Living Healthy in the 21st Century

Exercise and Diet! Simple isn’t it? or is it? The answer to this question is very simple, YES, you can and will live a healthier lifestyle if you commit to exercising and eating a healthier diet on a reagular basis. The action steps to implement this simple plan is where the question becomes complex. For each of us the process will be different but if you can commit to these two simple things the results will speak for themselves.

 

 Exercise

 

4 – 5 days a week 45 min. – 1 hr. of exercise. Whatever your exercise of choice is.

 

Diet

 

Daily intake of high-fiber foods

Daily intake of green, orange, and yellow fruits and vegetables

Limit your daily intake of sugary foods and starchy carbohydrates

Cut down on animal fat

Cut way down on Trans fats

Consume fish and nuts

Eat smaller portions at meal times

Have a variety of foods in your diet

 

Take a daily multivitamin/multi-mineral supplement (our food and soil is depleted of many of the vitamins and minerals we need daily – you must take a supplement, preferably consuming a multi- that does not have binders and fillers in it.

 

Food Sensitivities – Elimination Diet

Food sensitivities exist when an individual experiences difficulty in the digestion of specific foods or certain groupings of foods. Food allergies exist when an individual’s immune system reacts negatively to a food or liquid causing swelling, difficulty in breathing, wheezing, itching, rashes, or flushing of the skin soon after eating a food.

The symptoms of food sensitivities and allergies are quite different. A food allergy normally causes a quick and obvious reaction, such as swelling, rashes or difficulty in breathing. The symptoms of food sensitivities are not as immediate or obvious as those of food allergies. The following are just a few examples of food sensitivities: fatigue, lethargy, needing to sleep after you have eaten; mood swings, depression, restlessness, headaches, migraines, joint pain, gas, bloating, and indigestion.

A simple and easy way to check which foods may be causing your food sensitivity is by doing an Elimination Diet. Below I have outlined the basic steps in performing an Elimination Diet.

Elimination Diet

 

Avoid the following food groups for three weeks:

 

Milk                              Wheat 

Dairy                            Soy      

Nuts                             Raw fruit

Tomatoes                      Corn

Shellfish                        Pickles

Carbonated drinks

 

Cutting out these food groups means that for a three week (21 day) period your diet will be bland. This is very crucial in order to single out which one (s) you have a food sensitivity to.

 

After the three weeks of a bland diet, re-introduce one category of food for a few days – be conscious about how your body reacts during the re-introduction of the food group. One by one re-introduced each food group and you should be able to figure out which one (s) are the cause of your food sensitivity.

 The Elimination Diet is a simple and easy way to figure out what food sensitivities you may have. Making the commitment to learn about your own health is a very powerful experience. Commit to it and you will have success. Good Luck!