Nutrition Basics - 6 Keys To Better Health Through Better Eating

Nutritional supplements can be a confusing topic. Unfortunately, the topic of healthy eating and what a healthy diet really is has become just as confusing. Personally, I have gone through many experiments and I have tried all sorts of nutritional plans, so I can speak about this with some authority. Here are six key points to keep in mind when considering which nutritional plan you should follow. I have found that following these principles has helped me tremendously with all my (former!) health issues:

1. Avoid all de-natured foods. This includes eliminating all junk food, fast foods or deep-fried foods, and generally, anything that nature did not mean for us to eat. This was the first step that I took and it helped a lot, especially with allergy symptoms.

2. Avoid all preservatives, colorings and other additives. Chemical food additives such as aspartame, sucralose, monosodium glutamate and many others, have been shown in study after study to cause all sorts of health problems, including inflammatory conditions, allergies, severe allergic reactions, psychological symptoms and attention deficit. I'm not going to single out any specific substances, but any serious internet search will yield a surprisingly scary list of symptoms associated with food additives.

3. Above all, avoid sugar and excessive alcohol. No matter how sweet it may seem to be, sugar is actually quite poisonous, except when eaten in very small quantities. Excess sugar is converted by the body into triglycerides. In other words, it becomes fat. Surprisingly, for most people, this involves avoiding sweet fruits. Groups such as watermelon and bananas have a high amount of fruit sugar, which, for most people, is completely unhealthy. Better choices are granny Smith apples, kiwis and grapefruits, fruits with a low fructose content.

4. Eat plenty of vegetables and fiber. Vegetables are the most important food group, as they contain good-quality carbohydrates, fiber and a broad array of antioxidants. Antioxidants are known to protect the body from the assault of oxidation on our cells. Vegetables are the foods that pack the greatest punch in terms of our health, and eating fresh vegetables is essential for everyone.

5. Eat grass-fed beef and lamb, organic eggs and fresh fish. Although there is much controversy as to whether or not we should be eating meat and fish, in people in traditional cultures, who live in nature, vegetarianism is almost nonexistent. Most cultures tend to eat some type of animal protein. Furthermore, our bodies need fat and cholesterol in order to make DHEA. This is a hormone which is made directly from cholesterol and from this hormone are made most of the other hormones in the body, including testosterone and estradiol. The important thing is to find the best-quality and cleanest meat and fish on the market.

6. Take supplements. No matter what we do, it is very difficult to get the optimal nutrition our bodies need in today's world, due to the industrialization of the food supply, the degradation of the vitamin content in foods and the contamination with poisons such as pesticides and heavy metals. The most important supplements to take on a daily basis are a broad spectrum multivitamin and a top-quality concentrated fish oil. The best multivitamins available today have most of the substances our bodies need to function properly and can protect us from deficiencies. Concentrated fish oil is perhaps the most important supplement anyone can take. Its list of benefits is very long, and runs the gamut from preventing heart disease and diabetes, to decreasing inflammation, allergic and asthmatic symptoms.

To sum up, I'd like to say that perhaps the most important principle in all of this is balance. Eating a lot of different healthy foods and rotating them on a daily basis is the most effective way to keep our bodies stronger and better able to deal with the stresses of life.