Food should taste good and should be good for you. That is the basis of eating for health. Unfortunately, in the past 60 years nutrition has changed more than in the previous 10,000 years!

Until World War II, the vast majority of food was grown within 50 miles of consumption. Now the vast majority of food is grown all over the world, with little control over quality. Thirty years ago, Ross Hume Hall noted in FOOD FOR NOUGHT that even the produce sold in grocery stores was often not truly ripe and was often deficient in vitamins and minerals.

More critically, even the majority of food sold in grocery stores is highly processed, further depleting its nutrient value. And a striking 40% or more of all food eaten is at ”fast food” restaurants, which puts it at the top of the junk category.

What you should NOT eat:

Each of the “foods” in the following list is pure junk.

• White flour, bread, pastries, crackers
• Sugar
• High fructose sweeteners
• Aspartame
• Splenda
• Olestra
• Margarine
• MSG
• Any artificial sweetener
• Instant pastry and bread mixes
• Colas and all pop
• All commercial candies, except 70 to 75% cocoa dark chocolate (and then only an ounce daily)
• Processed cheese
• Canned fruits in light or heavy syrup
• Snack crackers and cookies
• All the highly sweetened coffees, etc.
• 90+% of all packaged cereals
• ”Luncheon meats”
• Fast food restaurant food
• Almost all boxed cereals
• Most ”trail mixes”

What you should eat in moderation:

Eating for health means that you can occasionally enjoy foods that “diets” often deem harmful.

• Range fed beef – not more than 8 ounces per week
• Organically raised lamb or pork – not more than 8 ounces per week
• Skimmed or 2% milk from non BHG cows—not more than 16 ounces per day
• Buttermilk, up to 16 oz per day, instead of milk
• Bacon, sausage and ham – as a rare treat
• 100% whole grain or sourdough or semolina bread, up to 2 slices daily
• Tuna fish, not more than once a week
• Irish potatoes, baked or boiled, once or twice a week
• Saurkraut
• Pickles or beets
• Honey, up to several teaspoons daily
• Coffee, up to 2 cups daily
• Quality dark chocolate, 70 to 75% cocoa, one ounce daily
• Commercial ice cream — as a rare treat
• Dried fruits — sparingly. Be sure they are not ”sweetened”
• Wine, 4 to 6 ounces daily, if not overweight
• Beer instead of wine, occasionally, not more than 12 ounces

What you should eat freely, as long as your Body Mass Index is between 19 and 24:

When your BMI is between 19 and 24, you are considered to be at a healthy weight. So you can enjoy a wide variety of delicious and nutritious foods.

• Fresh vegetables, organically raised if possible
• Fresh fruits, organic when possible
• Eggs, especially from free-range chickens, up to 2 daily
• Range fed chicken or turkey – up to 4 ounces daily
• Alaskan salmon, even canned
• Fresh fish
• Old fashioned peanut butter or almond butter
• Cooked dried beans, peas or lentils
• Homemade soups – virtually all the canned soups have MSG!
• Chia seeds – I’ll be doing another newsletter on these
• Raw or roasted almonds, walnuts, cashews, peanuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds
• Plain yogurt, can be sweetened with honey and fruit
• Non-processed cheese, up to an ounce daily
• Butter, up to an ounce daily
• Olive oil, up to an ounce daily
• You may substitute coconut oil or flaxseed oil for olive oil
• Sweet potatoes
• Brown rice
• Old fashioned oatmeal
• Yellow grits, buckwheat, millet, quinoa
• Black or green tea, up to 2 or 3 cups daily
• Non-caffeinated herb teas
• Non-chlorinated, non-fluoridated water

Real food, fast:

Eating for health does not mean that you cannot snack or have something quick to eat. Consider something from the following list the next time you need fast food.

• A handful of nuts or peanuts and fresh fruit
• Fresh fruit and cheese
• Canned sardines or salmon on real bread, as listed above
• Old fashioned peanut butter, good right out of the spoon
• A fruit smoothie — one banana, plus a handful of any other fruit, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter or chia seeds and water, blenderized

Eating for health is not difficult. You just need to make the decision to do so. And when you do, you will notice that you not only start feeling better but that you have more energy too.

Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D. is the father of holistic medicine. He recommends autogenic focus (the basis of the Biogenics System) as part of your overall commitment to self-health. Register to download your FREE autogenic focus MP3 now.