How to eat right for your health and upgrade recipes part 1....
Today's Post: Monday, 9-12-2011
This is my second post in the 8 ways to stay healthy.
2. Eat only foods that benefit you and your health – or at least do no harm.
(We did the first one last Friday, 9-9: 1. Avoid harmful foods and drinks. And, we repost the list of all 8 ways at the end of today’s post.)
A. Refined grains tend to fatten you, give you heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The high omega 6 oils in them tend to boost chronic inflammation which also increases your aches and pains and even helps cause cancer.
But they are still everywhere. So far, most people don’t yet know never to eat them.
What makes sense to do instead to eat right and stay healthy??
> One way is to simply take a pass.
Don’t buy anything at the grocery store that contains them. Instead, buy nonstarchy and organic vegetables or fruit or health OK protein foods or nuts if you can get the raw and aren’t allergic. Or, make that thing at home yourself with only 100 % whole grains and other real foods. (That way you eat less and eating less of even whole grains is helpful with fat loss and avoiding harm from type 2 diabetes.)
Buy a sandwich and a piece of fruit or get two sandwiches. Then eat the insides of the sandwich or sandwiches only. That way the refined grain bread acts as a mess preventing but biodegradable wrapper only. But it no longer fattens you or harms your health.
Or, buy and pay for the whole sandwich but have them serve it on a plate, “Atkins style.” You can ask for extra onion or tomato slices or mustard or other veggies too.
Subway fast food sandwiches, if you only get water and Atkins-style sandwiches, is a great choice because they have mild peppers and many other kinds of vegetables which you can serve yourself to do this with.
> Another way is to eat less of all grains and only eat 100 % whole grain foods when you do.
As an example: try what I did to help me trim 10 to 15 pounds of fat. (I switched from eating oatmeal and milk every morning to eating it every other morning and eating 2 boiled eggs and enough cooked lentils to provide the same fiber as the oatmeal and as much protein as the milk and oatmeal.)
> Another way is to eat tiny bits of refined grain bread but only tiny servings or less and not often.
For example, when at a restaurant, they offer you refined grain bread while you are very hungry -- to eat while waiting for your order to arrive, try one of these:
Order a salad to be delivered ASAP instead and have them take the bread away.
Or, take one piece and cut off one or two much smaller pieces that are about the size of an eighth of the original piece. Then put just a bit of olive oil or even butter (but NOT margarine) on it. The calories are about the same. But you avoid the blood sugar surge from the refined grain bread that you would have gotten. And if the restaurant is upscale enough to have olive oil or butter from cows fed only grass, you also eat less omega 6 oils.
Order your glass of wine to be delivered right away. Then sip it and savor it and talk the person you are with. Soon you will feel enough of a buzz that being hungry is way less hassle and waiting for your main order is easy.
(I’ve done each of these.)
Another example is when you are at a party or other event and there are dips and things to dip with. Focus on eating the dips made from health OK ingredients such as salsa or guacamole or hummus or fat reduced Greek yogurt. Then use broccoli florets or carrot sticks or cauliflower florets all or most of the time instead of the refined grain crackers. Apple or zucchini slices also work.
(My wife and I often bring the veggies and a variety of health OK dips to family events to make sure we and everyone else there has access to doing this.)
You can also use this strategy with peanut butter with nothing in it but peanuts or almond butter as a dip instead of as a sandwich.
Another way to go is to have ONE piece of bread made from 100 % whole grains instead of two pieces of refined grain bread.
B. Many people use oils that are cheap and which are excessively high in omega 6 oils such as corn oil, soy oil, canola oil, and safflower oils. Or they eat a lot of meat or dairy fat from animals fed only grains like corn which then deliver as much of omega 6 oils in excess. (Also note that something like 95 % or more of the plants these are from are genetically modified plants. I’ve read this is true of corn, soy, and canola oils; but have no information on safflower oil. On the other hand, safflower oil has the most omega 6 oils in it!)
These oils boost chronic inflammation, help cause heart disease, and even help cause cancer and possibly Alzheimer’s disease. They both boost inflammation and lower your protective HDL in the case of heart disease.
Even worse is when the food manufacturer uses these oils but then hydrogenates them to make the more butter like and have a longer shelf life. Hydrogenated oils also cause your HDL to go down. But they are even worse because they cause your body to make a lot more of the dangerous small particle LDL that is a direct cause of heart disease. Hydrogenated oils and trans fats are heart attack starter. We suggest you make a strong effort to never ingest them!
What to eat instead?!
Monosaturated oils are neutral in your omega 6 and omega 3 oil balance. They tend to help keep your LDL low. Best of all, they tend to boost your levels of your protective HDL.
Their postive effects are not just theory either. Olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, and avocados are high in them. Study after study finds the people who eat them have far better health than people who do not. The people who eat the most of them and the least omega 6 oils have the very best health results.
The other kind of oil that produces good health benefits is omega 3 oils from fish or the algae the fish get them from. Wild caught fish not high in mercury and purified fish oil supplements are the two ways to get them now.
(Farmed fish have too much omega 6 and far less omega 3 oils. And, most of them have very high levels or organic pollutants. We urge you to take a pass on eating them.)
Omega 3 oils lower inflammation; they decrease depression, they lower irritability and excess hostility. And this works best if you get ample omega 3 and cut way back on omega 6 oils at the same time. Do this and you’ll feel better with fewer aches and pains. You’ll get along better with the people around you because you are less depressed and not as grouchy.
We will continue with part 2 later.
Here’s the 8 ways to protect your health. (This post above has been following up on the first method with what to do instead.)
There are many, many ways to stay healthy.
But I find these eight ways cover most of the best and most effective methods.
1. Avoid harmful foods and drinks.
2. Eat only foods that benefit you and your health – or at least do no harm.
3. Get regular exercise every week -- mostly doing the most beneficial kinds.
4. Take key supplements.
(For almost every one of the diseases that are in your family history or which millions of people now get or which will kill you if you get them, there are supplements known to prevent or help prevent those diseases.) Hopefully we will get to keep this one as it can add so much to your protection.
5. Avoid tobacco and its smoke.
(Even though they cause 30% of all cancers, some smokers escape cancer. But EVERY exposure to them begins to cause heart disease, damage your lungs, and increase your rate of aging. No one exposed to tobacco smoke escapes this harm! That includes light smokers, teen smokers, and babies exposed to second hand smoke.)
6. Practice some form of physical stress control most days.
(So far, tai chi looks to be the most effective and time efficient way to do this.)
7. Become a purposeful, playful, proactive, and prudent optimist.
(Such people make good things happen and avoid bad ones. Also learn ways to survive and overcome difficulties and bad times that happen anyway.)
8. Practice other key prevention steps. (Brush and floss your teeth and gums well every day. Always wear your seat belt. Get your key blood indicators checked so you don’t get harmed by a problem you could have fixed first. There are more. But those 3 are extremely protective.)
Covering these 8 will turn into a series since each one deserves its own post.
Today's Post: Monday, 9-12-2011
This is my second post in the 8 ways to stay healthy.
2. Eat only foods that benefit you and your health – or at least do no harm.
(We did the first one last Friday, 9-9: 1. Avoid harmful foods and drinks. And, we repost the list of all 8 ways at the end of today’s post.)
A. Refined grains tend to fatten you, give you heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The high omega 6 oils in them tend to boost chronic inflammation which also increases your aches and pains and even helps cause cancer.
But they are still everywhere. So far, most people don’t yet know never to eat them.
What makes sense to do instead to eat right and stay healthy??
> One way is to simply take a pass.
Don’t buy anything at the grocery store that contains them. Instead, buy nonstarchy and organic vegetables or fruit or health OK protein foods or nuts if you can get the raw and aren’t allergic. Or, make that thing at home yourself with only 100 % whole grains and other real foods. (That way you eat less and eating less of even whole grains is helpful with fat loss and avoiding harm from type 2 diabetes.)
Buy a sandwich and a piece of fruit or get two sandwiches. Then eat the insides of the sandwich or sandwiches only. That way the refined grain bread acts as a mess preventing but biodegradable wrapper only. But it no longer fattens you or harms your health.
Or, buy and pay for the whole sandwich but have them serve it on a plate, “Atkins style.” You can ask for extra onion or tomato slices or mustard or other veggies too.
Subway fast food sandwiches, if you only get water and Atkins-style sandwiches, is a great choice because they have mild peppers and many other kinds of vegetables which you can serve yourself to do this with.
> Another way is to eat less of all grains and only eat 100 % whole grain foods when you do.
As an example: try what I did to help me trim 10 to 15 pounds of fat. (I switched from eating oatmeal and milk every morning to eating it every other morning and eating 2 boiled eggs and enough cooked lentils to provide the same fiber as the oatmeal and as much protein as the milk and oatmeal.)
> Another way is to eat tiny bits of refined grain bread but only tiny servings or less and not often.
For example, when at a restaurant, they offer you refined grain bread while you are very hungry -- to eat while waiting for your order to arrive, try one of these:
Order a salad to be delivered ASAP instead and have them take the bread away.
Or, take one piece and cut off one or two much smaller pieces that are about the size of an eighth of the original piece. Then put just a bit of olive oil or even butter (but NOT margarine) on it. The calories are about the same. But you avoid the blood sugar surge from the refined grain bread that you would have gotten. And if the restaurant is upscale enough to have olive oil or butter from cows fed only grass, you also eat less omega 6 oils.
Order your glass of wine to be delivered right away. Then sip it and savor it and talk the person you are with. Soon you will feel enough of a buzz that being hungry is way less hassle and waiting for your main order is easy.
(I’ve done each of these.)
Another example is when you are at a party or other event and there are dips and things to dip with. Focus on eating the dips made from health OK ingredients such as salsa or guacamole or hummus or fat reduced Greek yogurt. Then use broccoli florets or carrot sticks or cauliflower florets all or most of the time instead of the refined grain crackers. Apple or zucchini slices also work.
(My wife and I often bring the veggies and a variety of health OK dips to family events to make sure we and everyone else there has access to doing this.)
You can also use this strategy with peanut butter with nothing in it but peanuts or almond butter as a dip instead of as a sandwich.
Another way to go is to have ONE piece of bread made from 100 % whole grains instead of two pieces of refined grain bread.
B. Many people use oils that are cheap and which are excessively high in omega 6 oils such as corn oil, soy oil, canola oil, and safflower oils. Or they eat a lot of meat or dairy fat from animals fed only grains like corn which then deliver as much of omega 6 oils in excess. (Also note that something like 95 % or more of the plants these are from are genetically modified plants. I’ve read this is true of corn, soy, and canola oils; but have no information on safflower oil. On the other hand, safflower oil has the most omega 6 oils in it!)
These oils boost chronic inflammation, help cause heart disease, and even help cause cancer and possibly Alzheimer’s disease. They both boost inflammation and lower your protective HDL in the case of heart disease.
Even worse is when the food manufacturer uses these oils but then hydrogenates them to make the more butter like and have a longer shelf life. Hydrogenated oils also cause your HDL to go down. But they are even worse because they cause your body to make a lot more of the dangerous small particle LDL that is a direct cause of heart disease. Hydrogenated oils and trans fats are heart attack starter. We suggest you make a strong effort to never ingest them!
What to eat instead?!
Monosaturated oils are neutral in your omega 6 and omega 3 oil balance. They tend to help keep your LDL low. Best of all, they tend to boost your levels of your protective HDL.
Their postive effects are not just theory either. Olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, and avocados are high in them. Study after study finds the people who eat them have far better health than people who do not. The people who eat the most of them and the least omega 6 oils have the very best health results.
The other kind of oil that produces good health benefits is omega 3 oils from fish or the algae the fish get them from. Wild caught fish not high in mercury and purified fish oil supplements are the two ways to get them now.
(Farmed fish have too much omega 6 and far less omega 3 oils. And, most of them have very high levels or organic pollutants. We urge you to take a pass on eating them.)
Omega 3 oils lower inflammation; they decrease depression, they lower irritability and excess hostility. And this works best if you get ample omega 3 and cut way back on omega 6 oils at the same time. Do this and you’ll feel better with fewer aches and pains. You’ll get along better with the people around you because you are less depressed and not as grouchy.
We will continue with part 2 later.
Here’s the 8 ways to protect your health. (This post above has been following up on the first method with what to do instead.)
There are many, many ways to stay healthy.
But I find these eight ways cover most of the best and most effective methods.
1. Avoid harmful foods and drinks.
2. Eat only foods that benefit you and your health – or at least do no harm.
3. Get regular exercise every week -- mostly doing the most beneficial kinds.
4. Take key supplements.
(For almost every one of the diseases that are in your family history or which millions of people now get or which will kill you if you get them, there are supplements known to prevent or help prevent those diseases.) Hopefully we will get to keep this one as it can add so much to your protection.
5. Avoid tobacco and its smoke.
(Even though they cause 30% of all cancers, some smokers escape cancer. But EVERY exposure to them begins to cause heart disease, damage your lungs, and increase your rate of aging. No one exposed to tobacco smoke escapes this harm! That includes light smokers, teen smokers, and babies exposed to second hand smoke.)
6. Practice some form of physical stress control most days.
(So far, tai chi looks to be the most effective and time efficient way to do this.)
7. Become a purposeful, playful, proactive, and prudent optimist.
(Such people make good things happen and avoid bad ones. Also learn ways to survive and overcome difficulties and bad times that happen anyway.)
8. Practice other key prevention steps. (Brush and floss your teeth and gums well every day. Always wear your seat belt. Get your key blood indicators checked so you don’t get harmed by a problem you could have fixed first. There are more. But those 3 are extremely protective.)
Covering these 8 will turn into a series since each one deserves its own post.
Labels: how to eat right, how to stop eating fattening and harmful foods, what to eat instead of harmful foods
posted by David at 2:15 PM
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