Your Next Grocery List
The common saying, slow and steady wins the race, is so true when it comes to losing weight and being healthy. There is no diet, or I should say healthy diet, that results in 50 pounds lost in 2 weeks. More importantly if you want to be healthy and stop feeling tired all the time, you need to eat the right food. Unfortunately, that’s not the easiest thing to do in today’s world, and I completely get it. For this reason, I decided to create this grocery list with foods that are scientifically proven to positively affect your gut health.
Why is gut health so important? Well, inflammation in the gut leads to inflammation in the brain via the brain-gut-axis. Eating the wrong kinds of foods causes inflammation in the gut (another reason you should consider a food sensitivity test by the way). When gut health is wrong, brain health is wrong and considering your brain controls everything your body does, you could see why it is important to eat the right kinds of food.
Soluble Fiber: Inulin
Inulin feeds healthy bacteria in your gut and is found in the following list of foods. Slowly introduce these foods into your diet if you haven’t already, as they can cause gas build-up. Once your body gets used to these foods on a regular basis, you will not have any discomfort with eating larger quantities. One of the many benefits with inulin is improvement in constipation/digestion.
Choose 2-3 minimum:
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Garlic
- Onions
- Bananas
- Artichokes
Fermented Foods
These are awesome for your health, and if you want to kill two birds with one stone then fermented foods are the way to go. Not only do they provide healthy bacteria, but they also provide the fiber that healthy bacteria feed on. Try to limit the amount of dairy you do consume, but yogurt and cottage cheese are an option when it comes to good fermented foods.
Choose 2-3 minimum:
- Yogurt (with fruit)
- Sauerkraut
- Pickles
- Cottage Cheese
- Pickled cucumbers, Pickled garlic, Pickled beets, Pickled radish
- Miso
- Tempeh
- Soy Sauce
- Kimchi
- Kombucha
- Kefir
Eat Fat
You’re not going to gain weight by eating the right kind of fat. In fact, your brain is 60% fat and needs fat to function properly. If you want to lose weight, you need your brain functioning properly so feed it what it needs and keep it happy.
Take for example licorice versus avocados. One causes weight gain and the other doesn’t. One has no fat and the other is high in fat. It is the processed sugars that cause weight gain and not the unsaturated fat found in avocados. Avoid sugar and processed foods if you want to lose weight and feel better.
Choose 2-3 minimum:
- Avocados
- Fish (Wild Caught: Salmon, Albacore Tuna, Rainbow Trout)
- Nuts and Seeds
- Olive Oil
- Coconut
- Eggs
Protein: Lots of It
Healthy sources of protein are vital to our health. They provide amino acids which are the building blocks for everything in our body. If it’s in your budget, we recommend organic, pasture-raised meats as they are devoid of hormones and antibiotics.
Choose 2-3 minimum:
- Wild caught fish
- Organic eggs and poultry
- Seeds
- Beans
Antioxidants
New research suggests that antioxidants help protect friendly gut bacteria. In addition, antioxidants essentially cancel out the harmful free radicals in our bodies. Free radicals are cancer causing and also speed up aging. Use the following list of foods, high in antioxidants:
Choose 3-4 minimum:
- Apples
- Oranges
- Blueberries
- Rasberries
- Grapes
- Red wine
- Herbs & Spices (ginger, rosemary and turmeric)
- Broccoli
- Asparagus
- Avocados
- Green Tea
- Flaxseed
Limit Barley, Rye, & Wheat
These three tend to cause spikes in blood sugar. You need to consider whole grain versions of these or the following alternatives:
- Buckwheat
- Amaranth
- Quinoa
What Supplements Should I Take?
You should also be taking the following supplements every day:
- Omega-3 (fish oil)
- Vitamin D
- Probiotic
- Whole Foods based Multi-Vitamin
Be careful about where you purchase your supplements as some supplements don’t actually contain what is said to be in them. At Hampton Chiropractic, we offer high quality supplements including the ones mentioned above. In addition, Dr. Hampton only stocks what he and his family take every day.
Hopefully, all this information you find useful, and that you start incorporating these foods into your diet on a regular basis. Keep in mind that you don’t have to be perfect to be healthy. A good tip is to take something you eat that you consider unhealthy and replace it with something just a little healthier. For example, if you eat ice cream, try to replace it with sorbet or yogurt with fruit. Or, if you drink soda, switch to a sweetened green tea. Doing this across the board, can really make a positive impact in your health.