"Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food"
- Hippocrates
Note: These food suggestions are for the general population. Seek the advice of your practitioner for specific dietary needs and health challenges.
Eat more green vegetables – 70% raw, lightly steamed, or juiced green vegetables is ideal. Choose fruits lower in fructose such as lemons, limes, grapefruit, berries, pineapple, papaya, kiwi, avocados, and other fruits which are also a good source of anti-oxidants and enzymes. Eat organic as much as possible.
Choose alkaline foods over acidic foods. The most common acid causing foods and drinks are sugars, red meats, breads, processed and artificially flavored foods and drinks.
Nuts, Seeds: Raw walnuts, flaxseeds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, almonds, macadamia, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts for snacks if you have no allergies to these nuts. You may also make almond milk or nut butters such as sun-butter. Minimize pistachios and cashews. Avoid peanuts which have higher levels of fungi and mycotoxins, and which become allergenic to more people.
Grains and Beans: Amaranth, millet, organic oats, black beans, lentils, colored rice such as red, purple, black, and brown rice; and occasional quinoa and chickpeas. Avoid or at least minimize wheat and glutens.
Potatoes: Red, yellow, and purple potatoes have less starch and are a better choice than white potatoes.
Dairy: Pic-Nik label non-dairy milk, other nut-milks, hemp milk, coconut milk are acceptable and healthier alternatives to animal dairy. If you tolerate milk, organic grass-fed heavy whipping cream reduces to fewer grams of sugar than whole milk. Occasional organic, grass-fed milk or goat milk is acceptable if there is no lactose intolerance. K2 milk may be also be an alternative for people with lactose sensitivities.
Organic soft poached eggs, soft sunny-side up, or soft-boiled eggs are recommended over scrambled or fried eggs.
Organic cheese or hard cheeses from non-gmo fed animals such as imported irish cheese or kerry gold, manchego sheep cheese or other raw hard cheeses imported from non-gmo fed animals are healthier choices. Alternative cheeses such as vegan gourmet cheese, rice cheeses are acceptable if they are free of chemical preservatives.
Use organic butter. Imported Irish butter, kerry gold, or grass-fed butter is my favorite.
Seafood: Salmon, Copper River Salmon, halibut, bass, black cod/sablefish, rainbow trout, orange roughy, sardines, anchovies from cold water Atlantic, Icelandic or Norwegian waters are most beneficial. Wild caught fish contain fewer pesticides than most farm-raised fish. Small fish such as sardines from Norwegian waters carry less toxic metals and contaminants.
Avoid or minimize consuming tuna and large fish because research has indicated that they contain much higher levels of mercury than small fish.
Healthy oils: MCT oil, coconut oil (unrefined, organic), Cod liver oil, walnut oil, flax oil, EPA & DHA or plant omegas may be consumed as healthy dietary oils.
Olive oil (unrefined AND unheated), almond oil, saffron (red flower) oil, avocado oil, macadamia nut oils may be used for salad dressings.
For high heat cooking, grapeseed oil, avocado oil, sunflower oil, and ghee are better used.
For moderate heat cooking, unroasted sunflower oil,unroasted sesame oil, and safflower oil, palm kernel oil (label might say vegetable shortening—read ingredient) may be used. Organic butter or Irish imported butter may be used for cooking for those without dairy sensitivities. Coconut oil can tolerate cooking on low heat.
AVOID canola oil as a vegetable oil because it is acquired from GMO rapeseed. Oil sprays contain chemicals that inhibit the endocrine glands. Read the ingredients.
Meats: It is better for most to consume a higher percentage of greens and plant sourced foods along with the healthy fats, especially if you have health challenges. Choose fish, turkey, quail, chicken, game meats, over red meat such as beef. Healthier choice meats are wild game, grass fed meats, quail or turkey as other varieties to chicken. Hormone-free, pasture raised chicken is a healthier choice chicken. If you choose to eat red meat, it is better eaten in small portions as a small side.
Sweeteners: 100% whole leaf stevia that is unprocessed is ideal. Consider other natural sweeteners such as monk fruit, lo han fruit, small amounts of raw un-processed natural honey, xylitol from birch tree, organic maple syrup. Organic cane sugar, monk fruit, or brown sugar for baking may be used on occasions for special events.
Water: If you purchase bottled water, my favorite bottled waters are Icelandic, Rainfresh, Poland Spring Origin, Italian Still.