If you’re trying to get healthier, one of the primary areas to address is your diet! What you eat is what you are (really). What you eat fuels your body and provides the nutrients you need — or lack thereof. A healthy, nutrient-dense diet is critical to good health.
Sadly, there are a lot of mixed messages out there about what’s healthy. Eggs? Coffee? Butter vs. margarine; Sugar vs. Splenda (vs. no sugar at all…?). So many.
Healthy Made Simple
Healthy doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s simple really, if it’s “real food” — meaning it comes from a plant or animal that was raised without chemicals, and has been minimally processed — it is healthy. It really is that easy!
If it is man-made, has chemicals in it, has unpronounceable ingredients — it’s not healthy.
And no, you don’t need to worry about all the fat and cholesterol that is in animal products. Those are good for you. Quite necessary for health, actually. So let’s start reading!
Health and Diet
Here is a list of my older posts that will help you with health and diet:
- Low-Fat Diets are Not Healthy
- Does Calorie Counting Matter in Weight Loss?
- Why Low-Calorie Diets are Not the Answer
- Is Salt Good or Bad?
- Soy, Not a Health Food
- 10 Items You Shouldn’t Buy at the Store
- Healthy Fats: What, Where, and How to Find Them
- Raw Milk: Finding It, Using It and More
- Got Eggs?
- The Health Benefits of Water Kefir
Wherever you are in your journey, there’s something here for you!
Ok, my biggest issue/question is ….. When raw dairy just isn’t doable, what do you do? It’s illegal in my state and yes you can still get it by joining a co-op that brings it in from another state but at $12 a gallon for milk and cheese and cream prices that are literally 10 x that of organic, it simply isn’t doable for us and many other families. It’s frustrating and I’m all for lobbying for legalizing it and all that, but in the mean time, I need to figure out what’s “second best”. Sooooo, do we just give up dairy all together because if it’s not raw, there’s no point. Do we buy organic pasteurized and say, it’s good enough? Do we drink alternatives like almond milk, or are they too processed? Everytime I hear “raw dairy” from the real food community, I just want to pull my hair out in frustration. I need some practical advice for all the families who are really trying but for whom raw dairy is simply not an option right now.
I’m wondering the same thing Jennifer! Also, what are (if any) are the differences in pasteurization techniques? I keep seeing “ultra” and other ways of describing the process of products at the store, but don’t know where to look for a reliable source to research further. I prefer no pasteurization at all, but that’s not the reality of what’s available for me and I’d love to know what the best, most-nutritious would be for dairy.
Is it an option to get non-homogonized dairy products?? I know for a while before we were drinking raw milk, that’s what I was getting from a local farm. It was still pasturized (but not ultra). It’s definitely a step in the right direction. Don’t be discouraged. I think it’s great that you are trying to do what’s best for your family. In my opinion, drinking organic milk is better than almond milk, soy milk, etc. Good luck 🙂 🙂
My issue is why my baby weight isn’t coming off?
I have been eating super healthy for 4 weeks – no sugar and gluten free, small portions, daily coconut oil, water only (oh, and coffee) lots of healthy super foods and excercise and have only lost 2 kgs…and THEN…I weigh myself yesterday to find this week somehow I put ON 2kg. I seriously feel like giving up. I have about 20kg (that I gained during pregnancy) and it seriously won’t budge. I’m breastfeeding so don’t want to go crazy fad diet or shakes or anything like that. I’m just very discouraged.
Any suggestions?
I’m in the same boat, Tara. Sometimes the weight just sticks until you’re done breastfeeding. Just know you’re doing what’s best for your baby and keep taking care of yourself. It took 9 months to put on the weight and will have (safely!!!) 18 months to drop it all.
This is what I keep telling myself while all my other new-mom friends are already back in their pre-preggers jeans.