Nutrition Tips

Americans are more overweight than ever before. We think one of the problems is that too much is actually missing from the diet, we don't need to take anything else away. You need to start thinking about your body the same way you think about your car. What would happen if you never changed the oil in your car or put the wrong gas in. You wouldn't be surprised if the car stopped running efficiently and you ended up calling AAA. The Balanced ApproachT is a program based on Ayurvedic principles, designed to help you understand your own body's response to foods, stress your environment, and how the six tastes "sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent" can help you manage stress, enhance digestion and maximize efficiency.

Learn how to create a relationship with food that will maximize your energy, help you lose unwanted body fat and increase lean muscle.

At the same time, we offer a supportive, nurturing, flavorful, easy-to-prepare, fresh organic, enjoyable eating plan! Our program is designed to be fun!

These tips should help whether you are a competitive athlete, a person battling a medical situation, or simply trying to increase energy, efficiency, and manage weight. The goal of incorporating an Ayurvedic approach to food is to help increase the efficiency of the system instead of clogging it up or depriving it of something critical.

Go back to using real food!!! Stay away from highly processed, chemical products. It is really amazing that we are 30% more overweight as a country than we were 15 years ago after all the low fat diets. It's not working!! The body knows what to do with real food, that is one of the reasons the French don't have the same weight problems Americans do. Go for quality instead of quantity. Make sure all 6 flavors are present. Sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter, and astringent, (see Ayurveda). One of the reasons Ayurveda believes Americans overeat is because the food is too plain and it doesn't satisfy them so they go searching for sweets or chips instead of having a warm, satisfying meal. Even bodybuilders put in a binge day once in a while but it's probably more effective to have satisfying, stimulating herbs that won't mess up the carbohydrate intake on a regular basis. It will actually stimulate the digestive fire and increase efficiency.

Ayurveda believes the typical American lifestyle is the main reason Americans are so energy and weight challenged. Eat your main meal at lunch! Your digestive fire is strongest and the body is best set up to digest most efficiently between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. It will not make you sleepy if the ratio of Protein, Fat, and Carbohydrates are correct. Try soup (Vegetable, Black Bean, Pea, etc.) 4-6 oz of good lean protein: Fish, Salmon, Organic lean meats, tofu, rice and beans, etc. Add some vegetables and or salad with 1-2 tsp. olive oil and good flavors and spices and a smaller amount of non-gluten grains (rice, quinoa, potatoes). Make sure all 6 tastes are present and have something small and sweet to finish it off. You should be good to go for another 4 hours. Then have a snack or small meal again with a little protein and a lighter dinner like soups, salad, veggies with a little flax seed oil and good spices, 4 oz. of protein and a little sweet, and your energy and weight should balance out.

The first thing Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine look at is digestion. It is now being shown that there is as high as an 85% digestive disorder rate in America. It's funny to talk about but chronic gas and bloating is not normal! It is the only way your body can get your attention to tell you that you are eating something that is not easily digested by your gut.

It is necessary to find the correct ratio of protein, fat, and carbohydrates to burn body fat and increase lean muscle. You should then alternate your grains and expand your horizons!!! Most people don't realize it's even a problem because we have all been told that whole wheat products are better than white ones. There is truth in this because anything that is highly processed is probably deficient of many nutrients that were originally present. Wheat, however, and many of the other gluten grains (oats, rye, barley, spelt and kamut) can actually add mucous to the system and aggravate the digestive tract causing anything from weight gain, to sinus problems, allergies, chronic ear infections, dermatitis, etc. Even though these grains are high in B vitamins and fiber, they can cause gas, bloating, and irritation of the digestive tract. Using them 1 time every 4 or 5 days is probably O.K. for most people but most Americans are eating wheat 5 times a day or more. In most other cultures like Asia, Latin America, and India rice is the staple grain. It is much easier to digest and it is less allergenic than wheat and gluten. Try going to the health food store and look for basmati rice, quinoa, amaranth, millet, sweet potatoes, and baked potatoes. They are all grains that are free of gluten and will digest more easily. You can get cereal, breads, crackers, cookies, and flours made from these grains. Try doing rice on Monday, quinoa on Tuesday, potatoes on Wednesday, etc. so you don't overload the system with the same things over and over again. It helps increase nutrient intake and gives the digestive tract more variety just the way you vary your workouts.

Ayurveda believes that all Americans are in a "Vata" or "Pitta" imbalance. They are sad, lonely, stressed, worried, not in supportive relationships or mad, aggravated, not happy in their jobs, and stuck in traffic. The sweet taste, sugar is an example, will calm and cool a stressed out system. Sucanat or raw cane sugar is actually dark brown from the minerals that are present, chromium is one of the minerals that has been removed. I don't recommend that people overuse sugar but if they like it or are more Vata/Pitta they actually need a little sweet taste. The problem is that if you are always in this state emotionally you will constantly crave sweets or salt and over-consume eventually ending up in a "Kapha" imbalance (overweight). Try adding other stress management techniques like exercise, yoga, massages, warm baths with essential oils, etc.

These are just a few ideas to help you manage stress, increase energy, and balance out your weight. Start using food, spices, and herbs to increase efficiency not create more problems.