of prime importance. If you build a healthy foundation with simple things like nutrition and exercise, your body will thrive.

HEALTHY NUTRITION TIPS:

1. The most important, yet cheapest thing, you can do for your body every day is drink good quality pure water, ideally with a ph of at least 7.0.

2. Drink a minimum of half of your body weight in ounces per day; more if you exercise or if you live in a hot climate.

3. Eat organic foods as much as possible - they have more nutrients, more antioxidants and more disease-fighting phytochemicals and are free of dangerous pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.

4. Eat 4-9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily; choose produce in different colors to get the biggest variety of vitamins and minerals possible.

5. Try to eat more raw vegetables than cooked - they have more much needed enzymes.

6. If you do eat meat, buy only organic meat from grass-fed animals - it is not only free of antibiotics and hormones but is a lot leaner and has a different nutritional profile than commercially raised meat. It is high in anti-inflammatory Omega 3 fatty acids and lower in pro-inflammatory Omega 6. It also contains a higher amount of healthy CLA (conjugated linoleic acid). CLA is an antioxidant with strong anti-cancer properties and can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and help fight inflammation. It also reduces body fat and increases lean muscle mass. Meat and dairy products from grass-fed animals can contain 300%-500% more CLA than those from cattle fed the usual diet of grain and hay.

7. Try other healthy lean meats like buffalo and ostrich.

8. Eat only organic free-range poultry and eggs.

9. If you do eat dairy make sure it is organic and ideally raw - that means not pasteurized or homogenized. It is devoid of antibiotics and hRGH (recombinant human growth hormone), has more vitamins and the enzymes have not been destroyed by the above processes. It is also well tolerated by people who are lactose intolerant. In California you can get organic raw milk, cream, kefir, immune-building colostrum, butter and cheddar cheese from Organic Pastures.

10. Include organic nuts and seeds in your diet. Try to eat them raw as roasting at high temperatures oxidizes them, makes them rancid and destroys precious antioxidants. Nuts are a rich source of protein, fiber, B vitamins, folic acid, calcium, iron, zinc and antioxidants selenium and Vitamin E.

11. Make a variety of beans a staple in your diet - they are high in fiber, protein and antioxidants.

12. Eat only whole grains, not ground, processed, bleached, fortified with synthetic vitamins and minerals, etc. Whenever foods have been fortified you know all their original nutritional value has been stripped off in the refining process.

13. Don't rely entirely on wheat as your main grain source. Wheat has the highest glycemic index of all grains and many people are intolerant to it. Try other grains like buckwheat, oats, quinoa, barley, brown rice, rye, spelt, teff, amaranth, triticale and millet.

14. Limit your caffeine intake. It causes exhaustion of the adrenal glands so your body has a harder and harder time producing enough cortisol necessary to wake you up in the morning and keep you awake when you need to feel alert. It disturbs your normal cortisol cycle.

15. If you must drink coffee for its flavor and aroma, switch to coffee decaffeinated by the Swiss Water Process - the only process that leaves 0.01% of caffeine left.

16. Drink only organic coffee. Non-organic coffee is the heaviest chemically treated food product in the world.

17. Avoid trans fats at any cost. (This includes fried foods produced commercially or in restaurants). They decrease HDL (high density lipoprotein - the good guy) and increase LDL (low density lipoprotein - the bad guy) and have been shown to contribute to heart disease.

18. Choose only good fats: cold-pressed olive oil, nut oils, seed oils, high-oleic canola oil, avocado oil, organic coconut oil. (Coconut oil has been greatly misrepresented as a bad fat and although it is saturated it does not contain cholesterol since it is not of animal origin. It has very strong anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-microbial properties because of its high content of lauric acid. The only other rich source of it is breast milk. Organic virgin coconut oil is now slowly being recognized by the medical community as a powerful tool against immune diseases and is often used for its medicinal purposes by many hospitals. Two excellent books on the subject were written by one of the top lipid researchers in the world, Dr. Mary Enig: "Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol"(Bethesda Press, May 2000) and "Eat Fat Lose Fat" (Hudson Street Press, January 2005). If you use saturated fat like butter use only organic butter from grass-fed cows - it is NOT as unhealthy as once thought.

19. If you cook with fats at high temperatures use only fats that are stable and do not cause formation of free radicals. Saturated fats are actually best for high temperature cooking as they are very stable. Vegetable oils are NOT a healthy option for this purpose. The best fats for cooking at high temperatures are butter, ghee, duck fat, coconut oil, palm oil and avocado oil.

20. Minimize intake of sugar in your diet. That includes anything with sugar added to it (sodas, fruit yogurt, crackers, cereals, commercially prepared tomato sauces, ketchup, etc.). 1 teaspoon of sugar has been shown to suppress your immune system for up to 4 hours!

21. Eat more alkaline foods (fruits and vegetables) to balance out the acidity in your diet especially if you eat a SAD diet (Standard American Diet) that is highly processed and full of acidifying foods like meat, dairy and grains.

22. Avoid any soda drinks and carbonated beverages as they are all acidic.

23. Limit alcohol as much as possible - it is not only very high in calories but it also interferes with your body's ability to burn fat as the liver has to process it and detoxify it first. Alcohol is also one of the strongest causes of inflammation in the gut.

24. Try to eat 1-2 servings of fish high in Omega 3 per week BUT be extremely careful in choosing fish since most of it these days is high in mercury. The safest fish that is highest in Omega 3 is wild Alaskan salmon, herring, sardines and anchovies. For low-mercury tuna go to http://www.tunatuna.com. Farmed fish does not have much Omega 3 and is usually high in PCB and other toxins. (You can find out about the amounts of mercury in seafood by going to http://www.gotmercury.org/article.php?id=1034 ).

25. Eat all foods as they appear in nature - WHOLE FOODS or at least minimally processed. They are much more nutritious.

26. Plant foods should make a big part of your diet. They contain not only much needed nutrients but most of them are full of fiber. Aim for at least 25-30 grams of fiber a day.

27. Use only high quality unprocessed sea salt like Celtic Sea Salt (in reasonable amounts). Itis high in important minerals and vital to your diet.

28. Avoid artificial sweeteners at all cost - they are neurotoxins that can damage the brain and the nervous system. Your brain does not register them as calories and will send you a message to keep eating. Good alternative is a natural sweetener like Stevia.

29. Avoid microwaved foods (even water) at any cost. Microwaves damage the cell wall of foods and change their molecular structure into something your gut receptors are not likely to recognize as food. Many people who use microwave ovens suffer from various digestive problems.

30. Avoid genetically modified foods - they are not the same.

31. Eat well at least 80% of the time. If you do, your body may be able to withstand the 20% of abuse you put it through.

32. Cheat a little - no super healthy diet is healthy if it offers no enjoyment.

33. And please... don't forget the WATER!!!

Always remember: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

Monika Tarkowska-Carter has nineteen years of experience as a personal trainer/nutritional counselor working with clients of all ages and needs. She holds the following professional Certifications:
* American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) - Personal Trainer
* National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) - Personal Trainer
* National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) - Personal Trainer
* American Council on Exercise (ACE) - Personal Trainer
* American Council on Exercise (ACE) - Lifestyle and Weight Management Coach
* UCLA Extension Certificate in Fitness Instruction
* C.H.E.K. Institute - Holistic Lifestyle Coach, Level 2

To learn more about Monika or to hire her as a personal trainer, nutrition counselor or holistic lifestyle coach, visit her website at http://www.Fitness-Science.net

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