You probably Keep hearing so many different nutrition rules… things you should and shouldn’t do with your diet and lifestyle. It can get extremely overwhelming knowing what is actually true and what isn’t! I am here to share with you 5 rules that I do NOT follow in my day to day… in fact… I purposely break them!
Rule #1: Eating Huge Salads Daily
No-one Loves a good Salad more than I do! I can probably count the days I’ve gone without eating salad in my entire life and I guarantee it would be under 50! Even when I was at my unhealthiest, I still had an addiction to salads and ate them all the time! You will hear a lot of nutritionists tell you to eat a massive bowl of fresh greens every single day. While that may be good for some people, it is not a good idea for everyone and here is why!
Raw vegetables contain cellulose that is extremely tough to break down. If you chew your food extremely well to break though the cellulose and if you have enough stomach acid and enzyme production to further break it down in the digestive tract, then eating large salads daily can be great for you. However, most of us eat way too quickly and have strained digestive systems that prevent us from breaking down the cellulose (IBS, SIBO, etc). This leaves our bodies very strained when we consume a lot of raw veggies and it can make you extremely bloated! I usually eat a small or medium sized salad but then consume lots of COOKED vegetables on the side. That way you’re still getting your veggies, nutrients and fiber without all the digestive issues that go with it! Also CHEW CHEW CHEW!
Rule #2: Eat dairy for calcium
This rule is more of an old one and most people know by now that eating dairy is NOT the best way to get calcium into your body. It is usually dietitians encouraging the consumption of dairy for strong bones and teeth but dairy consumption actually does the opposite! Dairy is acidic when it breaks down in the body, Anything that is acidic when broken down in the body actually pulls OUT minerals from the body. Your body will try to re-compensate for the acid by pulling minerals OUT of bones and teeth to keep you alkaline after eating something acidic. So while dairy does contain calcium and other minerals, it leaves your more acidic when you consume it rather than alkaline… you don’t actually absorb the minerals from it! The best way to consume minerals naturally in a way that leaves your body MORE alkaline than before is through leafy green vegetables and seeds, especially sesame seeds. Eating these foods in a salad, blended in smoothies, etc can help provide you with plenty of calcium while alkalizing the body!
Rule #3: Drink water with food to help digest
Drinking water with meals is something most of us grew up doing! I remember my parents not letting us leave the table until we finished our full glass of water! Its hard when you’re a parent and don’t have the correct information, all you worry about is if your child is getting enough fluids. Now that we have more information though, we know that we want as much acid as possible in our stomach at meal time to ensure the best digestion possible of protein and fat. Drinking water with our meal dilutes our stomach acid preventing us from fully digesting our food. This leaves our stomachs stressed, gives us heartburn/indigestion, and leads to food sensitivities. Drinking small sips is OK when needed to take supplements or help get the bolus of food down from the esophagus into the stomach. The best way to ensure you wont need water at meal time is by chewing very well and slowly!
Rule #4: Intermittent Fast by skipping breakfast
Most people believe that intermittent fasting is GREAT for your health. While it IS in fact great for your health, the way most people are doing it is wrong. Most people fast until 1 or 2 PM in the afternoon and then eat until 7 PM. This may work for me as they don’t have monthly cycles and a delicate hormonal balance to worry about for us females, BE CAREFUL. Intermittent fasting this way can cause hormonal imbalances. I suggest fasting however instead of skipping breakfast and waiting until later in the afternoon to eat, EAT BREAKFAST. Eat within an hour of waking up but stop eating after dinner by 5 or 6 PM and fast through the night instead! This will help keep your blood sugar and cortisol more stable as well as estrogen and progesterone. You will get all the benefits of fasting without the hormonal side effects. If you are feeling hungry at night, have something light such as a handful of nuts, bone broth, herbal teas or protein shake.
Rule #5: Eat carbs, fat and protein at every meal for balance
I almost never eat carbs, fat AND protein in one meal. Carbs digest much faster than fat and even faster than protein! If you eat chicken with a side of pasta, the pasta will digest within 1-2 hours while the chicken digests within 4-6. This means that when the pasta is done digesting, your stomach will dump out the contents into the small intestine and the food that didn’t have a chance to fully break down (aka chicken) will be released causing major digestive issues. If the stomach does not empty when the carbs are fully digested, they will remain in the stomach and begin to putrefy, causing belching and burping. Food combining is rarely practiced when it is one of the most important things we should be doing to maintain optimal digestion. While it does not need to be practiced by everyone at every meal, it should be followed at larger meals when possible. The best way to eat would be protein with fats and veggies (chicken with avocado and a salad) or carbs with fat (oatmeal and coconut oil).
There are many more Nutrition “Rules” that I do NOT follow but these are the most important ones that I wanted to share! Are there any Nutrition rules that you break? Comment them below!