Nutrition

Eating Your Way to Health

The selection of the right food is of utmost importance in your journey to good health. So what can you eat? A diet rich in grains, vegetables, legumes, fruit, nuts, and seeds is key for a life changing experience. Whole grains and unprocessed foods are rich in minerals, vitamins, and fiber. These micronutrients are very important in maintaining the body in a state of good health.

Studies have shown that because of the fiber content in whole grains, when consumed, digestion is much slower than it is for processed food. This means that there is little or no high blood sugar surge, thus, blood sugar levels are maintained at normal or near normal. A diet rich in whole grains will promote better diabetes control and may even lead to reversal of diabetes mellitus.

A good diet should also consist of plenty of vegetables and fruits. Diabetic patients should be selective of the types of fruits they consume (berries, kiwi, and grapes) are a great choice. It is important to consume 3-5 servings of fruit and 3-5 servings of vegetables daily. Be sure to mix different colors of vegetables to optimize variation of nutrients. Foods such as tomatoes, pepper, eggplant, mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, and zucchini have very little calories but are rich in micronutrients. Therefore, the consumption of these foods can be unlimited. These vegetables boost protection against heart disease, cancer, and most importantly, because of the low calorie content, it protect us against diabetes.

The Healthy Eating Pyramid

Nuts and Seeds

Studies show that raw nuts and seeds are high in micronutrients such as minerals and antioxidants which protect the endothelium lining of the blood vessels. It is also believed that nuts and seed will increase HDL (good cholesterol) and help lower total cholesterol and LDL (bad cholesterol). The positive effects that nuts and seeds have on blood vessel lining and cholesterol, helps protect against cardiovascular death and leads to a longer life span.

Healthy Food Pantry

Your kitchen pantry should have the best food to ensure the proper health for you and your family. The best way to be healthy is to stock up on the good things. Below we provide our recommended list by category. Everything listed below can be purchased at your local grocer. Natural, raw, and organic is ideal.

Meal Planning and Establishing Good Habits

SAY YES TO:

• 
  Corns
• 
  Potatoes
• 
  Vegetables
• 
  Water
• 
  A meal for breakfast

WHOLE GRAINS

Barley, brown rice, corn Wheat, oats, rye, whole grain, pasta

LEGUMES AND TUBES

Peas, lentils, chickpeas, sweet potatoes

SPROUTS AND VEGETABLES

Vegetables (Avoid canned foods)

WATER

Drink 8-10 glasses of water daily

BREAKFAST

Start your day like a king with a good breakfast

SAY NO TO:

• 
  Fries and Burritos
• 
  Meat served in a dish
• 
  Sea Food served in a dish
• 
  Alcoholic Drinks

FATS AND OILS

Use as little fat as possible both in cooking and in salad, limit fatty meats and fried foods

CHOLESTEROL FOODS

Strictly limit meats, eggs, and dairy products

SALTS

Use minimum salts. Sea salt gives more minerals

ALCOHOL

Strictly eliminate all forms of alcohol and caffeinated beverages like coffee, cola, and cokes

As you begin your day, it is important to remove old, bad habits from your daily routine. We will tell you what to “Say Yes To” and what to “Say No To” (see the following page to learn more). We are confident that you can build your willpower and take an active part in improving your entire life.

According to the experts, your brain is wired based on your habitual actions. Whenever you do a task repeatedly, and especially for many years, your brain maps pathways that cause you to often act without thinking. However, the good news is you can rewire your brain. You don’t have to be stuck in gear.

To break a bad habit, you will need to change the bad habit and replace it with a good habit. That may sound simple, but we understand that it is very difficult, if you have been following these bad habits for years. It is even more complicated if you sustained an injury or had a major life changing event that got you off track in your life. “There is a mysterious connection between the mind and the body.”

Take heart, you can make it! As long as you have life there is hope! Here is a formula for you to try. For a minimum of three times a day, for three days consecutively, stop the bad habit and replace it with the right habit. You will see enormous changes. You can actually bring about change in your brain by introducing a good habit perpetually for around three days. The first place to begin your change process is in your eating habits. In the following pages you will be introduced to our Sample Meal Plan. To make it easy for you, we are providing you with every meal you need for 14 days. This will assist you in reinforcing changes in your eating habits. You will need to purpose in your heart to stick with the plan! In our support group meetings we will tell you how to shop and what to remove from your refrigerator. You must remove things out of your sight that tempt you to relapse. When you have gone through this 14 day period, you will be equipped to take more control and design your own meal plans.

Nutrition Facts:

Review the calorie count table below. Avoid high calorie foods and Fast Foods.

Nutrition Risk Factors

Nutrition was the leading cause of early death. Researchers broke nutrition risk factors into two groups: