The following healthy eating guidelines are my secret to maintaining optimal weight and brain health. This is a low-carbohydrate, low-glycemic, anti-inflammatory eating plan, which is the type of diet recommended for improving memory and cognition and preventing and reversing type 2 diabetes.
A low-glycemic diet does not raise blood sugar or insulin levels. Foods high in carbohydrates cause a release of glucose into the bloodstream and a corresponding rise in insulin. Avoid the following high-carbohydrate foods: cakes, crackers, sugary cereals and drinks, flours, bread products, jellies/jams, and refined potato products. These types of foods are addictive.
Healthy Eating Guidelines
Low-carbohydrate, anti-inflammatory dietary guidelines include:
- About 50 percent of food items are fresh organic vegetables.
- Eat one fresh, raw serving of low-glycemic fruit per day. Low-glycemic fruits include green apples, berries, cherries, pears, plums, and grapefruit.
- Do not always eat cooked foods. Eat a couple of servings of raw vegetables every day. Have a salad for lunch with either nuts or meat. When eating out, order a salad or coleslaw as sides, since both are raw.
- Another 25 percent of your daily food intake should come from an animal or vegetable protein such as beans, nuts, and lean meats. Fish is exceptionally nutritious. Try to eat it once a week.
- A variety of different nuts and seeds are excellent sources of protein, minerals, and essential fatty acids.
- Avoid sugar, flour, rice, pasta, and bread. Instead, eat more fruits, vegetables, and low-glycemic grains such as quinoa and pearled barley.
- Do not eat sugary cereals. Instead, eat oatmeal, fruit, or granola. Be careful, as the sugar content of granola may be high.
- Try not to eat anything containing more than 10 grams of sugar in one serving. You can find information regarding sugar substitutes here.
- Eat nontraditional grains such as quinoa, amaranth, pearled barley, wild rice, and oats.
- Eat cultured foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and cultured plain Greek yogurt since they contain natural probiotics. Add one to two tablespoons of these foods to a meal twice a week or eat the yogurt as a snack. Personally, I take a probiotic capsule every day.
