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EVERYTHING HAS A HEALTHY SUBSTITUTE

EVERYTHING HAS A HEALTHY SUBSTITUTE

A big reason why people have a hard time switching to healthy food is because they think that there are no substitutions. Like how can you replace pasta? Rice? Bread? Milk? Sugar?

In our kitchen, you will find:

  1. Shiratake noodles instead of flour pasta. Another option is to get a vegetable spiralizer for $20 and you can have zucchini or carrot noodles. Or you can just julienne your vegetables. 
  2. Extra virgin olive oil, real butter not margarine,  and coconut oil instead of canola, corn, sesame, sunflower and vegetable oil
  3. Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise and sour cream
  4. Real tomatoes instead of tomato sauce
  5. Stevia, Swerve or Lakanto Monkfruit sweetener instead of white refined sugar
  6. Almond flour or Coco flour bread and WASA bread instead of white bread
  7. Herbs and spices instead of large amounts of soy sauce
  8. Lemon water and green shakes instead of soda and sugared fruit juices
  9. Almond milk and coconut milk instead of dairy milk
  10. Grated cauliflower  instead of rice
  11. Avocados, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries , raspberries and melons instead of chips, crackers, and cookies

In general, try and consume as much green leafy vegetables as possible.

If you have nothing but healthy and whole foods in your kitchen, it will be hard to eat unhealthily because you have no choice. 

“Hmmm, I’m not going to make dinner tonight because we’re not that hungry—I’m just going to snack. But there are only celery stalks and zuchini in the fridge.” (so we snacked on vegetables!)

THE SCIENCE: 

Omega 3 vs Omega 6

Omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids have opposing physiological functions. Omega 3 is anti-inflammatory and omega 6 is pro-inflammatory. The typical Western diet has higher omega 6 content as compared to omega 3. That is why obesity, diabetes, and hypertension are so rampant.

Omega 6 is found in the following common cooking oils: soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, sesame oil, grapeseed oil, safflower oil, and rice bran oil. It is recommended to avoid all these oils or at least keep them to a minimum. Instead of using these oils, use coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, or grass fed butter. 

Omega 3 fatty acids are best found in animals (marine or otherwise), almonds, and flax seed.


Compiled and written by: Loudette Ma Paz Guevara

References: 

  • Filion KB, El Khoury F, Bielinski M, Schiller I, Dendukuri N, Brophy JM (2010). Omega-3 fatty acids in high-risk cardiovascular patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. BMC Cardiovasc Disord 10: 24.
  • Gomez Candela C, Bermejo Lopez LM, Loria Kohen V (2011). Importance of a balanced omega 6/omega 3 ratio for the maintenance of health: nutritional recommendations. Nutr Hosp 26: 323-329.
  • Myhrstad MC, Retterstol K, Telle-Hansen VH, Ottestad I, Halvorsen B, Holven KB et al (2011). Effect of marine n-3 fatty acids on circulating inflammatory markers in healthy subjects and subjects with cardiovascular risk factors. Inflamm Res 60: 309-319.
  • Simopoulos AP (2008) The importance of the omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio in cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases. Exp Biol Med (Maywood)233: 674–688.
  • Weitz D, Weintraub H, Fisher E, Schwartzbard AZ (2010) Fish oil for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Cardiol Rev 18: 258–263.

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