As we approach the New Year, many Americans will make resolutions such as improving their diet and losing weight. While those are admirable goals, sticking with them is tough. Studies show that eating well can not only help you lose weight, have clear skin and make you feel good, it also sets you on the path to living a long, healthy life. After all, as the popular saying goes: “You are what you eat.”
Tracy Moeller, director of WellSpring’s School of Exercise, Nutrition and Wellness, said, “Certified nutrition and wellness coaches, like those who graduate from our new nutrition and wellness coaching program, can help clients separate the good from the bad and make the right choices for healthier lives.”
According to Health Magazine, weight loss is thought to be 80 percent diet and 20 percent exercise, so eating well is the key to keeping your body in shape and healthy. And while everyone is taught the basic food pyramid in school, not everyone know which foods are healthy and which aren’t.
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Check out the 10 best and worst foods for your diet compiled by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, New York Times bestselling author and family physician specializing in nutritional medicine.
10 Best:
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Green Leafy Vegetables (e.g. kale, collard greens, mustard greens, spinach, lettuce)
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Non Leafy Cruciferous Vegetables (e.g. broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage)
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Berries
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Beans
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Mushrooms
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Onions
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Seeds (e.g. flax, chia, hemp, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin)
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Nuts (e.g. walnuts, pistachios, pine nuts, almonds, cashews)
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Tomatoes
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Pomegranates
According to Fuhrman, these foods are strongly cancer-protective and longevity-favorable. They are a great source of vitamins, minerals and powerful phytochemicals including allium compounds, glucosinolates, aromatase inhibitors, flavonoids and lignans.
10 Worst:
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Sweetened Dairy Products (e.g. ice cream, low-fat ice cream, frozen yogurt)
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Trans Fat Containing Foods (e.g. stick margarine, shortening, fast foods, commercial baked goods)
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Donuts
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Sausage, Hot Dogs, and Luncheon Meats
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Smoked Meat, Barbecued Meat and Conventionally-Raised Red Meat
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Fried Foods including Potato Chips and French Fries
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Highly-salted Foods
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Soda
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Refined White Sugar
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Refined White Flour
Fuhrman said, “Our leading causes of death, including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease are primarily the result of the foods we eat. The wrong foods can be as addictive as drugs and alcohol and can cause us to lead lives that provide only a fraction of our potential for health, energy level and physiological well-being. Needless to say, I advise people to avoid the foods on my ‘worst’ list entirely.”