Personalizing YOUR Nutrition

What is the best diet for you?

Or a better question I like to ask is what foods work best for YOU?

There is no shortage of dietary options out there. In fact, everyone has an opinion and wants to share their opinion with you, on what they think is the best optimal eating approach. However, what works for you, or me, may not work for someone else. We all tend to benefit from general guidelines but our individual needs may be profoundly different than those of our brother, sister, mother, father, co-worker, best friend, partner, etc. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to food, or health. It’s important to understand OUR how, and WHY we may need to change our eating habits and lifestyle to be our healthiest self. This is the utmost important. Some foods create a healthy response in some people while creating a negative response in others. Personalizing your nutrition so you know what works best for YOU is key.

How do you do this?

First of all, there are some characteristics a healthy eating approach should have. It needs to be nutrient dense and based on real, whole foods, not processed or refined foods. Secondly, it needs to be nourishing and meet the needs of the person eating it. The best way to find what foods work for you is by following a Digestive Reset protocol for 30 days. During this time you eliminate inflammatory and toxic foods which allows your body and mind to detox from all the heavily processed carbs and sugar in the standard North American diet. After 30 days (or longer) you systematically re-introduce each food back in- one food every three days and watch how your body and mind respond. Reactions can vary from person-to-person and can range from digestive issues such as gas and bloating, or differences in bowel movements (diarrhea and/or constipation), acid reflux, skin issues like acne, rosacea, psoriasis, or itchy skin, joint pain, fatigue, headaches and migraines, and depression and/or anxiety. This is only a partial list. It’s important to pay attention during the re-introduction phase and take note of how your body feels each day. Keeping a food dairy can be really helpful during this time.

Foods to eat. During the the Digestive Reset you want to focus on nutrient dense, anti-inflammatory whole foods like:

Meat and poultry: preferably from grass fed/finished and organic sources (if possible)

Fatty fish: wild salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel and anchoives

Eggs with the yolk

Non-starchy vegetables; cooked or raw

Starchy tubers: sweet potatoes, yams, plantains, tapioca and cassava

Fermented foods: unpastuerized Sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, kefir, and miso

Traditional fats: coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, grass-fed butter, ghee, avocados, olives, coconut and coconut milk

Spices and herbs

Bone broth

Whole fruit: typically you want to favour lower sugar fruits like berries, but this is person dependent.

Raw nuts and seeds: you can add your own sea salt, spices and herbs

During this reset you are avoiding inflammatory foods like industrial seed oils, refined flour, processed foods, excess sugar, alcohol and all grains and legumes (including peanuts) which can often cause reactions in some people.

What it comes down to is finding what works for YOU. We are all unique and each person has individual nutritional needs. It’s not about restricting foods, instead creating healthy habits and eating nutrient dense foods that nourish you physically, mentally and spiritually.