We are all learning the benefits of healthy nutrition. We want to look and feel our best. But even more, clean nutrition can improve our health, mood, energy, sleep and confidence levels.

Three years ago, I started a journey on clean nutrition. I found it really made a tremendous difference for me. I had more energy and mental clarity. I slept better and attained a health weight. I felt emotionally more stable and happier, lighter. While not a nutritionist or physician, I have coached some other people in nutrition, and some of the changes we made have really worked for them as well.

Have you ever considered trying a plan for healthy nutrition? It is so worth it and not very hard!

There are six elements to a healthy nutritional program that I have found in my own personal experience to be really beneficial. They include these:

Whole Foods. The first one is to focus on eating whole foods. What are whole foods? They're the natural food products that you usually find around the outside of the grocery store, your fruits, veggies, eggs. The processed foods are often found in the inside of the store, the chips, cereal, snacks, cookies, ice cream and others. What are the benefits of whole foods? There really are so many! Whole foods give you fiber and are very heart healthy. They are low in sugar and salt. They are nutrient dense, and give you a lot of nutrients without as many calories, and without the additives and preservatives that are not good for you. They also are higher in fiber.

Alkaline Foods. We should try to eat alkaline foods. Alkaline foods are ones that on the scale of acidity are more on the alkaline side than the acidic side. Alkaline foods again are our fruits and vegetables, generally, along with nuts and avocados and some other healthy foods. Acidic foods are alcohol and soda, meats, cheese, and cakes and sugars. Alkaline foods are believed to help to support your immune system and reduce inflammation, are lower in calorie and denser in nutrients. They are are heart healthy and generally lower in calorie, and supply healthy fats and fiber.

Limit Sugar and Artifical Sweeteners. The third is to limit our sugar and artificial sweeteners. For me this was a huge problem. I used to drink much too much coffee, which is acidic and not good for me for that reason, and I then coupled it with doughnuts or brownies and ice cream. I just love sugar, and really any treats that are sweet. But sugar helps us gain weight. It's bad for our heart and for our blood pressure. It leads to blood sugar problems like diabetes. So I thought I was real smart- I thought I'd have artificial sweeteners. However, I have learned from my reading that artificial sweeteners are in some ways actually worse. They can fool your blood sugar system and may tend to make you hungrier. Some artificial sweeteners have been shown to pose potential risk to our health from a cancer perspective and they can lead to weight gain. Artificial sweeteners are not the answer! So, the goal is to eliminate as many sugars and artificial sweeteners as you can. We recommend stevia as a substitute. It's natural, not artificial. It has no calories and is much sweeter than sugar. It is a sweetener that in the scheme of things, is a very healthy, non-sugar, non-artificial sweetener.

Gluten and Dairy.  I recommend eliminating for a period of time any potentially allergic or toxic products. Two to consider are dairy and gluten. Some people have a dairy intolerance and do not know that they do. Dairy intolerance can cause intestinal issues or bloating. Dairy also is very high in saturated fat, and I ate too much cheese. My dairy consumption helped me to gain weight, and it was not good for my blood pressure or my heart. Some people really have an allergy or intolerance to dairy and are not aware of it. The other is gluten. Some people have an absolute allergy to gluten and have what is called celiac disease, but other people have a sensitivity to gluten. When they do, it can cause significant intestinal issues, bloating in the gut, and weight gain. Try not having gluten or dairy for just 30 days and see if it makes a difference in how you look or feel!

Drink more water! The fifth, and probably one of the easiest and most important is to drink plenty of water. The Institute of Medicine recommends that men drink 101 ounces of water, and that women drink 74 ounces a day. My goal is to drink 128 ounces. When I started my nutritional program, I was told I should drink 90 ounces in a day. I thought that was simply impossible, but I made it a very healthy habit. Even healthier is to add lemon or lime to your water- lemons are very alkaline, taste good and are very healthy for your system. What are the benefits of drinking water? There are just so many. It's great for your digestive system. It helps things to flow better. It gives you regularity. The biggest change I've seen is that I have an increase in my energy, and I just feel more ready to go. It can lead to weight loss. Sometimes we think we are really, really hungry. But what we really are is thirsty; so instead of having that snack, have some water and you'll be very happy with the result. It improves our digestion system and may reduce some headaches- some people get headaches because actually they are dehydrated. It's great for our skin because it keeps us hydrated and our skin moist. I really recommend we all drink more water, it's very healthy, and so many other drinks are not as good for us-whether it's sugared soda, diet soda, sweet tea, even fruit juice. Some think fruit juice is healthy, but it just has so much sugar and so many empty calories. Drink water and feel better!

Control our portion size. So many of us just eat too large a quantity, so it is beneficial to reduce our portion size. Many of us do pretty well with that at home. But then we go out to eat and get a meal that is twice the amount we would normally eat, and we tend to eat it simply because that large serving is on our plate. I am not big on measuring food or counting calories, but I do recommend eating a moderate amount of food. 

Give these a try and see if you don’t look and feel better!!