In this article, I will be talking about 1 Pillar of Health - Diet, and what you can do to have this foundation. These foundations is an awesome start to work towards your health goals, but if you have other underlying conditions, this is the first step. To accelerate your health journey and make sure you are going in the right direction, book an appointment with someone you trust and can work with.
Diet
When you look at your plate, does it look plain? How many colours do you see? It is important to have as many colours as possible on your plate to fill in the gaps in nutrition that each portion has. Eat the rainbow of plants that nature provides - that way you can get a number of different phytonutrients from all of them. For example, blueberries are very rich in anthocyanes, which is a strong antioxidant, and it is found in that nice blue, red, or purple pigment found in berries. Whereas, dark leafy greens provide a lot of minerals and vitamins, such as magnesium found in the chlorophyll of plants, which aren’t found in the same concentrations in berries.
Do you have some sort of protein on your plate? Then you need protein to help your body produce the vital things your body uses to function, like receptors, and enzymes. It also helps you maintain your energy throughout the day. If you notice you have an energy crash in the afternoon? Ask yourself if your breakfast and lunch have protein, and if it doesn't, add some in. You'll notice that you experience these crashes less often.
Lastly, fats are very important in terms of energy and satiety. There are several fat receptors in your stomach, and if you are able to bind all of them to fat molecules - from healthy fats - then you are telling your body that you have had enough food, and that you don’t need to eat any more. You become full longer, and you give your body the building blocks it needs to make the cellular membranes in your body, as well as hormones. Just make sure you are eating health fats, such as olive oil, nuts, coconut oil, fish oil, etc.
Picture from Bauman College
Happy eating!
~ Dr. Charmagne