Three commandments of healthy eating

Clients often ask me the same question: “What is the best diet?” Raw food? Paleo? A diet without gluten, lactose? Carbohydrate or protein diet? I would be incredibly happy one day to give a definitive answer to this seemingly simple question. But, alas, this is not possible. I firmly believe that you need to eat varied and not allow yourself to starve.

I am also confident in the “three pillars” that any diet you choose should stand on. Yes, they will not be able to solve all your problems in one fell swoop. But by taking these three factors into account when designing a meal plan, we can minimize all the risks associated with diets and make our diet ideal.

I’m talking about the “Power of Three”: blood sugar balance, fatty acid balance and nutritional value.

Blood sugar level

Food charges our body with energy: this is done by glucose, entering the bloodstream. Ideally, the body should be “charged” gradually, so it will have time to process glucose, and blood sugar levels will be normal. But most of the diets we choose cause regular spikes in blood glucose. Prolonged adherence to such a diet is fraught with the occurrence of type XNUMX diabetes, insulin resistance and weight gain – the body converts excess glucose into fat.

For decades, we have been taught to replace fatty foods with starchy foods, and in vain. White bread, pasta and potatoes fill our blood with a huge amount of glucose. This does not mean that we should abandon them forever. On the contrary, eating these foods in small amounts will not do any harm. But I know the classic average person’s diet: for breakfast, a bowl of cereal with milk, a sandwich for lunch, and a plate of pasta with sauce for dinner. And bread, which is served before meals, if dinner is in a restaurant. You can’t eat like that. But there is also good news. While some carbohydrates are so refined that they easily saturate the blood with glucose, others require more effort from the body to digest them. Accordingly, sugar is released slowly, and its balance in the blood does not go beyond the permissible.

Another simple tip is to combine proteins and carbohydrates at every meal. For example, soft-boiled eggs with a piece of toast, baked salmon with mashed potatoes. Not only will this diet keep your blood sugar in balance, but it will also help you feel full longer.

Fatty acid balance

Throughout our lives, we divide fats into “good” and “bad”. Without realizing it, we are harming our health. The problem with vegetable oils and polyunsaturated fats, which we used to think of as healthy alternatives to regular fats, is that they are mostly omega-6s. Yes, omega-6 fatty acids are extremely beneficial for our health, but only in very small doses! In large quantities, they can provoke inflammation, which over time can lead to heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Omega-3 fatty acids, on the other hand, have an anti-inflammatory effect. And we need to train ourselves to eat more omega-3s every day. These fatty acids are found in salmon, mackerel, herring, anchovies, and sardines. Superfoods like chia seeds and spirulina are also full of omega-3s, but they are more balanced in fish. It is important to replace sunflower oil with olive oil, and corn oil with butter. And don’t be afraid of butter – if you don’t eat a pack a day, it’s extremely healthy!

Pass the tests

• How You Eat: What Your Diet Says About You

Nutritional value

In the age of refined food, the cornerstone of every diet is to maximize the nutritional value of foods. By this, I mean choosing the food that, in addition to feeling full, can give our body vitamins and minerals. Try to eat plant foods at every meal. Add fresh berries to your morning oatmeal, chop lettuce to your lunch sandwich, and replace potatoes for dinner with a vegetable side dish of broccoli or green beans. The quality of the meat you eat also matters. Farm chicken and beef, fatty fish are much healthier for the body than broiler chickens and other “meat from the supermarket.”