Dietary Guidelines for Good Health

I tell my patients that in order to enjoy good health, there are a few simple things they can do. First, consume more whole grains and vegetables, with special emphasis on the cruciferous variety. Along with that, the intake of red meats, sugar and saturated fats needs to be reduced.

We also need to eat more foods in their whole and natural state. Some of our children, and some of us, for that matter, would not even recognize certain foods in their whole, unchanged states. For the most part, whole foods from the plant kingdom offer us significant dietary fiber. Even if food producers and manufacturers add natural and synthetic fibers to foods, they cannot improve on Mother Nature's creations.

Our dietary objectives should focus on

• Increasing our consumption of whole grain cereals and breads and fruits and vegetables (especially cruciferous varieties).

• Reducing our intake of refined and processed sugars.

• Reducing our consumption of animal and plant foods high in fats, especially saturated fats.

• Switching to monounsaturated oils like olive oil and using flaxseed oil or taking an essential fatty acid supplement.

• Reducing our intake of high-cholesterol foods such as eggs, fatty meats, and staying away from hydrogenated fats altogether (corn oil, margarines, etc.).

• Reducing our intake of salt and salty foods.

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