What Do We EAT
VEGETABLES
Leafy Greens
Cruciferous Vegetables
Other Vegetables (Potatoes!)
FRUITS
BERRIES
Other Fruits
LEGUMES
ALL BEANS
Lentils
Peas
Soybeans
WHOLE GRAINS
Pasta
Breads
Rice
Quinoa
NUTS & SEEDS
FLAX & CHIA SEEDS
Hemp Seeds, Sunflower Seeds
Brazil Nuts, Walnuts, Cashews, Etc.
A Whole Food Plant-Based diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, plant-based proteins (tofu, tempeh, quinoa...etc.), nuts and seeds while minimizing or eliminating animal products, processed foods, and added sugars.
FRUITS are full of Antioxidants, Vitamins, and Minerals.
Eating just one hamburger impairs blood flow and increases inflammation by 70%. A lifetime of this and your arteries, gut, and cholesterol are likely in bad shape.
Plants have 64 times the antioxidant contant than animals products. Antioxidants are found almost entirely in plants, and fiber is exclusive to plants. Switching to a plant-based diet has proven to lower inflammation by 29% after just three weeks!
YELLOW FRUIT
Plantain, pineapple, and banana have a surprisingly high amount of seratonin, the happiness chemical!
TOMATOES
Tomatoes have abundant Vitamin C, which is an essential vitamin for humans and only found in plants. Their phytonutrients help decrease cholesterol, triglycerides and inflammatory biomarkers, and increase HDL (good) cholesterol and IL-10 concentrations.
BERRIES
Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, etc, are dark in color, meaning they're full of polyphenols that reduce cancer risk, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and stroke. They contain powerful antioxidants that help control blood pressure.
CITRUS FRUITS
Citrus foods are abundant in antioxidants and Vitamin C, reducing risk of cancer and heart attack, and maintaining healthy bones, teeth, skin and vision. They also enhance iron absorption, so have alongside your cruciferous vegetables, beans, peas, nuts/seeds, and dark chocolate.
GREENS for Nature, Health, and Healing
Asparagus has polyphenol compounds which help keep you healthy as you age.
Lettuce, Spinach, Celery, etc. all have Nitrates which promote nitric oxide bioavailability, reduce systemic blood pressure, enhance blood flow, muscle oxygen utilization and improve exercise tolerance.
Sulforaphane contains antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that aid in reducing the risk of heart disease, preventing platelet aggregation. protecting from DNA mutations, and slowing tumor growth.
Sneaking handfuls of greens into your daily blended drink is a great way to get them in! See Dr. Goldner's hyper-nourishment video to replicate!
WHOLE GRAINS
The low-glycemic values and high fiber content of most whole grain products contribute to weight loss and reduced inflammation. People who replace animal foods with high quality whole grains experience an average drop in cortisol levels of 27%. Lower cortisol leads to increased muscle mass and decreased body fat.
RICE
BREAD
POTATOES
OATS
PASTA
QUINOA
OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS...
Play a structural role in the brain and eyes. They're important for brain development and reducing the risk of inflammation, depression, breast cancer, and ADHD.
Most Americans miss these in their diet.
Be sure to get at least 200-300mg through:
1T Flax seeds (must be ground into Flax meal)
1T Chia seeds
and/or supported by Walnuts, Hemp Seeds, and Soybeans
LEGUMES!
Legumes include Beans and Pulses.
There are over 40,000 varieties of beans in the world, but only a small percentage are produced for mass consumption. Common varieties include:
- Black beans
- Pinto beans
- Kidney Beans
- Navy Beans
- Cannellini Beans
- Great Northern Beans
Other legumes include Soybeans, Chickpeas, Lentils, Peas, and Peanuts.
Protein
The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 grams of protein for healthy kilogram of body weight.
This will likely be somewhere between 50-90 grams per day. We get our protein from their original sources, keeping all of the vitamins intact. This includes oats, tofu and beans, whole grains, and nuts..etc.
Fiber
As animal agriculture prospered and humans became less tolerant of the food that creates a happy, healthy gut, fiber got a bad reputation for causing gas. This is unfortunate because it faults fibrous food rather than our ill-adapted bodies for the embarrassing transaction. However, the slow reintroduction of fiber into one's diet will make it so they can improve tolerance until it's restored to its natural levels.
Fiber is THE MOST ignored nutrient in the Standard American Diet. Its intake encourages the growth of healthy gut bacteria that make short-chain fatty acids which promote improved immune function, blood-brain barrier integrity, adequate provision of energy substrates, and the regulation of many critical functions of the GI tract.
Read more about Beans & Longevity here.
Less than 5% of the population meets the dietary recommendation for Fiber. Recommended Daily Allowance is 25g for women and 38g for men (ideally even more for both!)
BEANS
The American Diabetes Association, American Heart Asociation, and American Cancer Society recommend legumes and beans as one of the most important food groups for disease prevention and optimal health.
Due to their blend of fiber, protein, and nutrients, beans are proven to lower cholesterol and trigylceride levels, reduce cancer risk, and maintain a healthy weight.
*Beans and legumes have more calcium and iron per cup than 3 ounces of cooked meat and contain no cholesterol.
Adzuki beans have more zinc than meat (animal flesh).
Soy contains phytoestrogens, which are compounds that look like estrogens but actually have the opposite effect, blocking some of our bodies' estrogen receptors and preventing real dietary sources of estrogen from taking hold. The foods that contain real estrogens are animal foods such as chicken, eggs, and dairy.
Phytoestrogens are powerful in that they can actually bind to the estrogen receptors inside of us and weaken either estrogenic or anti-estrogenic activity depending on our needs.
TOFU...
Is an outstanding source of protein made from soybean curd from the soybean plant. It was likely created during the Han Dynasty and has served as a food staple around for world for thousands of years.
Tofu is delicious and versatile: you can scramble it, bake it, fry it, sauté it, or even blend it. It also has many health benefits such as isoflavones, phytoestrogens, and antioxidant compounds which contain anti-inflammatory properties and are shown to prevent disease.
TEMPEH...
Is a soy-based food made from the fermentation of soybeans. As a result of fermentation, tempeh is rich in probiotics which populate the gut with healthy bacteria. It also contains protein, prebiotics, vitamins and minerals. Due to its firm texture, it's easy to crumble and use as a meat substitute in favorite dishes, or eat on its own with a variety of sauces and vegetables.
SUPPLEMENTS
Iodine
Found in Iodized Salt, Kelp Powder, and Nori Sheets (which make great snacks!)
Nutritional Yeast
It's important to take a B12 supplement. In addition, B12 is found in Nutritional Yeast and fortified non-dairy products.
Non-dairy Alternatives
Fortified non-dairy alternatives contain additional vitamins and minerals. Almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, and rice milk are common favorites!
Everyone has a different method to track their daily nutrient intake. A few are included on the Resources Page. This acrostic one is wild, but all-emcompassing and fun. Ask us about it as you begin your journey and we bet you'll have it down after 12 weeks!
FGOALS, Dr. Will Bulsiewicz
F - Fruit & Fermented
G - Greens & Whole Grains
O - Omega-3 & Superseeds
A - Aromatics (spices!)
L - Legumes
S - Shrooms, Seaweed, and Sulforaphane (found in cruciferous vegetables, these are antioxidants that cancel out free radicals, reduce inflammation, protect DNA mutations that lead to cancer, and slow tumor growth)
An important note:
