Discover the Power of a Healthy Diet

The evidence is clear: food has the power to not only improve your life, but also to lengthen it! In this module, you’ll learn why the stakes are so high, and you’ll discover the amazing opportunity on your plate. You’ll also learn the evidence of nutrition’s amazing power, and you’ll get answers to some of the common questions that people ask about nutrition.

The Importance of Nutrition

So, why is nutrition so important? Well, a fascinating study on the State of U.S. Health revealed some remarkable data. Investigators identified the top risk factors leading to death among patients in the U.S.

Many of the risks were things you’d expect—like smoking and high blood pressure. But the greatest risk of all was poor quality diet—an even greater problem than obesity.

If the current trends continue, one in three of our children will have diabetes by the year 2050. And sadly, as obesity and diabetes keep climbing, heart attacks and strokes and many other diseases will spike too.

All around us are family members and friends who suffer from health problems that could be prevented with a healthier diet. It’s a lot easier to do some prevention work on the front end than to deal with the painful and burdensome health problems down the road.

But here’s the good news: All of us can take advantage of some really powerful tools to optimal health—right in our own kitchens.

Types of Diets

There’s a lot of information floating around about nutrition, and sometimes it can be tough to sort out. People often have questions such as:

• What kinds of foods will help me to get well?
• Should I start eating low-carb? Or gluten-free? Or maybe cut out dairy?
• Will high-protein foods keep me in better shape?
• I’ve always heard low-fat is the way to go… is that still true?

We want to help you sort through issues like these and learn realistic, practical habits that’ll help you get healthy and stay healthy.

In the State of U.S. Healthy Study we mentioned above, the researchers took a hard look at what people are eating. They zeroed in on three main dietary challenges:

• Not enough fruits and vegetables
• Too much sodium
• Too much processed meat

Fortunately, we have lots of easy opportunities to address these challenges by making some simple changes in our diet—changes that’ll not only make us look and feel better, but even add more years to our lives. A great plan is to focus on eating the most nutrient-dense, natural foods. In other words, you minimize refined and processed foods, and eat more foods that have been altered very little—or not at all. This way of eating is referred to as a “whole food diet.” Let’s look at some examples of a whole food diet.

Mediterranean Diet

One type of whole food diet is known as a Mediterranean-style diet. This way of eating features:

• 5 servings of vegetables each day,
• 2 servings of fruit each day,
• Fewer refined grains and more whole grains,
• More fish and less red meat,
• Frequent nuts,
• and olive oil for cooking.

DASH Diet

Another whole food diet is the DASH diet. DASH stands for “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension,” because it’s a great tool for lowering blood pressure. It’s similar to a Mediterranean diet, but it also includes low-fat dairy, and a few more servings of fruits and vegetables—a total of 8-10 daily servings combined.

Vegetarian or Vegan Diet

A third example is a vegetarian or vegan whole-food diet, which typically includes 8 to 10 daily servings of fruits and vegetables, along with daily servings of protein-rich foods such as beans, peas, and lentils. This way of eating also features nuts and seeds, and whole grains in place of refined grains.

Healthy Eating: Example of a Daily Menu

Here’s an example of what a daily menu might look like on a whole food diet:

• Breakfast: Greek yogurt with berries OR an English muffin with almond butter and 1 cup of berries. You can also add a cup of coffee or green tea, along with water (best choice!) or half a cup of juice.
• Mid-morning snack: A piece of whole fruit such as an orange, apple, or pear.
• Lunch: A large spinach and kale salad with a wide variety of different colored vegetalbes, dressed with balsamic vinaigrette and topped with your choice of protein, such as salmon OR walnuts and beans. You can also add a small slice of 100% whole-grain bread or pita. For a drink, a great choice is sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon or lime.
• Mid-afternoon snack: An apple, orange, or pear, plus a handful of raw almonds and a cup of green tea.
• Dinner: For a starter, consider a side salad with greens and colorful vegetables, dressed with balsamic vinaigrette. For the main course, try grilled wild salmon OR beans, rice, and tofu. Healthy sides could be grilled cauliflower and broccoli drizzled with olive oil, plus a 1/4-cup serving of quinoa with rosemary, tomatoes, and pine nuts. For dessert, try sliced fresh fruit. A good option for a drink is sparkling water with lemon or lime.

Some Especially Healthy Foods to Consider

While we’re on the topic of whole foods, did you know that certain food choices in a whole food diet are especially powerful, not to mention delicious? Try to incorporate the following foods whenever possible:

• Deep red and blue fruits, like blueberries and strawberries, have a special pigment called anthocyanins – a type of anti-inflammatory compound that lowers blood pressure. Many studies link anthocyanins to a reduced risk of heart attack.
• The evidence on dark green leafy vegetables, like spinach and kale, is pretty amazing. Each daily serving can cut your risk of coronary disease by a whopping 23%! The benefit is thought to be linked to the high folate content of greens – which is more easily absorbed by our bodies than folate from supplements.
• Nuts are nothing short of a nutritional powerhouse. Eat five or more servings a week, and you can reduce your risk of coronary disease by 20%. And even though nuts are considered high in calories, they generally don’t lead to weight gain. In fact, when nuts replace less healthy snacks, they can actually help you lose weight.

Benefits of Eating Healthy

So, just how much does a good diet really help? Turns out, the impact is profound—and really fast!

In one study, called the DASH trial, people ate 8 to 10 servings of vegetables and fruit each day, along with low-fat dairy. After just 2 weeks, the people with high blood pressure experienced a drop in blood pressure averaging 11 points! Remember, that’s in just two weeks. Now that’s fast!

And there’s a lot more evidence on the power of diet. Diet has been shown to:

• Prevent heart disease from developing: A study called PREDIMED examined a group of people who adopted a Mediterranean-style diet, and compared them to a control group that pretty much stuck to whatever they were eating in the first place. The study showed such positive results in the Mediterranean-diet group that the research team was forced to stop the study early. What they saw was at least a 28% drop in very serious vascular problems among those who ate a Mediterranean-style diet.
• Prevent repeat heart attacks: One remarkable study is called the Lyon Mediterranean diet study. The study followed two groups of people. One group ate Mediterranean-style: lots of vegetables, fruits, and nuts, more whole grains and fewer refined grains, more fish and less meat—and for fats, they used olive oil and a canola-based margarine. The other group ate a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet. After 5 years, the Mediterranean group had 72% fewer heart attacks and death than the other group!
• Stop plaque buildup: In another study, 48 people with heart disease were split into two groups. Both groups received the usual medical care, but one group made some lifestyle changes as well. They ate a low-fat vegetarian diet, exercised 3 hours a week, and practiced an hour of stress management daily. The result? The group that received only the usual care saw their blockages worsen, while those who changed their diet and lifestyle found that these changes halted the progression of plaque buildup.
• Reduce or eliminate angina: Angina is a severe chest pain that can happen when the heart doesn’t get adequate blood supply. In a group of 282 angina patients, 74% saw their symptoms go away completely after 12 weeks of healthier eating, combined with moderate exercise and stress management.
• Prevent diabetes: In a study on patients who were at risk of developing diabetes, researchers found that a reduced-calorie/low-fat diet combined with a walking program proved to be almost twice as effective as a popular diabetes medicine called metformin.

These are just a few examples of the amazing power of good nutrition!

Common Nutrition Questions

We’re constantly bombarded by advice about nutrition. And with all the contradictory claims in popular media, many people are still pretty confused about what it actually means to eat healthfully. Here are some common questions—and important answers:

Can’t I get healthy by eliminating fats? Or restricting carbs?

While it’s true that a lot of diets focus on specific nutrients—either very low fat or very low carb—this can backfire, because a focus on one specific nutrient may unintentionally lead people to overeat other nutrients, some of which may be no better than the ones they replaced. For example, people who switch to a very low-fat diet may end up increasing their consumption of carbs, especially refined ones.

My doctor has me on prescriptions to keep my health conditions under control. Isn’t medicine alone enough?

A good diet can make you healthier, even if you’re already taking medicine. One study on cardiovascular risk looked at 30,000 people who were taking preventative heart-health drugs. The ones who ate the healthiest diet were 35% less likely to have a fatal heart attack!

I get it that nutrition’s important. But I know I don’t have the willpower to stick to a healthy diet 100% of the time!

That’s okay. It’s true that you’ll get better results if you eat healthy all the time—but even small changes can help! The more you do, the better off you are. It’s definitely not all or nothing! For example, in one study, the more the patients stuck to a healthy Mediterranean diet, the lower their chances of death from cancer and heart problems.

My life is super-busy. I really don’t have time to prepare fresh foods. I depend a lot on restaurant meals and store-bought foods because they’re fast and convenient.

Frozen vegetables and fruits are a great option if you don’t have time to shop for fresh produce all the time. They’re economical, easy to store, and quick to prepare. But even better, their nutritional content is virtually the same as fresh! And restaurant meals can be healthy too. Try these strategies to make your meal healthier:

• Request salad instead of a breadbasket.
• Ask for your food to be made with less salt, and order your meal with sauces and dressings on the side.
• If you want dessert, opt for fresh fruit. Restaurants often have fresh berries or other fruit on hand, even if it’s not on the menu.

I always thought exercise is more important than diet. But even though I’m exercising, I can’t seem to lose weight.

Actually, exercise and diet are both important! Both exercise and diet help you avoid illness and keep your body functioning at its best. And the truth is, it’s hard to lose weight through exercise alone without altering your diet. But keep in mind: even if your weight doesn’t drop, exercise is still great for your health. Many studies show that even in very overweight patients, those who exercise have a dramatically lower risk of heart disease.

Shift to a Healthy Diet Today!

You can begin your journey toward optimal health right now. Click the button below to take the fun and interactive mini-course on the power of a healthy diet!