Let's Keep It Simple Okay
So how's your pH? What kind of water are you drinking? And the air you are breathing, do you know if it is blurpule or nirpule? Oh, you are you weighing your food? Did you know you should only eat 1.378 ounces of carrots per day? And your chicken, only eat chicken after 2pm during the summer...
Okay, so ya ever find yourself focusing so much on minute details, or strange details, that you are missing the most important aspects of the thing? Yep, it is easy to do in today's info filled world where everyone is vying for your attention (and money). Oh and did you know food and what you put into your mouth is big business, right? Lots of people want you to believe that nutrition is a mystery and this new 'rule' they have discovered is the only way to save you from certain doom.
The other day, we had a patient talking about how she was having a difficult time eating to keep her pH just right. She was so focused on her pH that she was eating foods that were actually causing some not so beneficial effects. So, we had the talk.
We sat down and talked about eating real food and discussed some simple to follow rules to help her maintain and build health. The truth is, she needed to learn that healthy eating is not focusing on just one parameter. Healthy eating is eating for the whole you, not just your pH or weight.
Now, there can be a time to alter eating or use a therapeutic diet to handle a health challenge. And we are ready to help people to do that. Yet, for most of us, if we could just focus on eating whole real foods with a few rules, we would see great benefits to our everyday health and well being and have fewer health challenges overall.
Let's take a look at keeping it simple:
Meats, Fish, Poultry (one serving = around the size of your palm):
1. Eat them. Change them up and enjoy the variety - Chicken, turkey, duck, lamb, goat, beef, veal, pork, salmon, cod, shrimp...these foods are packed full of good proteins, vitamins, and minerals that are very usable to the human body.
2. When it comes to quality proteins, get the best you can afford. Get Pasture and/or organic meats and poultry when possible. Fresh fish from the ocean is best and avoiding "farmed" fish is even better (5,6). (check out our resources pages to learn about some local providers)
3. Eat 3-4 servings per day. Especially if you are older than 60(1,2), recovering from illness or injury(3) or are an athlete and/or needing to build muscle mass(4).
Vegetables: (one serving = 1 cupish)
1. Eat them too! Lots and lots and lots...enjoy a wide variety by eating the rainbow of colors that veggies come in.
2. A minimum of 5 servings per day and go ahead and shoot for 7-9 if ya can.
3. Eat 1/2 of your veggies RAW.**
3. Again, get the best quality you can afford. Organic is best and buy local whenever possible. Cheap produce does not usually equal the nutrient density and taste of fresh local non-chemical veggies (5,6).
Fruits (one serving = one piece or 1 cupish):
1. Yes, in moderation.
2. Take in 1/2 the amount of servings in fruit as you do veggies. So if you eat 6 servings of veggies today, then eat only 3 servings of fruit. This will keep your body better able to handle the amount of sugar (natural) in check while still getting lots of nutrients.
3. Eat 1/2 of your fruits RAW
4. What again...get the best quality you can afford. Organic is best and buy local whenever possible. Berries are a very nutrient dense fruits that are generally lower in natural sugars and just happen to grow well here.
5. Juice should really be used for very special reasons. If you choose to drink fruit juices, only freshly squeezed and only as much as will come out of a single serving of fruit (generally 4 ozs or so) (5,6).
Nuts and seeds (one serving = 1/4 cupish):
1. Eat some. But not too much.
2. Raw is okay, soaking or roasting is better. Organic is best (5,6).
Oils and Fats:
1. Butter - Yes! Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Yes! Cold-Pressed Nut and Seed Oils - Yes! Coconut Oil - Yes! Fish Oils - Yes!
Quality matters. Organic butter. Cold and/or Virgin pressed or extracted.
2. Healthy fats are essential to good health. Eat small amounts with most of your veggie servings so you can get the most out of those fat soluble vitamins.
3. Avoid anything with hydrogenated oil like the plaque.
4. Avoid over heating fats and oils. (smoking point)
Water:
1. Yes!!! Please drink good clean water 6-9 cups per day is usually best to keep a person hydrated. That helps to keep your mucus membranes moist and your waste removal system working well. (Is your urine light yellow? If not, drink another cup of water).
2. Filter you water to ensure removal of all the big, and small, nasties.** (source)
3. And while coffee and teas in moderation can be good for you, they are not water. You would never shower in coffee...why bathe your insides with the stuff?
Everything else:
1. Grains. If you can tolerate them and do not need to lose weight or control blood sugar, then enjoy a serving of grains a day. Make them whole and fresh when possible. Avoid cereals and foods that bleach and strip out nutrients to make them have a long shelf life. If a grain comes in a box or sack, leave it at the grocery.
2. Pseudo grains. And serving a day can be a fun and nutritious addition to your daily intake.
3. Dairy. This deserves a whole separate article, but to keep it easy. If your body can tolerate dairy and you do not need to lose weight or control blood sugar, then enjoy a serving a day. Fermented dairy products are a great choice. And shoot for organic and from pastured animals.
4. The fewer foods with added sugars the better. Sodas are really liquid sugar bombs even if they are made with natural sugar. Save this kind of thing for very special occasions.
5. Lastly, alcohol. This is not a necessary item in our diet and for some people any can be too much. Here is a good guideline: A healthy limit for men is no more than 4 drinks on any day or 14 total per week. And for women, no more than 3 drinks on any day or 7 total per week.
There is general theme here is that your focus should be on eating a variety of quality fresh foods is a balance that keeps your blood sugar under control and your nutrient density high. Doing this will help people have a more appropriate weight, fewer problems with heart disease and diabetes, stronger muscles and bones, and most people will find their pH is balanced too.
1) https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/advance-article/doi/10.1093/gerona/gly201/5106141
2) https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.15592
3) https://doi.org/10.1177/0115426506021005430
4) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-017-0177-8
5) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24968103
6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29073935
**People with overt hypothyroid disease should cook vegetables from the brasica family like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and certain green leafies like spinach, kale, mustard and chard.
