Diet - eating better, feeling better
Diet - the Next Step: In the previous article, “Diet: sickness, fatigue, and depression,” we talked about the increased amount of sugar in your diet and the pervasive impact of excess sugar on your health.
Nutritionist Mary Carmody says clients have had their lives dramatically improved by reducing their consumption of fructose-laden processed products. “I had one girl come to me and she said I saved her life. She was feeling down and I zoned in on ‘mood foods.’ I got her off sugar, and eating proper real whole food meals, and her mood changed dramatically.”
The result of eating should be energy and vitality. If what you eat leaves you fatigued, unsatisfied, or still hungry then it didn’t give you energy but depleted you. When we eat over-sweetened and processed foods, we take in calories but not the fuel we need to feel our best.
Eating whole foods that include lots of vegetables, a small amount of protein, as well as high fibre, low glycemic fruits will make you feel good, look good, and give you sustained energy.
Taking an inventory Ask yourself, “How am I feeling right now?” And then review what you have eaten in the last 24 hours. This can give you great insight into how foods affect you personally, on all levels.
According to nutritionist Mary Carmody, “It’s all about small changes. You don’t have to change everything. Have a food diary. Instead of chocolate with your tea mid-morning, have an apple or a pear or berries. Nuts are fabulous. Have a few almonds. Chew everything well.”
Choosing nutritious foods There are so many good foods to choose from that are quick to prepare, eat, and elevate your mood and energy:
- Eat lots of vegetables to ensure you are eating an alkaline forming diet.
- Choose rich, deeply colourful organic foods like avocado, hummus, wild salmon, nuts, cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, sprouts, asparagus, beets, carrots, cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, chickpeas, chicken, turkey, eggs, and also miso or bone broth soup.
- Include superfoods to add high sources of protein, vitamins, and minerals, such as barley grass, wheat grass, seaweeds, alfalfa, chlorella, spirulina, sunflower, lecithin, ginger, cinnamon, enzymes, and probiotics which will help to alkalize, feed and protect your cells.
- Vitamin B-enriched foods are noted for their mood-enhancing properties, as are nuts and pumpkin seeds, which are rich in magnesium. Magnesium is thought to alleviate symptoms of depression.
- Eat foods that increase your good fats, including avocados, chia, and flax seeds, which have a mood elevating effect.
Eating foods that are high in natural omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, flax seeds, chia seeds, and grass-fed meats are especially great for your health. Omega-3 fatty acids help maintain cardiovascular health, stabilize blood sugar, reduce inflammation, balance cholesterol levels, improve mood, sharpen concentration, boost immunity, and even reduce the risk of cancer. So turn your sugar blues around by feeding your brain with foods high in omega-3’s.
These foods will fuel your body and brain!
Going forward Your health is your most important asset. Choose to eat foods rich in nutrients that heal, repair, and rejuvenate your body. You will never regret taking steps to fill the energy gap you may have experienced to date, a gap created as a result of a sugar-intensive diet.
Keeping your brain alert and energetic is well worth the discipline it takes to reach for foods that truly fuel you, rather than foods that fatigue you.
Kellyann
