Which Diet is Best for You?

February 1, 2016December 10, 2018Diet

Total1
0
1
0
Like

Share via

It appears we are enduring diet wars among several fronts where individuals are urging others what to eat on a regular basis based on their experiences. There’s raw vegan, vegan, vegetarian, Paleo, and Macrobiotic and others from which to choose.

While it’s true that any one of them can be a lifesaver for particular conditions and some will prosper using any one of them on a daily basis, it’s time to call a truce with these food fights and realize that everyone is different and exactly what to eat is determined by various individual factors.

The Constants Among All the Diet Choices

The only constants among diet choices should be GMO free and organic as much as possible, with substitutes among the EWG’s (Environmental Working Group) “Clean 15”. Both the “Dirty Dozen”, of which all items should be organic, and the “Clean 15” that carry the least amount of pesticides are on this list.

Widget not in any sidebars

Other dietary items to avoid are processed foods that use artificial sweeteners or added sugars, especially HFCS (high fructose corn syrup or corn syrup), flavor enhancers MSG with its several food industry aliases meant to slip their products by discerning foodies.

Yes, we all need to read those labels closely. Rule of thumb – be very wary of polysyllabic chemical ingredients that are difficult to pronounce.

Refined table salt is stripped of its trace minerals, leaving 90 percent sodium with traces of the toxic chemicals used for bleaching. Real unrefined sea salt is 50 percent sodium and the other half is loaded with vital trace minerals that many eating SAD (standard American Diet) are lacking.

Iodine is no longer added to refined table salt, so it’s a good idea to supplement iodine for several reasons.

Dr. Harvey Wiley, as head of the Bureau of Chemistry, the precursor to our FDA, had attempted to ban chemically bleaching wheat to create white flour in the early 20th Century. He quit in disgust because no effort was made to enforce his ban. The toxic chemicals used for bleaching wheat tend to become part of the bread even though they’re not listed as ingredients.

In France and other parts of Europe, they use direct sunlight exposure to create those white flours. And most European nations, Brazil, Canada, and the UK have banned an item that’s in most USA baked goods, potassium bromate or bromide. It has a nasty habit of displacing iodine from our thyroid glands and more.

So it’s wise to find a local bakery that doesn’t use bromides to bake their goods, even breads. Surprisingly, Whole Foods items baked on location are not brominated. You have to get them straight from the bakery counter and not off their store shelves. Sprouted grain breads are usually bromide free as well.

Ignore the saturated fats nonsense. As long as they are organic and/or cold pressed, items like coconut oil, butter, eggs, raw milk or cheeses, and the fats in organic humanely treated livestock meats are healthy if those items are part of your chosen diet.

Another rule of thumb is how you feel after eating. If you are aware of any gastric issues, bloating, gas, or inappropriate tiredness, you’ve pushed your digestive limits beyond what’s necessary. Chronically poor digestion leads to other more serious long-term ailments.

It could be how you eat: too fast, too much, and within a crappy environment, or it could be you need to avoid certain foods. But antacids are not the solution. Your stomach probably needs more acid, which HCL supplements or a little apple cider vinegar with water provides just before eating.

Determining Foods You Should Eat Most of the Time

There are different approaches for determining one’s individualized diet. The oldest is an essential part of Ayurveda with 5,000 plus years of action with upholding health. Ayurveda prescribes a list of foods to imbibe and/or avoid according to the practitioner’s assessment of one’s body and psychological profile. Its focus is on maximizing digestion and nutrient absorption.

Ayurveda describes focuses on three mind-body types called doshas. Many of us operate with combination of two or all three with the emphasis on one. If you can’t find an Ayurvedic doctor in your area, here’s a self test that may help you determine your body and psychological type to help you determine what foods to include and which to refuse.