Nutrition
"You are what what you eat eats."
- Michael Pollan
Quick start tips for Eating Right
- Only eat organic food free from chemicals, antibiotics, hormones, and GMOs.
- Eat more seafood.
- Mix organ meats into your diet whenever possible.
- Utilize the power of organic spices.
- Drink plenty of quality filtered water each day.
- We don’t recommend dairy for most people. If you use dairy products, make sure it’s organic, raw, and grass-fed.
- Cut out refined, processed sugar and sugar-laden products.
Imagine getting up with the sun and spending the majority of your day hunting, gathering, and preparing food. Imagine the beauty of a fresh kitchen garden, a cold cellar filled to the brim with canned and fermented foods, a few chickens strolling around the yard, and a healthy, happy cow grazing in a nearby pasture. There was once no question about what to eat or where your food came from. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said today.
One scroll through social media or a quick walk through the grocery store is enough to leave anyone scratching their heads about what to eat. Plant-based diets will save your life. Keto diets cure cancer. Grapefruit juice cleanses ward off heart disease. Vegans live longer. Eat raw food. Drink coffee. Don’t drink coffee. Free-range, organic, low-carb, all-natural. It’s no wonder people are so lost when it comes to nutrition.
Do you feel confused about what to eat?
Don’t worry; you are not alone!
We are here to help clear things up.
What you eat is foundational to a healthy body and your 100 Year Heart. Food can either fuel your heart or kill your heart. The good news is that it is possible to eat well and give your system what it needs to operate smoothly.
It’s all about eating the right foods from the right source, reclaiming ancestral eating, and learning what it really means to eat a healthy diet. That’s what this guide is for.
Do you know what Healthy Means?
A 2017 survey issued by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) found that most people have no idea what “healthy” means. Of the 1,002 American respondents, most asserted that being healthy simply meant not having any health problems. For example, nearly 60 percent of those surveyed claimed that their health was very good or excellent, despite many being overweight or obese.
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons eating healthy has become so confusing is information overload. With one “Hey Siri” or lightning-fast Google search, we can gain access to pages and pages of health recommendations, many of which are very convincing.
Other reasons for health confusion include:
Conflicts of interest in food science
Do you know who funds most of the nutritional studies related to food? If you thought it was academia, think again. The food and beverage industry pays for the vast majority of nutrition studies. A recent issue of JAMA highlighted the troubling conflict of interests involved in food industry research.
Consider the case of Global Energy Balance Network (GEBN), a non-profit “science-based” organization aiming to fight obesity. GEBN claimed that Americans should focus more on exercise and less on food to achieve health. Guess who was quietly supporting GEBN to the tune of $5.5 million? Coca-Cola.
If this sugary-beverage company can get society to believe that exercise is the key to weight loss, sales of their products will increase. Sadly, this is one of many examples of the food and beverage industry influencing public opinion.
Food companies have traded diet for “health” culture
If you were a teen or young adult in the 1980s, you certainly remember Tab, Lean Cuisine, and Molly McButter. It was during this time that the low-fat craze also took root. Through the 90s and beyond, many people bought diet products like SlimFast or NutriSystem.
While it may appear that diet culture has died off, the truth is that marketing has simply shifted. As consumers become more health-conscious, the food industry has changed its focus.
Boxes of food-like products are labeled with terms like “keto-friendly,” “only 3 carbs,” or “gluten-free.” Unfortunately, individuals buying them often lack a complete understanding of health and instead buy into the marketing schemes and false advertising.
However, those in the know understand that processed foods are unhealthy no matter the label. People, often unknowingly, consume toxic food disguised as “healthy.” Unfortunately, food industry tactics have led to obesity, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease epidemics.
Increased access to food from across the globe
Our ancient ancestors defined the term “eating fresh, eating local.” After all, they hunted and foraged for food on foot, eating as they went along. Never would they have imagined having access to food from around the world.
Today, we can walk into a grocery store and get our hands on tropical fruit and vegetables any time of the year. And while these foods may have a robust nutritional profile, is it precisely what our bodies need for our climate and area? The worldwide food chain provides access to foods that once were unobtainable.
Our ancestors occasionally enjoyed a handful of berries but never sat down to feast on an entire pineapple. Today, individuals who live in warm, tropical areas may need more access to carbohydrates than those living in colder climates. Not all foods benefit everyone. The enormous amount of food choices can be overwhelming.
The Truth:
Real Food is Medicine.
What if achieving excellent health and your 100 Year Heart was as easy as giving your body what it needs and taking away what it doesn’t need? In the year 440 BC, Hippocrates, a very clever and famous Greek physician, said, “Let food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be food.”
Sadly, with mainstream doctors’ knowledge of food being rudimentary at best, Big Pharma’s brainwashing that has most Americans believing that drugs are the answer to sickness, and Big Food’s lies and leanwashing, Hippocrates has been largely neglected. Yet, the truth remains. There is plenty of science to prove it — food can and should be medicine.
Just as real food is medicine for the body, fake or ultra-processed food (the kind that makes up most of the American diet) is just deceptively packaged poison.
Fuel or Poison?
Fuel your heart
- Wild salmon
- Extra virgin, organic olive oil
- Walnuts
- Organic blueberries
- Grass-finished hamburger patty
- Unflavored mineral water
- Pastured raised eggs
- Organic apples
- Organic sweet potatoes
- Organic coffee
Poison your heart
- Breaded fish sticks
- Canola oil
- Chocolate covered peanuts
- Fruit on the bottom blueberry yogurt
- Conventional fast food burger
- Soda
- Egg McMuffin
- Apple pie
- French fries
- Coffee shop frappe
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The Fattening of America
It’s not surprising that America has heart problems! Obesity — a driving factor in so many heart conditions — is a fast-rising health crisis sweeping the nation. It affects people from all walks of life — even children. Over 19 percent of adolescents in the United States are considered obese. Today over 70 percent of American adults are overweight, and 4o percent of men and women have so much excess fat that they are classified as obese.
Fact:
Over the last century, there has been a tenfold jump in the number of obese persons. It used to be that one in thirty people were obese. Now, one in three are carrying around a deadly amount of excess body fat — leading to diabesity, heart disease, cancer, and a shortened life.
In the late 1970s, there appeared to be an overall fattening of people living in high-income countries worldwide, suggesting that there was one common fat trigger. What was that trigger? Experts disagree.
Some felt the obesity problem was activated by a change in neighborhood design whereby people did less walking and biking.
Policy-makers and the food industry weighed in as well. According to them, everyone just lacked the motivation and willpower to get moving.
Big Food blamed a lack of exercise and began the horrendous pursuit of Leanwashing, using deceptive advertising, packaging, and marketing techniques to convince consumers they were buying “healthy” foods. These corporations painted a picture of caring about the health of Americans when they were directly contributing to the problem. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see through the smoke and mirrors.
The biggest food company in the world, Nestlé, rebranded itself as the “world’s leading nutrition, health, and wellness company”. This is the same company that makes trillions of dollars selling more than 100 different types of candy and cereal.
TRUTH: There was no worldwide change in neighborhood design or drop in willpower that occurred simultaneously. One of the biggest misconceptions about the obesity epidemic has been blaming a movement deficit for the problem. According to research, what we eat has a far bigger role in balancing caloric intake than physical activity. However, it is still essential for good health!
The real problem has always been the number of empty calories in fake food that Americans consume with alarming frequency!
"My genes have made me fat!"
Stop right there. Before you go around blaming your parents for the spare tire around your waist, look at the science. Obesity does run in families but so do lousy diets! Keep in mind, genes are like light switches; they have to be turned on to influence health. In the case of the “fat gene,” that switch is diet.
Obesity = Malnourishment
What comes to mind when you think of someone who is malnourished? Generally, we visualize an underweight person with sunken cheeks and brittle bones. While this is undoubtedly true for some individuals, many overweight people are malnourished from overconsuming food.
There is a massive health crisis of malnutrition in the obese population
Have you ever over-indulged on cake or felt stuffed after ordering take-out, only to find that you are hungry a couple of hours later? Simple carbohydrates and sugars are quickly digested, resulting in a rapid rise in blood sugar. The body feels full for a short time, but as soon as blood sugar levels crash, so does energy.
Our bodies have a strong desire to feel nourished. For example, if you eat a large box of popcorn and some candy at the movies, you’d likely still have an appetite for dinner afterward. However, if the movie theater served grilled fish and asparagus, that filling meal would satiate, thus diminishing your desire to visit a restaurant.
The problem is that we’ve been told that we can find nourishment in these ultra-processed and often toxic “pseudo foods.” This simply isn’t true. Instead, our bodies are only satisfied by wholesome, nutrient-dense foods.
Do You Make Good Choices About Food?
Food contains nutrients that the body needs to function correctly. Nutrients are like droplets of data put into a computer, telling it what to do. They carry instructions necessary for growth, healing, and the maintenance of bodily functions. Not all data is recognizable by a computer system; not all food contains nutrients beneficial for the body.
Most of the food in the modern diet is “empty calories.” Empty calories offer no benefit to the body and cause significant damage — especially over the long run. Poor food choices lead to some of the major diseases we see today, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and dementia.
If you landed on this page, it is likely that you are curious about nutrition or perhaps even understandingly confused about what the best diet for a healthy heart should contain. Once you have finished reading this page, we hope you will better understand the power of food for health, wellness, and your 100 Year Heart.
There is a lot of information to unpack, so allow yourself plenty of time to read and absorb it all. However, we want you to remember that good nutrition, healthy eating, and your 100 Year Heart journey does not have to be complicated.
By applying simple healthy eating principles and understanding the difference between real food and fake food, you will be well on your way to great health and cardiac longevity!
Fueling Your 100 Year Heart:
Making Good Decisions About Food
Fact:
Over two-thirds of heart disease-related deaths worldwide are linked to food choices. According to research, 6 million deaths could have been prevented if people had made better food choices!
Would you put jello in your gas tank? It seems like a rather silly question but just think about it. When you put gas or diesel in your gas tank, your car runs. Put anything else in there, and your vehicle won’t even start.
The same premise holds true for the human body — it has certain nutritional requirements that, when met, allow it to perform optimally, like a well-oiled machine. When we give the body the raw materials it needs to be healthy, it is healthy.
It really is that simple. Of the 35,000 choices made daily, about 226 are about food. Things like what, how much, when, and where to eat and drink. Would you have ever guessed that you make this many food choices daily?
Probably not — most people massively underestimate the number of decisions they make daily around food and just as often underestimate the impact their environment plays on making these decisions.
Meet Freddy
Freddy Foster was known “endearingly” by his pals as Fatty Fat Fred. For as long as anyone could remember, Freddy was way bigger than his peers and easily 150 pounds overweight by the time he was in his early twenties.
Freddy grew up in a home with a family that loved food — all kinds of food, but mostly fried, sweet, and processed fatty food. By the time Freddy was making his own food choices, he had continued down the wrong path, putting very little thought into what he ate.
One day, Freddy woke up with chest pain that landed him in the hospital, needing two stents for a heart attack. He was lucky to survive. After the stents, Freddy had a decision to make. He had almost died, and that scared him. He pledged to himself, his friends, and his family to pursue health and become the best version of himself.
In less than two years, Freddy had a new lease on life. The best choice he had ever made was paying off. He made good choices about food and health, got active, and educated others about the benefits of pursuing health.
One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself is the gift of making good choices about the food you eat. Eating is not optional — we all need to do it — but you can choose what to eat.
Free Resource:
Get a free copy of the 100 Year Heart Diet Guide and Discover What You Should be Eating for Your 100 Year Heart!
Alert!
Study Reveals the Sick Truth about Ultra Processed Food
Participants in a study who ate 300 to 1,250 calories of processed food daily such as hot dogs, candy, and soda, were 58 percent more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than their peers who consumed less than one serving a day of ultra-processed pseudo food. Additionally, they were 52 percent more likely to die of a stroke or another type of heart disease.
The Government Weighs in On What We Should Eat
You’re sitting in your doctor’s office, waiting for your follow-up appointment after a recent heart attack. Bored, you glance around the room. Amidst cliche inspirational nature posters with black backgrounds and messages such as “explore” and “dream,” you see a different kind of poster.
The MyPlate guidelines.
This simple poster of a colorful plate divided into four sections (with dairy on the side) is medically and governmentally endorsed, so it must be accurate, right?
Not even close.
The nutrition guidelines laid out by the United States government won’t support a healthy heart or keep you out of the hospital. Following them will make you sick, tired, and dependent on pharmaceuticals to survive.
That minor heart attack you had a few months ago likely won’t be your last if you stick to these “heart-healthy” recommendations.
How did we get here? When did the government get it all wrong, and how can you know what food your body needs. Let’s dig in.
The truth about USDA food guidelines
The first step toward a healthy life? Stop taking nutritional advice from the government. Over the years, dietary guidelines have been all over the board. The agencies responsible for putting the guidelines together seem to lack interest in relevant scientific evidence.
Big Food, the cousin to Big Pharma, has a hand in everything, even the government-released Dietary Guidelines. Recommendations given by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee for developing the 2020 dietary guidelines did not make it into the UDSA’s updated recommendations.
Why? Corporate influence, lobbying, and the sinister connection between food manufacturers and the government drive decision-making. Money, meetings behind closed doors, and mysterious affiliations abound.
Politics have no right to define the American diet.
Unfortunately, these recommendations carry a shocking amount of weight, influencing the menu in school cafeterias, prisons, military installations, and hospitals.
Policymakers, health professionals, and doctors rely on the direction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), relaying their suggestions as if they’re unquestionable facts.
So how did we get here?
Though there had been a new issue of Dietary Guidelines every five years since 1980, it wasn’t until the 1992 introduction of the USDA Food Pyramid and a widespread advertising campaign that the general public started paying attention.
Inspired by the success of the anti-tobacco campaign and desperately searching for a solution for the growing obesity rates in America, the USDA threw millions of dollars into marketing this “revolutionary” way of thinking about food.
The Food Pyramid would go on to define the diet of a generation. Millions of American parents, seeking to give their children the best nutrition possible, would sit them in front of a bowl of cereal for breakfast with a hearty splash of cow’s milk. After all, cereal and grains are at the bottom of the pyramid. Getting those 6-11 servings each day will take some work.
So eat up, kids. Enjoy those Dino Pebbles, Rice Krispies Treats, and Reese’s Puffs. They’re good for you.
All joking aside, the misguided, incorrect, and downright dangerous food pyramid of the 90s created widespread confusion and misinformation and fueled the decades-long low-fat craze.
This pyramid had a simple message: Carbohydrates were good. Fat was bad.
Enter 2005 and the advent of MyPyramid. Coming in strong with a hip, abstract design that appealed to the aesthetic of the 2000s, this new pyramid kept most of the same guidelines in place.
Milk, grains, and vegetables headed up the food groups, and the tip of the 1992 pyramid, reserved for fats, oils, and sweets, was no longer present.
It also included a nod to the importance of movement in a healthy lifestyle, with a stick-figure sprinting up the pyramid’s steps.
Only guidelines written by “Big Food” would have the grain category bigger than the vegetable category. Seafood, the most nutrient-dense food available, scarcely gets a mention.
A mere six years later, Michelle Obama and the White House Childhood Obesity Task Force worked with the USDA to reframe the dietary guidelines once again, ditching the oh-so-familiar pyramid model for a divided plate image.
To simplify, the USDA replaced cluttered pyramid tiers with simple blocks of color and text indicating the four “essential” food groups that form the basis of a healthy diet. At least according to the U.S. government.
Grains and vegetables make up the largest sections of the plate, while fruit and protein hold equal real estate. Dairy is found in a smaller circle off to the side — where water should be.
ChooseMyPlate.gov expands on these bare-bones food categories.
This website supports low-fat dairy, claiming that 90 percent of Americans don’t get enough dairy, promotes low-fat meat and soy, allows refined grains, encourages high amounts of fruit, and harps on saturated fat and sodium.
Despite numerous studies showing that saturated fat is essential for a heart-healthy diet, that low-fat dairy is no better than full-fat dairy, and that refined grains contribute to a higher risk of heart disease, the guidelines persist.
Between 1999 and 2018, adult obesity in America increased by 12 percent. Cardiovascular disease has increased since 2011. Diabetes prevalence has been on an upward trend since 1999.
These dietary guidelines aren’t working
Americans continue to get sicker, Big Food continues to profit, and policymakers continue to ignore the research.
So what should you do?
With so much conflicting diet advice, nutrition guidelines, and fad diets filling the internet, it’s crucial to go back to the basics. Eat real food, avoid packaged, processed, chemical-laden junk, buy organic, and give your body the fuel it needs.
Ditch incorrect government guidelines and follow the 100 Year Heart Diet instead!
The frightful truth of the American Diet
The Standard American Diet (SAD) has strayed so far that saving it won’t be a matter of simple dietary guidelines.
The majority of food hitting the bellies of Americans no longer resembles anything close to nature — it is a Frankenstein’s monster made of chemicals, GMOs, and hormone and pesticide-ridden, toxic ingredients.
Each of us is responsible for our own health — don’t put your heart into the hands of a government entity constrained by Big Food. They will continue feeding you lies and misinformation.
Where Food Went Wrong
Our food system is driven by capital greed and not health, but it wasn’t always like this. Why is this, and how did we get here? When did food go so wrong? How did we fall into this system that is killing millions of people each year?
Most of us don’t give much thought to the Industrial Revolution. What could we possibly have to learn that we don’t already know? The truth is, hidden behind the glow of technological achievement lies a darker history — a story of corporate greed, government subsidization, and a nation dependant on Big Food. Here’s how the Industrial Revolution shaped the diet of a nation.
The Industrial Revolution
You’ve heard of the Industrial Revolution. This period of technological innovation spanned nearly a century, refinding the workplace, home life, and diets of millions of citizens of Great Britain. But, of course, change is not stationary. This revolution wasn’t confined to the shores of the British Isles and soon spread throughout Europe and across the pond to a young country called America.
However, one would be remiss in examining the effects of the Second (American) Industrial Revolution without looking at the movement that started it all.
Before the mid-18th century, England was primarily a village-based society. Slow travel methods such as the horse and carriage meant that people rarely left their villages — living on estates and farms that provided most of their food.
Yes, big cities such as London did exist, but they weren’t yet the booming centers of urbanization they would come to be.
Enter inventions such as the steam engine, electricity, spinning jenny, and the cotton gin. These advancements quickly drove an agrarian society into the city. Goods now didn’t require as much time and skill to produce, and people had access to cheaper clothing, housing, and jobs working for booming businesses.
Steam-powered plowing engines replaced the horse-drawn plow and sickle, and food production became a job rather than a means of providing for your own family.
The Second Industrial Revolution
Many historians split the broad period of industrialization into two parts — the first and the second industrial revolution. While the first centered primarily on Britain and its cities, the second industrial revolution, or the American Industrial Revolution, took a post-civil war America by storm.
Like in Britain, before the industrial revolution, Americans lived primarily agricultural-driven lives, working on homesteads, farming, and raising livestock for sustenance. Small rural communities dotted the rolling hills and lush valleys of this turbulent young country.
Factories, the railroad, coal, more efficient product production, and lower prices soon made their way to the shores of North America. Railroads exploded across the nation. Suddenly, people and goods were traveling hundreds of miles in a single day. This created the rise of factories and mass production — changing the landscape of life in America.
The effects of the American Industrial Revolution
Because jobs in factories paid more than life on a simple family farm, millions of Americans flocked to the cities, searching for higher wages and the “better life” that defined the allure of industrialization.
America’s population grew from 40 million in 1870 to 76 million in 1900. In 1880, for the first time, most of the workforce worked in non-farming jobs. By 1890, two-thirds of Americans worked for wages rather than farming or owning their own businesses.
This population growth and the abandonment of the agricultural lifestyle meant that more food needed to be produced by fewer people. Machines replaced horses, more advanced farming methods meant a higher yield, and for-profit farms became the standard.
Before, people would grow food, hunt locally, and trade for goods and services; now, money was king. People purchased what they needed, and farms worked to supply these needs. The higher the yield, the greater the profit.
Stall-fed livestock, commercially produced fertilizers, and machines for milking, harvesting, and planting eventually became standard.
The concept of farm to table that had characterized the development of America now became farm, to train, to store, to table. Consumers no longer truly knew where their food was coming from.
Now, there was indeed good that came from the Second Industrial Revolution; we cannot deny that. Those in lower-income brackets or people without a trade saw a higher standard of living with the advent of unskilled jobs. Canned food increased vegetable consumption in cities, manual labor wasn’t as necessary, and food-borne illnesses declined.
However, before, rural frontiers marked a personal connection to and responsibility for a plot of land. People owned small family farms, cultivated the soil, and cherished and nourished livestock. With industrialization, big corporations started buying hundreds of acres and searched for ways to grow food and animals faster and bigger.
This explosion of commerce, monopoly, and specialized agriculture defined modern America. Chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics became necessary as big agriculture companies failed to prioritize crop diversity and stripped the soil of beneficial nutrients.
Corporations now decide who produces food, how much is produced, what goes into it, and what it costs. When was the last time you actually saw where your food came from? If you don’t have any idea, you can thank the Industrial Revolution.
Surprising Ways that Refrigeration Changed the Face of Food Forever
Like other appliances we take for granted, you likely don’t give your refrigerator a second thought. That is, until it breaks down or the power goes out.
Suddenly, it’s the end of the world as you scramble to figure out what to do with all of your cold food. Cast your mind back to the last time you were without a fridge. Do you remember what that felt like?
What if you couldn’t simply go to the grocery store to get more food? What if there was no such thing as refrigeration?
Buckle up as we travel through time and explore how the fridge has changed the way we eat. Spoiler, it isn’t great.
The rise of refrigeration
Look back to our ancient hunter-gather ancestors. “Food storage” wasn’t even a concept. They spent their days hunting and foraging for the food required to meet their daily nutritional quota. These people groups consumed fresh, nutrient-dense food right after hunting or harvest — utilizing every part of the animal or plant.
Flash forward a few thousand years, and things start to change. Rather than dedicating their time to searching for food, people started using mental and physical energy for building cities, farming, technological advancements, and government and law development.
Agriculture created an abundance of food during certain parts of the year, and more stationary homesteads needed ways to preserve this food and keep it fresh for the off-season.
Pickling, fermenting, drying, smoking, and curing became popular options as these food preservation methods curtailed or controlled bacterial growth that led to food spoilage.
However, those weren’t the only techniques used…
Enter rudimentary refrigeration.
Caves, streams, cellars in the ground, clay containers, and even insulated ice houses started to be used to keep food cool and help it last a little longer. Keep in mind, these methods could only preserve food for so long.
People still produced the majority of food their family needed, as there was no technology available to transport vegetables and meats long distances without it going bad. Most food was eaten in season, locally grown, and things like dairy were consumed in moderation when available.
Iceboxes
As mentioned earlier, urbanization and industrialization in the 19th century caused millions of people to move away from family farms and into increasingly crowded cities.
Ice delivery services became a booming business. Naturally forming ice would be cut from New England lakes in the winter and delivered to households where it was stored in iceboxes. It was even covered in sawdust to keep it frozen and shipped in boats as far away as India.
These early “refrigerators” quickly changed the way food was handled, prepared, and shipped. The concept of the icebox and the rise of technological advancements made modern refrigerators possible just a few decades later.
By the mid-1900s, the early version of the electric refrigerator was in nearly every American home. So began the dependence on the elaborate “cold-chain” system.
Now, it is nearly impossible to imagine a world without the refrigeration infrastructure that has shaped America. But how exactly has widespread cooling technology altered the course of our diets? Let’s find out.
How the fridge changed the way we eat
More Fruit
If you’ve ever tried to grow fruit, you know how finicky it can be. Most fruit only grows in specialized climates or for a small part of the year. Yet, the modern diet includes large amounts of fruit.
This is only possible because of refrigeration. How else would you get strawberries (a summer fruit) in the dead of winter in northern climates?
Bananas, a staple fruit in every American household, are not grown commercially anywhere in the United States. They are picked when still green and loaded onto temperature-controlled trucks while they ripen on the journey from South America to your grocery store.
Even apples, grown in many regions across the country, are picked in the fall and stored in refrigerators for months before hitting the shelves.
Though there’s nothing inherently wrong with fruit in moderation, it is high in natural sugar and contains many pesticides to keep it fresh. Only eat in-season, organic fruit local to your area.
If you want to enjoy some fruit in the winter, choose organic frozen fruit, as the flash-freezing process preserves most of the nutrient quantity.
Increased access to food
It’s no coincidence that the rise of refrigeration and mass-produced food has gone hand-in-hand with the obesity epidemic.
Instead of physically working the land for food, most people simply take a trip to the grocery store and purchase anything that grabs their attention, filling their fridges with processed, sugar-laden foods.
Of course, it’s unfair to blame the refrigerator for the entire breakdown of the modern diet, as shelf-stable packaged and processed foods have certainly played a role. However, the availability of refrigerated food means we put a lot less time and care into planning out healthy meals — simply grabbing whatever is fast and easy.
Local farms can’t compete
With the rise of refrigeration, people stopped caring about local food and purchased cheaper perishable goods shipped from across the country or continent. This drove many small family farms and markets out of business and put pressure on commercial agriculture to produce more and more food — contributing to the rise of hormones and pesticides.
It’s not all bad
It would be foolish to say that refrigeration only diminished food quality and contributed nothing beneficial. After all, temperature-controlled environments mean less food waste, lower spoilage rates, lower costs, and increased food diversity.
It has contributed to population growth, provided nutrient-dense food to low-income populations, and prevented widespread food shortages.
But before you praise the refrigerator, take a look at what’s inside.
Take a look inside
The refrigerator is neither inherently good nor bad. Like other “good” things, such as technology, life-saving medications, and even money, it all depends on what you choose to do with it.
Your fridge is a tool — what are you filling it with?
Giving Your Body What it Needs Can Help You Achieve Your
Food Labels:
What You Don't Know Could Kill You
Understanding what is in your food could be the key to regaining your health, trimming your waistline, and protecting your heart. So what exactly are you eating? All you have to do is look at the food label to find out, right?
Theoretically.
Though laws prohibit them from lying about what is in their product on the label, food manufacturers use misleading advertising, front of package lies, and complex language to confuse you and get you to buy their products — keeping you sick and unhealthy.
Fighting through the scientific jargon can seem impossible. After all, ferric orthophosphate, thiamine mononitrate, and disodium guanylate aren’t exactly everyday terms. Believe it or not, these additives and many more hide in packaged food labels.
Knowing the basics of food labeling, understanding common tricks of the trade, and following these simple tips could keep you safe from dangerous chemicals and hidden sugars.
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Serving information
Find the “nutrition facts” label on the back of the box. Right under that is the serving size. This will indicate the recommended serving amount and how many servings are in the container. Here is the first place food manufacturers start to lead you astray.
They often list the serving sizes in smaller amounts than what you would normally eat. This is a method manufacturers use to trick consumers into thinking their product has fewer calories, sugar, etc.
For example, one package of Ramen noodles is technically two servings. All of the nutrition facts technically need to be doubled if you are eating the entire package.
Compare your portion size with the serving size recommended on the container.
Calories
Ah, calories. For years, people were told to “count their calories” to lose weight and stay healthy. This switched the focus from what you were eating to simply how much. Now, most nutritionists and doctors recognize this theory as dangerous, unhealthy, and unhelpful.
Each body burns calories differently; each person has different caloric requirements based on gender, age, activity level, and even metabolism. There is no “one size fits all” approach to calories. It’s time to stop calorie counting and start focusing on eating quality, nutrient-rich foods.
This section of the food label indicates the calories present in a single serving. It is largely irrelevant. Health is more than “calories in versus calories out.”
Nutrients
This box tells you the nutritional composition of the product. The USDA requires a nutrition facts panel on most food and beverage products.
Here you can find the amounts of fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, protein, and sugar in one serving. The nutrition facts panel gives you a general idea of the macronutrient and micronutrient makeup of the food or beverage you’re about to consume.
Percent daily value
On the far right side of the nutrition facts label is the daily value percentage. This tells you how much of the recommended daily intake of a certain nutrient is present in the food.
The bottom of the label indicates:
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Remember, the FDA created these daily recommended values based on general information. Hold them very loosely, as many of the guidelines are outdated.
Ingredient list
Right below (or beside) the nutrition facts is the ingredient list. To be a master label reader, you must understand how to decipher this cryptic list.
Product ingredients are listed in order from highest quantity to lowest quantity. The first ingredient listed is used in the largest amount in the product.
Look at the first five ingredients. These make up most of the product. Try to source products that have whole, real foods listed as the first few ingredients rather than unhealthy options like refined grains, sugar, or hydrogenated oils.
Tips for reading food labels
Don’t let the front fool you
Though the nutrition facts and ingredient lists must remain factual, manufacturers can make false health claims that deceive consumers on the front of the package.
For instance, sugary breakfast cereal may say “whole grain” or “good source of vitamin D,” or “part of a nutritious breakfast.” These claims are unregulated and downright dangerous, luring customers into believing they are making a healthy diet choice.
These statements are targeted advertisements curated by companies who wish to sell their product — not companies who have your health in mind.
Misleading Food Label Terms
Whole grain
Made with real fruit
Natural
Multi-grain
Sugar-free
No sugar added
Light products
Low-carb
Look for sugar
While the nutrition facts list the total and added sugar, you must look at the ingredient list to accurately understand how much sugar is in the product you want to buy. Companies love to hide sugar, calling it by one of its pseudonyms, such as syrup, barley, dextrose, or fructose.
Did you know there are at least 46 names for sugar? Here are just a few ways sugar can be disguised:
46 Names for Sugar
- Agave
- Barley malt
- Beet sugar
- Blackstrap molasses
- Brown sugar
- Brown rice syrup
- Cane sugar
- Cane juice
- Caramel
- Carob syrup
- Coconut sugar
- Coconut palm sugar
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Corn sweetener
- Corn syrup
- Demerara sugar
- Diatase
- Date sugar
- Dextrin
- Dextrose
- Diastatic malt
- Evaporated cane juice
- Fructose (high fructose corn syrup)
- Frut sugar
- Galactose
- Glucomalt
- Glucose
- Grape juice concentrate
- Grape sugar
- Honey
- Invert sugar
- Lactose
- Maltodextrin
- Maltose
- Maple syrup
- Palm sugar
- Raw sugar
- Rice syrup
- Refine’s syrup
- Saccharose
- Sorghum syrup
- Sucrose
- Sugar
- Treacle
- Turbinado sugar
- Xylose
5 Most commonly used sweeteners
What Sugar Can Do to You
The fewer the ingredients, the better
In a perfect world, we would eat only fresh, non-packaged, non-processed food without an ingredient list. This should be the goal.
However, sometimes it is necessary to purchase packaged food. When you do, try to find foods with fewer ingredients. The smaller the ingredient list, the fewer additives and chemicals present.
A very long ingredient list (longer than 2-3 lines) indicates a food product that has been highly processed. As a general rule, try to stick to food with five ingredients or fewer. These ingredients should all be things you can pronounce and understand.
Fact:
Unhealthy dietary habits were linked to almost half of all deaths in the United States, according to a 2017 study. These deaths were the result of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
Always buy organic and non-GMO
Look for the USDA Certified Organic and non-GMO Project Verified labels on anything you purchase. Though these labels aren’t the mark of a healthy product, they will help you make informed decisions about your health. Sticking with organic food is crucial to avoid harmful pesticides and hormones.
Remember, just because a cookie or ice cream is “organic” doesn’t make it healthy. Organic cookies can still contain enriched flour and sugar.
Don’t buy into packaging
Companies know that most people want to live healthier lives. However, instead of producing healthy products, they simply give existing ones a facelift. They might make the packaging green or “earthy” or use leaves on the label to give it a natural appearance that falsely promotes health.
Don’t fall for these schemes. Do your own research to determine what food is safe for you.
There is an answer
With all of the targeted advertising and propaganda surrounding food, it can seem impossible to eat a healthy diet that provides your body with essential nutrients and vitamins. The secret? Avoid packaged, processed food whenever possible.
Real, organic, grass-fed meat, vegetables, and healthy fats like avocados, nuts, and seeds, should make up most of your diet. These don’t need ingredient lists or labels.
If you have to purchase certain packaged foods, use your newfound knowledge to ensure it is of the highest quality and minimally processed.
Study the ingredient list, read labels, and don’t buy into the lies the food industry is selling — they could kill you.
What Your Body Really Needs to Be Healthy
Everything we do, from breathing to holding a cup of coffee to hiking a mountain, requires energy. This energy is maintained in our body through various pathways called metabolism.
Energy is delivered to the body through the consumption of food and drink. Food contains stored chemical energy that can be traced back to the sun. For example, as the sun shines down on plants, it converts water and carbon dioxide into sugar through photosynthesis. Therefore, when living beings consume plants, they indirectly benefit from the sun’s energy.
When you eat, the body breaks down the food into smaller components and uses them as fuel. The body’s cells, specifically the mitochondria, change the food into energy. The energy content of food is expressed as calories.
Optimal energy metabolism requires that our bodies get the proper nutrients from food. All food gives us energy, with some providing short bursts of energy and others providing a sustained level. Energy that our body absorbs can be used immediately or stored for later use.
Understanding macronutrients
Macro comes from the Greek word ‘makros,’ which quite literally means large. Therefore, macronutrients are the nutrients that the body needs in large amounts to sustain our growth, development, and other bodily functions.
Macronutrients provide energy by way of calories. They are essential, meaning the body can’t produce enough of them on its own to sustain life. Therefore, they must be consumed via food. The three types of macronutrients are:
Carbohydrates
The body’s primary fuel source, carbohydrates, are chains of simple sugars that are broken down and enter the bloodstream as glucose.
Essential Qualities of Carbohydrates:
- Primary source of fuel for the brain, central nervous system, and the cells
- Quick source of energy
- Can be stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver for later use
- Can be simple (metabolized quickly) or complex (metabolized slowly)
- Includes fiber, a type of carbohydrate that our body can not digest. Fiber promotes healthy bowel movements and makes you feel full.
- Contains 4 calories per gram
Proteins
Proteins are digested into amino acids, which are the building blocks of organs, muscles, hair, bones, and all living cells. There are 20 amino acids, 9 of which are essential and can’t be produced by the body. Instead, they must be acquired via food.
Essential Qualities of Proteins:
- Help to provide structure to the body’s cell membranes
- Create new proteins in the body that are used to build and repair tissues
- Transports oxygen and other important nutrients
- In combination with sterols, help to create hormones and enzymes
- Can not be stocked up, but must be consumed daily
- Carry fat and cholesterol through the body
- Plants do not contain the same quality protein as animals.
- Contains 4 calories per gram
Fats
Fats are essential for brain development, making hormones, and helping absorb specific vitamins. They are broken down into fatty acids and glycerol. Fats require more energy to burn than carbs and proteins, keeping you full for more extended periods.
Essential Qualities of Fats:
- Serve as an energy reserve in the body for times when you consume less calories than you burn
- Insulate and protect vital organs in the body
- Help transport and promote absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K
- Help to maintain our cell membranes
- Three types of fats include saturated fats, unsaturated fats, and trans fats
- Contain 9 calories per gram
Some literature also identifies water as the fourth macronutrient, as it is required in large amounts by the body. Unlike the other macronutrients, water does not provide energy via calories. However, it is essential to human life.
Most foods contain a combination of the three macronutrients. However, the macronutrient with the highest percentage in each food determines its classification. For example, avocados are generally 78 percent fat, 19 percent carbs, and 2 percent protein. Therefore, they would be deemed fat.
Best food sources of macronutrients:
Organic vegetables such as:
- Artichokes
- Arugula
- Asparagus
- Beets
- Broccoli
- Brussel sprouts
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Chard
- Cilantro
- Collards
- Cucumber
- Dandelion
- Garlic
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Parsley
- Spinach
- Sprouts
In-season fruit sparingly
Grass-finished & Organic pasture-raised meats such as:
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Pork
- Beef
- Bison
- Duck
- Lamb
- Goat
- Rabbit
- Elk
- Venison
- Wild-game
Organic pasture-raised Eggs
– Olives
– Avocado
– Coconut milk
– Organic nuts such as
- Almonds
- Brazil nuts
- Cashews
- Macadamia nuts
- Pecans
- Pine nuts
- Pistachios
- Walnuts
- Chia seed
- Flaxseed
- Pumpkin seed
- Sesame seed
- Sunflower seed
Organic vegetables such as:
- Artichokes
- Arugula
- Asparagus
- Beets
- Broccoli
- Brussel sprouts
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Chard
- Cilantro
- Collards
- Cucumber
- Dandelion
- Garlic
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Parsley
- Spinach
- Sprouts
In-season fruit sparingly
Grass-finished & Organic pasture-raised meats such as:
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Pork
- Beef
- Bison
- Duck
- Lamb
- Goat
- Rabbit
- Elk
- Venison
- Wild-game
Organic pasture-raised Eggs
– Olives
– Avocado
– Coconut milk
– Organic nuts such as
- Almonds
- Brazil nuts
- Cashews
- Macadamia nuts
- Pecans
- Pine nuts
- Pistachios
- Walnuts
- Chia seed
- Flaxseed
- Pumpkin seed
- Sesame seed
- Sunflower seed
What is the right balance of macronutrients?
If you have ever stepped foot in a gym, you’ve likely heard someone talking about their “macros.” Many athletes have embraced counting macros to achieve weight loss, gain muscle, and balance blood sugars. But unfortunately, many consume unhealthy protein shakes and bars to achieve their goals.
A “macro” diet is time-consuming, restrictive, and confusing. Even more concerning, there are risks associated with long-term food restrictions, such as deficiencies in specific vitamins and minerals.
So what should you eat? The US government and the American Heart Association have embraced fat restriction as the key to good health. Although they’ve recently shown signs of shifting to more nutrient-dense recommendations, they still suggest that less than 35 percent of dietary calories come from fat, with 10 to 30 percent from protein, and up to 65 percent from carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, rice, cereal, fruits, and vegetables.
Unfortunately, these entities entirely ignore many aspects of health, including that healthy fat is highly satiating. Healthy indigenous populations ate a variety of macronutrient ratios, depending on location. However, nearly all ate more than 30 percent of calories from fat from meat, fish, dairy, and oils.
The notion that individuals should count macronutrients and follow similar nutritional guidelines is false. Our ancient ancestors did not worry about counting macros or calories, nor should we. Every individual has different needs. For example, individuals with diabetes may need to consume more fat to keep blood sugar levels stable. At the same time, athletes may need to consume higher amounts of complex carbohydrates.
Achieving your 100 Year Heart is not dependent on counting macronutrients
So if macronutrients are not something we need to keep track of, where should our focus be? Here’s where micronutrients come in.
Understanding micronutrients
The human body needs fats, proteins, and carbohydrates to produce energy. At the same time, it also relies on two categories of micronutrients: vitamins and minerals. As the name suggests, micronutrients are required in relatively small amounts. However, these chemical substances are absolutely essential for healthy body functioning.
Micronutrients are responsible for turning on reactions that are required for cellular metabolism. Unlike macronutrients, micronutrients are not a source of calories.
Individuals who do not obtain the right balance of vitamins and minerals can experience “hidden hunger.” While basic energy needs are met through macronutrients, a lack of micronutrients leaves the body depleted.
Hidden hunger is a global problem of epic proportions. The standard American diet is heavy on low-cost carbohydrates with empty calories. While this way of eating is filling, it’s not nutritious. As a result, hunger is kept at bay, but the body is not receiving enough micronutrients to prevent disease.
What’s the difference between vitamins and minerals?
Vitamins and minerals are often lumped together when describing these essential micronutrients. While they are both needed for health, they have very different compositions and roles in the body.
Vitamins are organic compounds that plants or animals make. They are obtained by consuming food. Minerals, on the other hand, are inorganic. They don’t come from living organisms but instead derive from elements within the earth, such as soil, rock, and water.
Both vitamins and minerals work synergistically, each helping the other carry out certain bodily functions. For example, vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. Similarly, vitamin C helps the body absorb iron.
Vitamins vs. minerals
Vitamins
- Obtained from living things, such as plants and animals
- Needed to maintain health
- Easily broken down or destroyed by heat and other chemicals
- All 13 vitamins are needed to sustain life
- Classified as water or fat-soluble
Minerals
- Obtained from non-living things from the earth, such as soil and rock
- Needed to maintain health
- Relatively stable; Not vulnerable to heat, chemical reactions, or sunlight
- Only some minerals are essential for life
- Classified as macro or micro (trace) minerals
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Healthy Eating:
Basic Principles
It’s easy to become confused with multiple competing dietary guidelines. However, healthy eating should not be difficult. Counting calories, calculating macros, and weighing food are ineffective ways of achieving health.
Basic Principles for Healthy Eating
- Eat whole, organic, non-GMO foods
- Stay away from processed food that comes from a can or a box
- Consume grass-finished beef, lamb, and game
- Eat only poultry and eggs from organic pasture-raised animals
- Aim to eat grass-finished organ meats 1-2 times a week
- Eat wild fish, steering clear of farm-raised fish
- Indulge in sea vegetables
- Cook using healthy organic fats such as olive, coconut, grapeseed, or avocado oils. Try adding in duck fat, beef tallow, or pork lard.
- Enjoy unprocessed raw, organic nuts
- Eat fresh organic vegetables regularly
- Use high-quality filtered water for cooking and drinking
- Use traditional sweeteners such as raw honey or maple syrup sparingly
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Can I obtain all the nutrients that I need from food?
In an ideal world, one would obtain all of their nutrients from food. But unfortunately, whole food is not what it used to be even just a few decades ago.
Poor farming practices, environmental toxins, and climate change have depleted soil minerals. Modern agricultural methods have stripped crops of their nutritional value. Multiple studies have found that fruits and vegetables have become less nutritious over the years. As our earth becomes more toxic, the animals we consume also lose nutritional value.
Just because vegetables, fruits, and animals do not hold the same nutritional value as they once did does not mean we should avoid them. However, vitamin and mineral supplementation is often needed to reach optimal health.
Whole, nutrient-dense food is the answer
Believe it or not, confusion is a marketing strategy. When the food industry can keep consumers confused about what to eat, they win. Choice overload often leads to decision paralysis. Unfortunately, most people just throw their hands up in defeat and eat a cookie.
Here’s the thing, though: health is not manufactured. You won’t find it at the gym, it can’t be obtained at the hospital, and it certainly won’t appear on most grocery store shelves. Instead, health comes from eating organic, whole, and nutrient-dense food. It comes from supplementing with essential vitamins and minerals and eating a clean, real diet.
How you Cook Your Food Matters
How much thought do you put into how you cook your food? Believe it or not, how you cook your food matters.
Though our ancient ancestors ate their food raw, subsisting on seeds, grasses, and fruit foraged from the jungle, the advent of fire and tools for hunting and cooking opened up an entirely new world and even contributed to the development of society.
Scientists have been unable to pinpoint when humans started using fire to cook food, but they agree that harnessing this intense natural force was a turning point in the evolution of culture, diet, eating, and humanity itself. Cooking took a lot of the work of digestion away and allowed early people to eat meat without fear of harmful bacteria.
Some suggest that this played a role in the mental development of humans. When less energy was needed for digestion, more energy could go to the brain. Less time eating meant more time to spend on mechanical, technological, and societal advancements.
But is cooking actually good for you? Or does it strip your food of all nutrients? This question is surprisingly complex. Yes, cooking changes the nutrients in food — but it’s not all bad. In fact, cooking is often essential — as long as it’s done right.
Putting a little thought into how you prepare your food could mean the difference between a nutrient-dense meal and an empty filler.
Why raw isn’t always best
Over the past few years, the raw food craze has reached new heights, becoming the Raw Food Movement and sparking a breadth of conversations about how we prepare our meals and what cooking actually does to our food.
Followers of this movement claim that cooking destroys natural enzymes, creates harmful toxins, and changes the “natural” state of food.
Raw Foodies get a lot right. They eat many beneficial nutrients through vegetables, nuts, and fermented foods. They also usually reduce or eliminate processed foods, focusing on real, whole ingredients that provide essential vitamins and minerals.
However, by not cooking food, they are forcing their digestive systems into overdrive and expending unnecessary energy chewing.
Take a look at chimpanzees, for instance. They eat a diet remarkably similar to that of the Raw Food Movement. These primates spend nearly 50 percent of their waking hours chewing and eating food — ten times more than the average human on a traditional cooked diet. This is a pretty extreme time commitment.
The sad truth is, most raw foodies don’t eat well-rounded, nutritious diets. After all, who wants to dedicate 50 percent of their day to eating? Studies suggest that 50 percent of women who eat strictly raw foods develop ammenorrhea, or lack of menstruation. This is a sign that the body is out of wack — it is crying out for critical vitamins and energy.
Sprouting, dehydrating, juicing, fermenting — these food preparation methods are certainly beneficial and healthy, supporting a well-rounded, 100 Year Heart Diet. But there’s still something missing in the raw food diet…Meat.
And what is critical in meat preparation? Cooking.
Why cooking is essential
Bacteria
Bacteria, bacteria, oh how misunderstood and maligned. Most of the time, bacteria is helpful, benefitting gut health, neutralizing toxins, and aiding in digestion, but sometimes, it can turn deadly. When bacteria and food preparation are mentioned together, it’s usually the latter.
Cooking food kills harmful bacteria in certain raw food like eggs, meat, and fish. This prevents digestive and systemic bacterial food poisoning.
Digestion
As mentioned earlier, uncooked food puts a lot more pressure on your digestive system. When you eat raw food, your body has to break down food components and fiber. Many people experience digestive upset, gas, and bloating after consuming raw foods. Cooking does a lot of this work for you, starting the process of breaking down food before it even reaches your mouth.
Nutrients
Studies suggest that cooking food actually increases the bioavailability and absorption rates of many nutrients in food.
What about Enzymes?
Even a cursory search of the best way to prepare food or “why eat raw food” will cause you to stumble upon one word again and again…enzymes. But what exactly are enzymes, and what do they have to do with cooking?
Enzymes in the body
Enzymes are simply protein molecules present in all living things, not just food. These molecules are responsible for all chemical reactions in nature. For instance, when you eat a meal, the enzymes in your body leap into action, speeding up metabolism and activating digestion, turning your food into energy.
Basically, enzymes are critical for getting the energy in food from your stomach to your cells.
The human body is chock-full of critical enzymes, working to digest food, build muscle, and even rid the body of toxins. Simply put, enzymes are essential for life and the smooth operation of systems within the body.
When the body is out of balance from sickness, medication, or poor lifestyle, these enzymes cannot work effectively. Everything is connected. Maintaining a healthy diet, staying active, and reducing your toxin load will keep your digestive enzymes happy and busy.
Enzymes in Food
Remember, all living things contain enzymes — including food. These enzymes are deactivated when exposed to high temperatures, specifically when the food is cooked. Raw food proponents say these enzymes in food are critical for digestion and that “killing” them through cooking can lead to an enzyme deficiency.
The truth is, your body contains plenty of enzymes to accomplish the work of digestion. These enzymes are constantly being recirculated in your body, and when you pursue a healthy lifestyle and a well-balanced diet, you are unlikely to experience enzyme issues.
How Cooking affects your food
Most of the time, the way you cook your food will depend on your recipe, whether the food is frozen or fresh, or simply what flavor you are trying to achieve.
However, not all cooking methods are created equal. If you are seeking to get the full nutrient content out of your diet, follow this simple guide.
Stir-frying and sautéing
Line your wok with a drizzle of a heart-healthy oil with a high smoke point such as avocado oil; add fresh (or frozen) veggies and the protein of your choice, and you have a healthy, nutrient-dense meal. Stir-frying your veggies could even increase their nutrient composition.
Oils with a low smoke point, such as olive oil should not be used in cooking as they could release potentially harmful compounds known as heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that could contribute to free radical oxidation. Reserve these oils for drizzling, dipping, or dressings that will not be heated.
Roasting and baking
Nutrition loss during roasting or baking is minimal compared to other cooking methods. However, be sure to use an oil with a high smoke point.
Boiling, poaching, and simmering
Cooking food (especially vegetables) in water contributes to a fairly large nutrient loss. Water-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin C and B, are sensitive to heat and can quickly leach out of vegetables and meat when the food is cooked in water.
The good news is that most of these nutrients don’t just disappear. They remain in the water. So the next time you choose to boil veggies, reserve the water and add it to a sauce or soup.
Steaming
Steaming, cooking foods with a small amount of water in the bottom of the pan, is often listed as the best way to prepare veggies to preserve beneficial carotenoids and phytochemicals. This is true. Unfortunately, it is also one of the least flavorful.
Try sprinkling your favorite seasonings and a drizzle of olive oil over steamed veggies after cooking.
Grilling and broiling
Everyone loves a tender, perfectly grilled steak. However, some people suggest that you need to stay away from grilling meat because it might cause cancer. Loose evidence links heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), compounds that can occur when meat is grilled, to pancreatic and breast cancer. There is also some concern that the chemical reaction between smoke and fat from meat could lead to toxins and inflammation.
Fortunately for grill bosses, The National Cancer Institute finds no compelling link between cancer and meat cooked at high temperatures. In an abundance of caution, keep grilling times short to avoid charring and enjoy primarily lean meats such as fish and chicken on the grill.
There is some evidence that B vitamins are lost when liquid drips out of meat during broiling and grilling, but if you can preserve the nutrient-rich juices, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Deep frying
A reminder about the dangers of fast, fried food is always in order. Much fried food — like that found in fast food joints and many restaurants — is loaded with toxic oil, batter, and harmful byproducts. It has been linked to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. Avoid processed food deep-fried in unhealthy oils such as soybean and canola oil at all costs.
You can actually reap all the benefits of healthy saturated fat by frying foods at home in quality oils with high smoke points, such as lard, tallow, avocado oil, ghee, fat drippings, and coconut oil. Frying in these oils adds incredible flavor and can preserve nutrients. Always choose fat sources from grass-fed, grass-finished animals.
Pressure cooking and slow cooking
Pressure cooking uses high temperatures for short durations. Slow cooking is the opposite; it cooks food using low temperatures over a long period.
Though experts disagree on the nutrient-retention of these cooking methods, they are generally considered healthy cooking options. To reap the nutrients that might have leached out during cooking, consume all of the liquid.
Microwave
Ah, the microwave. Who knew that a simple kitchen appliance could be so divisive. Believe it or not, many people claim the microwave is the healthiest method for preparing food. Here at Natural Heart Doctor, we strongly disagree. Not only does the microwave cook food unevenly, causing it to dry out and become rubbery, but it can also leak radiation.
Faulty, old microwaves could release potentially harmful radiation, and the FDA warns that you shouldn’t stand directly against your microwave while it’s running.
Plus, many of the foods cooked in the microwave include toxic frozen dinners and highly processed food with no place in a healthy diet.
In short, NEVER use the microwave oven.
Quick Tips:
Tips for preparing food
- Don’t peel your veggies, just clean them with water and a scrub brush.
- Leave the fat on your meat — it’s good for you.
- Avoid overcooking food.
- Always save water used to boil or steam veggies.
- Cook with minimal water.
- Enjoy plenty of raw veggies to balance out cooked food.
Certain foods will respond best to specific preparation methods. For instance, tomatoes are often best enjoyed cooked, as the heat raises the levels of lycopene, a beneficial carotenoid that could help reduce cancer risk. Kale, on the other hand, is best enjoyed raw, as it is rich in water-soluble vitamins that could diminish if cooked.
Whether you decide to cook food or leave it raw is entirely up to you. Always practice safe food preparation and handling, and cook all meats to the appropriate internal temperature.
The “what” over the “how”
Remember, how you cook your food matters, but what food you choose to eat in the first place is even more important. If you’re eating nutrient-rich, minimally processed foods, you are on the right track. Follow the 100 Year Heart Diet, always buy organic, and eat real, whole food to nourish your body and protect your heart.
Eating for your
While it may not be possible to hunt and gather food like our ancient ancestors, we can still actively participate in sourcing the best possible food for our health and our 100 Year Heart.
Healthy & Nutrient-Dense food:
5 Basic Principles
Knowing
Growing
Raising
Hunting
Catching
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1. Knowing
Do you know where your food comes from? Do you know how far it traveled to get to your plate? Do your best to know and even shake the hand of the person feeding you. Shop local, visit farmer’s markets and farms close to your home and spend time getting to know the people producing your food.
2. Growing
If you have even a small amount of space, you can grow a ton of delicious and nutritious foods. Even if you only have a small balcony, you can still cultivate a thriving kitchen garden to produce a bountiful harvest of healthy food. If you have no outdoor space, consider growing microgreens, a nutrient-dense crop that can be grown indoors on your counter 365 days a year.
3. Raising
It only takes a little space to raise some hens for eggs. If you have a little more room, consider keeping a cow, sheep, or goat for meat or milk. It doesn’t get any fresher than your own backyard. This is truly a pasture-to-table experience.
4. Hunting
Although hunting might not be for everyone, it can definitely yield an abundance of pure, nutrient-packed protein. At one time in history, this was the only way humans could secure meat.
5. Catching
If you are lucky enough to live close to a body of water, you can take up your fishing pole and catch your own dinner. Many people also travel to Alaska to catch fresh salmon and freezer pack it to take it home with them. Not only do you get the benefit of highly nutritious food, but you also get to have fun in the great outdoors.
Get Your Mind Right
Once you know what to eat and what not to eat to fuel your 100 Year Heart, it is time to get your mind right. This means shifting thoughts of negativity, failure, sickness, and deprivation to feelings of gratitude, positivity, health, and abundance.
It takes time to get your mind right about food. Be patient with yourself, but keep reminding yourself of all the good things to come as you make one good choice after another. If you have knowledge, you have everything you need to be successful. This will empower you to become the best version of yourself and will fuel your 100 Year Heart — one delicious bite at a time.
