Rules for Optimum Healthy Eating

If you want to reduce inflammation in your body, experience weight loss and be healthier in general it is highly advised that you try the Healthy & Active Lifestyle Program in which a blood profile is taken and the foods that are best for you to consume are provided to you in a list. The blood profiles that are taken in the HAP program are then used to define your metabolic type as well as identify your body’s best fuel sources.

Although you are basically prescribed which foods to eat and which foods to eat for optimum health, here are some general rules for the healthy sourcing and preparation of foods that apply to everyone, no matter what your metabolic type happens to be.

Avoid mature moldy cheeses to halt inflammation.

#1  Avoid eating canned foods. Fresh foods are best always.

#2. Avoid eating ready made meals that you buy prepared in your grocer’s freezer as the older the food, the worse it will be as a source of fuel for you plus older food can trigger histamine reactions and inflammation.

#3 Avoid consuming ripe and fermented foods such as older cheeses, dried fish, alcoholic drinks and yeast products of all kinds.)

#4 The less food is handled by strangers, the healthier it will be for you because it will be less bruised, less contaminated and more likely to be from a local source.

#5  Do not allow meats to linger outside the refrigerator

#6  Make sure your preparation area is always kept clean but not poisonous with applied cleaning products that might have toxins

#7  Make sure all meat that you purchase is as fresh as possible to avoid pathogens

#8   Skin chicken before you cook it to reduce fat and pathogen intake

#9   Spelt and corn-based pasta can be more tolerable for some people and prevent inflammation but be sure to refer to your HAP list of recommended foods to make sure this is true

#10  Drink coconut milk to hydrate yourself but be sure that the coconut milk does not have loads of added sugar. 

#11  Do not try to eat slightly rancid cream cheese or dips as this can cause histamine levels to rise and provoke inflammation

#12  Stick to non-citrus juices that are watered down or served with ice to prevent inflammation reactions in the body

It is also a good idea to avoid foods known to raise histamines and cause bloating and inflammation.  These include -

• Alcohol
• Pickled foods
• Mature and soft cheeses
• Smoked meat products
• Shellfish
• Beans and pulses
• Most nuts but especially walnuts and cashew nuts
• Chocolate and coca
• All wheat based products
• Vinegar

You do need to participate in the HAP to find out what the metabolic types are and how you can be assisted with a recommended eating plan.

For more information about the Healthy & Active Program please visit our website at www.healthy-active.com. You may also call us in Toronto at (41) 440-2217 and ask for Adrienne Wright Bulow or Dr. Michael Rahman or email us at adrienne@healthy-active.com.

The Role of Insulin in a Healthy Metabolism

One of the areas of health that is definitely impacted in a positive way by embarking on a Healthy & Active lifestyle is in the area of metabolism. Once you have determined, through blood profiling, which are the most suitable foods for your particular physical type, you begin to convert the food that you eat into energy more efficiently. Your body does not have to produce excess amounts of insulin to process all of the sugars and carbohydrates that flood into your system and overload it when you are not consuming a healthy diet.

How Insulin Works

Insulin is a hormone that plays a key role in the regulation of blood glucose levels, which is important because every cell in your body relies on insulin to transport glucose to them from the body.   If the body has sufficient energy, then insulin signals the liver to take up glucose and store it as glycogen. The liver can store up to about 5% of its mass as glycogen. However, if there is too much glycogen floating around in your system that sugar is then deposited into the bloodstream and converted to fat.

Whenever  there is a malfunction of insulin production, the person develops what is called a metabolic disorder.  Eventually this results in either Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes.

An Example of Healthier Foods for Diabetics

In Type 1 Diabetes the body does not produce enough insulin to regulate blood glucose and the body uses other sources of energy to keep running, including ketones that are produced by the liver to compensate for the absence of glucose.  Type 1 diabetics must inject insulin to keep skyrocketing glucose in the blood that cannot be utilized by the body, from damaging their body’s systems.

In Type 2 diabetes the body is experiencing a condition called insulin resistance, meaning that it is less able to take up glucose from the blood.  In the earlier stage of this disease the body responds by producing more insulin than it would normally need to eventually putting such a strain on the pancreas that it is no longer able to reproduce any insulin at all.  This can eventually lead to a complete dependence on insulin.

Too Much Insulin Production Causes Obesity

These conditions or a predisposition towards them also have a lot of impact on how your body will store and use fat.  When the liver has used up its capacity of glycogen, insulin signals fat cells to store the sugars as fat (as triglycerides) instead.  

This is also why it is very important for you to avoid eating foods that could wear out your pancreas by forcing it to react to high levels of sugar in the blood.  One of the miraculous things about the Healthy and Active Program is that it has been known to reverse high blood sugar in Type 2 diabetics.

For more information about the Healthy & Active Program please visit our website at www.healthy-active.com. You may also call us in Toronto at (41) 440-2217 and ask for Adrienne Wright Bulow or Dr. Michael Rahman or email us at adrienne@healthy-active.com.

Withdrawing From An Unhealthy Lifestyle

For some people changing their lifestyle can be very difficult. They can suffer from withdrawal symptoms from the old lifestyle on three levels: physical, mental and emotional.  Physical pains can come from some very real changes in biochemical processes in the body. Psychological pain can result if the bad habit was somehow protective of an inner vulnerability. Mental issues such as foggy thinking or memory loss can be the result of liver cleansing and the fatigue that can come with a body that is trying to repair and cleanse itself.

Common Withdrawal Symptoms

The good thing is these symptoms pass in just a couple of days.  Many people become cranky and lethargic.  It is very common to get headaches, foggy thinking and fatigued. If you are quitting caffeine or cigarettes, you could get constipated.

Some people have insufferable cravings for sugar when they go on one of these fasts.  Caffeine addicts can also have a hard time.  Both caffeine and sugar are really hard to withdraw from if you have been eating it any day.

If you are a steady drinker and you give up alcohol, you will likely experience the stress and anxiety that you were trying to blot out with your drinking.  If you are drinking to obliterate reality then you might see changing your habits as a chance to deal with your problems and traumas. 

Sometimes breaking a bad habit is not as bad as it seems especially when your start producing your own endorphins as the result of exercising more and eating right. This decreases your dependence on whatever it is you are addicted to in life whiter it be sugar, fat, salt, nicotine or alcohol.

Alcohol acts a lot like sugar does in the body and you may feel agitated if you don’t get your fix.  Giving up caffeine makes some people very moody and jittery.  Giving up gluten (breads and starches), however, sometimes gives some people an immediate relief from any irritable bowel type symptoms. Processed flours also act in the body much the same way sugar does.

Meatless Without Misery

Not eating meat can make some people feel quite lethargic as well. There are plenty of proteins and amino acids in plant-based food, without all the unhealthy fat and additives. However, if meat was the mainstay of your diet before the fast you may not feel that great and experience a lot of cravings until you get used to the idea of eating more alkaline foods.  Alkaline foods tend to be vegan whereas meats tend to be acidic in nature.

Not Everyone Has Symptoms

Some people do not have a hard time at all when they switch from an acidic to alkaline diet and almost everyone feels lighter and more energetic within a day or two of eliminating acidic foods from their diet and replacing them with more alkaline ones.

Be patient. Your physicality needs to have a chance to find its own natural balance.

After changing your diet from an acidic one to an alkaline one you are left with more balanced blood sugar and freedom from old addictions.  You will hopefully be onto a newer and healthier routine that includes the balancing of your blood sugar, weight loss and freedom from addictions.

For more information about the Healthy & Active Program please visit our website at www.healthy-active.com. You may also call us in Toronto at (41) 440-2217 and ask for Adrienne Wright Bulow or Dr. Michael Rahman or email us at adrienne@healthy-active.com.