One of the first things that Charles Poliquin said at the biosignature convention was that if you’re going to take something out of the diet then you have to give something back. Here are some easy swaps that will help improve your health and performance. Remember its lots of small changes maintained over a long period of time that makes the difference.
“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.”
Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, The Physiology of Taste, 1825
French gourmet & lawyer (1755 – 1826)
1. Drinks!
OUT – Juice and soda / soft drinks.
IN – Water or sparkling water or green tea with lemon or lime or my personal favourite frozen berries with a dash of cinnamon.
Juices while sometimes containing vitamins have the effect of raising blood sugar quickly causing a spike in insulin to maintain safe blood sugar levels. Many of the health benefits of fruits and vegetables are lost when juices are stored, heated, transported etc. Sugar drinks like lemonade have even worse effects on blood sugar and should be eliminated or consumed very occasionally.
Berries have brain restoring properties particularly blueberries and should be a regular item on your shopping list. Lemon and lime provide some vitamin C as well as alkalising the body. Cinnamon helps regulate insulin levels and is great for people who are trying to lose fat since fat can only be stored in the presence of insulin. More about Cinnamon from Jonny Bowden.
2. Fermented drinks!
OUT – Beer and spirits
IN – Fermented probiotic drinks like kombucha, kefir, beet kvaas or home-made ginger beer and the odd glass of red wine.
Commercially brewed beers and spirits damage the stomach and intestinal linings and cause spikes in insulin not conducive to fat loss. Many of them contain chemicals, beer contains gluten.
Chances are that life will be better off without them being a regular experience. Kombucha,kefir and other fermented drinks were used in many traditional cultures to provide clean drinking water as well as health benefits (some traditional beers fell into this category as well), These drinks can provide nutrients and living micro-organism cultures that modulate the immune system and improve digestion. (I’ve been making a ginger drink from kefir culture each night for the last 4 nights – half a fingers length of finely chopped ginger, 1/2 a teaspoon of brown sugar (for the kefir) and the kefir from the organic food shop. I leave it outside for the day and it’s ready by the next night. Sometimes it might take 2 days if you live in a cooler climate.)
Clean water from my tap in France – the base for homemade fermented drinks
3. What to eat with your meat
OUT – Pasta / Bread / Pizza
IN – Green vegetables If normally half of your plate is meat and white stuff try replacing the carbohydrate source with greens like broccoli, spinach and zucchini.
There are too many paleo blogs and recipes on the web to struggle for how to replace these foods. If you’re serious about improving your health and your waistline this will be a massive step in the right direction. Taking gluten (which comes from wheat, rye, barley and is often found in oats) out of your diet will likely provide immediate health, performance and weight loss benefits.
Frozen vegetables are ok if you’re having trouble keeping the fresh foods handy. Vegetables also have other health benefits such as aiding detoxification through folate and their fibre content.
Meat and Veg
4. Snacks
OUT – Sweets, chips, biscuits, crap
IN – Celery / Carrots with nuts, berries with coconut oil, dark chocolate, jerky or nitrate free salami and hams, nuts and seeds.
Honestly if you eat well at meal times with enough protein and healthy fats than snacking shouldn’t be a big issue but for those who are used to running on sugar, making the transition to a healthier lifestyle snacks can be make make all the difference. For weight loss it’s better to have 3-4 square meals and 1-2 snacks but not graze all day.
5. Restaurant food for organic foods
OUT – Low quality restaurant, junk foods and take-away.
IN – Organic butter, coffee, dark chocolate, meat, fruit and vegetables
With the money you save from decreasing your alcohol intake and junk food budget you can start to buy more nutrient dense versions of natures most powerful foods. This will help your health as well as for those farmers working the land the planet as a whole. Remember that many of the chemicals used on our foods were developed during wartime as explosives or chemical weapons. Do you really want to be eating them?
Cream isn’t the devil it’s made out to be!
BONUS – Sugar cravings – many people fail on their quest for better health and performance because they can’t beat their sugar cravings. Interestingly rats have been shown to choose sugar over cocaine once addicted. If you want to beat your sugar cravings here is a proven method.
Take 1-3g of glutamine + 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil (butter or heavy cream can substitute in emergencies to help keep you away from sugar foods.
What swaps have you made?
My swap
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