Article: Basic Steps To Good Nutrition

Basic Steps To Good Nutrition
by: Dr. Janet Starr Hull, Ph.D., CN
http://www.sweetpoison.com/nutrition-information.html

Now that you know aspartame is harmful, how do you restore your health from the damage aspartame has caused? It’s hard to fight what you can’t see, and even harder to convince your doctor that aspartame is indeed the source of your health problems. Read more about Aspartame Dangers.

There are basic steps to take when restoring needed nutrients at the root of wellness, but remember that good nutrition CAN reclaim good health, even for diabetics and people with permanent health issues.

Clinical Experiences

As a nutritionist, over ninety percent of my clients experience some form of health problem associated with aspartame: weight gain, hair loss, severe medical ailments, eating disorders, mental disorders, fatigue. Some readily eliminate aspartame from their diets and their symptoms quickly disappear. But, many are addicted to aspartame and are unable to withdraw from diet products without suffering severe headaches, cramping, nausea and diarrhea. They require a withdrawal program similar to those for alcohol and drugs.

The clinical nutritional work I do today is the direct result of all I experienced during my reaction to aspartame. I have learned that withdrawal from aspartame not only requires exceptional nutritional counseling, but significant emotional support, as well.

The Basic Steps:

The basic steps to good nutrition:

Read food labels and avoid all aspartame. Aspartame is in over five-thousand NutraSweet products. That's a lot of labels to read. Presently, aspartame is found in countless products without the familiar NutraSweet swirl. Since The NutraSweet Company's patent expired in the early 1990s, generic aspartame can be found anywhere.

Drink bottled water. Water is the most important life-giving substance in the body, and one the body desperately depends on. For those of you who have a diet drink in your hand all day at work, shame on you! You're drinking far too many colas and not enough water. Carry bottled water around instead. On the average, a human eliminates eight cups of water a day. Put back into your body what you give up. Iced tea, diet drinks, coffee or powdered punch don't count as a water source. Pure water is what the body must have to properly flush toxins from your system.

Get a mineral hair analysis. Vitamin and mineral levels inside your body register in the hair fibers. Toxins also show up in the hair. I recommend everyone have at least one hair analysis in their lifetime. A blood test identifies your blood type; a hair analysis shows what's inside the body. It reveals what vitamins and minerals you need, and possibly what toxins have accumulated within the tissues. Toxins stimulate allergies and can cause disease.

Eat raw. If there's only time to grab quick food, keep lots of fresh vegetables, natural, dry cheeses, whole-grain crackers, pickles, natural yogurts, Tofu, fruits and nuts, bottled water and fresh juice on hand. You may have to shop more often because the 'real stuff' spoils more quickly, but that's because it's loaded with enzymes and live nutrients - nutrients that do something for your health. Raw, steamed, natural, and fresh! A nutritious quick meal. Plus, eat all you want. It's hard to gain weight eating only natural foods.

Think of your food plate as a 'pie.' Seventy-five percent of that pie should be raw or steamed every meal. These 'fundamental' foods provide all the digestive enzymes the body needs, as well as the vitamins and minerals required to trigger the digestive chain reaction.

Lay out a variety of fresh snacks after school or work. Apples, oranges, raw nuts in the shell. Eat big meals early in the day. At night, your body processes what's left-over. Try not to eat heavy food past five or six o'clock in the evening. For an evening snack, pop popcorn in cold-pressed seed oil with a little natural butter and sea-salt or drink a fruit smoothie.

Maintain good digestion. Manufactured foods inhibit proper digestion. Supplement with a digestive enzyme rich in betaine hydrochloride, papaya, a raw lemon, or a rich red wine to aid digestion. Proper digestion is critical to good health. Digestion is where 'eating right and good health' begins. If you have stomach problems, you can support the stomach lining by eating raw cabbage at least three times a week to keep the stomach lining thick and healthy.

Eat natural foods as opposed to manufactured, chemical foods. Natural foods supply fuel needed to stay healthy, to keep your body moving, and to stay mentally alert. Food converts to raw energy. All food passes through the same set of reactions, whether it's processed, fast food or a raw, organic carrot. WHAT the food provides is the issue. Is your food rich in natural nutrients or is it full of chemical fillers and toxic by-products designed to 'fake' out the body so you won't gain weight? Natural or fake, you decide.

Exercise! Move your body everyday. It doesn't matter what you do, just do something. Your body will depend on the consistency, and that's good. Exercise is a good way to replace bad habits, too. If you want to quit smoking, let's say, replace the habit with exercise. Find what type of exercise you will adopt permanently into your life, and never quit. Biking around the neighborhood after work, walking around the block before the day begins, swimming ten laps every day, rowing while you watch the evening news, whatever - your body will depend on it.

Avoid fake foods. Vitamin and mineral rich foods are what I refer to as natural foods. They are mandatory to maintain good health. Fat-free, sugar-free doesn't provide 'natural.' When your food doesn't offer natural vitamins, your body has to supply them. When these supplies are depleted, you must replenish them. Not in fast food lines, not with diet colas, never with fake food substitutes, but with natural foods. Only with vitamin and mineral rich foods can you sustain a good supply of the 'parts that keep the machinery going.

Use saccharin before Equal® if you must use an artificial sweetener. Many doctors, dentists, dietitians, and consumers support the relative safety of saccharin. Ultimately, I recommend using stevia or unprocessed sugar over saccharin. Remember, use natural products instead of artificial ones.

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