It is exciting to see so many people learning and endeavoring to eat and be healthy. However, there seems to be a misunderstanding with simple, basic ingredients. I'll use the Vegan and Keto diet for examples to prove my point. Not at all to degrade, it is a wonderful state for the body to be in ketosis, and everybody loves vegans. But to truly see how some of us are defining healthy and unhealthy ingredients in today's world, these samples hit the spot. You may have seen the slogan that says, fries and beer are vegan. Well, that doesn't make it healthy but it does prove my point. Yeast and sugar in beer and potatoes are vegan but not healthy, nor will it get anyone in the fat-burning ketosis state. That would be considered sugar burning...no wonder the diet didn't work.
Another common misconception I see often is in recipes for pastries. This yummy looking cake recipe recommends using zucchini as a fabulous replacement, but there is still an immense amount of white sugar and white flour. Simply adding zucchini doesn't make it healthy, vegan, or keto. To reduce inflammation, lose weight, and feel amazing, we need to substitute most if not all of the common ingredients that have been so unhealthy to us. With that, there are some common unhealthy ingredients we need to eliminate from our eating habits to feel good.
You may think this is crazy but stick with it. It's a lifestyle change well worth it! Say your athletically modifying your diet and lifestyle, you'll be amazed at the results if you choose to replace all six suggestions simultaneously. If you're like me, try substituting one or two ingredients and see how it goes. Then, replace the rest. One day you'll be feeling great, looking back, thinking; I used to eat like crap.
First, the secret to substituting unhealthy for healthy food is to read the ingredients on the back of the label, not the sales pitch on the front. I know that is remarkably time-consuming and nearly impossible therefore, I did most of the work for you. The rest is up to your personal preference. Have fun experimenting and unearthing new ingredients. Discover what you enjoy to eat that makes you feel great. I can see you now, "I didn't know they had this here! I've been shopping at this store for the last 15 years." Here it goes. Six healthy ingredient substitutes that we can add in our daily diet to reduce inflammation, lose weight, and feel amazing. Don't forget to Print your new grocery replacement list.
#1 SUGAR
EAT Low sugar glycemic content foods: coconut palm sugar, monk fruit, xylitol, and stevia.
High glycemic sugar substitutes: honey, organic brown sugar
-Eliminate refined white sugar and aspartame (Equal, SweetnLow, NutraSweet, Canderel).
#2 FLOUR
EAT Gluten-free flour blends, almond flour, coconut flour, recipes, and baking pans
-Eliminate white refined flour, wheat flour, packaged foods
#3 COWS MILK
EAT Almond milk, Hemp milk, Cashew milk
-Eliminate dairy, cow’s milk, cheese
#4 WHEAT
EAT Nuts, Seeds and Organic Grains
Nuts: coconuts, pistachios, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, pinenuts, walnuts, cashews.
Seeds: chia, sunflower, flaxseed or flaxseed oil
Organic grains, omegas 3-6-9
-Eliminate wheat, wheat flour, packaged foods
#5 ARTIFICIAL TO FRESH LIVE FOOD
EAT The real deal! Fruits, vegetables, pure organic cheese (without dyes or preservatives).
-Eliminate Artificial Anything: Artificial flavoring, food coloring, and kraft or pump, "nacho," "not yo" cheese.
#6 FATS AND OILS
EAT organic oils, coconut oil, olive oil, fish oil, flaxseed oil, organic butter
-Eliminate hydrogenated fats and oils, margarine, canola oil, vegetable oil, soy