Page 20 - NAMAH January 2016

Namah Vol. 23, Issue 4, 15th January 2016

American food supply. These are the foods we find on our grocery-store shelves and in
chain and fast-food restaurants. Such foods are formulated in laboratories to over-stimulate
our taste-receptors and quite literally to addict us to processed food flavours and textures
(1), so that we are no longer satisfied by the crunch of a carrot, the refreshingly sweet juice
of a fresh mango or the zing of fresh garlic.

While it’s easy to over-eat nutrient-poor, sugary, salty, greasy snack foods, you can enjoy
nutrition heroes, another important Eating for Health concept, in abundance. These are
naturally satisfying, nutrient-rich vegetables and fruits, grains, nuts and seeds, beans and
legumes, and clean animal proteins and fats.

Eating for Health is a whole food’s approach to nutrition developed to provide an alternative
to the USDA MyPlate and other unbalanced diet approaches, ranging from those that are
overly protein- or fat-heavy to those that advocate exceptionally low protein and fat. The
Eating for Health model guides us in choosing nutrient-dense and diverse foods that are
organic, local, seasonal and unprocessed and that are suited to each individual.

Benefits of Eating for Health staple foods

Food Sources Potential benefit Notes

Protein Salmon, tuna, PUFAs –Omega-3 fatty Farmed fish (esp. salmon)

cold-water fish sardines, Pacific acids (DHA/EPA) generally have higher

halibut, Atlantic Support maintenance levels of fat overall, w/

mackerel, of eye health and lower omega-3:6 ratios

anchovies, mental function. People than optimal, due to use of

sablefish/black consuming fatty fish 1 - soy, canola, and corn oils

cod 2x/week (~250 mg in feed (most of which is

EPA+DHA) have genetically modified and

reduced risk of CHD rich in pesticide residues)

death and sudden (3,4).

cardiac death (2).

Pastured eggs From hens that eat Contain 3- 6x the Find these, if you can, from

grasses, bugs and vitamin D content of local people with hens, or

grains regular supermarket purchase them from

eggs, 66% more vitamin natural foods grocery

A, 3x more vitamin E, 7x stores. They’ll be

more beta carotene, 2x designated as ‘pastured’.

more omega-3 fats, 33%

less cholesterol, and 25%

less saturated fat (5).

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