| What is Nutrition?
Nutrition: A science that studies the relationship of foods to optimal health and performance.
What can I expect to learn about nutrition? The ideal balance of the following Macronutrients:
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nWater
nCarbohydrates
nFats
nProtein
nVitamins
nMinerals
Where do I start?
Start a food journal and follow the 9 commandments
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nWrite down everything that enters your stomach, including the water you drink, medications, supplements, digestive aids, snacks, drinks, chewing gum, etc.
nList the composition of mixed dishes and combinations of foods. For example, it is not enough to write down "a chicken sandwich." Write down the kind of bread, dressing, condiments: "chicken sandwich - whole wheat bread, butter, mustard, salt, lettuce."
nNote the time that you eat and the time that symptoms appear (the two usually occur an hour or more apart).
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List all symptoms, even if they're not specific - "feeling dragged out" or "no attention span" - and indicate when the symptoms started, how long they last, and how severe they are.
Rate the severity of each symptom on a scale of 1 to 4; 1 to indicate "mildly unpleasant" and 4+ to indicate "painful, obvious, and/or extremely unpleasant". Take special note of symptoms, or their disappearance or absence, before and after each meal or snack.
nAny additional information is useful, Write down how much you weigh, how long you slept, when and how you exercised.
nDon't put off filling in your diary until the end of the day. Write things down at the time you eat and at the time you are aware of symptoms. Even the best memory is often unreliable. Carry your diet diary with you.
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9 commandments of Diet
1. Digestion is more important than what you eat.
2. Eat only after your stomach empties the last meal to prevent undigest food from getting into your intestines, which creates toxins. This is usually 2-5 hours depending on the person's metabolism and what was eaten.
3. Never drink anything cold with a meal as it inhibits digestion (I assume through reduction in enzyme activity and reduction of blood flow).
4. When you eat ONLY eat. No TV, talking, reading, or anything. Basically make eating a meditation practice. Then sit quietly for at least 5 minutes before getting up, but preferably lay down quietly for 15-20 minutes to improve digestion. Obviously chew your food thoroughly.
5. Drink HOT water between meals to improve digestion and reduce toxins.
6. Bed by 10:00 pm. The body does most of it's repairing between 10:00 and 2:00 am. It is vital to follow the natural rhythms of nature and our bodies. Provide your body with the tools it needs to repair itself, a bag of chips before bed will not show any benefits!
7. For health, when you eat consume only 3/4 of being full. This helps make digestion easy. The analogy I thought of when I heard this was the stomach is like the mouth...a decent sized piece of food is easy to chew, but a huge mouth full is a strain and takes forever.
8. Ayurveda is big on spices. They have formulas for fat loss, reducing toxins, improving digestion. You can either add it to food or make hot spice teas to drink between meals. To strengthen digestion and metabolism: Fresh ginger root, cumin, black pepper, asofoetida, coriander, and fenugreek. For fat loss: fenugreek, cardamom (use especially with milk products), clove, cinnamon, and saffron.
9. Digestion is strongest at noon, so eat your largest meal between 12 and 1.
Book an appointment and learn how to adopt a new diet to improve your quality of life and composition today!
613-932-7958
tom@questpts.com
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