DEAR FRIENDS,
As we focus on staying healthy and keeping our immune systems balanced and strong, it is important to look at our food choices. With every bite of food, whether it is home-cooked from our kitchens or a takeout dinner from a favorite local restaurant, we are making a choice. We are choosing how we are nourishing our bodies. We must remember “food is medicine” and it is in our power to provide ourselves with the highest quality food available to us.
We can make sure our food is nutrient-dense, not empty calories. Most of the time this is common sense: eat more colorful fruits and vegetables, high-quality plant and animal proteins, whole grains, healthy fats; drink more water. Eat less added sugars, processed foods, junk foods, foods with ingredients we can’t pronounce.
Here are a few tips to help guide you in making better food choices when it comes to buying produce:
Buy organic whenever possible - especially for those items on the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” list. Strawberries, spinach, kale, apples - these are just a few examples of produce that contain high amounts of pesticides. EWG also has a list of the “Clean Fifteen” - produce that does not contain high amounts of pesticides. Avocados, corn, pineapple, and onions are some of the foods we can safely buy conventionally.
Buy locally grown produce. This can help us reduce our carbon footprint, as well as ensure a high nutritional value since there is less time from farm to market. The website localharvest.org lists local farms, farmers markets, and grocery stores that sell locally grown produce in your area.
Frozen vegetables and fruit are nutritious! Most fruits and vegetables are flash-frozen immediately after harvest, keeping the nutrients intact. During the winter months when fresh produce is scarce or brought in from far away, frozen is a great choice!
Eat the rainbow. By eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, we are getting the important phytonutrients and antioxidants that help protect us from chronic diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Current US Dietary Guidelines recommend we eat 2 ½ cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit per day (based on a 2000 calorie diet). This article in the Harvard Health Blog gives a great explanation of the benefits of phytonutrients.
By optimizing the quality of fruits and vegetables we eat, we are taking a huge step in making sure our food is “nutrient-dense” and heals and nourishes our bodies. Food is medicine!
Be inspired,