Naturopathic Nutrition 101

General recommendations:

Eat 5 to 9 servings of fresh or frozen veggies every day. Iceberg lettuce doesn’t count. Strive for dark, deep, vibrant colors and variation for your day to day consumption. A great way for exposure to different veggies is by becoming a member of local CSA farm share.

Salads are a great way to have multiple servings of veggies during a meal. Be sure to add variety and color to your greens: pickles, olives, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, raisins, mushrooms, sprouts, carrots, onions, etc. etc. etc. Do not use fat free dressing!!! – fat free products remove the fat and add sugar… a bad, bad idea! Fats don’t make us fat… sugar does.

Most veggies can be eaten raw as they are. For cooking, consider: stir fry, steam, bake, grill, or include in a soup or stew. Soups and stews are great because the broth holds most of the nutritional value of the veggies. Veggies make great snacks.

Eat as much whole fruit as you would like. Limit or restrict consumption of fruit juices, dried fruits, canned fruits, etc. To help offset the potentially high sugar spike from a fruit, consume it with a protein. (example – fresh apple and some cheddar cheese)

Supplemental recommendations:

Juice Plus+® is a simple, convenient, and inexpensive way to add more nutrition from fruits and vegetables to your diet, every day. Taking Juice Plus+ is the next best thing to eating fruits and vegetables. Of course, there is no substitute for eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. But because most people simply can't, don't, or won't, Juice Plus+ helps fill that gap and can bring individuals back to a common baseline for health and healing to truly take place.