It seems that everywhere you look, someone is telling you what to eat or what not to eat in ways that are simply unsustainable, restrictive and often times unhealthy depending on your individual nutrition needs.
I want to share with you what I tell my patients…its all about SIMPLIFYING. If it’s not easy, its not sustainable. If it is too restrictive, you’ll feel awful. If it’s too complicated, you won’t be able to keep up with it. I educate my patients on how to improve their nutrition in a simply, easy and sustainable way.
Chinese Medicine is all about simplicity when it come to nutrition. We look at your overall well being and then determine what types of food would be best suited specifically for you. Your body doesn’t need fancy ingredients to run properly…it needs FOUNDATIONAL foods, that’s it! We all have too much “complicated” in our lives, don’t we? It’s not my goal to add to that mess of complexity and it’s certainly not what your body needs.
Your 4 Step Cheat Sheet for Easy Nutrition:
- WHOLE Foods. This means doing your best to avoid foods that come out of box or a can. It’s as simple as that! If you make it yourself, you know exactly what’s in it!
- WARM Foods. Warm, cooked foods make it easier for your body to digest and extract valuable nutrients with less effort. I suggest my patients enjoy 80% warm, cooked foods and 20% raw foods if they’d like.
- WATER. Without sufficient water, we simply dry out. Our body is made up of about 60% water and we are losing water throughout the day, most of the time without even thinking about it! I often joke that without drinking water, we essentially start to shrivel up like raisins (just look at your skin when it become dry..raisin!). Water will help you with energy, mental focus and digestion.
- Think FALL COLORS. Imagine the changing colors of the leaves during a New England fall season – orange, red, green, yellow. These deep, jewel toned colors mean that they are packed with nutrients to boost your immune system, aid in digestion and promote blood flow and circulation. Sprinkle in foods such as spinach, kale, beets, butternut squash and berries throughout all your meals.
These 4 steps are a great starting point to improve your nutrition in a simply, sustainable way. I start here with my patients and then make additional suggestions depending on specific their specific health conditions and goals.