Fuel your body with disease-destroying foods

We have a huge problem in society right now…

Increasing levels of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and various other lifestyle-driven diseases. Every year these conditions keep rapidly growing in numbers.

When researchers, health advocates and nutritionists have tried to get to the bottom of what’s causing this epidemic of problems, it basically comes down to the fact that we’re eating too many energy-dense foods and not enough nutrient-dense ones.

What’s the difference?

Energy-dense imitation foods

Walk down any supermarket aisle and the reality is, much of the food you have to choose from is not food at all, but sheer energy-dense imitation food.

In most cases, these imitation foods contain a ton of calories (energy) but they are empty of nutrition — meaning, they are foods that provide very little nutritional value in the way of vitamins, minerals, fiber, phytochemicals and beneficial natural compounds.

These imitation foods are ‘empty’ in terms of the value they provide to your body…

Sure, some of them may contain ‘added’ vitamins and minerals, but this only goes so far to adding to their nutritional quality. And in many instances, these imitation foods are jam packed with additives, preservatives and low quality ingredients that have a negative impact on your health.

Nutrient-dense real foods

If you’re reading this, you no doubt want to improve your health, or more importantly, reduce your risk of chronic lifestyle-related illness. And that’s exactly what nutrient dense real foods can do…

Nutrient-dense simply means a food is full of natural goodness — containing high levels of vitamins, minerals, flavonoids, polyphenols and other compounds that help your body’s cells function optimally.

In general, nutrient-dense foods come from the following categories:

• Whole grains
• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Dairy products
• Fish and seafood
• Meats
• Poultry
• Eggs
• Nuts and seeds
• Beans and legumes

What you will notice is that these foods are whole foods, in their natural form. These are the types of foods your body was naturally designed to eat and — more importantly — use adequately to fuel energy production, burn fat and avoid disease.

The power of nutrient-dense foods to transform your health

In a nutshell:

Energy-dense imitation foods = poor health and increased risk of illness.

Recommendation: Avoid, or at least eat energy-dense foods in very limited amounts.

Nutrient-dense real foods = good health, energy and vitality.

Recommendation: Focus on consuming nutrient-dense foods at every single meal.

The best news is your body is very intelligent. When you switch from energy-dense to nutrient-dense foods, much of the damage caused by imitation foods can be reversed — your cells become healthier, your organs function better and your risk of disease decreases.

If you currently suffer with ill health, it’s been shown time and time again that switching to nutrient-dense foods dramatically improves the symptoms of many conditions, if not reversing them altogether.

There is great power in the food you eat. Make the switch to more nutrient-dense foods, like the whole food sources mentioned above, and you’ll be amazed at how much your health can be transformed!

Sources:

1. Di Noia J. Defining Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables: A Nutrient Density Approach. Prev Chronic Dis. 2014;11:130390.

2. Nicklas TA, et al. The nutrient density approach to healthy eating: challenges and opportunities. Public Health Nutrition: 2014;17(12):2626–2636.

3. Fulgoni, et al. Development and Validation of the Nutrient-Rich Foods Index. The Journal of Nutrition. 2009;139(8):1549-1554.