The Principles of a Healthy Diet Here’s a quick overview of what constitutes a healthy diet, what to eat and what to avoid. Regardless of your preferences these principles will help keep you on the right course. Note: This is a general overview of what you want to incorporate into a healing, disease preventing diet. This overview does not take specific conditions into consideration.

• Eliminate refined “whites” which include refined sugar, white flour, and white rice, etc. This includes foods like white bread, pasta, white tortillas, and baked foods. White, processed flour works in the body in the same way as white sugar.
• Consume whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, and barley. Also, choose whole grain breads and pastas. These foods are nutrient-rich and provide a good source of dietary fiber.
• Eliminate Refined and Artificial Sweeteners, which includes white sugar, brown sugar, pasteurized honey, corn syrup, or foods or drinks containing them. Sugar slows healing, accelerates tissue breakdown, aggravates symptoms, and deteriorates overall health.
• Eliminate Damaged Fats. This includes heated polyunsaturated oils, margarine, hydrogenated oils (i.e., vegetable shortening) or foods containing them. Deep-fried foods are off-limits because the high heat destroys the fat's health properties and they are usually made with vegetable oils or hydrogenated oils.
• Use traditional “hard-to-damage” fats and oils in cooking and baking including butter and/or ghee (organic from grass-fed cows) extra virgin olive oil, expeller-pressed nut oils (walnut, sesame) and the tropical oils coconut and palm.
• Eat clean, naturally raised meats and animal products grown without hormones, antibiotics, and chemical-filled feed. This includes fish, seafood, poultry, eggs, and grass-fed beef, lamb, game.
• Eat whole, naturally-produced milk products from pasture-fed cows, preferably raw and/or fermented, such as whole yogurt, cultured butter, and whole (raw) cheeses. Choose full-fat varieties over low- or non-fat. Butterfat is in milk for a reason. In fact, without it, the body cannot absorb and utilize the vitamins and minerals found in this food.
• Eliminate or Minimize Unhealthy Beverages. This includes soda, coffee, processed teas, alcohol, and untreated water. Also fruit juice, which is a concentrated source of sugar.
• Drink pure, filtered water. It’s is your best beverage and necessary for optimal body function. Herbal teas can be healthful. There are also some cleaner, more natural sodas on the market that are good to substitute when the soda urge arises.
• Eat fresh vegetables and fruits, preferably organic, in salads and soups, or lightly steamed.
• Eat "super foods" like cod liver oil, Brewer’s yeast, spirulina, bee pollen, raw wheat germ, and kelp.
• Consume fermented foods like tempeh, sauerkraut, raw vinegar, fermented vegetables, full-fat plain yogurt.
• Use sea salt and other natural seasonings and assorted (non-irradiated) herbs and spices.
And finally....
• Personalize your diet to fit your unique biochemistry and lifestyle.What is YOUR best diet? There is no one diet suitable for everybody. The concept of biochemical uniqueness and personalized nutrition has been around for centuries. Taking the above principle factors into consideration can help in your healing process as well as in overall health and disease prevention. But ULTIMATELY - your body is still your best nutrition guide. You will need to pay attention to your own moods, feelings, and sensations when you eat different foods. Keeping a food diary may be a good idea.

The right foods can be a powerful medicine when it comes to the inflammation and pain associated with injuries. On the other hand, the wrong foods can exasperate symptoms and discomfort. Inflammation is your body’s way of increasing blood flow to an injury, bringing in nutrients that heal and white blood cells to swallow germs. While the natural response of inflammation is an important part of the body’s strategy to repair damage, excessive amounts can result in accelerated tissue deterioration and a slowing of the overall healing process. Keeping the following in mind will help control inflammation and pain as well as promote healing.

Foods to Emphasize Emphasize a whole foods diet. Choose and eat foods in their natural, whole form, or as close to how they occur in nature as possible. This means limit over-processed foods, which are often found in bags, boxes, or cans.

Increase omega-3 fatty acids, through foods like wild, cold-water fish, walnuts, grass-fed meats, eggs, and flaxseeds.

• Look for DHA rich eggs. Although eggs have some DHA, some egg producers will add DHA-rich marine algae into the hens’ feed, which naturally passes into their eggs. This makes the eggs more powerful at helping to control inflammation due to their fatty acid content.
• Use flaxseed meal generously. For optimum freshness, grind flaxseed as needed (a blender or mini-food processor work well). Sprinkle it over hot or cold cereal, soups, salads, rice, fruit, cooked vegetables or add it to cottage cheese, applesauce, yogurt, smoothies, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, spaghetti sauce, burgers, meatloaf, or granola.
• Eat grass-fed, naturally raised cattle graze on nutrient rich grass, which gives the end product a beneficial essential fatty acid ratio. Conventionally raised cattle are fed foods like corn and soy that they are not designed to eat.
• Consume copious amounts of vegetables, and fruits-especially berries, preferably organic. If fresh berries are not available or are too expensive, opt for frozen. Try berries mixed in yogurt or kefir, top your pancakes or waffles with berries mixed with maple syrup, add them to a blended smoothie, or make a blueberry or cheery pie for dessert.
• Steam your veggies or sauté them in olive oil, butter, ghee, or coconut oil.
• Choose the brightest and deepest colored veggies available. For example, kale has more nutrition than green leaf lettuce, red cabbage has more than green cabbage.
• Use the spices turmeric, rosemary, and ginger liberally in your cooking. Make tea using green tea leaves, rosemary, or ginger root.
• Eat pineapple and papaya when available.
• Eat hot chili peppers if they appeal to you and aid your symptoms.
• Drink clean, filtered water regularly throughout the day and avoid the "water-draining" beverages such as coffee, soda, and alcohol.

Foods to avoid
Do away with pro-inflammatory foods, such as refined foods, sugar, white flour, damaged fats, and hydrogenated oils and any foods with these ingredients.

• Avoid coffee, alcohol, and other sugary beverages.

Find and eliminate your food sensitivities and see if symptoms improve. Try eliminating the suspected foods for a few weeks and add them back in one at a time and evaluate for symptoms. Be sure to keep a detailed food diary to help identifying the foods that work best with you and your unique needs.

Suggestions for Your Shopping List
Veggies and Fruits: Kale, Spinach, Red Cabbage, Carrots, Onions (red), Garlic, Broccoli, Hot peppers (if they agree with you), Sweet peppers, Zucchini, Tomatoes (unless sensitive), Cherries, BlueberriesRaspberries, Cranberries, Blackberries, Pineapple, Papaya, Apples

Grains, Nuts, and Seeds: Flaxseeds (organic bulk), Walnuts (organic bulk), Oatmeal, Whole grain flours for baking, Whole grain bread

Meats and Eggs: Wild, cold-water fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines), Grass-fed beef, Buffalo, Eggs (optional: DHA rich versions), Whole milk, Plain yogurt (if not sensitive to dairy)

Fats, Oils, and Condiments: Extra virgin olive oil (organic), Butter or ghee - organic (unless sensitive to dairy), Organic coconut oil, Hot pepper sauce, Fresh ginger, Ground turmeric, Rosemary, Green tea

Snack foods and Sweets: Trail Mix (made with raw nuts and seeds, dried cranberries and dried coconut and chocolate chips), Stevia (herbal sweetener-be sure it is pure stevia with no additives), Raw honey (unfiltered and unpasteurized), Popcorn (popped in olive oil- unless sensitive to corn), Dried fruit (cranberries, blueberries, apples), Crystallized ginger, and Food Bars.

Planning and shopping are critical aspects of a healthy diet. Planning helps create complete shopping lists so you can avoid the “quick” stops to the store that waste time and money. Planning also helps you organize the best meal for your schedule on any given day. Here are some tips to help you save time and money.

• Standardize your breakfast and lunches. One of the easiest ways to be sure that you eat a healthy breakfast and lunch everyday is to PLAN! Get comfortable with about 5 to 7 breakfast and lunch meals that you enjoy and rotate them through your week.
• Keep healthy snacks available.
• Keep a running list on your fridge to help keep you stocked on the things you know you need. Right when you realize you are out of something you can right it down so you are prepared when you go to the grocery store.
• Bulk buy to save money. Usually when you buy bulk at a health food store you can get a discount. Good suggestions for bulk buying include: long storing winter vegetables in the fall (onions, garlic, winter squash, and potatoes) will last 6 to 8 months, whole grains can last up to 1 year in cool, dry container, and beans can last up to 2 years in cool, dry container. Join a food-buying club (or just get a group of friends together) to share items.
• Bulk cook when a meal or a “non-rushed” day lends the opportunity. Dishes that tend to freeze and re-heat well for a day you need a quick meal include: lasagna, muffins, waffles, small breads, pizza shells, soups, burritos, pot pies, and casseroles.
• Have a list of “no-brainer” healthy meals that you and your family enjoy. With these types of meals you tend to have the ingredients always available (or ingredients that will work) and they require minimal preparation time and effort.

Preparing food to Maximize Digestibility and Nutrition:
Why is soaking so important? In traditional diets, seeds, grains and nuts are soaked, sprouted in order to neutralize naturally occurring anti-nutrients in these foods, such as phytic acid, enzyme inhibitors, tannins and help "predigest" the macronutrients (proteins, complex carbohydrates, and fats). It essentially makes the food easier to digestion, more nutritious, and less likely to causeany sensitivity in the body.

Whole Grains
Soak desired amount of grain in an equal amount of water. Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 12 hours. When ready to cook, add remaining required amount of water or stock and cook. If preparing grain berries to grind your own sprouted grain, follow the same instructions as above, let the berries sit in a strainer for 24 hours, and use the drying instructions for the nuts. The best way to check for doneness is to crunch a berry between your teeth. If it doesn't crunch they are not dry enough. This can takeanywhere from 12 to 36 hrs.

Raw Nuts
Place raw nuts in a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of sea salt, and cover with water. Leave at room temperature for 12 hours. Drain out the water. Place nuts on a cookie sheet and dry on low heat in the oven or a dehydrator (approximately 150). Option: In place of salt, add 1/4-cup tamari for tamari nuts.

Raw Beans & Lentils
Follow the same instructions as for whole grains, but POUR OFF the soaking water and replace with fresh water before cooking. Pour off and refill until there are no more bubbles on the top of the soaking water.

Vegetables
Steam your veggies for a few minutes then add butter or ghee, seasonings, and serve. You can also sauté your veggies in butter, olive oil, coconut oil, and then serve. Raw veggies with a homemade dressing are also good. Do not boil vegetables unless this is required to eat them.

Cookware and utensils:
All cookware should be made of stainless steel, good quality enamel, glass, or cast-iron. Clay is also an option. Avoid aluminum, cooper, and non-stick coated cookware. The elements in these utensils can get into the food and are unhealthy for your body.

The best cooking methods and appliances:

• To preserve as much nutrition in food one of the best ways to cook is with lower heat and longer duration. High heat can destroy nutrients
• Two valuable cooking appliances for your kitchen are a crock pot (a great time saver) and a roaster.
• A wok for stir-frying (the kind that is placed right on the burner is best and only use stainless steel). The sloping sides and rounded bottom are designed so food can be quickly browned in the “belly” of the pan and them moved up to the sides where is finished cooking more slowly.
• A steamer (or a metal basket that sits in a pot) for steaming vegetables works great. Steaming cooks and seals in flavors and a great cooking method to preserve nutrients.
• A blender is valuable for making smoothies and mixing soups.
• Lastly a salad spinner helps dry green vegetables (e.g. spinach, lettuce, and kale).