HealthWorks Guide to Healthy Eating

by | Mar 14, 2020

These guidelines for healthy eating are supported and recommended by HealthWorks and from the scientific research of the Weston Price Foundation. This is a summary of what healthy people around the globe have traditionally eaten and the guidelines for consuming a nutrient-dense, traditional diet in today’s modern world.

Characteristics of Traditional Diets

1. The diets of healthy, non-industrialized peoples contain no refined or denatured foods or ingredients, such as refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup; white flour; canned foods; pasteurized, homogenized, skim or low-fat milk; refined or hydrogenated vegetable oils; protein powders; artificial vitamins; or toxic additives and colorings.

2. All traditional cultures consume some sort of animal food, such as fish and shellfish; land and waterfowl; land and sea mammals; eggs; milk and milk products; reptiles; and insects. The whole animal is consumed – muscle meat, organs, bones and fat, with the organ meats and fats preferred.

3. The diets of healthy, non-industrialized peoples contain at least four times the minerals and water-soluble vitamins, and TEN times the fat-soluble vitamins found in animal fats (vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K2) as the average American diet. Read here about the importance of fat-soluble vitamins: http://nourishedkitchen.com/fat-soluble-vitamins/

4. All traditional cultures cooked some of their food but all consumed a portion of their animal foods raw or cultured (fermented).

5. Primitive and traditional diets have a high content of food enzymes and beneficial bacteria from lacto-fermented vegetables, fruits, beverages, dairy products, meats, and condiments. 6. Seeds, grains, and nuts are soaked, sprouted, fermented or naturally leavened to neutralize naturally occurring anti-nutrients such as enzyme inhibitors, tannins, and phytic acid.

7. The total fat content of traditional diets varies from 30 percent to 80 percent of calories but only about 4 percent of calories come from polyunsaturated oils naturally occurring in grains, legumes, nuts, fish, animal fats and vegetables. The balance of fat calories is in the form of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids.

8. Traditional diets contain nearly equal amounts of omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids.

9. All traditional diets contain some salt. Real Salt (brand name) and Himalayan salt are recommended.

10. All traditional cultures make use of animal bones, usually in the form of gelatin-rich bone broths.

11. Traditional cultures make provisions for the health of future generations by providing special nutrient-rich animal foods for parents-to-be, pregnant women and growing children; and by teaching the principles of right diet to the young.

Dietary Guidelines

1. Eat whole, unprocessed foods. This means that no ingredient label is needed, the food is the ingredient.

2. Eat beef, lamb, game, organ meats, poultry and eggs from pasture-fed animals. Having a relationship with local farmers is the best way to ensure your getting the most sustainable and freshest meats and eggs. A co-op utilized by many of our practice members to obtain farm-fresh meat, dairy and honey is: www.edennaturalfoods.com. Another reputable and highly recommended source for meat products is https://www.texasgrassfedbeef.com/meat-store/products who are local to texas and ship right to your doorstep.

3. Eat wild fish (not farm-raised) and shellfish from unpolluted waters.

4. Eat full-fat milk products from pasture-fed cows, preferably raw and/or fermented, such as raw milk, whole yogurt, kefir, cultured butter, whole raw cheeses, and fresh and sour cream. (Imported cheeses that say “milk” or “fresh milk” on the label are raw.)

5. Use animal fats, especially butter, liberally.

6. Use traditional vegetable oils only–extra virgin olive oil, expeller-expressed sesame oil, small amounts of expeller-expressed flax oil, and the tropical oils–coconut oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil.

7. Take cod liver oil regularly to provide at least 10,000 IU vitamin A and 1,000 IU vitamin D per day. We prefer cod liver oil from Standard Process which is available at our office.

8. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables–preferably organic–in salads and soups, or lightly steamed with butter.

9. Use whole grains, legumes and nuts that have been prepared by soaking, sprouting or sour leavening to neutralize phytic acid, enzyme inhibitors, and other anti-nutrients.

10. Include enzyme-enhanced lacto-fermented vegetables, fruits, beverages, and condiments in your diet on a regular basis.

11. Prepare homemade stocks from the bones of chicken, beef, lamb, and fish and use liberally in soups, stews, gravies, and sauces.

12. Use filtered water for cooking and drinking. For a low-cost reverse osmosis system contact www.waterevent.com.

13. Use unrefined salt and a variety of herbs and spices for food interest and appetite stimulation. Real Salt or Himalayan salt is recommended. Salt should have a color like gray or pink to be considered full of vital minerals.

14. Make your own salad dressing using raw vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and a small amount of expeller-expressed flax oil. Plain yogurt is also a delicious dressing.

15. Use natural sweeteners in moderation, such as raw, local honey, Grade B maple syrup, maple sugar, date sugar, dehydrated cane sugar juice (sold as Rapadura) and stevia powder. 16. Use only unpasteurized wine or beer in strict moderation with meals.

17. Cook only in stainless steel, cast iron, glass or good quality enamel.

18. Use only natural, food-based supplements. www.standardprocess.com

19. Get plenty of sleep, exercise, and natural light.

20. Think positive thoughts and practice forgiveness. An excellent technique to help with phobias or toxic behaviors you can go to www.emofree.com or www.tapping.com.

Dietary Dangers

1. Do not eat commercially processed foods such as cookies, cakes, crackers, TV dinners, soft drinks, packaged sauce mixes, etc. Read labels!

2. Avoid all refined sweeteners such as sugar, dextrose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, and fruit juices. 3. Avoid white flour, white flour products, and white rice.

4. Avoid all hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats and oils.

5. Avoid all refined liquid vegetable oils made from soy, corn, safflower, canola or cottonseed.

6. Do not use polyunsaturated oils for cooking, sautéing or baking (nut or seed oils).

7. Avoid foods fried in polyunsaturated oils or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

8. Do not practice veganism. Animal products provide vital nutrients not found in plant foods.

9. Avoid products containing protein powders as they usually contain carcinogens formed during processing;

and consumption of protein without the cofactors occurring in nature can lead to deficiencies, especially of vitamin A.

10. Avoid processed, pasteurized milk; do not consume ultra-pasteurized milk products, low-fat milk, skim milk, powdered milk or imitation milk products. See this article: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/why-skim-milk-will-make-you-fat-and/

11. Avoid factory-farmed eggs, meats, and fish.

12. Avoid highly processed luncheon meats and sausage. (Applegate Farms is a brand that is widely found and is a good choice for lunch meat and sausage).

13. Avoid rancid and improperly prepared seeds, nuts and grains found in granolas, quick rise breads and extruded breakfast cereals, as they block mineral absorption and cause intestinal distress.

14. Avoid canned, sprayed, waxed and irradiated fruits and vegetables. Avoid genetically modified foods (found in most soy, canola, and corn products).

15. Avoid artificial food additives, especially MSG, hydrolyzed vegetable protein and aspartame (Nutrasweet), which are neurotoxins. Most soups, sauce and broth mixes and most commercial condiments contain MSG, even if not indicated on the label. See http://www.truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.html for all the names MSG is disguised as. 16. Individuals sensitive to caffeine and related substances should avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate.

17. Avoid aluminum-containing foods such as commercial salt, baking powder, and antacids. Do not use aluminum cookware or deodorants containing aluminum. 18. Do not drink fluoridated water.

19. Avoid synthetic vitamins and foods containing them.

20. Avoid distilled liquors.

21. Do not use a microwave oven.

Confused About Fats?

Great articles:

The following nutrient-rich traditional fats have nourished healthy population groups for thousands of years:

For Cooking

• Butter (great for high heat cooking)

• Tallow and suet from beef and lamb (great for frying on occasion)

• Lard from pigs

• Chicken, goose and duck fat

• Coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils (great for high heat cooking)

For Salads

• Extra virgin olive oil (also OK for light sautés)

• Expeller-expressed sesame and peanut oils

• Expeller-expressed flax oil (in small amounts)

For Fat-Soluble Vitamins

• Fish liver oils such as cod liver oil (preferable to fish oils, which do not provide fat-soluble vitamins, can cause an overdose of unsaturated fatty acids and usually come from farmed fish if not from a reputable company.) www.GreenPasture.com for resources.

The following man-made fats can cause cancer, heart disease, immune system dysfunction, sterility, learning disabilities, growth problems, and osteoporosis:

• All hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils

• Industrially processed liquid oils such as soy, corn, safflower, cottonseed, and canola

• Fats and oils (especially vegetable oils) heated to very high temperatures in processing and frying.

These are some websites that will be helpful in your journey while making these changes.

http://www.healthhomehappy.com/ http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/ http://www.westonaprice.org/beginner-videos

These guidelines are not meant to diagnose or treat any condition. Specific nutritional support is not meant to replace medical interventions for your symptoms. It is meant to support the natural healing process of the human body. Should you desire to discontinue your prescribed medications, please consult your medical doctor.

HealthWorks: A Family Wellness Center is a chiropractic and wellness center located in Plano, Texas. Our chiropractors, Dr. Christy Flick and Dr. Jennifer Taylor, have been helping patients function better since starting private practice in 2005. For information about this article or other chiropractic questions, please contact our office at 972-612-1800.