Last week, I heard an alarming statistic that 1 out of 2 Americans will be diagnosed with a diet related disease.
What??? As I thought about some of the people I know suffering with skin conditions, fatigue, and digestive issues; I think there may be some truth to the statistic.
Many busy professionals, short on time, rely on fast food, take-out, and frozen dinners for their meals. Unfortunately, these quick meals are heavily processed and contain chemicals, food dyes, and GMO’s that are detrimental to your health.
If your diet consists mainly of processed foods, you are doing yourself a major disservice. Chronic diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and autoimmune disease, are directly influenced by our diet and lifestyle choices. Feeding your body the nutrients it needs to be healthy, will provide the energy needed to pursue your dream job, travel to distance lands, have an active social life, and look your best while doing it all.
Here are a few tips to easily improve your nutrition and naturally detox your diet:
Reduce Processed Food
If it can sit on a shelf for two years, it has been processed. In order to increase a product’s shelf life, companies add a concoction of chemicals to their items. Real food lasts for a few days or a few weeks at most, and is more nutritious.
Eat Organic Produce & Meat
When you eat organic produce and meat, you minimize your exposure to pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, and GMO’s that have been linked to autoimmune disease and cancer. Additionally, organic produce usually contains more minerals and antioxidants than conventional produce.
Drink Water
Swap soda, juice, and energy drinks for purified water. Water has zero calories and provides tremendous health benefits. Drinking more water can help weight loss, clear skin blemishes, boost energy, and aid digestion.
Choose Healthy Snacks
Chips, candy bars, and snack bars contain a lot of salt, sugar, and trans fat that do not nourish your body. After you eat a bag of chips, you are usually still hungry because the calories you consumed had no useful nutrients to satiate your hunger. Healthy snacks like avocados, kale chips, almonds, hemp seeds (not marijuana), etc. provide quality protein and fat that will satisfy your hunger.
Eat High Quality Grains
Exchange white rice for wild rice or quinoa which are excellent sources of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Upgrade Your Dairy
Swap regular milk for almond milk or coconut milk. Almond milk and coconut milk are easier to digest than cow’s milk because they do not contain lactose, and they contain more nutrients than regular milk.
Eating healthy is not about following the latest fad diet, it is about eating real, whole foods that contain the vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids your body needs to function properly.
Let’s face it…being a tired, sick 20 or 30 something is not a good look. Making important food and lifestyle changes will allow you to get your sexy back (if you lost it) and enjoy many more vibrant years.
