Ideally, everything you eat would be organic; however, where cost and access are limiting factors, you might buy organic for the worst offenders – the fruit and vegetables that are highest in toxins. The EWG (Environmental Working Group – www.ewg.org) maintains a list of the “dirty dozen” and “clean fifteen” foods.
The same is true for genetically modified foods (GMOs). You can visit The Non-gmo Poject (nongmoproject.org) for their lists of verified non-gmo products and retailers.
If you’re not hungry – don’t eat. Unless you know that you’ll be going long stretches of time where you won’t be able to eat, this is generally a good rule of thumb to follow.
Eat until you’re 80% full and STOP. This will allow you to maintain energy and be focused and awake.
Eat a maximum of 3 meals/day. For those who aren’t breakfast eaters, if you only have 2 meals/day, you’ll be perfectly fine. Ideally, snacking would also be eliminated, but if you can’t, at least limit it.
Fasting for 12-16 hours daily is extremely beneficial. This is best accomplished if you stop eating around 7pm, or 3 hours before you go to bed. After a full 7-8 hours night’s sleep, you wake up to breakfast, around 7am. If you’re not a breakfast eater and eat at around 10/11am, your fast would’ve been 16 hours.
Chew, chew, chew your food! This is actually the beginning of digestion and saliva starts to break food down into its nutrients, so enjoy and savor every bite!
Limit drinking during meals. You can have 1 glass of water or beverage, but not more than that. The reason is to prevent diluting your digestive enzymes so that you’re not limiting your ability to absorb what you’re eating.
Don’t drink cold beverages during meals, only room temperature or warm is best. Cold water depletes energy because it requires the body to warm it up and can also cause cramping or colic, especially if exercising.
If you have a fever, don’t eat. Hydrating with electrolytes is enough.
Get ready for a healthier, more energized you!