Tag Archive for "healthiest diet"

Is The Green Mediterranean Diet the healthiest diet in the world?

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC Thursday, March 17, 2022 Diet and Foods, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Nutrition, Wellness anti-inflammatory diet, Blood sugar, cholesterol, Green Med Diet, healthiest diet Permalink 0

The Healthiest Diet in The World | The Organic Beauty Blog — Photo by Kate Hauschka

Ahhhh, it’s that special time of year again… when the weather starts to warm and we take stock of the effects the winter and the last year in general had on our bodies and start to panic scroll Google for quick fix diets and detoxes to start the new season fresh and finally reach all those pesky health and weight loss goals we’ve been striving for since… well… since forever. It’s all a bit exhausting, isn’t it? I know, I’ve been there too.

This time of year, my client load in my holistic nutrition practice literally doubles as people feel that desperate need to start the diet to end all diets once and for all. And I get it! Before I got into this line of work, I used to go through this same cycle myself. But it’s a cycle for a reason. Fad diets just don’t work in the long term. You may get great success from doing keto or eating raw or doing the Cabbage Soup Diet or Grapefruit Diet or Air Diet or whatever for a month or two… but then, inevitably you either stagnate or backslide. Because these are not sustainable, long-term approaches to eating, however effective they may be in the short term. Sure, there’s the odd Keto Bro out there who will tell you he’s been doing the diet for years and feels great, and maybe for some people that may be the case! But having done a modified version keto myself for about 3 months to tackle some stubborn insulin resistance and hormonal imbalance I was dealing with, I’ll be the first to admit that it is not a diet designed for the long-term health (physical or mental). It’s super restrictive, it promotes metabolic inflexibility, it requires eating much more animal protein than is healthy for our bodies (and our planet!), and… well… it just kind of sucks.

So what, then, is the diet to end all diets?

It is so much simpler than we’ve been led to believe. Human history, epigenetics, and extensive scientific research have proven again and again that the Mediterranean diet is the most sustainable, healthiest diet in the world, bar none. And it’s EASY. And enjoyable. And intuitive. And you feel like a normal person, who can eat normal food.

The Last (and Best) Diet You’ll Ever Need

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC Wednesday, February 27, 2013 Diet and Foods, Healthy Cooking, Healthy Eating, Organic Beauty Ayurveda, best diet, Calorie, diet, eating Permalink 0

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

The traditional Ayurvedic approach to eating emphasizes when you eat as well as what you eat, and it is literally the best and healthiest key to permanent weight loss, lifelong weight management, and optimum health and digestion. It points to the body’s ideal time for consuming the biggest meal of the day.. and it’s certainly not when most Americans think it is.

Our bodies are designed to consume the majority of the day’s calories before 3pm, when digestion is the strongest. This means a balanced breakfast that is nourishing and filling enough to get you through to lunch without feeling hungry (and without needing that mid-morning cup of coffee or snack!). Our bodies function best when lunch is the biggest meal of the day. Midday is when our digestion and metabolism are the strongest, and our system is in need of nourishment and healthy calories. So guess what? That soup or salad just aren’t going to cut it. Your typical light lunch is what’s responsible for your late afternoon energy crash, your high hunger levels in the evening, and your struggles with weight! Making your lunch healthy and dinner-sized is the biggest secret for longterm weight loss, and the end to dieting forever. This big lunch keeps you full and energized throughout the day, and keeps you from overeating in the evening, which is when calories eaten go directly to your problem areas and contribute to weight gain. Dinner, or better yet “supper” (sharing the root of “supplemental” or “soup-like”), should be the lightest meal of the day. Soup is the absolute ideal supper, although a salad is also great.

This way of eating certainly has history and culture on it’s side, being the traditional way of eating for many Eastern cultures, and even much of Western Europe, before eating habits and work cultures were Americanized. But now, there is also cold, hard scientific evidence supporting it! A new study recently published in the International Journal of Obesity proves once and for all that eating your main meal of the day in the evening contributes to weight gain. In the study, a group of 420 overweight men and women were evaluated over five months. During that time, half the group ate their biggest meal of the day before 3pm, while the other half ate it after 3pm. Both groups had the same amount of exercise, ate the same amount of calories throughout the day, and got the same amount of sleep throughout the study. Over the course of the 5 month study, the early eating group lost an average of 22 pounds, while the late eating group lost only 17 pounds.

Further supporting this evidence is a study from the University of Alabama last year, showing that eating higher fat meals in the first half of the day, and a lighter low-fat meal in the second half of the day (see The Key to Sustained Weight Loss) support longterm weight loss. So here’s how to eat:

Eat three meals a day, and don’t snack.
Make lunch the biggest meal of the day.
Make breakfast big enough to get to lunch without feeling hungry.
Make dinner light and “supplementary.”

Even if you change nothing else about your diet, just this shift alone will give you some results! But of course, for this to be the last and best diet you’ll ever need, you’ll want to make some changes to what you’re eating as well.

Eat less meat and dairy, and more low-mercury fish and healthy plant-based fats like nuts, seeds, avocados, and healthy oils.
Eat more vegetables!!! Better yet, eat mostly vegetables! They are nature’s perfect foods.
Eat less processed grains and flours, and more whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, millet and oats.
Eat less sugar. If you need a little sweetness, get it from fruit and healthy sweeteners like stevia or raw honey, all in moderation.

Doesn’t sound so hard, does it?

Want some healthy meal ideas? Check out What Do I Eat? Healthy Eating is Easier Than You Think!, and our Healthy Recipes database.