Integrative Nutrition Plan

Integrative Nutrition Plan:  12 Steps

1     Drink More Water

Many people are dehydrated, which contributes significantly to poor health.  Regularly flushing out the kidneys and bladder with water ensures that dead cells and other waste products can be expelled before reaching toxic levels.  Maintaining hydration can prevent premature aging, eliminate pain and headaches, lessen hypertension and promote weight loss.

2     Practice Cooking

Learning the art of simple meal planning will help you get all the nutrients you need as well as release your dependency on restaurant food, fast food and other processed foods.  We eat differently when we feed ourselves, for example, we tend to eat less salt and smaller portions.

3     Experiment with Whole Grains

Whole grains are some of the best sources of nutritional support, containing high levels of dietary fiber and B vitamins.  Because the body absorbs them slowly, grains provide long-lasting energy.  Whole grains can be especially helpful for people who struggle with maintaining a steady blood sugar level.  Whole grains release sugar into the blood stream slowly, in contrast to the sudden rush and energy crash caused by refined sugar foods and sodas.  Some grains to try are amaranth, brown rice, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, sorghum and teff.

4     Increase Sweet Vegetables

Almost everyone craves sweets.  Instead of depending on processed sugar, you can add more naturally sweet flavor to your daily diet and reduce sweet cravings.  Certain vegetables have a deep, sweet flavor when cooked—like corn, carrots, onions, beets, winter squash, sweet potatoes and yams.  Other delicious ways to incorporate sweet vegetables into your daily diet include eating raw carrots, baking sweet potato fries, and roasting squash, making soup with corn and onions or boiling beets to put on top of your salad.

5     Increase Leafy Green Vegetables

Learning to cook and eat greens is essential to create lasting health.  Greens strengthen our circulatory and respiratory systems.  Nutritionally greens are high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E and K.  They are packed with fiber, folic acid, chlorophyll and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals.  Some of the benefits of eating green leafy vegetables are:  blood purification, cancer prevention, improved circulation, immune strengthening, subtle/light and flexible energy, lifted spirit/elimination of depression, promotion of healthy intestinal flora, improved liver/gallbladder/kidney function, and clearing of congestion, especially in lungs, and reduction of mucus.   There is a huge variety of leafy greens, so get into the habit of adding them to your diet as often as possible.  Nourishing yourself with greens will naturally crowd out foods that make you sick.

6     Experiment with Protein

Protein is the basic building block of the human structure, helping our bodies form muscles, skin and hair.  Because we are all different individuals, protein requirements vary from person to person.   It can be helpful to experiment with reducing or increasing your protein intake and trying different sources, animal and vegetable, and noticing the impact on your body.  Finding the optimum protein intake is a key to a balanced, healthy life.

7     Eat Less Meat, Dairy, Sugar and Chemicalized, Artificial Junk Foods; Consume Less Coffee, Alcohol and Tobacco

Refined table sugar, also called sucrose, lacks vitamins, minerals and fiber, and thus requires extra effort from the body to digest.  The body must deplete its own store of minerals and enzymes to absorb sucrose properly, therefore creating deficiency.  It enters swiftly into the bloodstream and wreaks havoc on the blood sugar level, first pushing it very high—causing excitability, nervous tension and hyperactivity—and then dropping extremely low—causing fatigue, depression, weariness and exhaustion.

Many people lack the digestive enzymes needed to digest dairy, or are lactose intolerant.  Additionally dairy has been cited as a significant contributing cause of the following ailments:  menstrual pains, asthma, brain fog, mucus and a wide range of allergies with symptoms such as skin conditions and mood swings.  Many people never realize that their problems are caused by dairy sensitivity and take various medications instead of addressing the underlying issue.

While Coffee may have certain health benefits it also has negative side effects.  It inhibits the absorption of essential minerals, such as iron, magnesium and zinc, as well as B vitamins.  Coffee can be thought of as an adrenaline delivery system that jolts the body’s central nervous system.  In the short term, this jolting action wakes us up and gets us going.  In the long term, the constant and unnatural stimulation of our nerves creates stress levels that damage the resilience of the immune system.  Drinking water and healthy snacking throughout the day can help to crowd out coffee, boosting your energy through nutrition rather than adrenaline rushes.

8     Develop Easy and Reliable Habits to Nurture Your Body

Three examples of easy, fast, and inexpensive means of creating a loving relationship with your body are the tongue scraper, hot water bottle and hot towel scrub.  Sounds easy because it is…  The tongue scraper removes gunk from the surface of the tongue and can help remove bacteria and fight cavities.  It can also prevent bad breath and help with cravings for those foods eaten previously.

A hot water bottle on the belly 15 or 20 minutes can aid in digesting food and unblocking energy that may be stuck after a heavy meal.  Women can also use a hot water bottle to help relieve pain and tension associated with menstrual cramps.

The hot towel scrub is a great tool for relaxation, circulation and detoxification.  The skin is the body’s largest organ of elimination.  Stimulating the pores of your skin with a rubbing action allows them to eliminate better.  Just take a wash cloth soaked in hot water and rub your entire body for 5 to 10 minutes.  It can be invigorating in the morning or relaxing in the evening.

9     Have Healthy Relationships That Support You

Sometimes the answer to getting the support you need is asking for help from those people in your life or from a professional.  Other times, you may create new relationships and let go of old ones that no longer serve you.  Start by developing the relationship you have with yourself–when you find ways to nurture and love yourself, you will be better able to communicate your needs to others.

10 Find A Physical Activity You Enjoy and Do It Regularly

Movement aids digestion, assimilation, circulation and respiration and is a crucial part of any healthy person’s regimen.  Think about what you loved as a kid; did you dance, bike or hike?  Also, look for a gym or yoga studio near your home or on the way to the office where you can work out.  It’s important to find a location that’s convenient, and where the atmosphere is pleasant, comfortable and welcoming.  This will enhance your chances of going regularly.  Also, exercising can be a chance to reconnect to nature, getting outside and breathing clean fresh air on a regular basis can be very healing.

11 Find Work You Love or a Way to Love the Work You Have

Not everyone is 100% satisfied with their job/career path.  Try to identify what isn’t working in your job on a personal level and find ways to address the issues.  Instead of putting all the blame on your work environment, see what you can learn from your current situation and how you can make changes.  Often when you make positive changes in yourself, your job may feel more fulfilling.

12 Develop a Spiritual Practice

Spirituality gives meaning to life, creating the feeling of divine order and harmony that exists above and beyond human limitations.  When people feel connected with the big picture, they tend to get healthier faster.

 THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER AND YOUR  HEALTH

Water makes up more than two thirds of human body weight, and without water, we would die in a few days. The human brain is made up of 95% water, blood is 82% and lungs 90%.  A mere 2% drop in our body’s water supply can trigger signs of dehydration: fuzzy short-term  memory  trouble  with  basic  math, and difficulty focusing on smaller print, such as a computer screen.  Mild dehydration is also one of most common causes of daytime fatigue. An estimated seventy-five percent of Americans have mild, chronic dehydration. A pretty scary statistic  for a developed country where water is readily available through tap or bottled water.

Water is important to the mechanics of the human body.  The body cannot work without it, just as a car cannot run without gas and oil. The fact is, all the cell and organ functions that make up our entire anatomy and physiology depends on water for proper functioning.

Water serves as a lubricant in digestion and almost all other  body  processes.  The water in our saliva helps facilitate chewing and swallowing, ensuring that food will slide easily down the esophagus. Water also lubricates our joints and cartilages and allows them to move more fluidly. When dehydrated, the body rations water away from the joints, less lubrication equals greater friction and can cause  joint, knee and  back  pain, potentially leading to injuries and arthritis.  Even our eyeballs need plenty of lubrication to work well and remain healthy.

Water removes harmful toxins from the body. Water flushes toxins and waste from the body through urination and perspiration.

Water transports valuable nutrients to the body. Blood is about 92% water and carries nutrients and oxygen throughout the body. Nutrients  from  the food we eat are broken down in the digestive system where they become water-soluble, which  means  they  are  dissolved in water.  Drinking 8 glasses of water daily can decrease the risk of colon cancer by 45%,  bladder  cancer  by 50%  and  can  potentially  even reduce the risk of breast cancer.

Since water is such an important component to our physiology, it would make sense that the quality of water should be just as important as the quantity.

Remember your drinking water should always be clean and free of contaminants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Integrative Nutrition Plan:  12 Steps is a guideline developed by Joshua Rosenthal, Founder and Director of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.