2920: [Part 1] 11 Easy Steps to Max Nutrition by Summer Banks with Diet Spotlight on Healthy Eating Advice

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Health Daily, 11 Easy Steps to Max Nutrition, 12 Things You Need to Know, Part 1 by Summer Banks with dietspotlight.com. And I'm Dr. Neal, your very own personal narrator. Welcome to another edition of Optimal Health Daily, where I read some of the best blogs covering health and fitness, just like an audiobook, and always with a bit of my commentary at the end. Now don't forget, we have a bunch of shows where we do this very same thing, where we narrate blogs for you.

[00:00:29] Just search for Optimal Living Daily to find all of them. Now, today's post is a bit longer than what I typically narrate, so I'll read the first half today and then finish it up for you tomorrow. So with that, let's get right to it as we optimize your life. 11 Easy Steps to Max Nutrition, Part 1 by Summer Banks with dietspotlight.com.

[00:00:56] With just about any lifestyle change, it's essential to get max nutrition. Some people prefer to take things slowly and make mild changes along the way, while others prefer to get things done and over with as quickly as possible. There is no better approach than the other, as everyone is different. 1. Get Max Nutrition from Breakfast

[00:01:16] The primary step in improving your overall nutrition starts with changing the first meal of the day, breakfast. Most cereals contain lots of sugar and refined carbs, even though many of these cereals claim to be healthy or nutritious. When you consume these types of foods, which are also known as high glycemic index foods, your blood sugar may spike. You may ultimately crash midday and begin to crave more carb-loaded foods, as suggested in a study in the journal Pediatrics.

[00:01:43] A great alternative breakfast are eggs. Eggs are high in healthy fats and protein while packing lots of nutrients, and so they are kind of the ultimate breakfast food. Not only are they nutritious, but studies in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition and the International Journal of Obesity have shown that eggs can also assist in fat loss when you replace your grains with them. Maximize nutrition by adding fruits or veggies to serve with your eggs.

[00:02:09] If you're not hungry during breakfast time, simply wait until your body wants food, and be sure to make your first meal a healthy and balanced one. Takeaway Getting a good start to your day is as simple as eating a highly nutritious breakfast filled with healthy fats, fruits and veggies, and some protein. 2. Remove sugary drinks for max nutrition We're learning sugary drinks are even worse than sugar-packed solids.

[00:02:36] Because your brain cannot recognize these liquid sugar calories, you end up consuming more than you would with a less sugary, more nutritional drink. And that was according to a study in Appetite. This means that you could easily consume hundreds of calories without your brain even realizing it. In one study featured in The Lancet, it was found that children drinking only one sugar-sweetened drink serving a day were at a 60% higher risk of obesity.

[00:03:01] There are a number of other studies that support this, and sugary drinks may be among the largest fattening components of the modern-day diet. Also, even though fruit juices may appear healthier, they are just as harmful to your diet. Fruit juices are loaded with just as much sugar as the typical sugary beverage. Takeaway. Drinking sugar-filled liquids can be bad for your health. 3. Add whole grains

[00:03:26] Not all carbs are bad, but let's kick the bad ones to the curb to maximize nutrition. According to studies in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and the Journal of Pediatrics, those grains with little amounts of fiber and nutrients, high in refined carbs and sugar, may contribute to overeating. This can increase risk for disease and affect our metabolism.

[00:03:50] As wheat is very common in the modern diet, you should know that it is now processed with significantly fewer nutrients when compared to earlier decades, and this was according to research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. And this modern wheat may be more problematic for those with gluten intolerance. There are many good carb alternatives to these refined and unhealthy carbs. You can bring in healthy carbs from very natural food sources, from fruits or veggies, or even quinoa.

[00:04:17] For max nutrition, you can add potatoes, legumes, and wild or brown rice, which are also very healthy carbohydrate sources. You don't need to minimize your carb ingestion to maximize nutrition. Eat real and natural foods. Reduce processed, refined, unhealthy carbs and sugars. Takeaway. Choose healthier carbohydrates like whole grain foods. Refined carbohydrates may damage your diet. Four.

[00:04:46] Increase protein for max nutrition. This step is all about adding. Protein may help optimize metabolism. According to a study in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, protein is a great metabolic booster as it allows your digestive system to burn more calories while your body is at rest. In comparison to low-protein diets, studies in the British Journal of Nutrition and the Journal of the American College of Nutrition

[00:05:13] show that diets consisting of higher protein may increase metabolic rates by 80 to 100 calories per day. Protein is great for reducing appetite as it satisfies your body's calorie needs. One study showed that people were able to lose 11 pounds within a 12-week period by simply adding more protein to their diets. In this case, about 30% of the participants' diets came from protein sources.

[00:05:38] This small change decreased further calorie consumption by 449 calories on average per day. You can also expect many other benefits from protein, from muscular improvement to healthy bone development. Some protein-rich foods, as listed on my plate, include poultry, eggs, meat, beans, legumes, seafood, and dairy products. Adding protein to your diet is one of the simplest ways to a healthier lifestyle. Takeaway

[00:06:05] Protein may satisfy hunger and help encourage other healthy diet changes while increasing your metabolic rate. 5. Max nutrition by combining lean meats, fish, and healthy vegetables. So, you've transformed your breakfast. Now it's time to switch up your dinner plate. Start by replacing your main entree with fish or another lean meat and simply add a large helping of vegetables. Dinner is typically an easy opportunity to throw in veggies as they are easy to miss throughout the day.

[00:06:34] If you typically like potatoes, rice, or other starches on your dinner plate, you can continue to eat those as well. Just watch the portions. Because fatty fish offers a great supply of omega-3s, you should aim to have fish on your plate at least twice a week. And that's according to the American Heart Association. This may support adequate nutrition and heart health. If you cannot add fish to your diet, consider taking a fish oil supplement to make up for it. Takeaway

[00:07:01] Fill your plate with greens and lean meats at dinnertime, including fish twice a week. 6. Hear that on tomorrow's episode. You just listened to part 1 of the post titled 11 Easy Steps to Max Nutrition by Summer Banks with dietspotlight.com Dr. Neil here again for my commentary. Today, I'm going to hate on juice a little bit.

[00:07:28] I agree with the author when I say juice is maybe not your best friend. People often feel as though, well, drinking 100% juice is your great alternative to eating fruit. But I would say drink juice, even 100% juice, only occasionally. I've used this example before, but imagine you have a half a cup of orange juice sitting in front of you. That would take you maybe 30 seconds max to drink it. But likely, most of us, it's one gulp and it's gone.

[00:07:55] But how many oranges did it take to make that one half cup? And think about how much fiber was lost in the process of juicing. In that one gulp, you may have just consumed a whole medium orange. But you're not going to feel as full. You're going to want another refill. Now you're going to consume anywhere from two to three medium-sized oranges within a very short period of time. And without all that fiber content, your body's not going to get that message that, hey, you've had enough calories and sugar.

[00:08:24] And so you're going to feel hungry really soon afterwards. But if you were to stop and actually had to eat two, three oranges in one sitting, you would have probably stopped by orange number two. And you would have had that moment where the brain said, whoa, we've had enough to eat. That's good. And plus, we're actually learning, now that I'm picking on oranges, that if you ate the whole oranges, that pith, P-I-T-H, that white stuff that most kids don't like,

[00:08:50] that surrounds the flesh of the orange, that is actually really, really beneficial. And so again, you tend to lose that when you juice. All right, so that's my quick rant on juicing. You'll hear more rants from me tomorrow. Thank you as always for listening. Thank you for listening every day. I'll be back here tomorrow to finish up this post. So I'll see you there where your optimal life awaits.