Nutrition - by Dr. Greg

Nutrition is one area of health that can seem overwhelming. We are constantly being bombarded with the "latest research" or new study that shows that some food or ingredient that we once thought was healthy is now considered unhealthy, or vice versa. Look at the constant back and forth over eggs, for instance. But nutrition (or what we eat to be healthy) is not complicated at its heart.

Here's what you have to do: eat a bunch of whole foods, especially fresh fruits and veggies, and reduce processed food intake as much as you can. It's that simple! The closer a food is to its natural state, the better it is for you (i.e. an apple is far better than apple sauce or apple juice). The quicker a food will rot, the better it is for you (but eat it before it rots). Let's look at some examples.

A majority of your diet should be made up of actual whole foods; these include any fruit, any vegetable, meat*, eggs, nuts, seeds, beans, whole grains, rice, oatmeal, spices, water - pretty much anything from nature that is meant to be food. (Dairy should not be a significant part of your diet. Although natural, it is not meant for humans, it is meant for baby cows, and can be detrimental to your health.)

On the other end of the spectrum is processed food, or food that has been made or altered by man. This type of food is not nearly as healthy as whole foods, and in a lot of cases is outright unhealthy. Unfortunately, the majority of most Americans' diets are dominated by processed foods. I'm talking about pretty much any food in the middle of the grocery store. The further a food is from its natural state the less healthy it gets.

Now I'm not saying you should never eat pizza again, or crackers, or dairy, or sweets, or white flour, but do make an attempt to reduce these as much as possible. Even if you don't reduce your processed food intake, just adding in more whole foods will work wonders. Adding in the good stuff is more important than taking out the bad! So don't stress about it. Remember, every decision you make every day will bring you a step closer to health or a step closer to disease. It's up to you.

Now these are broad recommendations, and following these will get you 90% of the way to a great diet. We can always go way more in depth with you if you would like to really fine tune your diet, or have questions about specific nutritional topics, just ask!

*Meat is perfectly healthy for you, whether it's red or white meat... however, that meat is only perfectly healthy for you if it is free range, antibiotic free and hormone free, and grass fed (for beef). Wild game is the best meat, as well as organic or locally raised meat.