Nutrition for Better Health
By Michael Costa L.Ac.
The following recommendations are the best sources of food available in each category listed below. The key is to eat the best quality food to deliver the greatest quantity of nutrition. You literally are what you eat. Your body is continually rebuilding itself with the raw materials from the food you eat.
If you want to achieve vibrant health it is imperative that you eat good quality food. If you are trying to create better health, I do not recommend eating processed food, soft drinks, etc. Ideally, your food should be freshly prepared from the freshest and best available ingredients.
Livestock, poultry, and fish that are fed their natural diets and organically grown vegetables are more nutritious and have less of a negative effect on the environment than their counterparts. Do not assume anything when buying food or supplements. If a certain process, quality, or ingredient not explicitly listed on the label it will not have occurred or have beenincluded in a food item or product, i.e. not fed any animal by products, grass fed, etc.
Get in the habit of reading food labels. As a general rule the less ingredients on a food product the better. For example, a loaf of bread should have four basic ingredients: flour, water, salt and yeast. If you look at most loaves of bread available in grocery stores you find a very long list of ingredients that you will most likely be unfamiliar with. See bread recommendation below.
Use common sense with any health and nutrition program. First and foremost listen to your body. How do certain foods affect your mood, digestion, energy level? We are all unique individuals with different nutritional requirements. These may change over time even for any individual. Using the principles of Metabolic Typing there are three main categories of individuals: The protein type, carbohydrate type and mixed type. For a detailed explanation read the The Metabolic Typing Diet by William Woolcott and Trish Fahey.
Animal Protein Sources
Meat- Grass fed or Pasture raised Beef, bison, etc
Chicken- pasture raised if available or free-range vegetarian fed, not fed any animal by-products
Fish- wild caught, not farm raised
Egg- pasture fed if available, free range, vegetarian fed omega three enhanced,
Grains
Whole grains: should be soaked before cooking to release enzyme inhibitors and unlock nutritional value.
Choose organic whole grains when available. Some good choices include: Whole wheat, quinoa, barley, millet, buckwheat, brown rice.
Whole grains (unrefined) have infinitely more nutritional value than their refined counter parts
Enriched Wheat is enriched because it has lost most of its nutritional value during processing. Not all the nutrients that are lost are replaced. Avoid enriched flour.
Bread
Sprouted Grain Bread: Ezekial 4:9, Alvarado, Trader Joes are some examples
Bread made through the traditional process of fermentation. These breads rise naturally and do not require added yeast. The fermentation breaks down the whole grains and making their nutrition more readily available.
This will be more difficult to find. May be available from some specialty bread makers.
You can also play with this process at home if you are interested. Look for sour dough recipes to get started.
Avoid products made with refined wheat, i.e enriched wheat flour
Legumes
Beans should also be soaked to release enzyme inhibitors and unlock nutritional value
Vegetable
Always choose organic when available
Leafy green vegetables are among the most nutrient dense foods, EAT YOUR GREENS!
Eat liberally, shoot to make vegetable 40-50% of your meals
Other Good food based Mineral Sources
Bone broths made with recipes available in Nourishing Traditions
Sea Vegetable, such as kelp, wakame and nori, are extremely high in minerals. They are available in most helath food stores and Asian markets. They be added to soups, grain or bean dishes or eaten by themselves.
Fats
Fats are necessary part of your diet. You need to fat to manufacture certain hormones. Every nerve in your body is surrounded by a myelin sheath that is composed of fat. Ever cell membrane is composed of fat. The key just like every other category mentioned above is to consume good quality fats.
The essential fatty acids that must be ingested are Omega 3 and 6. The typical American diet supplies too much Omega 6 and to little Omega 3.
Good sources of Omega 3 are fish oil, i.e. cod liver oil, Krill oil, flax, hemp seed, borage
Avoid Trans Fatty Acids, hydrogenated oils, and/or partially hydrogenated oils and the products made from them.
Avoid oils and fats that have been highly heated, as in deep frying.
Good sources of fat include coconut oil, avacado, raw butter, cold water fish, olive oil
Sweeteners
Acceptable sweetners are Agave Nectar and RAW UNHEATED Honey
Refined white sugar, and high fructose corn syrup, and all artificial sweetners should be avoided at all times.
Please read Lick the Sugar Habit by Nancy Appelton if you are interested in learning how sugar negatively affects mineral balance in the body, enzymatic activity, and digestion among other functions.
For an appointment or inquiries about Acupuncture in Los Angeles:
Email: acupuncturedoc@gmail.com or call 310.776.5096
