Dine by colour - the quickest way to a lean body - Dr Paul Cribb Shedding body fat, enhancing athletic performance and changing body shape are all by-products of optimum health. Optimum health can only be achieved via an optimum approach to nutrition. To create and maintain optimal health requires a spectrum of nutrients from a variety of nutritional sources. Most people tend to eat a restricted variety of foods - their choices involve no more than 7 different food selections for the entire week. If you are one of these individuals, then you maybe short-circuiting your own progress. Others look for one fix-all nutrient, pill, or supplement to solve their nutritional problems. Don’t be one of these people. Instead, educate yourself, become a student of good nutrition – much better results from training and supplementation will be your reward. Yes, building a premium body involves prudent nutritional supplementation. However, as cutting edge as supplements have become, they pale in comparison to the nutrition of whole-foods. The better the quality of your whole-foods, the greater the effects you will obtain from your supplements. One super nutritious category that can make a world of difference to your physique are unprocessed, plant foods. The term “plant food” encompasses all things that grow from the ground. That means fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes. The less processed the plant food is, the better it is, and the more natural it is to our biology. For example, white bread (from wheat) requires a number of processing steps to achieve the end result (poor choice). On the other hand, fresh vegetables take just one processing step to get to you (good choice). Plant foods such as vegetables and legumes great carbohydrate choices - These carb sources are nutrient-dense, low-calorie foods that are more beneficial to our metabolism. They are the secret to sustained fat loss. They play a vital role in creating the metabolic environment that achieves better health and rapid improvements in body composition. The problem.... In their quest to get lean fast, most people get impatient and start cutting calories before they’ve address the fundamentals; how many meals they need every day, exactly what needs to be those meals at various times of the day, and how to ensure the right choices are available at the right time. The strategy of cutting calories actually kills the metabolic environment required to achieve physique goals, and any fat loss is temporary. The solution... On the other hand, a high intake of low-energy carb sources at every meal basically, “tricks” the metabolism into staying elevated and promotes the permanent loss of unwanted body fat. This is called working with your metabolism, not against it. • Nutritional science is only just starting to uncover an array of powerful, yet little-known compounds that protect our health from disease and many age-related ailments. These compounds, called phytochemicals, occur naturally in plant foods and they play an intricate role in achieving optimum health. Processing can destroy or remove these invaluable compounds. • Low-energy carb sources promote steady blood sugar and insulin levels. This means no energy slump during the day, more efficient metabolism of fat and effective nutrient transport into hungry muscles. All of these aspects add up to one thing; a stronger, leaner, healthier body. Which plant foods are best? When in doubt about selection, go for colour. Eat rainbows! The brighter and richer the colour, the more nutritious the plant food is. For example, vegetables with the highest nutritional value are vivid in colour; dark green spinach, rich red tomatoes and bright yellow/ orange squash, pumpkin and sweet potato. Additionally, the cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower contain phytochemicals that protect our DNA against damage that can develop into poor health and disease. Before each meal, look at your plate and determine how colourful it is.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 05:35:41 +0000
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