15 Rules of Healthy Living

Following these tips will help in your achievement of optimal health and wellness

Remove all unnatural sources of sugar from your life. (Table sugar, brown sugar, HFCS, corn syrup, confectioners' sugar, maple syrup, etc...) Sugar acts as a poison that causes inflammation to our arteries and veins leading to heart disease, atherosclerosis and of course diabetes. Sugar in natural live foods does not have this effect.
Remove all refined and processed foods from your life. (most boxed or canned flour based products) Breads, pastas and cereals should be organic whole grain selections. Refined flours (those that say enriched, bleached, flour, wheat flour, bromated, multigrain and unbleached are refined) have the same effect on the body that added sugars do because they are simple carbohydrates and are absorbed into the body as blood sugar very quickly leading to the same disease potential and weight gain. These types of grains can get you into a vicious cycle of wanting to eat more and more of them. It becomes a carbohydrate addiction that can be hard to break!
Replace frying with sauteing, baking, grilling or broiling. Use safflower oil, olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil or coconut oil.
Replace flour based foods with "Whole Grain" choices. (first ingredient in the list should say whole grain)
Eat foods as close to nature in their raw state as possible (fresh or frozen). If you must eat canned vegetables please rinse well.
Eat a diet rich in variety. Include as many colors of vegetables (70% of your diet should be vegetables and fruits) fruits and grains, nuts and seeds every day. Limit nuts and seeds to 1 to 2 oz. per day. Add ground flax seed to your diet, 2 tbs. daily to ensure you get plenty of Omega 3 fatty acids. These are essential for heart health, pain reduction, hormone regulation and nerve health.
Limit saturated fats and totally eliminate trans fats from your diet. Include polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats which are very healthy for you in moderation. Olive oil is a monounsaturated oil and most nuts contain a good source of monounsaturated oils. The Omega 3 Polyunsaturated oils come from walnuts, flax seed and cold water fish such as salmon, sardines, trout, halibut and cod. Ground Flax seed is the best sources of vegetative Omega 3 Fatty Acids and in my opinion the best source for it daily. Flax seed also provides lignans which may help prevent certain types of cancers. I do not recommend fish oils or flax oils because when you receive the oil or fatty acid from its natural food source you receive additional nutrients that are contained in the food that we need. Omega 6 Polyunsaturated fatty acids are very prevalent in our vegetables and are seldom deficient in our diet. You need extra Omega 3 to balance the ration to a 2 to 1 Omega 6 to Omega 3. Your SATURATED FAT intake should not exceed 10% of your calories. Example a 2,000 calorie intake should have no more than 200 calories from saturated fat. At 9 calories per gram of fat that would mean you should limit your intake of saturated fat to less than 22 grams per day. 3.5 ounces of cheddar cheese has 21 grams of saturated fat, 3.5 ounces of cream cheese has 28 grams.
Eliminate or reduce the intake of animal proteins. According to the China Study (the longest running nutritional health study every conducted) the intake of animal protein that exceeds more than 10% of our daily protein intake leads to the potential activation of cancer causing genes. Interestingly the consumption of plant proteins had no negative effect on genetic expression. Study after study showed that by increasing the intake of casein (milk protein) in the diet to more than 10% of the protein daily intake over longer periods of time the casein activated cancerous genes allowing them the potential to express as disease. When the casein was reduced to less than 10% of dietary intake the cancer promoting gene was turned off and would not express itself. Personally I do not recommend animal proteins. If a meat must be consumed then cold water fish such as salmon, halibut, cod, steelhead, trout and sardines are the preferred choice. However understand that you raise your risk of elevated mercury levels along with other excito-toxins.
Eliminate dairy products(cheese, milk and creams) from your daily diet. Replace with Almond milk or Rice milk. The casein protein in dairy milk is very hard to digest and stays active in the body causing the body's PH to become to acidic. This causes the body to leach calcium from bones and teeth to lower the PH to a health promoting level. The leaching of the calcium from bone is a leading cause of osteoporosis. I do not consume dairy products and do not recommend them. There are healthy dairy alternatives to choose from.
Get plenty of water every day, 80 ounces over 24 hours. Hydration is very important to health and assist in the removal of toxins and from the body. It is required in every metabolic activity. If you are ill, exercise intensely or sweat profusely you will need additional water. A good rule of thumb is 1/2 ounce of water per pound of body weight.
Supplement your diet with a good whole food supplement that addresses the seven key areas of nutrition required for vibrant health. (ask for our suggestions)
Move more every day. Exercise is very important in delivering the nutrients we consume to every cell in our body and primes the lymph system pumping toxins out of our bodies. In addition exercise increases our metabolic rate helping to burn more calories (weight-loss) and will increase our bodies' efficiency in using utilizing oxygen, increasing our overall fitness level. To lose weight and build health we need to have a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate exercise 5 days per week.
Get a minimum of 20 minutes of fresh air and sunshine daily.
If you smoke, quit.
Avoid or eliminate caffeinated and alcoholic beverages from your diet. If you must drink limit them to no more than one alcoholic beverage per day for females and 2 for males. Other than red wine there is not enough nutritional value in alcoholic beverages to include them in your diet. They actually rob your body of nutrients. I do not recommend alcoholic beverages.