Nutrition Program: Food To Include And Eliminate In Your Diet Plan

Have you decided on a New Year’s Resolution yet? New year is a timely event for change – new look, new attitude, and perhaps new nutrition program. The way to a better life is having good health. So for 2014, why don’t you follow a healthier lifestyle if you have not done it yet?

In our last blog on Nutrition Program, we wrote about fasting as a way of reversing unhealthy eating plan and aging process. With this blog, we’ll discuss about what food we should eat and or eliminate from our diet to complete our new nutrition program.

Nutrition Program: The Benefits of Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Intake

It is no secret that fruits and vegetables are the major sources of vitamins and minerals needed by the body. There are a myriad of benefits you can gain from eating fruits and vegetables. Aside from weight loss or maintained body figure, increasing fruit and vegetable intake in your nutrition program gives you better skin, wards off heart diseases and improves the health of your brain.

Better Skin

Fruits and vegetables in general are rich in water, trace minerals and antioxidants that fight off free radicals that cause ageing and multiple serious illnesses. Both the skin and hair need particular vitamins and minerals to remain supple, nourished and glowing. According to Scottish researchers, Mother Nature gives healthy skin through fruits and vegetables. In fact, the changes in the yellowness and redness of skin in Caucasians can be attributed to the amount of fruit and vegetables they eat every day.

There are three significant trace minerals needed for healthy skin, which include zinc, silica, and sulfur. Foods rich in antioxidants are extremely vital for the body to balance the oxidative stress it comes across every day and to protect the skin cells from free-radical damages.

What are the fruits and vegetables that are good for the skin?

• Sweet potatoes, which contains vitamin C that helps prevent and heal acne, and vitamin A that helps keep inflammation and acne-causing bacteria at bay.  Sweet potatoes should be included in the diet plan as part of the entire nutrition program.
• Apples have vitamin C that helps keep the skin toned and firmed. It thwarts free-radical damages, protects the skin and holds up the signs of ageing.
• Pumpkin seeds are packed with zinc, which is essential in creating new skin cells and aiding protein synthesis and collagen formation. It also adds brightness to skin complexion and controls the production of oil in the skin.
• Carrots are high in vitamin C and beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A.
• Beets are great sources of anthocyanins. It’s a powerful antioxidant that trims down inflammation and slows down the process of ageing, like preventing wrinkles to manifest at an early stage.  Very few are aware that beets are good for the skin; thus should be included in the nutrition program.
• Mashed strawberries blended with yoghurt or avocados and honey are great for healthy, radiant skin.
• Tomatoes are known to have lycopene – an antioxidant that functions as sunscreen from within. It also has anti-ageing properties that help keep skin look youthful. Since tomatoes are acidic in nature, applying the pulp on pimples cause the skin to dry and tightened.
• Lemons are packed with vitamin C that plays a vital role in collagen synthesis. Using it both internally and externally can give benefits to the body and the skin. When applied on skin, it helps cure scar.
• The extract of Amla is packed with vitamin A, which is important in collagen production. When consumed on an empty stomach, the properties of Amla help slow down collagen degradation.
• Cucumbers are a good source of vitamin C, water and silica – a trace mineral needed for healthy connective tissue and skin.
• Radishes have water and sulfur that promote detoxification. This vegetable helps the liver process contaminants and produce bile. Radishes also have vitamin C, zinc, B vitamins and phosphorus.
• Spinach is loaded with vitamin C, chlorophyll, folate and magnesium that act as a booster for the skin. It is very rich in antioxidants such as lutein, zeaxanthin, and carotenoids that are good in scavenging oxidants and protecting against oxidative stress.

Healthy Heart

Because fruits and vegetables are low in fat and high in fiber, they help control blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends incorporating at least eight servings of fruits and vegetables in the daily nutrition program. With the 2,000 caloric requirements, adults need to aim for 4.5 cups of fruits and vegetables every day.

Better Brain Function

When free-radical molecules exceed the antioxidants in the body, oxidative stress becomes damaging. It implicates the development and progression of cognitive decline, brain aging, and Alzheimer’s disease. Eating lots of fruits and vegetables helps maintain a good supply of antioxidants that will neutralize free radicals, protect cells, support a healthy brain, reduce oxidative stress, and protect against dementia.

Free radicals increase with age. They cause our tissues to become stiff; thus limiting their functions. Free radical damages cause the arteries to harden, arthritis to occur, and other life threatening diseases to take place.  The good news though is that free radicals can be fought off with antioxidants that can be taken from a variety of fruits and vegetables. Since the goal of this nutrition program is to promote better and more sustainable healthy lifestyle, putting fruits and vegetables in the plan as priority is essential.

Nutrition Program: The Synergy of Nutrients

Some nutrients work with synergetic mates. For example, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) needs to be converted into pyridoxal-5-phosphate to become useful in the body. The conversion is done by enzymes dependent on zinc and magnesium.

Another example is the interplay of antioxidant nutrients such as vitamins C and E, betacarotene, glutathione, lipoic acid, Co-enzyme Q10 and anthocyanidins. These nutrients have much more effect when they work together. They are like team players.

To take full advantage of the nutrients you get from fruits and vegetables, it is ncessary to consume as much from the entire colour spectrum. Everything is nutritious and should be included in your nutrition program!

 Nutrition Program: Foods that should be Eliminated from the Diet

Processed Carbohydrates

Forget about low-carb diets! Your body needs carbohydrates to function anyway. An extensive study about low-carb diet has yet to be done to prove whether this theory works or not. But practically speaking, who on earth survives a busy day with low carbohydrates? Those individuals who might have succeeded could be asking for an illness to take place. Eating enough amounts of carbohydrates can be easily burn as you do your normal daily routine. Putting carbohydrates in your nutrition program is practical in sustaining your workout and other daily activities. Aside from rice, potatoes and grains, you can get good carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables. These are the healthiest foods you can eat.

Animal Protein and Milk

Research shows milk is unhealthy, unlike the common belief. It appears that countries that consume cow’s milk have the highest rate of hip fracture in women. Excessive rate of hip fractures is typically considered a reliable sign of osteoporosis and calcium loss. The researchers from the Yale University authored a research report in 1992 presenting a strong link between bone fracture in women and animal protein intake. There were 34 separate surveys conducted in 16 countries among women subjects, aging 50 and above. The results show an impressive rate of 70% of fracture that’s attributable to animal protein consumption. Unlike plant protein, animal protein increases the load of acid in the body and to neutralize it, the body utilises calcium as a base. However in this process, the calcium is pulled from the bones causing calcium loss, resulting in bone weakening and making it vulnerable to fracture. Milk contains both animal protein and a high level of calcium. The United States and other milk-consuming countries like New Zealand, Finland and Australia have higher rates of hip fracture across the world compared to other countries.

On top of calcium, we need more magnesium in the body with a ratio of 1:2. However, the western diet does not have enough magnesium. Some of the important functions of magnesium include, but not limited to protein production, energy transportation and muscle relaxation and contraction. This mineral can be easily consumed from all the green vegetables around us, being the center of chlorophyll, and from all other types of vegetables and fruits like banana, avocado and apricot. You can also get a good amount of calcium from green vegetables like broccoli, spinach and kale and from fruits like oranges.

Processed Foods and White Sugar

Any food that is processed is unhealthy because the natural nutrients are already gone along the process and synthetic ingredients, preservatives and other chemicals are added into processed foods. White sugar is an empty food that is addictive and unhealthy because:

•  It increases the body’s acidity level,
• It spikes insulin
• It slows down the immune system
• It promotes yeast infections
• It increases triglycerides – the fat in the blood – leading to obesity
• It encourages stress and
• It damages the teeth.

So, if you are using refined sugar in your nutrition plan, switch to organic unrefined one or alternative such as stevia. Fizzy drinks and powered juice contain refined sugars, so you might as well exclude them from your nutrition program.

In summary, your nutrition program must be a plant, whole food based diet. With fruits and vegetables from the whole spectrum, you will get all the needed nutrients, trace minerals, water, even carbohydrates that boost up your needed caloric intake.

The general consensus suggests eating at least a variety of 5 fruits and vegetables. The truth is that we actually need something like 10 portions daily which can be really challenging; thus no point in suggesting. However, you can compensate by juicing every day or by opting for an easier solution and take whole food supplements. I personally would not recommend anything else than what I have tried myself. I found a great alternative in Juice Plus because each capsule already contains 26 kinds of fruits, vegetables, berries and grapes in a day; with all the sugar, water, salt and fiber removed during preparation. Extensive scientific studies conducted around the product say that their contents are well absorbed by the body. The level of anti-oxidants increases considerably while toxic substances decrease in just a week. You can never eat enough of what Mother Nature offers to us. Take advantage of all the variety and make it a lifestyle. Your body, brain and spirit will reward you for it.