Top Ten Dietary Choices for Health and Longevity

I love food. It is one of my favorite subjects. I love eating, shopping for and preparing it. But it has to be REAL food. Good, clean, natural, whole. Because Americans have become accustomed to a fast and processed food diet, I’d venture to say many people have never been exposed to a steady diet of pure, clean, unprocessed food.

As a nation, we have become sick and suffer all kinds of chronic illness. Much is related to diet and lifestyle, and can be reversed by simply making different choices. I’d like to address the issue of food.

Let’s face it- you ARE what you eat. There is absolutely no way you can thrive on a nutritionally deplete, processed food diet. Making healthy choices isn’t all that difficult. Here are my top ten to help get you on the right track.

Drink water! I am amazed at the number of people who drink little or no water. People are chronically dehydrated! Many health conditions can improve by simply replacing junk liquids like HFCS laden sodas and juices with clean water. Filter or purify your water. A good purifier is well worth the investment.

Eat clean meat and dairy. If you choose to eat meat, make sure it is grass-fed or organically raised. Animals from factory farms are loaded with hormones, antibiotics, fed diets that are unnatural, and live in filthy conditions. They are often sick and diseased. What do you think ends up in your meat and milk? This treatment is inexcusable, but it is where most of our animal products come from. Vote with your pocketbook for your health, and for farmers who raise animals humanely.

Stay away from fast, processed and packaged foods. See my previous blog.

Eat organic fruits and vegetables. Eat with every meal and as snacks. They are loaded with nutrients that nourish your body and help prevent disease. Organic food may cost more, but is a better value for your money because it is higher in nutritional content and does not add the additional chemical burden to your body.

Lose your fear of fat! Healthy fats DO NOT make you fat. Healthy fats are good for your brain and your metabolism, among other things. Use oils like olive, coconut, flax and butter.

Eat more raw food. Cooking and processing destroys many nutrients. Eating raw allows the real taste of the food to come out!

Get rid of your microwave. A sure way to destroy and denature food is to zap it in a microwave oven.

Take a good multi-vitamin, preferably made from whole foods. It is hard for even the most disciplined eater to get the right amount of nutrients every day. Buy your multi from a reputable company. Don’t buy one made from cheap synthetics that your body can’t absorb or you really will be flushing them down the toilet!

Read labels on EVERYTHING you buy. Don’t just grab something off the shelf that says “natural” or go for the sale item. You might be shocked to find out what is really in your food.

Prepare your foods from scratch at home. Make meal preparation and planning a family activity, then sit down together as a family and enjoy the taste of real food. Savor each bite and thank God for His provision. It may take some adjusting of schedules, but it is a habit well worth developing.

Begin by incorporating one or a few at a time, adding more as you develop better habits. Once you start to feel better (and you will), you will be motivated to continue. There is no substitute for real food. There is no shortcut to health when in comes to eating. You ARE what you eat, so make it something good!

Ann Finelli

Marketing and PR