Helen ~ Heynen

Dr. Berardi’s 10 Rules of Good Nutrition Rules

1) Eat every 2-3 hours - no matter what.

2) Eat complete, lean protein each time you eat.

3) Eat vegetables every time you eat.

This may be the single greatest thing you can change for lifelong health.That’s right, every time you eat (every 2-3 hours, right), in addition to a complete, lean protein source, you need to eat some vegetables. You can toss in a piece of fruit here and there as well. But don’t skip the veggies. You will learn to LOVE the crish, fresh taste of fresh veggies all day.

4) If want to eat a carbohydrate that’s not a fruit or a vegetable (this includes things like things rice, pasta, potatoes, etc), you can – but you’ll need to save it for during or immediately after you’ve exercised - the optimal time for them with protein.

Yes, these grains are dietary staples in North America, but remember that heart disease, diabetes and cancer are medical staples in North American – and there’s a relationship between the two! To stop heading down the heart disease highway, reward yourself for a good workout with a good carbohydrate meal right after (your body best tolerates these carbohydrates after exercise). For the rest of the day, stick to lean protein and a delicious selection of fruits and veggies.

5) A good percentage of your diet (25-35%) must come from fat.

Just be sure it’s the right kind. There are 3 types of fat – saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Eating all three kinds in a healthy balance can dramatically improve your health, and even help you lose fat.
Your saturated fat should come from your animal products and you can even toss in some butter or coconut oil for cooking. Your monounsaturated fat should come from mixed nuts, olives, and olive oil. And your polyunsaturated fat should from flaxseed oil, fish oil, and mixed nuts.

6) Ditch the calorie containing drinks (including fruit juice).

In fact, all of your drinks should come from non-calorie containing beverages. Fruit juice, alcoholic drinks, and sodas – these are all to be removed from your daily fare. Your absolute best choices are water and green tea.

7) Focus on whole foods

Whole fresh foods are the most important supplement. Most of your dietary intake should come from whole foods. There are a few times where supplement drinks and shakes are useful, But most of the time, you’ll do best with whole, largely unprocessed foods.

8) Develop food preparation strategies.

The hardest part about eating well is making sure you can follow the rules above consistently. Knowing what to eat is pretty useless if you don’t have the time to make the food. Shop on the outside of the market, in the produce and refrigerated sections of the market. Everything in the center aisles are processed and full of sugar, so stay out of those aisles. Get the food home, cut it up and get it into plastic containers to take to work with you.