6 Resolutions You Need to Make for Better Health

By the HPN team. 

1.       Reduce Sugar

Sugar and other highly processed carbohydrate foods drastically raise blood sugar levels, a situation that is considered very inflammatory and is related to a range of health effects including metabolic disorders, cardiac problems and degenerative brain disorders!

2.       Avoid Wheat

Wheat containing products like bread, pasta, cookies and crackers, are some of the primary culprits for the blood sugar related problems mentioned above, but beyond this wheat and one of its constituent proteins gluten may be related to a range of immune problems and direct negative effects in the human brain. While most people don’t have Coeliac disease around 1/3 probably exhibit a type of gluten allergy or intolerance.

3.       Eat Good Fats

Fats in general have had a bad rap for many years. The reality is that eating fat does not make us fat, nor does it encourage the adverse cardiovascular effects associated with it. On the contrary fat is important to encourage proper modulation of inflammation and immune status within the body and is associated with providing optimal hormone levels. Eating a higher proportion of natural fats (especially in preference to sugar and highly refined carbohydrates) actually encourages the body to lose fat and maintain a lower level of body-fat.

4.       Have Protein at Every Meal

Protein is an essential nutrient. There are several essential amino acids that the body requires in order to create all the various structural proteins that make up the cells, tissues, organs and systems of the body. In fact apart from water we primarily consist of protein structures. Eating sufficient protein not only provides for these requirements but also encourages a greater rate of fat-burning. In fact a higher proportion of protein in the diet has been associated with lower body-fat levels.

5.       Eat Six Fist-Sized Servings Veggies!

Vegetables provide essential vitamins and minerals that act like the ‘keys’ that unlock cellular processes. Without these important factors the body is unable to do much of anything! Beyond that though vegetables also provide bulk to the diet and encourage greater feelings of fullness and satisfaction thereby helping us to stay ‘on track’ with our nutrition more often.
 
6.       Eat More Berries

I like to think of berries as ‘nature’s multi-vitamin’. They are nutrient dense, high in antioxidants and relatively low in calories and carbohydrates. Berries have been shown to help reduce oxidative damage that is associated with a range of health and metabolic disorders.