What Is The Fat Resistance Diet?

The Fat Resistance Diet was developed by Dr. Leo Galland, who is recognized as an expert in the field of nutritional medicine. It is based on the concept that hormones, which include leptin and adiponectin, control the appetite and body fat levels in the body. When fat levels become too high in the body, inflammation occurs that subsequently alters the body chemistry and balance of these hormones. The idea behind the diet is to reduce inflammation which restores the body's chemistry, reducing cravings, promoting fat burning, and helping the dieter to achieve a healthy weight.

3 Stages of Weight Loss and Control

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are three stages to the Fat Resistance Diet. In the initial stages carbohydrates such as grains and starchy vegetables are avoided, but as the dieter progresses through the three stages the amount of carbohydrates is gradually reintroduced.

Stage 1 concentrates on reducing inflammation and restoring blood sugar levels. This is achieved by an abundance of super foods and nine to ten servings of fruit and vegetables every day along with a relatively high intake of quality protein. The high nutritional quality of the this phase will help to re-balance body chemistry and cut your cravings for carbohydrates. This stage also provides a jump-start to the fat loss process.

Stage 2 increases your choice of foods so that the diet is suitable for long-term fat loss. After completing Stage 1, the insulin levels in the body should have decreased which allows for tolerance of more complex carbohydrates in the diet. Stage 2 allows for reintroduction of legumes as well as some whole grains such as oatmeal and brown rice.

Stage 3 is the maintenance stage. In this stage the variety of foods increase further to include healthy grain-based meals like carrot raisin muffins, blueberry flax pancakes, and even whole grain pasta. The inflammation reducing foods are still emphasized while the caloric content of the diet is slightly higher to allow for maintenance of weight loss.

Recommended Foods

The foundation of the diet is fresh fruit and vegetables in abundance, as these contain phytonutrients such as carotenoids and flavonoids which act as anti-inflammatories.

Foods which are high in carotenoids include:

carrots
broccoli
spinach
tomatoes
pumpkin
papaya

Foods which are high in flavonoids include:

blueberries
cherries
pomegranate
citrus fruit
dark grapes
green tea
onions
dark chocolate

Fresh herbs and spices can also be used during the diet because they have important nutritional factors which reduce inflammation and improve the taste of foods without adding calories.

The diet also emphasizes increasing the intake of foods that are high in good fats like the Omega 3 fatty acids found in fish, walnuts, flaxseeds and dark green leafy vegetables. These fats play an important role in reducing inflammation as well as improving general health.

Is This the Diet for You?

The Fat Resistance Diet is a solid weight loss plan based on nutritional science. Besides losing weight, this diet has an added bonus of helping to reduce inflammation within the body and supplying high levels of antioxidants to help control hormones and keep your body healthy and happy. If you like the idea of a diet plan based on scientific study, you might want to give the Fat Resistance Diet a try.

Fast Nutritious Meals for the Family On The Go

Let's face it - for most people, the sit down meal at 5 o'clock just isn't going to happen at your house tonight, or most nights, or maybe any night. Unfortunately, in today's busy world, a typical family evening may not see all the family members together until it's time to say goodnight. Between work, school, sports, clubs, music, and other activities, we are on the go from sun-up to sun-down, and beyond.

This frenzied lifestyle doesn't do anything for your health, and before you know it, nutrition has taken a back seat. If most days are spent taking one or more trips through the drive-thru fast food joint or calling in for pizza delivery, you know no one is eating a balanced diet. This is detrimental to your family's health and happiness. But, is there a way to change this?

Actually, there is. Let's take a look at some suggestions for having nutritious food ready and waiting for your frenzied family to grab and go.

Wrap It Up

Tasty wraps are healthy & portable. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is one meal that satisfies everyone and is so easy to make and to store. Keep the ingredients simple, and don't use anything like lettuce, cucumbers, or tomatoes, or other things that wilt or get watery if you want the wraps to last for a while.

Use good whole grain, sundried tomato, or spinach tortillas. Spread hummus in the middle and top with shredded cooked chicken, black beans, or other protein like fish or tofu. You can include chopped bell peppers or celery, or cooked brown rice or quinoa. Just remember, if you want the wraps to last, limit the vegetables to non-runny kinds. Wrap these up into burrito shapes, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. You may want to wrap them up again in aluminum foil to make them easier to transport.

You can make these up the evening before and refrigerate overnight, then grab and go in the morning!

Chicken Bites

Make a big batch of chicken fingers and store them in the refrigerator for an easy, protein rich meal. But, you don't just want a bowl of chicken sitting there. Create small grab-and-go meals that are fast and nutritious.
Most kids like to dip chicken in dressing of some sort. Make your own healthier version of Ranch style dip using yogurt or sour cream and lots of herbs. You may also like to make some spicy salsa style dip with fresh tomatoes. When you package up your homemade chicken fingers with a couple dips alongside, this fast food seems more like a meal. Don't forget to include a biscuit and your kid-on-the-run will have a full tummy in no time.

Black beans are a quick protein source. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tex Mex Meal

Black beans are an excellent source of nutrition that can be used in countless ways to make a fast meal. For example, expand the classic black bean dip you might enjoy at a Mexican restaurant to a more filling dish.

Lightly smash some rinsed black beans in a big bowl, add diced tomatoes, salsa, corn, chopped avocado, onion, and any other ingredients that sound good to you. Mix and chill. Divide the dip into little bowls, then package up with a couple handfuls of good whole wheat or whole grain corn tortilla chips. Remember, black beans are loaded with protein and dietary fiber, so even though this dish is often considered a snack, with all that goodness going on in there, it is really a full-meal-deal.

Those are just three nutritious dishes that you can have ready and waiting for your busy family to grab anytime, day or night. It just goes to show you that you don't have to miss out on nutrition no matter how busy your family gets!

Clearing Up the Confusion: New Nutrition Labels Explained

We've gotten so used to seeing nutrition labels on our food, does anyone even pay attention to them? Actually, the answer is; "Yes."  Since the 1960s, food labeling has become the norm, rather than the exception. In the beginning, we saw foods mostly labeled for additives. The idea was to inform the consumer of ingredients they might prefer to avoid.

Then during the 1990s, a new focus was added: the idea that nutritional data was also important to consumers. New labeling terms were standardized so we could compare the claims made by food manufacturers. Terms like "low fat," "light," and "no sugar added" were investigated and new guidelines were created.

All this led to the nutrition label we see today. Now we find facts for fats, calories, and percentage of dietary values for vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients based on a specific caloric intake. This is all well and good, but we all know how confusing all of this information can be. We also know there are still some bits of information missing.

The New Nutrition Label

US Nutritional Fact Label (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to the FDA, change is good, especially when it comes to clarifying nutrition labels. The last update was in 1994, and a lot has changed since then. Popular opinion, common sense, and scientific studies all played a part in these changes.

Here is an example of common sense. If you've ever struggled with calculating serving sizes, you are not alone. The new labels are designed to take the fractions of servings out of choosing a food product. This change was brought about by one common sense notion; when we sit down with a soft-drink, we don't care if it's 16 ounces, 12 ounces, or 20 ounces. We are most likely going to drink the whole thing.

It's simple. The old labels assume a certain number of ounces was a 'serving.' The new labels take into account that we are not drinking part of a bottle of soda at one sitting; we are drinking it all. The new label will read "1 serving per bottle" and list the ingredients, calories, and nutrient information for that one bottle, not a portion of it. Common sense and no more math.

Larger packages which you would divide will have two column labels; one with "per serving" and the other with "per package" information. Think about a bag of chips or pint of ice cream. A person may choose to eat the entire package. If so, that person may want to be aware of what is being ingested. On the other hand, that person may wish to divide that bag of chips into the serving sizes on the package so he or she can limit their caloric, or sodium, or sugar intake to the "per serving" amount.

Speaking of sugar, labels will now show "added sugars" as a separate category so the consumer won't have to try to calculate natural sugars that occur in a product versus added sugars. Until now, "sugars" was a combination of added and natural sugars. Consumers said they wanted to know how much of each, and this new label will address that issue.

Science is playing another big role in these new labels. Since a lot of recent studies show that many Americans are currently deficient in Vitamin D and potassium, these two nutrients will now have a featured spot on the new label. Vitamins A and C may keep their place if the food manufacturer wishes to highlight them, but they are not required any longer. The 'daily values' will change for things like sodium, lowering the percentage to reflect a recommendation to lower sodium to reduce high blood pressure.

The ever popular "calories from fat" will be eliminated. This is due to studies that indicate that - as we often discuss - weight gain is caused by the type of fat consumed, and not by the amount of calories from the fat! You will still find the boxes for "total fat," "trans fat," and "saturated fat" so you can make an informed decision about what sort of fat you want in your meal.

You will also see calories take center stage. With the new enlarged font, you won't have to search for the number of calories in that bag of cookies. And, as mentioned, the package will take into account most consumers habits and assume that most people don't stop at just one cookie.

These are all good changes. From the common sense soda serving example, to the scientific research regarding calories from fat and vitamin D deficiencies, the labels will give the consumer more up to date information. And, with the more visible calorie count, it will be rather difficult to explain away eating an entire box of cookies or bag of chips and pretending you didn't know how many calories you just ate. I'm sure that never happens, but it is good to know. :-)

And, the more we know, the more likely we are to make healthier choices. And of course, be sure to keep educating yourself on making truly healthy choices - just visit our main blog for the latest updates on health & nutrition!

And remember, when you cook your own meals at home from scratch, you won't have to worry about labels anyway!

A Quick Look At Solving The Nutrition Puzzle

Ask a dozen people what their definition of nutrition is and you will likely get a dozen different answers. Is it really possible that nutrition is that difficult to figure out? Or is there another reason why such a wide range of answers should exist?

The answer is both. Nutrition can be puzzling and there are several good reasons why nutrition cannot be generalized. Let's take a look at this complicated and puzzling question.

Complications and Changing Times

Human bodies are complicated. We are made up of many 'systems' that form our one body. I know you learned these in school, but let's recap just to remind ourselves of all the ways we need to feed our body.

Our body's systems are: skeletal, muscular, cardiovascular, digestive, endrocrine, nervous, respiratory, lymphatic, urinary, and reproductive.

Healthy nutrition pyramid. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Whew! Is it any wonder why finding the right nutritional balance is a bit confusing? And, even though we all share the same systems, we all start out genetically different, we live in different climates, and we live in different cultures. This all complicates things further by predisposing us to a vast range of nutritional needs.

We must add to this confusion the fact that our understanding of science changes. What is believed to be nutritious one year, decade, or century, may be considered less than healthy during another time. Browse any of the popular ephemera websites to see just how far health and nutrition changes throughout the centuries. It wasn't long ago that alcohol and tobacco were used in elixirs and powders claiming to promote good health.

In recent years, "low fat" was all the rage, but now we are discovering that a more traditional form of eating, including lots of good fats and even animal products, is actually a much healthier way of eating.

As you can see, our perception of nutrition and health changes over time - sometimes with scientific studies and sometimes with common sense. Either way, we live and learn and slowly we become more knowledgeable about nutrition and healthy lifestyles.

Piecing Together The Puzzle

With all those systems in our body and so many changes in what nutrition really involves, how can we ever figure out how to eat a well balanced diet? You may be disappointed to hear that there are no simple answers. Remember, the body is complicated and science changes facts on us all the time.

So, how DO we piece together the nutrition puzzle? The best answer we have is to take one piece at a time and see if it fits our particular lifestyle. There is a reason why a wide range of definitions for a nutritionally balanced diet exists, and that reason is we are individuals. Each person possesses a particular set of nutritional needs uniquely their own.

For example, modern scientific studies have shown that a person who exerts a lot of energy either working or playing needs complex carbohydrates to burn. A person who is building muscle needs a lot of protein. A person with a weakened or compromised immune system will need extra antioxidants in their diet. People who get limited sunlight would need a food-based source of vitamin D.

This is just a small example of how individuals might benefit from specifically designed diets focusing on certain nutrients. Within each of these groups, you may have people of varying ages, too. A child's nutritional needs are definitely different from an older person's needs. Women and men have different nutritional needs, as well.

If you're ready to launch yourself into eating the most nutritionally balanced diet known to man, you just have to remember that one person's super-nutritional diet may not be right for you. Begin your research by first piecing together your body's own unique needs. Then take a good look at your lifestyle. Only then will the nutritional puzzle come together for you!

Be sure to stay tuned this month as we explore some of the intricacies of good nutrition, and also share some healthy and delicious recipes!

Nutrition In A Glass - Summer Smoothies For Health

One of my favorite things about summer is my daily breakfast smoothie! Once summer kicks into high gear, with all sorts of fruits available, I have a smoothie for breakfast almost every day until frost! Mine is pretty basic, and includes fruit, juice, yogurt, and a bit of coconut oil and honey. But there are about a million variations of smoothies, and they can be super healthy as well as delicious - plus they're really easy to make at home! This week we'll share a few tasty and healthy smoothie recipes just in time for summer.

Not only are smoothies a quick and easy way to get something in your belly for breakfast or a snack, they are also packed full of nutrition. Or, at least they can be if you choose the proper ingredients – for this discussion, fruits and vegetables.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many people say they find it hard to consume the recommended number of servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Smoothies offer an easy way to get those servings in a very healthy way. By including raw fruits and vegetables in a smoothie, you get all the dietary fiber and nutrients offered, just blend and drink. It doesn't get much easier than that.

For instance, spinach is one of the super-foods we know we should add to our diet more often. But how many times can you eat spinach in a week? Probably not as often as you'd like for the nutrition spinach has to offer. But, you could add smoothies made with spinach to your diet, even every day without getting tired of it as long as you switched up the other ingredients each time.

That's just one example. How would you like to add four, five, or more servings of fruits and vegetables in just one smoothie? Add apples, berries, kale, kiwi, and even broccoli to a smoothie for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack in between.

Once you discover how easy it is to blend up enough servings of fruits and vegetables to meet your recommended daily allowance, you'll be looking for all sorts of ways to include more fresh produce to your diet.

The great news is, along with the dietary fiber that fruits and vegetables offer, you'll also get loads of some pretty important vitamins, too. Here is a short list of just a few of the vitamins you'll get when you add fruits and vegetables to your diet.  Of course, this is not a complete nutritional outline - it’s just a list of a few to give you an idea of how smoothies can make you healthier.

Vitamin C

Probably the first vitamin you think of when discussing fruits and vegetables is this one. This vitamin plays a huge role in helping your body fight off illness because it acts as an antioxidant. It also is a key component to metabolize protein.

Fruits with vitamin C include strawberries, kiwi, grapefruit, oranges, and pineapple.

Vegetables with vitamin C include broccoli, kale, squash, and Brussels sprouts.

 (Photo credit: the_moment)

Vitamin E

Another powerful antioxidant, this vitamin is needed to help fight free-radicals, which are the internal and external stressors that cause cell damage, causing illness and premature aging.

Fruits with vitamin E include blueberries, raspberries, peaches, pomegranates, and mangoes.

Vegetables with vitamin E include Swiss chard, potatoes, squash, and pumpkin.

Vitamin K

This vitamin is important for our body because it plays a crucial role in blood clotting. It also is needed for proper calcium absorption and bone health.

Fruits with vitamin K include raspberries, grapes, plums, pears, and blackberries.

Vegetables with vitamin K include cabbage, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, spinach, and kale.

Those are just three of the many nutrients you will enjoy when you drink a smoothie made with fresh fruits and vegetables. The list goes on and on.

Along with smoothies being an easier way to get your fruits and veggies, they are also a great way to get a quick protein boost - it's easy to add a scoop of high-quality protein powder to start off your day with plenty of energy. Throw in a cup of yogurt and you have a serving of healthy probiotics too!

The nutritional value of a smoothie depends on the ingredients you choose to blend. If you’re drinking one smoothie a day filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as some dairy, you will have a food that will help you meet your nutritional needs – and your health goals!

Check back later this week for some healthy & delicious smoothie recipes!

Wake Your Brain Up With Breakfast

We have all heard the phrase, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”  There are many reasons why it's important to start the morning with a proper breakfast.  Simply stated:  Breakfast gives your body and brain the fuel they need to function.

It is especially important for children to eat a nourishing breakfast in the morning.  Young, growing brains need lots of energy to help focus and keep learning.  A child who skips breakfast is going to feel tired, restless, and irritable, possibly for the entire day.  Studies have proven time and time again that children who do not eat a healthy breakfast in the morning suffer both academically and socially.  They also suffer physically, often with obesity being the result.

You know how you, as an adult, feel if you skip breakfast.  Now just imagine if your brain was developing and growing at the rate of a child.  That empty tummy you experience if you skip breakfast is nothing compared to what a child will feel.

French Toast Souffle' Casserole (Photo credit: Bunches and Bits {Karina})

With that said, we know that eating a healthy breakfast every morning is important, especially for a child.  An easy way to ensure your child gets a healthy, well-rounded meal in the morning is with breakfast casseroles. 

I can hear you saying right now; “But I can't make a breakfast casserole in the morning!”  You don't have to.  Avoid a lot of preparation in the morning by planning ahead and you won't skip a beat during the morning rush.  Design a few breakfast casserole recipes to suit your family member's tastes and make several smaller casseroles on the weekend and put them in the refrigerator.  Now, before you wake your children up for school, pop their casseroles in the oven.  Before they walk out of the door, they'll have a delightfully delicious and nutritious breakfast to wake them (and their brains!) up. 

There is so much you can add to a casserole to meet everyone's nutritional needs.  To wake up your brain you want to eat foods that are high in protein, good carbs, fiber, calcium, iron, other minerals, and lots of vitamins. 

Make a breakfast casserole that contains whole-wheat or multi-grain bread, eggs, milk, maybe some cheese, meat, poultry or seafood, and vegetables, too, for a savory nutrition-packed dish.  If your child prefers a sweet breakfast, make a breakfast casserole that contains the same hearty bread, eggs, and milk, then add fruit and even nuts to the mix. You still get the protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, but this time in a sweeter version.

With a nutritious breakfast, you can boost body and brain function, helping your child feel better and think better so he or she can perform better in school and throughout the day.  All of this in one simple to make breakfast casserole!

There are many great ways to get the nutrition needed in the morning, but breakfast casseroles are definitely a great option.  They are versatile, easy to mix up and serve, and ready when you are.  How will you start your day out tomorrow?  Give your brain, and your child's brain, a chance to wake up with a hearty and healthy breakfast casserole.

Tips for Eating Healthy On The Run

Whether you're traveling or rushing around taking care of your daily tasks, you don't need to give up healthy eating simply because you are on the run.  The fact is, healthy eating is even more important when you're trying to keep up with a busy schedule.

Eating a good diet will help your body handle stress better.  As you hustle about your daily routine, a healthy meal is probably the last thing you think about, but it's important.  The following tips can help you eat well no matter where your busy day takes you.

Restaurant Chipotle Mexican Grill. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Restaurants
With tempting menus, large portions, and a festive atmosphere, it's easy to skip healthy eating.  It's okay to splurge every now and then, but you'll pack on a lot of weight if you make it a habit.  When you eat out at restaurants, always be smart about it. Choose restaurants with healthier options, such as salads and fresh sandwiches, or one of the popular new "pick your ingredients" chains, like Chipotle or Piada - that way you can choose the ingredients you want in your food. And if they serve large portions, take half home for lunch tomorrow - you'll get two meals in one!

Airports
An airport can be a very stressful place, but you shouldn't scrap your diet because of it.  Eat because you are hungry, not because of stress, boredom, or to kill time. It's not always easy, but try to find places with healthier options that aren't fried or dripping in grease.

Nuts & dried fruit. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In Your Car
Keep some healthy snacks in your car at all times, so that when you get hungry, you have them on hand. Nuts are great for this - they pack a nice punch of vitamins, minerals and healthy fats, and they have enough protein to satisfy any hunger pangs until you get a real meal. If you have a sweet tooth, try a trail mix with nuts and dried fruit for a savory and sweet treat that will satisfy all your cravings at once!

At Home
Evenings and mornings are busy times in most homes. Making the time to eat can be hard, but you shouldn't run out the door without eating breakfast first.  Cereal with milk, a banana, muffin, or yogurt is a great way to start the day.

Anytime you are on the go, always make sure that you make the right food decisions.  You can take healthy food with you if you need to, so that you have it on hand when you need it.  Eating healthy on the go isn't that hard to do, once you know how.  Never sacrifice healthy food for junk, as your body will regret it later.

And be sure to check back Wednesday for some healthy sandwich ideas that are great to take with you on the run!

Video - Why Traditional Diets Support Good Health

This short video explains some of the important findings by Dr. Weston A. Price regarding healthy dietary practices. Dr. Price's research turns modern "dietary wisdom" on its head. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that some of the tasty foods you've been avoiding all these years in the interest of good health may actually be what you need to eat in order to be healthy!  Remember - our bodies are designed to eat foods that occur in nature - not the kind that come in boxes.

Check this out and learn more about why traditional diets provide more health benefits than you may have been led to believe.

Weston A Price Foundation - Educational Television
National Medical Report


Learn More About Dr. Weston Price's Findings for A Healthy Diet:

   

Video - The Real Truth About Eggs

This week instead of an additional recipe, I thought it was important to continue debunking the health myths surrounding eggs - eggs could almost be called a superfood, they are so filled with nutrients and beneficial vitamins - and at less than 100 calories, they make a great snack or breakfast, and can help reduce hunger and snacking on unhealthy foods. (See Monday's post for more on the health benefits of eggs.)

This short newscast discusses why eggs can be a lot better for you than you might think!

Egg-Citing Health News
Chris Wragge speaks with Dietitian Cynthia Sass about why eggs are healthier than ever.

The Incredible Edible Egg - A Health Food?

We have all heard a lot of talk, mostly negative, about eggs over the years. It drives me crazy that so many people still buy into the "eggs are bad" myth! In truth, eggs are actually full of nutritional value. Many recent studies have shown that eggs aren't the evil cholesterol bombs we once thought they were - and they have many benefits for your health!

Although science has actually proven this many years ago, many people are still under the mistaken belief that eggs are bad for you. In fact, maybe you try to only eat eggs once or twice a year like Easter or Mother’s Day - it's almost like a guilty pleasure - but it doesn't have to be. Keep reading to find out what is really inside an egg: the yolk and the white.

Health Benefits of Eating Eggs

Fresh eggs! Note the bright orange of the yolks, indicating the hen ate green stuff, and probably lived outside, providing optimal nutrients in her eggs. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NOTE: Don’t throw away the yolk! It has benefits too - in fact, most of the nutrition of the egg is contained in the yolk.

* Improve Cholesterol – Once eggs were thought to increase bad cholesterol but in reality, the cholesterol they contain can positively impact your cholesterol levels. Eating two eggs a day won’t hurt your numbers at all, and may even raise your good cholesterol levels - especially if you're eating fresh eggs from pasture-raised poultry.

* Quality Protein – Eggs contain high-quality protein, made up of amino acids. These are the building blocks of good muscle tissue. If you are looking for a better and leaner source of protein, the egg is it. (Many people think the white is all they need in terms of protein, but eating the yolk WITH the white actually helps your body make better use of the protein - it's not a complete protein without it!)

* Choline – This is a nutrient that is needed for cardiovascular function, brain function and nervous system. Egg yolks contain a lot of it.

* Eye Health – Eating eggs can improve your eye health. The high levels of carotenoids in egg yolks can help prevent macular degeneration, a condition that leads to blindness. Also, you can reduce your risk of cataracts as you age. Eye diseases have skyrocketed over the past decade or so, and eating eggs can help combat this.

* Good Fats – We are always on the lookout for good fats. We eat enough (for most people, too much) of the bad ones in processed foods. Eggs have fat but it is good fat that will enhance your nutritional profile. One egg has five grams of fat. When eating eggs for health, substitute them for unhealthy fats in your diet - eat an egg or two instead of margarine or unhealthy vegetable oils, and avoid processed foods or anything containing hydrogenated oil.

* Vitamin D – Eggs contain vitamin D, and along with sunlight they are a good, natural source of this vitamin. Other foods like milk are fortified with it, but eggs contain it already. Eating eggs along with spending fifteen minutes a day in the sun increases your daily vitamin D intake in a healthy and natural way.

* Sulfur – Have you noticed how even good eggs can sometimes smell when you peel a boiled egg? It’s the sulfur. In the body, sulfur helps you to grow healthy hair and nails, and is also good for your eyes and skin.

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

* Omega-3 Fatty Acids – Eggs contain these important fatty acids that promote a healthy heart, brain and immune system. If you don’t like fish you can stock up on eggs to get these helpful fats. (Eggs from chickens raised on pasture have a much greater content of this important nutrient.)

* Other Vitamins – Besides vitamin D, eggs also contain B vitamins and vitamins A, C, and E. All are needed by the body for healthy skin, a strong immune system and to increase your antioxidant intake.

Do keep in mind that the health benefits you get from eating eggs will depend to a large degree on the source of the egg - you will want to seek out eggs from hens fed on their natural diet - bugs, grass, plants, and worms - which they will only get if raised in the outdoors or at least with free access to pasture. Check your local farmer's market, look for a CSA in your area, or a local food co-op. If you can't find any of these, organic eggs are your second-best choice, as they are at least fed a natural grain diet free of chemicals and hormones.

No matter what you have heard before about eggs, they are actually good for you - especially when from a quality source. The nutritional breakdown includes vitamins, minerals, protein, cholesterol and limited fat content. Eat an egg or two each day for your health - and stop feeling bad about it!


For More News Debunking the Myth That "Eggs Are Bad" See:
http://www.naturalnews.com/034557_eggs_health_benefits_cholesterol.html
http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/facts/health-benefits-of-eggs.htm
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/benefits-of-eggs

Should You Eat Carbs, Or Avoid Them?

Carbohydrates have been put into the spotlight ever since diets like the Atkin’s Diet and the South Beach Diet have recommended cutting carbohydrates out of your meals as much as possible. However, before you make any drastic decisions about what foods to include and not include, it is crucial to learn about carbohydrates and what they do for your body.

Simple or "bad" carbs (Photo credit: Newbirth35)

In short, carbohydrates can be good or bad for your body. It is necessary to eat enough good carbohydrates, because that is how our body has enough energy for low-intensity activities during the day. Carbohydrates are famously found in breads and grains, but actually they are also found in a number of other foods as well, such as fruits and vegetables. When keeping an eye on your intake of carbohydrates it is important to distinguish the good from the bad.

What Are Carbs?

All carbohydrates are basically sugars. Complex carbohydrates are the good carbohydrates for your body. These strings of sugar are very difficult to break down and trap other nutrients like vitamins and minerals in the sugar strings. As they slowly break down, the other nutrients are also released into your body, and provide you with fuel for a number of hours.

Bad carbohydrates, on the other hand, are simple sugars. Because their structure is not complex, it is easy to break down and holds little nutrients for your body other than the sugars. Your body breaks down these carbohydrates rather quickly and what it cannot use is converted to fat and stored in the body. Staying away from simple carbohydrates is what most diets recommend, since they have little nutritional value when compared to complex carbohydrates.

Eating The Right Carbs

Good carbs - Fresh fruit and vegetables (Photo credit: Mundoo)

More importantly than how carbohydrates work in the body and the difference between good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates is how you actually eat these carbohydrates! First, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. These foods include complex carbohydrates, but also a variety of other nutrients needed by your body. Another great tip is to cut the white bread and bread products out of your diet and replace them with whole grain or multi-grain breads instead. Look at the packaging. Foods rich in fiber are probably a source of good carbohydrates.

Learning the difference between good and bad carbohydrates is very important if you wish to have a healthy diet. It is not good for your body to cut out carbohydrates completely—in fact, that is very difficult to do unless you only eat meat! Eating a healthy and balanced diet means including good carbohydrates in your meals along with protein and healthy fats.

To learn more about health, carbs, and the dangerous lies we've been told about them, we highly recommend Gary Taube's book, Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health.

And stay tuned to this blog for some good, low-carb recipes featuring healthy, whole ingredients.

Learn More About Carbs & Healthy Eating: 
    

Why Real Healthy Food Tastes So Good

Today I'm being a little introspective, as I was inspired this morning to explore something. I was sitting on my porch in the sun, eating a sourdough Wasa cracker with small slices of locally made raw milk Gouda from my CSA share - a perfect combination of crisp & creamy, salty & nutty. Each bite tasted so wholesome and complete - I could practically feel my body thanking me. I had started off with half of a container of ripe, sweet purple raspberries, and as I finished my second cracker and the last of the cheese, I realized that was all I wanted for breakfast. So that's all I had.

Lettuces (Photo credit: AlyssssylA)

As I was eating, I pondered how perfect everything tasted, and thought about how so many people think "healthy" food is bland, tasteless, or just plain tastes bad. I realized this is because what people usually think of as healthy food often really does!

The problem is that many of us have forgotten what real food is supposed to taste like. If you go by what you find on the grocery store shelves, yeah, maybe the "healthy" stuff doesn't taste so great. With the produce section filled with bland, waxed, under ripe fruits and vegetables picked who knows how long ago, and the common presumption that the "low fat" or nonfat version of everything is the healthiest, you're right - it's not so tasty.  But the difference between a grocery store tomato, and one picked ripe from your own garden in the summer sun, is (almost literally) comparing apples & oranges. The difference between the bag of chopped iceberg lettuce and shredded red cabbage (graying around the edges) from Kroger, and the salad bowl full of 7 kinds of mixed lettuce and greens picked from the garden yesterday (or this morning) that I get in my CSA share every week...well, one can't even hold a candle to the other - and it doesn't take a genius to know which one tastes better.

This year was the first time I added the cheese option to my CSA share, and although I almost didn't do it (it was pretty expensive), I was almost instantly addicted. The rich, tangy, flavorful variety of cheeses I got to experience bore no resemblance to the uniform orange shrink-wrapped rectangular blocks from the supermarket (and don't get me wrong - I  love cheese, of almost all kinds). Plus, they were made locally, using fresh milk from local farms, and contained no preservatives, artificial coloring, or any such junk. Each variety contained only milk (goat, cow, or a combination), salt, enzymes, and cultures. And each was totally different from the other. From salty, dry Feta, with a fresh taste never experienced with store-bought Feta (which I usually love), to soft goat cheese gently smoked and rolled in spicebush berries, to creamy, mild Gouda, each week was a new taste sensation to experience.

Not to mention the wide variety of fresh vegetables that fill my refrigerator - all grown and harvested within a couple of hours from me, usually the day before. Swiss chard (which, by the way, can be bitter after being refrigerated a few days, so if you tried chard from the store and didn't like it, this may be why), salad mix, mushrooms, sprouts, spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, garlic, radishes, herbs, the list goes on - all of these much fresher, sweeter, and downright tastier than anything you'll find in the grocery store produce section.

CSA Box - Week of April 30 - May 6 (Photo credit: Suzies Farm)

This is real food - whole, natural, unadulterated - grown organically in good, natural soil, picked recently, and delivered to me within hours. And boy does it ever taste good!! And the health and nutrition factor also just can't compare. Vitamins don't survive long after harvesting. Most grocery store vegetables (especially those that are cut) have lost the majority of their nutrients by the time you put them in your cart.

The same is true with other foods too - though. Fresh milk - lightly pasteurized (or raw, if you can get it) tastes nothing like the watery stuff in the plastic jugs sitting in rows in the refrigerator cases at Giant Eagle. Fresh bread, warm from the oven (even the plain old Walmart kind) has no resemblance to the bland uniform slices in the packaged bread aisle. Or try whole grain sprouted bread for a real taste (and nutrition) treat!

And I don't guess I need to even mention the proverbial apples and oranges, as nowhere is the sad lack of flavor more evident than in mass-produced supermarket fruit.

All that said, maybe I couldn't pay you enough to eat a Wasa cracker. And I do admit they are pretty bland and tasteless. I just love them for some reason! But in general, real, whole, fresh foods are not only the healthiest, but also the best tasting foods you'll find anywhere. If you're trying to eat healthier, try joining a local CSA and see just how good healthy can really taste. Or for the ultimate in fresh, grow (or cook) your own!

For some helpful resources, just visit the links below.

Finding a CSA: http://www.newholisticliving.com/csa.html
Growing your own food: http://www.newholisticliving.com/sustainablegardening.html
Cooking from scratch: http://www.newholisticliving.com/cookingfromscratch.html

4 Tips For Eating Healthy Every Day

Healthy eating means balancing the food you eat to keep your body in great health.  When you eat healthy foods that are fresh and contain the nutrition you need, you'll have energy all day, get the vitamins and minerals you need, stay strong for activities you enjoy, and maintain a healthy weight.

Here are 4 great tips for eating healthy on a daily basis:

1.  Don't skip meals
Eating 3 meals with light but nutritious snacks in between is the ideal way to maintain both energy and a healthy weight. When you skip meals and get hungry, you're more likely to choose foods that aren't very good for you.

If you are eating away from home, take food with you or know where you can buy healthy food from when on the go.

Healthy eating pyramid similar to that of the Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)2.  Learn about how to prepare healthy foods
Instead of deep frying, try grilling, stir frying, microwaving, baking, and even boiling.  You should also try fresh or dried herbs and spices to add flavor to your food. Check this blog on a regular basis for tasty from-scratch recipes that won't make you feel deprived!

3.  Avoid sugar (and artificial sweeteners)
Drinks and foods that contain a lot of sugar are a major source of empty calories.  What this means, is that these foods and beverages contain a lot of calories that your body may not need, and don't contain many (or any) vitamins or minerals.  However, if you absolutely must drink soda pop, stick with the regular variety - diet sodas contain a lot of chemicals that taste sweet, but which actually have been shown to INCREASE your appetite, and make you want to eat more, and they also are completely empty of any nutrition. So stick with regular, and try to cut down to once a week or save it for special occasions.

4.  Avoid fad diets
There are no good food nor any bad foods.  Just about any (real) food can be a part of a healthy diet, when eaten in moderation.  You don't need to buy low-carb, fat-free, or even diet foods, as these foods normally are highly processed, and have lots of other added ingredients (none of which are good for you) to replace the carbohydrates or fat. You're better off to choose plenty of whole, fresh, unprocessed foods, and make it a habit to eat a nice balance of these, and avoid processed foods with artificial ingredients as much as possible.

Not big on cooking, or don't know much about preparing your own healthy foods at home?  Check out http://www.newholisticliving.com/cookingfromscratch.html for some helpful tips and resources.

Oats - A Super Food For A Strong & Healthy Heart

Oats gained a special distinction as a super food back in 1997 when the Food and Drug Administration made the claim that there is an association between a diet high in oats and a reduced risk of coronary heart disease. With that announcement, oats, oatmeal, oat bran, and oat flour skyrocketed in popularity amount the whole grains, placing it right up there in the top 10 super foods. Let's take a look at what else this well known, but not totally understood, grain has to offer.

Super Nutrition for a Long Life

oats before blending (Photo credit: sweetbeetandgreenbean)We know that oats, along with other whole grains, provide protection against heart disease, potentially extending the lifespan of people who include this food regularly in their diets. That would seem to be enough of a reason to add oats to your diet, but there's more. This is a high fiber, high protein food that's low in calories and rich in important vitamins and minerals like iron, calcium, copper, potassium, manganese, and selenium.

Beta glucan is the main ingredient responsible for lowering serum cholesterol levels. Oats also contain special antioxidants called avenanthramides. Together these two elements have been shown to significantly reduce LDL cholesterol levels when oats are consumed on a regular basis.

Oats have a low glycemic index which means the energy from this food burns slowly and stays with you to satisfy your hunger for a longer period of time. Having nutrients released slowly into the bloodstream and throughout the body helps stabilize blood sugar levels, eliminating the spikes which can cause many health problems, concentration problems, and dieting problems. In addition, the B vitamins contribute to strong healthy skin, nails, and hair.

Along with other whole grains, studies have found that consuming oats can aid in the battle against breast cancer, Type 2 diabetes, and asthma in children. With this sort of super food on your side, why wouldn't you eat it?

Countless Ways to Enjoy

Oats are an inexpensive and widely available grain that can be easily incorporated into meals at any time of day. Oats are easy to store in containers or airtight bags, and have a very long shelf life.

A bowl of hot cereal in the morning is the most familiar way oats are served. Whether you buy raw oatmeal or quick cooking, you are starting off with a good basis for nutrition. Vary the toppings and you vary the recipe enough to eat servings of oatmeal a number of times each week without getting bored. Add berries, nuts, stevia, or protein powders to boost the flavor and superpowers of your oatmeal.

Oat Pumpkin Pancakes (Photo credit: digiyesica)Besides breakfast cereal, there are a number of other ways to incorporate oats into your daily diet. Oats can provide a toasty coating for baked or broiled fish, and are often used to make hearty muffins, cookies, and other desserts. Don't forget about convenient trail mixes or granola bars. Oats are often the central ingredient in those tasty treats.

Mixing oatmeal in as a binder in ground meat for burgers, meatloaf, and meatballs is another way to 'sneak' more nutrition into your diet. Oats also play center stage in a number of bread recipes, whether as a main ingredient or to add just a bit of heartiness and crunch. (Be sure to check back later this week for some tasty recipes to add more oats to your diet!)

As part of your healthy diet, incorporating up to three servings of whole grains a day is recommended by many nutritionists and health experts. Oats provide enough significant benefits for healthy living to make them a vital part of your good diet.

Video - Healthy Snack Wrap Recipe

Here is a really tasty-looking snack wrap, which is healthy and super easy to make. You can add many different kinds of vegetables - whatever you like or have on hand, but I would always recommend chopping them yourself - not buying cut or grated veggies like she mentions in the video. Almost all vegetables (and fruits) begin to oxidize and lose nutrition quickly as soon as they are cut, so you don't want to buy cut veggies that have been sitting in the store for several days - most of the nutrients will already be gone. Instead choose whole veggies, and use a food processor if you like, to quickly chop or grate small amounts as needed. This way you are getting the full nutritional content of the vegetable.

And of course, for the most nutrition possible, grow your own, or buy local at a farmer's market or CSA, to get them as close to harvest as possible!

Enjoy - this made me hungry just watching!

Healthy Cooking Lessons : Healthy Snacks Recipes
A great, healthy snack recipe is to spread Neufchatel cheese on a whole wheat tortilla, add sprouts, carrots and bell peppers, and roll up the tortilla with the vegetables inside. Cut the rolled tortilla into pieces for a more appealing presentation ...

Video - 5 Healthy & Delicious Breakfast Ideas

Here is a great video on 5 easy and healthy breakfast ideas - check these out, and try them all! (We don't recommend soy milk - non-homogenized organic milk, or even raw milk if you can get it - is best.) But the rest of the info is good, and pay attention to the comments about organic choices. These are various quick and delicious ways to get the nutrients you need to start your day off right.

Healthy Breakfast Food Recipes - Nutrition by Natalie
Be My Friend - www.myspace.com Healthy Breakfast Food Recipes - Nutrition by Natalie Natalie tell you five different healthy breakfast items and how to cook or make them. A good breakfast is key to your health and wellness. Items include, Smoothie, B...

The Benefits of Juice

This week we are continuing our raw food series, in a different vein. For many, it can be hard to become a total raw-foodist, so we are offering some more suggestions for incorporating raw foods into your diet. One of the best ways is juicing.

Eating raw foods is a way to give your body some of the nutrition it desperately needs. Many of us in America are at least slightly overweight, and even the morbidly obese are starving for essential proteins and amino acids. All the processed, cooked foods we eat give us only a small percentage of what we need. Consequently, we eat and eat and yet we’re still not nourished. Psychologists try to tell us we’re eating to make up for an emptiness in our souls. Wrong! Our bodies our empty of nutrients and trying to tell us so.

Image via Wikipedia

Eating raw foods is good for us on so many levels. It’s satisfying to eat them. They take more time to chew and swallow, so we don’t eat as fast. And we’re getting so much more in the way of nutrition - enzymes, vitamins, minerals, etc. - by consuming fruits, vegetables, nuts and sprouts.

It can take time to prepare raw foods, however. Which is why a juicer is an important addition to your kitchen once your start to be serious about raw foods. A good juicer can process an entire apple – seeds, stems, peel, pulp and all – and turn all that into a healthy, nutritious juice.

Buying apple juice is NOT the same thing!!! Don’t even look at apple juices or even ciders in the grocery store. Put that $2 or $3 aside for a few months and save up for a juicer. Buy bags of apples, orange, bananas, carrots and make your own juices Image via Wikipedia
to get everything from the fruit that you’d get by eating it raw. Now you’re getting juice that’s as fresh as the fruit or vegetable you made it from. No preservatives, no processing that strips most of the energy from the fruit. And think of all the delicious combinations you can make with the many tropical fruits that are available now in most grocery stores. You can customize your fruits and add non-typical ingredients like pumpkin to an orange juice. Now that’s a powerhouse of a juice!

The Humble Bean - A Super Food of Great Variety

Whether you are vegetarian or not, you can't dispute the many health benefits of the humble bean! There aren't a lot of foods that can hold more than one place on the food pyramid. But, long before we started talking about super foods, ancient peoples knew the benefits this humble food had to offer; as a vegetable, a protein, and a healer.

Image via WikipediaIn traditional Indian medicine, there exists an ages-old system of living and healing that includes a vegetarian diet using legumes like lentils, beans, and peas to keep the body healthy. Now, beyond the Middle-Eastern cultures, many people recognize the power of the bean to support whole nutrition and well-being. Here, we discuss some of the benefits of beans, and why they are leading a double life as a well-respected super food.

Perfect Nutrition On Many Levels

Legumes are edible seeds contained in pods, and beans are part of that family. By their very nature, beans have a convenience factor that makes them a favorite food in many parts of the world. They are generally inexpensive and store well with the potential for a long shelf life, particularly when they are dried. Beans offer sustained nutrition and energy due to the fact they have a low glycemic index, meaning they provide energy to the body over a long period of time.

You won't get bored quickly eating beans, either. There is virtually an endless variety of beans and legumes to choose from, as well as a mountain of recipes to try when adding beans to your healthy diet. A short list of beans would include navy beans, black beans, lentils, soybeans, great northern beans, mung beans, garbanzo beans, pinto beans, black eyed peas, and kidney beans.

Beans are an excellent source of dietary fiber, minerals, and vitamins, and are naturally low in fat, calories, and sodium. You can serve beans in nutritious main dishes or side dishes that will satisfy your appetite with less-costly consequences to your body, or budget. These reasons alone would easily earn beans their super food status, but there's more!

Eating several servings of beans each day not only helps you reach your daily vegetable requirement, but those same beans also add up as your protein intake. Yes, those inexpensive, versatile beans are a protein. That's why we consider them a double-duty super food. Beans can easily be combined in recipes with other protein sources, vegetables, and starches like corn, whole wheat, or brown rice to create 'complete proteins' containing all the necessary amino acids our bodies require to function well.

Image via WikipediaGood Health Contributions

Beans have numerous healthy qualities that make them excellent additions to any diet. As we mentioned, not only are beans a nutritious vegetable source, but a perfect choice as a meat substitute. By reducing high-fat protein sources like red meats in your diet, and substituting low fat beans as your source of protein, you are fighting high cholesterol, high blood pressure, as well as a host of other ailments that can occur from a diet high in fat.

Antioxidants battle those nasty free radicals, the cell damaging agents in your body, and beans have some of the highest antioxidant content of any food on the planet. Although the benefits vary between different types of beans, all beans help regulate blood pressure and blood sugar levels, lower cholesterol, and improve digestion. The dietary fiber and enzymes in beans have the added benefit of helping to block cancer-causing cells and compounds in the intestines and colon.

The humble little kidney bean contains a healthy dose of thiamin, which regulates memory and brain function. Many beans also contain isoflavones, which can ease menopause symptoms and improve bone and prostate health, just to name a few benefits. Choose any bean and you've chosen a super food well worth the title.

Unlimited Possibilities

Beans can be cooked in countless dishes like chili, stew, soup, stir fry, tacos, salads, casseroles, and omelets. Try your hand at several main dishes or side dishes and explore your options. Don't limit yourself to just the classic beans and rice dish. Choose a new salad or a tasty dip for chips. Hot, cold, mashed, or whole, the bean will constantly surprise you with its versatility.

Image via WikipediaAs opposed to canned beans, dried beans are the cheapest way to have this super food on hand. In general, cooking dried beans is easy. Rinse your dried beans, cover in water and soak overnight. Then, set the beans in a big pot, cover them with fresh water, bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour or so until they are soft. You can skip soaking them overnight, just increase the cooking time to about two hours. OR, use the Quick Soak method: rinse, cover with a couple of inches of water, bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Turn off, cover, and let sit 1 hour. Drain, rinse, and add fresh water, and most varieties will cook in about an hour. (Garbanzos/chick peas, and pintos may take a bit longer.) You will also find many recipes for cooking dried beans in a crockpot or pressure cooker. Do a bit of research or follow the directions on the package of beans for best results.

No matter how you choose to eat this super food, your body will thank you.  You can eat enough beans to satisfy even the heartiest appetite without worrying about fat or calories.  Beans are economical, a great source of dietary fiber, and are loaded with vitamins and minerals.  Besides all that good news, a bag of beans in your pantry means you've always got protein in your house, too. As far as super foods go, beans easily make it to the top of the list.

Be sure to check back later this week for a couple of great recipes featuring the humble bean!

Find More on Superfoods & Beans Here:
    

Video - Paleo Diet vs. Food Pyramid

This quick video explains the differences between the USDA Food Pyramid, and the Paleo Diet. I am SO in agreement with their assessment of processed foods (which I'm sure you know if you've been reading this blog for long!)  :-)    Please excuse the typos - it's still a lot of good info, and a lot of people have had great success following this diet.


Paleo Diet vs. the Food Pyramid: The food pyramid emphasizes a lot of modern day processed foods. Maybe it's because the billion dollar grain industry created the food pyramid?? Or maybe its just a sheer misunderstanding of nutrition. Our food pyramid should really be based on what we should eat as humans to obtain good health, and what our body needs in order to stay healthy....



Click here for more info on the Paleo Diet

 

Related Articles on the Paleo Diet:

• A Peek Into the Paleo Diet: Dinner with Philip & Leona (thekitchn.com)
• Evils of Soy Prove Paleo Diet (blogcritics.org)
• Zone Diet vs. Paleo Diet: What's the difference? Which one is better? (level11fitblog.wordpress.com)
• The Paleo Diet: Why Cavemen Do It Better (fyiliving.com)
• The Paleo Solution (kk.org)

Paleo Diet - Interview with Greg Battaglia

This week we will be focusing on the Paleo Diet, which has become quite popular over the past few years, as people become more aware of their health, and how much what we eat really does affect us. Don't know what the Paleo Diet is?  Read on to find out! And for some recipes and videos, be sure to check back later this week.

Cover via AmazonThe Paleo Diet in the Modern World
Interview by Nikki Young

The paleo diet is defined by eating meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, plants, nuts and seeds. But should we be concerned, or at least aware of the modern modifications we often implement to create a meal? Are we eating paleo with too many modifications, or do we hold the ability to create an even more nutritiously dense meal and obtain better health than our ancestors? What if we could find out the exact foods our closest genetic ancestors ate and mimicked that to our diet as close as possible, would we obtain the same good health our ancestors had, or has our environment changed too much that our bodies now require more?

To obtain a better insight I spoke with Greg Battaglia.

The paleo or paleolithic diet is one which bases the concept of the foods available to our hunter gatherer ancestors, which ultimately breaks down to foods provided and found in nature, without the necessity or addition of modern food techniques, chemicals, preservatives or processing. The fundamentals of the paleo diet provide us with the basic guidelines and principles we should apply to our diets and lifestyle today; not necessarily the exact foods available to our ancestors within their environment.

But the question then arises, are we ultimately in a position now where we are fortunate enough to have a large range of food sources we can choose from - and have the ability to achieve even greater health than our ancestors because of this? Or should we possibly be avoiding many of the food sources our ancestors wouldn't have had available and/or in the amount they would have had available, because our genes are still adapted from the more minimal food sources our ancestors consumed and had available?

Greg:
It is known that our ancestors had generally good health and didn't suffer from many of the chronic illnesses that we do today. Ultimately the diet of our ancestors varied somewhat depending on where they lived, their environmental climates as well as other factors.

Ancestors living around Canada would live mostly of fresh salmon, deer, elk, berries and plants. Whereas ancestors living around Africa would have lived on plant roots and animals. And then there are the Aboriginals in Australia who live off the land who eat animals, bugs, plants, native nuts and honey.

Image via WikipediaNikki:
But research shows all our ancestors had good health - because they where eating natural food sources available. But if this changed, and Aboriginals suddenly lived in Canada, eating salmon and berries, and ancestors in Africa suddenly lived in the outback of Australia - would they all still have vibrant health?

Greg: 
This is a great question that I've pondered myself self many times. I can't say that I have an exact answer. I personally look at paleo as an explanation for why certain dietary strategies work rather than a prescription, per se. For instance, the fact that many people are gluten intolerant can be explained using the paleo model. If gluten didn't cause any problems we wouldn't tell people to not eat grains simply because our ancestors didn't. I guess what I'm saying is that the paleo model can guide our ideas, but ultimately solid science must be there to confirm it.

In terms of diets differing based on geographic locating, there is some evidence that isolated groups develop adaptations to certain foods. For instance, the people on the island of Okinawa have developed a salivary enzyme that is used specifically for breaking down starches contained in rice, whereas people of European descent do not have this specific enzyme. This is obviously due to the fact that Okinawans have been eating a lot of rice for a long time and somehow were able to develop some adaptations to it.

I think it's also important to consider that probably not all of our ancestors in the Paleolithic were necessarily healthy. Some probably had to survive long periods on limited food sources and indeed developed deficiencies. Others probably survived in a lush environment with a wide variety of nutrient dense foods and flourished with excellent health.

I think at the end of the day the goal is two-fold:
1. Get all essential nutrients needed
2. Avoid things that cause problems (possibly grains, dairy, legumes)

Whether all of our ancestors were able to do this or not is irrelevant to our modern needs. The fact that the Australian Aboriginals, the Inuit, and the Kalahari Bushmen were able to survive for so long suggests that all of their diets met the 2 previous requirements. If they didn't, they would have died off pretty fast, as I'm sure happened to plenty of cultures that failed to thrive.

Image via WikipediaI think the main reason that paleo works so well is because it simply removes the stuff that we know to cause problems. Whether you eat lots of fish, broccoli, spinach, and collard greens or lots of beef, cauliflower, carrots, and sweet potatoes (not saying that you can eat just those foods and meet all nutritional requirements) and end up meeting all your macro and micronutrient and calorie needs you'll be healthy since you met your needs and avoided the stuff that's going to cause damage in the first place.

Nikki:
Although our ancestors wouldn't have combined many of the foods we have, we are now able to eat more than one nutritious food source at any one time. Additionally, combining certain foods can help the synergy of nutrients and help with digestibility. With that in mind, should we be concerned with high calorie meals, high carb meals or liquid meals even if 100% of the ingredients are paleo friendly? And does this ultimately begin to go outside the basic principles of the paleo diet?

Greg:
When it comes to food combining, I keep a very simple rule: never eat a meal that is both high in fat and carbs. All meals should be either high in fat and protein OR high in protein and carbs, but never high in both fat and carbs. The reason for this is that the insulin spike that follows carb consumption signals for fat molecules to be stored at the nearest adipose sites. If blood insulin levels and blood fat levels are simultaneously elevated body composition will suffer along with performance, as the body will be running on glucose rather than the more consistent burning fat.

Don't get me wrong, calories still count when it comes to fat loss and body composition, but so do macronutrients ratios and combinations. However, it's also important to understand when to consume a protein/carb meal. The best time is post-workout if you have a performance goal. If I don't workout on a particular day I keep all of my meals high in protein and fat and low in carbs, since my muscle didn't need any glycogen to be replace, hence the absence of a post workout meal containing starchy carbs.

Here would be my recommendation:

• For general health/longevity: 90% of the time eat high protein/high fat meals, even post-workout. Eat meals higher in paleo carbs occasionally to re-calibrate insulin sensitivity.
• For performance goals: Eat a high-carb (starchy paleo carbs such as sweet potatoes, squash, yams, etc.)/high protein meal post workout after metabolic conditioning workouts, but not after strength work. The rest of your meals should be high protein/high fat/low carb.

However, since the paleo lifestyle is one based on health, longevity, and quality of life I think it's key to stay with the basics:

Eat whole paleo foods, keep carb and fat meals separate, moderate calorie intake and don't gorge, load up on veggies and pastured meats, incorporate some intelligent intermittent fasting, develop some stress reducing techniques, exercise just enough to get the benefits, but not enough to get injured or cause long-term wear and tear. When you have goals that go beyond that, such as performance or body composition goals, you have to stretch the paleo concept and make some compromises with your lifestyle and sometimes with your health and longevity.

NOTE: Interview has been edited for length. If you would like a copy of the full interview, please post a comment below and we will arrange to get you a copy.

Be sure to check back for some yummy Paleo recipes and more interesting info on this unique way of eating, later this week!