6 Easy Changes for a Healthier Diet

Nutrition is a cornerstone of health. Processed and unnatural foods wreak havoc on the body, whereas real foods support true health. But how do we know what makes a diet truly healthy?

Real Foods Research 

Weston A. Price was a dentist who traveled the world aiming to learn why so many of his patients in the United States had prevalent tooth decay and cavities.  Price learned that people who ate traditional foods had virtually no cavities or tooth decay, nor even cancer, diabetes, or heart disease.  When the same people started consuming modern foods (including refined white flour, pasteurized milk, canned foods, and sugar), those health problems were rampant.

In this photo of two brothers from Dr Price, "the older at the left has excellent teeth. He lived on the native diet of oat products and sea foods. His brother at the right used the imported white flour bread, sugar, jams and coffee shipped from the port about sixty miles away."

Price found that the nutrient-content of traditional foods was up to ten times that of the nutrients found in the "modern" diet. For a healthier diet today, we need to go back to the wisdom of traditional diets by eating foods with higher nutritional content than modern foods. You can learn more about Dr Price's research here:

6 Easy Changes for a Healthier Diet

Changing your family's diet doesn't have to be hard or stressful. Here are 6 simple ways to boost your family's nutrition.

1. Eat more beef, fish, eggs, and full fat dairy (preferably raw).

Eating more high-quality animal foods is an easy step to improving your family's diet. Dr Price found that animal foods were among the most prized traditional foods. By analyzing the nutrient content, Dr Price found that animal foods had much higher levels of important fat-soluble vitamins and minerals than plant-based foods.

• Compared to chicken, beef has much higher levels of important nutrients such as iron, zinc, Vitamin B12, etc. for strong, healthy bodies.

• Fish such as salmon provide important nutrients such as Vitamin D, vitamin B12, iodine, and omega 3 fatty acids, essential for brain and heart health.

• Eggs contain all 9 essential amino acids, Vitamins A and D, along with healthy fats and protein.

• Milk is the only food perfectly designed just for mammals. Raw whole milk is especially nutrient-rich and boosts the immune system. Large epidemiological studies in Europe have found that drinking raw milk protects kids from asthma, allergies, respiratory infections, and eczema.

2. Eat healthy fats: butter, coconut oil, beef tallow, extra virgin olive oil.

Contrary to popular belief, fats are an essential part of a healthy diet. Dr Price found that fats were a key part of traditional healthy diets, so it's important to include plenty of healthy fats such as butter, beef tallow, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, whole milk, sour cream, and full-fat cheese for a well-balanced diet.

• Dr Price found that butter was especially prized as an important food for health. The best butter is from cows that have been grazing on their natural diet of grass, rather than grains.  The easy way to tell if butter is nutrient-dense is to look at the color. While conventional butter looks almost white, nutrient-dense butter has a beautiful yellow color. This color indicates the presence of nutrients, especially carotene and vitamin A. 

• Butter has a deeper yellow color (and therefore more nutrients) in the warm months when the grass is growing rapidly. During the cold months, butter tends to have a lighter color, indicating that there are fewer nutrients present. Truly Grassfed and KerryGold are two brands of butter that are generally nutrient-rich.

• I generally use butter and coconut oil for cooking. Unrefined coconut oil has a coconutty flavor that is nice in baked goods and curries, but for most of my cooking I use refined coconut oil for its neutral flavor. Chicken fat (schmaltz), duck fat, and beef tallow are also excellent fats to use.

• Because extra-virgin olive oil has heat-sensitive phytonutrients and antioxidants, I prefer to use extra-virgin olive oil only in uncooked foods such as salad dressings or hummus.

3. Switch to true sourdough breads.

Sourdough bread has been a healthy part of people's diets for thousands of years and was a key part of the healthy diet in several places where Dr Price visited.

• True sourdough bread has a long fermentation time, increasing it's digestibility and nutrient-availability.

• When buying sourdough at the store, beware of fake sourdough breads. If there is yeast in the list of ingredients, the bread is not a true sourdough. Izzio is a good brand that has many true sourdough products.

• True sourdough white bread actually has a more beneficial effect on blood sugar than (non-sourdough) whole grain bread. 

4. Eliminate sodas and breakfast cereals.

Sodas are loaded with refined sugars or fake sugars and have no nutritional value. Breakfast cereals are highly processed foods that are nutritionally inferior to their real food counterparts.

Healthier drink options include the following:

• filtered water, perhaps with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice

• sparkling water with fresh lemon or lime juice

• whole milk or milk kefir

• kombucha tea

• 2-ingredient superfood soda concentrate, which can be made with plain water or carbonated water

Healthier breakfast options include the following. Foods such as granola, porridge, and muffins can be made ahead of time over the weekend for easy weekday breakfasts.

• eggs with sourdough toast and/or sauteed veggies

• soaked oatmeal porridge

• blueberry muffins

• strawberry banana smoothie

• apple custard cake

• apple snap granola

There are many more healthy breakfast options here.

5. Switch to unrefined sweeteners: honey, maple syrup, sucanat instead of white sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or agave nectar.

Refined sweeteners such as sugar and high-fructose corn syrup have been stripped of their healthy nutrients and minerals. Artificial sweeteners are even worse, and have been found to trigger overeating. Instead, use unrefined sweeteners such as sucanat, raw honey, and maple syrup in moderation. Unrefined sweeteners have natural trace minerals such as manganese, zinc, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium.

Using unrefined sweeteners is easy! 

• Sucanat can be used as a 1:1 replacement for sugar in baked goods.

• I like to use raw honey for sweetened whipped cream and smoothies, and generally use a combination of maple syrup and honey for homemade ice creams.

6. Avoid GMOs by buying organic or non-GMO foods and checking PLU#s

Vegetables and fruits are healthy foods to include in your family's diet. However, genetically modified (GMO) foods have no place in a healthy diet. Many GMO foods have been modified specifically to allow the crop to be sprayed with Roundup herbicide, which has been linked to many health problems including cancer, heart disease, autism, and liver disease.

• Avoiding GMO foods is fairly simple. Look for the non-GMO label on boxed foods, buy organic, and check the PLU# on non-organic produce.

• Here is an easy tip for produce: make sure your produce does not have a 5 digit PLU# unless it starts with a 9. A 5 digit PLU# that begins with 9 means the produce is organic, but 5 digits beginning with any number other than a 9 means the produce is GMO.

• Pay special attention to foods containing the most common GMO ingredients: corn, soy, rice, sugar beets, tomatoes, zucchini or yellow summer squash, canola, and potatoes.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor, nutritionist, or licensed healthcare professional. I am a homeopathic practitioner whose services are considered complementary and alternative by the state of New Mexico. This information is intended for educational use only.

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