IN Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall | Page 18

H e a l t h & W e l l n e s s / Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall Eat Healthy Eat an anti-inflammatory diet. Holistic guru Dr. Andrew Weil recommends eating a diet high in fresh fruits and vegetables and minimal processed foods to reduce inflammation in your body. Eat all natural. Avoid high-calorie foods full of sugar, fat and artificial ingredients and concentrate on eating high-nutrient, high-flavor foods such as fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. Eat many small meals. Eat something every three hours to keep your metabolism high and your blood sugar and insulin levels steady. Don’t skip breakfast. The easiest meal to skip but the most important. Eat something small, even if you aren’t hungry. Read labels. Opt for products with at least three grams of fiber, low sugars and no hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. Eat less and live longer. Maoshing Ni, author of Secrets of Longevity: Hundreds of Ways to Live to be 100, suggests the “three-quarters rule,” essentially not eating any more after you feel three-quarters full. Drink tea. Ni recommends daily tea because tea is a proven Eat and drink coconut. The type of saturated fat in coconuts does not contribute to heart disease and it is rich in lauric acid, which boosts your immune system. Avoid bad fats. Bad fats include saturated fats, which are primarily derived from animal products, and trans fats, which are used in commercial fried foods, margarines, and baked goods like cookies and crackers. Spice it up. Dr. Wendy Bazilian, author of The SuperFoodsRx Diet: Lose Weight with the Power of SuperNutrients, recommends high-antioxidant spices and herbs such as cinnamon, ginger, curry, rosemary, thyme, oregano and red pepper. Drink up. Drinking water throughout the day can decrease your urges for sweets, lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, minimize pain associated with arthritis, migraines, and colitis, hydrate your skin, and help with your digestion. Limit your alcohol intake to one or tw