Everyone has different nutritional needs. There is no single diet that is going to suit everyone. However, there are some basic guidelines that are broadly applicable. One of the keys to nutrition is ensuring you dedicate some time each week and each day to consider and prepare your food. Without this, it is too easy to fall back on processed foods and fast “foods” which do not give us the nutrition we need. Be wary of commercial or popular diets that are not tailored to you individual needs or diets that promise the world. There is no magic bullet to nutrition planning or healthy eating. Developing good nutrition planning is a process that has to grapple with the many barriers to healthy eating posed by the dominant fast “food” culture. There are however some simple guidelines to work toward:
What to include every day:
- vegetables and lots of them (see ways to ensure fresh vegetable supply in the city)
- a variety of colour in your fruit and vegetable intake
- leafy green vegetables, at least two handfuls a day
- healthy oils: eg. extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, ghee, avocado. Also make sure to include some small oily fish a few times a week (sardines, mackeral, anchovies, herring)
- wholegrains (aim to avoid white breads and flours as they have much of their nutrients removed from them in the processing)
- a couple of pieces of fruit a day
- healthy protein (see healthy protein intake)
- healthy water intake (see hydration, hydration, hydration)
- some form of cultured food (eg. plain yogurt, apple cider vinegar, miso, sour dough, kim chi)
What to limit to an absolute minimum:
- refined sugars and products containing a lot of refined sugars including soft drinks, biscuits, cakes, sports drinks.
- refined (white) flours including white breads, crackers, cakes.
What to avoid at all costs:
- trans fat. Always, always check the labels of chips, crackers, oils, spreads and most other processed foods. A lot of margarine that is marketed as healthy alternatives contain trans fat. Some “health food” chips contain trans fat. If the listing for trans fat is not 0%, put it back on the shelf. Don’t allow yourself any exceptions. The chemical nature of trans fats means that they do immense damage to your overall health, in particular through the damage they do to your cardiovascular system (veins, arteries, heart). There is no amount of trans fats that are reasonable. If it has trans fat, just put it back on the shelf, now.
- artificial sweeteners (they can be aggravating to the nervous system).
- MSG (this can also be aggravating to the nervous system). MSG is in many stock powders and is sometimes listed as an ingredient by the number 621 on the ingredient list.