Recently, I was spending time with an acquaintance of mine who had a heart attack about 1+1/2 years ago. His doctors at the time insisted that one of his greatest risk factors was that he was overweight. He decided to join a ‘weight watchers’ program and was able to lose about 70 pounds. It was a huge accomplishment for him. Certainly, being less overweight put him in a healthier category and less at risk of another heart attack. But the challenge with a program of this type is that it is less focused on the quality of foods that are chosen and more focused on calories. This means that while you are eating less calories, you will most likely lose weight, but when you finish the program, the weight will very likely come back over time.
Also, unfortunately for the person’s heart, these diets are often low-fat. The heart, as well as the rest of our body, is very dependent on healthy fats. When we limit fats because we are concerned that we will gain weight, we hurt our bodies. And actually, most people that lead a high fat diet such as the ketogenic or a Mediterranean diet actually lose weight. But more importantly, their health increases exponentially!
So what is the best diet? Well, as we all know, everyone is different and as human beings, our individual needs are diverse. But in general, making sure that our food choices are nutritious and healing is a given for all!!!
The great thing about the Paleo diet is that it is less focused on counting and measuring and more focusing on learning how to make good food choices. For those of you who are new to the Paleo diet, here are the basics:
- Lots of diverse vegetables & fruits!
- Natural animal protein such as grass-fed beef, organic poultry, wild fish, and organic eggs.
- Lots of healthy fats such as a extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil, avocados, nuts and seeds.
- Avoid refined sugars and stick to natural sweeteners such as stevia, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and raw honey.
- Avoid grain (even gluten-free grains).
- Avoid legumes, including peanuts.
- Avoid dairy.
- Avoid all processed foods.
Letting go of the rigid process of counting calories and measuring grams is one of the big benefits of eating Paleo! In addition, it is an anti-inflammatory diet which means that when we eat in this way, we help to reduce inflammation in our body that is contributing to pain and illness.
For those of you are getting started in cooking and baking Paleo, and for all of you veterans that are searching for new and exciting recipes, check out my next Facebook-Live video this Friday, October 5th, at 9:30 am (EST) and watch me create one of my family’s fall favorites– Apple Cake!
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Live Cooking Classes at Cookshop Plus in West Hartford with Ayelet!
If you’re local to Connecticut and you haven’t signed up yet, now is the time– space is limited:
Paleo & Gluten Free Cooking class with Ayelet: Wednesday, October 17, 6:30 pm
Menu: Butternut Squash & Apple Soup, Roasted Chicken with Braised Brussels
Sprouts & Pomegranate-Mustard Sauce, Sweet Crepes with Apple &
Cinnamon filling