Here are some tips I've collected from simplest to adhere to, to more complex ones. Got some other tips? Share them with the rest of us!
1) Practice intermittent fasting. It's very easy to adhere to this - simply skip breakfast. There are numerous benefits of IF and it's worth it. This also simplifies the need to plan for breakfast.
2) Banish simple carbs (this includes sugar, honey and white flour) from your diet. Don't buy any processed foods. If you want a snack, eat a banana or a slice of whole-grain bread.
3) Omega-6 vs omega-3 ratio should be as near as possible to 1:1. This is the ideal ratio that reduces the risk of developing a number of terrible diseases. Read this abstract to see the extent of this simple fact. An average Westerner eats at a 15:1 ratio! You need to make a conscious effort to change this. You can achieve this reduction by replacing seed and nut oils with olive oil (reduce omega-6), and by supplementing with fish oil (increase omega-3). Watch out for the "hidden" seed oils (e.g. in various snacks - but if you don't eat processed foods you won't be risking any ;)).
4) Eat fiber-rich whole-grain breads and cereals (whole-grain bread, oats, barley, quinoa...)
5) Reduce saturated fat intake (butter, lard, coconut oil, cream, hard cheese, fatty meats, poultry with skin) to under 20 grams a day. This is basically a teaspoon - so try to avoid it altogether. Eating too much of saturated fats (or even any kind of fat at all - see keto) increases inflammation and can lead to diabetes and heart disease. Instead, eat lean meat and fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines...) because it contains way more unsaturated than saturated fats and is high in omega-3s.
6) Fried foods are carcinogenic!! This includes potato chips and fries, many processed foods, fried meat, fried/baked anything. Such foods contain acrylaminde which in the short term increases inflammation in your body, ultimately causing various health issues, and has been associated with lung, kidney, esophageal, endometrial and ovarian cancer. Also, never eat the burnt brown (or godforbid black) parts. It's much better to boil or stir-fry your food than to fry it in oil.
7) Don't consume too much protein, especially if you're not working out. If you're sedentary or lightly active, 0.8 grams per kilogram of your weight should be your top limit. An average person doesn't need more than 60 grams per day. The excess protein converts to glucose in your liver and is stored as fat. It can cause you issues with insulin sensitivity and eventually cause the type 2 diabetes. This is what many people following keto diet don't know.
8) There are some fruits and vegetables that are industrially produced using large amounts of pesticides (if not from controlled, ecological production). It is worthwhile keeping this in mind and buying these from ecological sources or growing them yourself. These are potatoes (by far the most pesticides!), apples, peaches, nectarines, strawberries and raspberries, grapes, celery, spinach, bell pepper, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, peas. The cleanest foods that are relatively safe: avocados, pineapple, papaya, mango, melon, string beans, onions, asparagus, aubergine, cauliflower, cabbage and sweet potato.
Got some other tips? Share them with the rest of us!
Submitted April 13, 2018 at 11:58AM by proozywoozy https://ift.tt/2HvxeTb
