choose right.
A table full of food (Photo: ShutterStock)
In recent years, more and more recommendations have been published about things that should be removed from the menu because they are harmful to us.
But what should you eat?
Here are some recommendations on the foods you should definitely eat (and also a detailed explanation why).
These are probably not recommendations you are used to reading, but if you manage to implement them - they will help you feel much better.
1. Do not eat unprocessed or industrialized food
: if the food comes in a bag or box, do not eat it.
Processed food entered our diet only in the last few hundred years, and is probably the main cause of the increase in diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and autoimmune diseases.
Industrialized food has introduced the most harmful ingredients into our diet - white flour, white sugar and high fructose corn syrup, industrial seed oils, and processed soy products.
The processed and industrialized food also introduced various types of chemicals and preservatives into our diet.
All these substances can be very harmful to health.
For example, emulsifiers added to packaged foods such as mayonnaise, ice cream and bread can cause leaky gut and lead to inflammation and autoimmune diseases.
Drinking various diet drinks such as diet cola increases the risk of stroke and can cause kidney damage.
2. Eat only animals that grazed in the pasture and not those raised in industrial barns.
When they compared animals that grazed in the field and animals in industrial barns, which receive a diet of grains instead of grass, they found that the animals that grazed in the field have two main nutritional advantages: the first is that their fat is healthier, and the second is that they have Higher levels of vitamins and minerals.
Animals that graze in the field have two nutritional advantages.
Cows in a meadow (Photo: ShutterStock)
Let's start with fat: today with the modern diet we have much more omega-6 fatty acids in food than omega-3 fatty acids. The increase in the amount of omega-6 in food has led to an increase in the diseases of the modern world such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and autoimmune diseases.
When you compare the fatty acids in pasture-fed animals compared to industrial farm animals that are fed grains, you find that the amount of fat in pasture animals is more than 43 percent less than that of industrial farm animals, and even more important is that the amount of omega-3 in their fat is 3 times higher than that of farm animals. industrialism.
Another benefit of the fat from pastured animals is that it is the richest dietary source of CLA which is a type of fatty acid.
There are many studies on the health benefits of CLA such as reducing the risk of developing breast cancer and reducing the risk of developing a heart attack.
It turns out that pasture-fed sheep and cows have 3-5 times more CLA than those from industrial farms.
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What about the amount of vitamins and minerals?
When you compare the amount of vitamins and minerals in grazing animals compared to industrial farm animals, you find much more vitamins and minerals in them, such as vitamin E, beta carotene, B vitamins, magnesium, and selenium.
In this context, it is important to know that you should limit the amount of chicken you eat.
In Israel, chicken is the most popular meat, but it turns out that chicken has 14 times more omega-6 than the meat of grazing animals.
That is why it is recommended that most of your meat consumption be beef or pastured lamb, and that chicken be only a small part of your diet.
When you eat chicken, it is recommended to remove the skin, which has the highest concentration of omega-6, and cook it in beef or lamb fat, or in one of the healthy oils such as olive oil or coconut oil.
Israelis love chicken, but it is advisable to limit its consumption.
Chicken breast (Photo: ShutterStock)
3. Eat free-range eggs
The ideal thing from a health point of view is to eat eggs from chickens that roam freely in the field.
The eggs of these hens contain up to 10 times more omega-3 than conventional eggs, and are richer in vitamins.
The best way to get such eggs is to raise chickens in your garden or know someone who raises chickens that way.
The free-range eggs that you buy at the store are a compromise.
The chickens do not roam freely in the field but they are not kept in battery cages and the percentages of salmonella infection in them are lower than in conventional eggs.
4. Eat wild sea fish
Fish from aquaculture contain a large amount of omega-6 compared to wild fish from fishing.
A study comparing wild salmon versus farmed salmon showed that wild salmon has 10 times more omega-3 than omega-6. In contrast, farmed salmon contained 4 times more omega-6 than omega-3. And as mentioned, an increased amount of omega-6 in the diet compared to omega-3 increases the risk of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's, and cancer.
Unfortunately, the salmon that arrive in Israel are from aquaculture in Norway, so it is best to avoid them.
Fish that are recommended to be eaten are fish from fishing in the Mediterranean, and canned anchovies and sardines.
Eat local, for you and for the environment.
Vegetable box (Photo: Giphy)
5. Eat organic, local and seasonal food.
Eating like this has several advantages: First, we get more nutrients.
Organic food has on average more vitamins and minerals than non-organic food.
In addition, when we buy from local farmers, these are usually vegetables and fruits that were picked not long ago, compared to the usual produce in the supermarket that usually traveled great distances and spent a lot of time in refrigerators.
The problem with this is that from the moment the vegetable or fruit is picked, they begin to change so that the amount of nutrients they contain deteriorates over time.
For example, the amount of vitamin C in red peppers, tomatoes, and peaches decreases as time passes from the moment of picking.
Another important advantage of organic produce is the fact that it is grown without chemicals and pesticides that can be harmful to health.
In a study that examined children who were exposed to organophosphate pesticides in quantities typical of non-organic produce, it was found that they have an increased risk of developing ADHD.
Beyond the health benefits, when we buy produce from local farmers we encourage the local economy and prevent long distance transportation that causes air pollution and contributes to global warming.
Dr. Dalit Dariman Medina is an expert in family medicine and integrative and functional medicine
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