Cut Out The Cr@p

REMOVING TEMPTATION

I received my first challenge email from Robb Wolf's 30 day challenge yesterday, which said to have a bit of a clear out at home - hope he doesn't mind me using the screengrab here. Please click on the above link to get on this 30 day challenge too.:

Sugar Is Bad!

Correction....sugar is bad in high quantities, particularly fructose syrup which is in so many foods now and a major factor in high levels of obesity. I watched this rather amusing and very informative video from Dr. Robert H. Lustig yesterday regarding hidden sugars in our food and the terrible problem faced in America with their foods administrative body failing to halt fructose consumption. The video clip is well worth watching and he has a book too, which I may get round to reading...or I may just stick to avoiding sugar instead....It seems to back-up what I've already learned/understood, there's too much sugar in our diet so it's best to just avoid processed food because it contains harmful additives like high levels of salt & sugars like fructose. I'm also going to look more into the Paleo diet - as Robb doesn't tell me what exactly what to throw out - all sauces?! (however, just looking at the labels gives a good idea) - this downloadable pdf may help.

So I've suddenly been pulled into this Paleo diet. Been watching a few video clips and reading up on leaky gut syndrome and the benefits of cutting out all the harmful processed (and often tasty) foods that are causing illness. One claim that I heard in the video by Dr. Robert H. Lustig, was that Paleo diets can reverse type 2 diabetes! Diet can affect mood, potentially leading to depression and also have an adverse effect on your joints, even causing/inflaming arthritis...I also watched this video on TED (I love Ted - it has some great inspiring stuff on there) - this woman claims to have reversed MS by changing her diet....well worth watching too:

The diet says to cut out fruit juices - I've heard this before, because you're not chewing and mixing the enzymes to properly digest the food and losing the full benefits of eating the fibre. However, I still like to try and get in a bit of a 'tonic' before cycling to work or taking on some light food before doing yoga. I enjoy having a glass of something which has healthy/fresh food sources in it, so I'll chose a veg smoothie/juice instead. Re. what's really good for you - it's tricky knowing what to believe, everyone's an expert on the internet these days! I've had a read through books and online, spoken to people that I can see are living proof of what it means to be healthy and come to the conclusion that I'm surely going to benefit by taking these 'superfoods' in to my system once or twice a week in a drink form. I usually have a spinach, banana and coconut water juice smoothie. I add a sprinkle of chia seeds and a splash of fish oil. I know I can also add apple, celery, avocado etc. - I'll find a few different ones to try and post later on. If you're interested to read a bit more on the healthy benefits of these few I know about already, click on the pictures below...