The Functional Meal Plan, Part I

Remember when mom said eat your greens or Friday was fish day or even an apple a day...


After working with thousands of clients and patients, it seems clear that even with all the nutrition (and health) information available to us (in addition to overwhelming us), many people still don’t know what or how to eat. In fact it seems that most people focus on what they should avoid, be it refined carbohydrates or trans fats, rather than what they should eat! Which diet, which pyramid, which phase etc. We would like to present a fresh approach at perhaps an old idea.
 
We have functional exercise, what about functional eating? That is, to get good at the basics, build a strong foundation of wellness, increase energy, reduce the risk of disease and last but not least develop a checklist of what we should eat. What if rather than trying to be perfect with our “diet”, we focus on consuming a majority of foods from a list of categories 80% of the time?

So, let’s get started. No one group will be more important than another. Focus on one each week and within 3-5 months your intake will be greatly enhanced. Here are the first 4 groups.

• Seasonal Fruits - Throughout much of our history, we depended on seasonal foods. We evolved on them. To a great degree, try to pick fruit and vegetables that are in season. It will encourage variety, provide fun associations with different times of the year, and allow us to be in greater tune with nature

• Eat Fatty Fish twice a week - The benefits of consuming fish high in omega 3’s are undisputable. Eating fish high in omega 3’s benefit our mood, our joints, our cardio-vascular system and perhaps our immune system. Options are salmon, halibut, mackerel, sardines, herring, trout, butter fish and sable. Except for halibut and certain types of trout, most of these fishes are not particularly elevated in mercury or other toxic metals. We suggest wild caught mostly.

• Non-fat dairy - Due to the homogenization of milk, the fat particles may become difficult to utilize in the body. “Good” fats can be obtained from many other sources, for instance…

• Nuts and Seeds - contain essential fatty acids, which mean that our bodies cannot manufacture them. Nuts and seeds are concentrated in many nutrients. Most nuts and seeds have been shown to improve lipid profile and as long as one does not over-consume them, will not contribute to weight gain. Contact us for the best ways to incorporate and prepare nuts and seeds.

Continue to visit our blog to get more information on “functional foods." We will provide another 16 groups to help you with developing the healthiest “diet” or rather lifestyle of eating.
To your health!