1. Eat whole, unprocessed foods like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
Your diet should consist of around 80% plant-based foods. These are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that help fight disease.
2. Eat an abundance of fresh vegetables. Your body needs at least one serving (preferably two) of veggies per meal. Vegetables improve your mood, energy level, and well-being. So make sure there's always a veggie or two at every meal!
3. Choose healthy fats like avocado, extra virgin olive oil, and coconut oil over-processed vegetable oils. Unhealthy fats found in fried food, marg, and various oils can cause inflammation leading to a variety of chronic diseases.
4. Drink lots of filtered water throughout the day. Water flushes out impurities, hydrates your skin, and helps you lose weight. It's also essential for detoxification.
5. Reduce or eliminate meat from your diet. Meat has been linked to cancer, heart disease, and other health issues. Plus, it takes a lot of resources to produce meat -- not only in money but also inland and energy. A plant-based diet is more sustainable and better for the environment as well as your overall health!
6. Don't go overboard with fruit! Although fruits are full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, they can be high in (especially tropical fruits like pineapple, bananas, and mango). So limit your intake to one or two pieces per day.
7. Eat fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, and other vegetables for a healthy gut. Fermented foods are rich in good bacteria that help aid digestion, strengthen the immune system and promote weight loss.
8. Get enough protein from legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains instead of large amounts of meat. Protein is essential for growth, energy, healing wounds, and building muscles -- not just meat! 9. Beat sugar cravings with dark chocolate. That's right! Chocolate can be part of a healthy diet because it contains antioxidants called flavonoids that have been shown to lower blood pressure, improve blood flow and boost heart health.
9. Use natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup sparingly to cut down on sugar intake. Sugar has been linked to obesity, diabetes, cancer, and many other chronic diseases.
10. Pack snacks with healthy fats, proteins, and fiber-like raw nuts, nut butter, seeds, whole grain crackers, or fruit (go for lower glycemic fruits such as berries). Healthy snacking will keep your energy levels up -- which also helps you maintain a healthy weight.
