Healthy Weight Loss
Humans are designed to eat food
Minerals from the soil are broken down by bacteria from large rock–like molecules into tiny molecules that are often bound to protein. These miniature minerals are absorbed by plants. Plants use minerals from the soil, water from rain and dew, air and sunlight to create active minerals, sugars, vitamins and other plant-based nutrients called “phytonutrients.” That’s a lot of work! We eat the plants and gain the benefits of their hard work. (Sometimes we eat the animals that have eaten the plants.)
We are designed to digest plants and extract the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. We are designed to desire the plants as food. Culinary artists tell us that we have large taste buds for sweet, salty, sour, bitter and acrid/pungent tastes and smells that attract us to various foods and trigger both cravings before we eat and satisfaction after we eat.
What we need to eat
We were designed to eat whole, ripe foods at their peak of freshness. These help our bodies have sufficient nutrients to grow, repair and perform every task with exuberance! Different plants supply different nutrients and have different nutrient values and density. (That’s one reason why fruits and vegetables have such different colours and why it is important for us to “eat a rainbow” of colourful fruits and vegetables.)
So, how can we know how many servings of fruits and vegetables we need to eat since they all contain different balances of nutrients? We need a standard that we can apply to all fruits and vegetables equally. That is why we measure antioxidant values in food.
Antioxidants become our standard for determining nutrient density in fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants are measured in units called ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity).
So, approximately how many ORAC units do we need each day?
- Children – 3,000 ORAC units daily (about 5 servings of fruit and vegetables)
- Women – 4,200 ORAC units daily (about 7 servings of fruit and vegetables)
- Men – 5,400 ORAC units daily (about 9 servings of fruit and vegetables)
Whole foods – the good stuff!
All foods contain antioxidants, even “junk” foods. But the problem is that junk foods don’t contain enough antioxidants to neutralize all the free radical wastes they create from the metabolism process. In other words, junk foods contain more pollution than their built-in ORAC capacity can neutralize. So, your body is left imbalanced and at greater risk for health problems. Eating junk food is like deficit spending in your daily ORAC account.
Some highly processed whole foods contain just barely enough ORAC to balance your digestion. In other words, you are not left in a deficit as with junk food, but you really gain no benefit from eating highly processed foods.
In contrast to junk foods and highly processed natural foods, whole foods usually contain enough antioxidants to support waste cleanup from metabolism and go even further – they donate antioxidants to satisfy the needs of your body. These are called superfoods. Superfoods are filled with antioxidant concentrations that are associated with longevity and vitality. For instance, Goji berries have been associated with a sharp mind and clear vision for thousands of years. The berry has numerous concentrated antioxidants that have an affinity for your eyes, brain and heart. You can benefit from these antioxidants by eating fresh Goji berries as well as whole food concentrates containing Goji berries.
Other berries also contain dense antioxidant concentrations. That’s why eating a variety of berries is a superb way of getting the high ORAC antioxidants you need. Whole berry concentrates, such as bilberries, cranberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries provide both the nutrients and antioxidants needed for healthy metabolism. Rare fruits, such as wolfberry (goji), Maqui and mangosteen also provide strong boosts of antioxidant power – so much so, that many have labeled them as superfruits.
Vegetables are also important sources of nutrients. Beets and artichoke help balance cholesterol while cauliflower and cabbage help improve your immune system and detoxify your body.
So remember when working out your diet plan eat the right amount of fruits and vegetables
- 5 servings for children
- 7 servings for women
- 9 servings for men
and of course eat “Certified Organic” whenever possible
David Ogden
Healthy Weight Loss
Ph 386 308 1956 after 6PM EST