Well, here we are and it's 2019
Happy new year, by the way. new year new life and everybody wants to do what?start eating right
I can do this. I can do this. I can do this
so let's start on the right foot because if there's one thing diets and dietary advice tend to get wrong is they all
Focus on the negative. no sugar. No fat. low carb. low sodium. No red meat. no candy
Don't touch that. avoid this. the problem with this approach is it completely ignores how our psychology works
first of all
The more something is forbidden
The more we want it. and second these type of negation diets get you focused exactly on the thing
You're supposed to avoid. if I say to my dog, hey, buddy, let's go for a walk
I get a certain reaction: tail-wagging run to the door tongue hanging out
But if I say hey, buddy, let's NOT go for a walk
I get the exact same reaction because the focus is on the sound walk which is a trigger of a pleasurable experience
We like to think we're a lot more sophisticated than a dog but the truth is
A lot of our subconscious psychology is way older than our own species
The research I'm currently doing in neurobiology is exactly about this
When we feel happy angry sad the part of our brain that creates these feelings is not the famous and modern
Cerebral cortex. It's areas like the brainstem which are much older and much more similar to other mammals
So if you're trying to solve a complicated equation or write poetry or something then yeah
there's going to be a big difference between your brain and your dog's, but when it comes to something primal like
food
We're a lot more similar than we like to believe and this is why focusing on the sugar the fat or the salty foods
Even if the idea is to avoid them is a mistake because we're occupying our minds all the time with the exact things we're supposed
To stay away from. no wonder these diets usually fail. now,
Of course if we want to clean up our diet
We got to get rid of some less healthy items but maybe our primary focus can be on what we need to add
Instead of what we need to avoid
In other words, don't remove,
replace
This type of positive approach also makes our jobs way easier because the healthiest foods are pretty much agreed on by all the leading experts
and all the scientific data, so I broke them down in five groups just to make it easier
So here are the five staples of a healthy diet: number 1
legumes. now, I talk about them in several videos, they include lentils split peas chickpeas all types of beans including
soybeans and peanuts
Legumes are a phenomenal source of protein iron and fiber they have no cholesterol and almost no
Saturated fat. according to this recent study looking at Mediterranean diets,
People who replaced just half a daily serving of eggs bread rice or potatoes with legumes had their risk of diabetes
Cut in half. quick sidenote: Some people are worried about the lectins in their legumes
Don't be. there's no scientific substance behind that fear. Soak your beans, cook them,
Don't eat them raw. duh, right? and that's it. You're golden! number 2, whole grains
That's basically your cereals and I don't mean these cereals I mean the real deal: brown rice, wild rice, oats
Corn, quinoa. tons of research studies have linked whole grains to lower risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. more grain?
less pain
a great way to get your grains in is a nice big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. number 3, fruits and vegetables. a study published in
the journal Lancet
Found that worldwide
The number one nutritional risk factor for death and disease was a diet low in fruit. more than sugary drinks, processed meat, even excess salt
Not enough fruit
eclipsed them all. fruits and veggies contain natural carbohydrates
like glucose and fructose and eating more of those can lower our risk of developing diabetes by almost 40%. now,
I know this confuses a lot of people because diabetes is high blood sugar and yet eating glucose
Protects against it? shouldn't it be the other way around? the question makes sense
But the science is very consistent. eating carbohydrate in its natural form, the way we evolved to eat them,
Optimizes our health and makes diabetes less likely. now, of course processed carbohydrates in artificial products are unhealthy
So the problem is not the carbs. It's the artificial food
I made this whole video about it before. by the way,
If you're wondering which fruits were the most protective it's blueberries and grapes were number two. also, really interesting, fruit juice had the opposite effect
So ideally you want to eat the fruit, the way nature prepared it for us. number four is leafy greens
Now, of course, these are vegetables but their effects are so amazing
I wanted to put them in a separate category just to remind us to eat them on a regular basis. kale spinach broccoli
brussel sprouts collard greens chard. great for protein calcium and
Antioxidants their list of potential health benefits includes heart health anti-cancer activity and improved brain function
Now some people don't like the taste of greens. It's very common. That's alright. You don't need to eat them plain
You can mix them with fruit, spices
Cocaine. no, but seriously get creative eat them roasted, sauteed, in soups
I've even heard of air frying them
Whatever gets you eating them. number five, last but not least nuts and seeds
walnuts almonds pistachios pecans cashews flax Chia pumpkin seeds sunflower seeds
these are your best source of healthy fats eating nuts on a daily basis improves your cholesterol and your
Triglycerides and also helps diabetics control their glucose. So there you go getting these five foods in your diet
Is probably the best dietary move
You'll ever make make sure to crowd your diet with these staples and the rest will just start falling into place
Remember don't just remove, replace. That's all for today. I'll see you on the next one