Top 11 Healthy Eating Tips

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HEALTHY EATING TIPS

Food truly is medicine. Anyone who’s made a significant shift in their diet from the

Standard American Diet (SAD – which is quite literally ‘sad’) to something more nutrient-

rich like a plant-based Paleo diet, can tell you how HUGE that impact can be.  I cannot tell

you how important a plant-based diet is if you want to regain your health.

I know the power food from experience, both in my personal life and in my office. Nearly

sixteen years ago I cured my Crohn’s disease starting with changing my diet. Now I want

to share with you a few of my favorite healthy eating tips. These are based on what I’ve

seen work over the years in hundreds of patients. Enjoy!

1. Recruit your family – Eating and socialization have been intertwined throughout the

existence of mankind. Make sure you enjoy your food by eat with other people and

socializing during meals. Also, get your partner on board and you can clean out all the

junk in your house together and minimize temptations.  A clean pantry and fridge filled

with whole food is a great way to jumpstart the process.

2. Break the sugar cravings – Sugar is flat out addictive. It also alters your gut

microbiome and causes cravings. The good news is most people can break this cycle with

a nutrient dense diet high in healthy fat. This won’t completely eliminate your sweet

tooth, but it will hopefully stop cravings. Another trick I love for cravings is taking

gymnema aptly known as the “sugar buster” herb.

3. Change your mindset – Don’t consider yourself on a ‘diet,’ this should be more of a

lifestyle change. And if you ‘cheat,’ don’t make that cheat meal all powerful and definitely

don’t count down the days until you can have it. There are abstainers and moderators. If

you are an abstainer, it’s much easier to have the rules black and white where “none” of

something like sugar or gluten is allowed. If you happen to be a moderator, the idea of

“never” may turn you off so a little indulgence once a month or so may help you stay on

track!

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HEALTHY EATING TIPS

4. Use more spices – The beauty in the Paleo diet is in it’s simplicity, but that doesn’t

mean it needs to be bland. Add more spices to your veggie-packed meals to improve their

taste. Also, many spices are great for your health – an added bonus. Try turmeric,

rosemary, thyme, oregano, and ginger.  

5. Use your crockpot more – Crockpots or Instant Pots recipes are great for making

simple, healthy, and easy meals. Plus, you can make larger batches and use leftovers for

extra meals and lunches. From soups to main dishes, this is a great tip to cut down on

time in the kitchen and have a hot meal ready when you get home from work.

6. Explore Paleo friendly desserts – You don’t have to completely deprive yourself when

you eat healthy, you just need a different approach. There are tons of Paleo-friendly, low-

glycemic recipes online – you can check out some of mine here.

7. Stop fearing fat – All too often my patients have the idea that fat is bad for you stuck

in their heads’. Eating good fat will make your body better at burning fat, make you feel

fuller, and more satisfied, longer. Use a variety of healthy fats from sources such as olive,

avocado, coconut, and others.

8. Work on making yourself more ‘fat adapted’ – Essentially, this means training your

body to burn fat for fuel efficiently. This will help you have less sugar crashes and burn fat

more easily. You can do this with ketogenic tactics, intermittent fasting, and by increasing

your health fat intake while dropping your carbs. 

9. Don’t be afraid of restaurants – More and more restaurants are accommodating to

specialized diets. Ask for a gluten-free menu and order off that, even if you don’t have

celiac disease. I like to “create my own dish” by asking which main entree is not covered

with sauces, dressings or marinades, which are usual a culprit full of allergens. Then just

ask them to cook it to order with garlic and sea salt with a side of steamed veggies of your

choice...  Delicious and nutritious!

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HEALTHY EATING TIPS

10. Join plant-based Paleo, ketogenic, and other healthy eating Facebook groups –

There are tons of great Facebook groups for people improving their diets or for those just

looking for recipe inspiration. Not only will you fill your newsfeed with delicious and

appropriate recipes, but you’ll have an online community where you can ask questions.

11. Don’t be too hard on yourself – Remember this should be more of a lifestyle change

than a ‘diet.’ You want these habits to stick, so don’t make too many changes at once,

don’t beat yourself up if changes don’t happen overnight, and work on that mindset

surrounding food (see #3).

When you can make your food delicious, enjoyable, and a lifestyle rather than something you’re using willpower to get through, you’ll have the most success. I hope these tips help reframe your thinking about approaching a new way of eating. Let your food be medicine and you’ll feel better than ever.