If you are trying to improve your health, lose weight or just look and feel better forget all those fad diets you read about and things like juice diets, liver detoxing etc etc… There are some basic things that you can do to make a massive difference to your life. In part 1 of this article I’ll share with you the first 4 tips you need to know:

Start with food

Yes it’s that simple! As Michael Pollan suggests in his books – Eat food, not too much, mostly plants. Well this seems a bit simple right? But what he means is eat REAL food in its natural state, not processed sugar laden junk foods (and by this I mean any kind of processed foods from bread, pasta, pastry to sweets and biscuits). The not too much bit means just simply eat smaller portions. We eat and drink way too many calories and research is showing us that about a 30% calorie reduction actually extends life. So just eat when you’re hungry and cut out the booze and calorie dense muffins and treats. The mostly plants bit means just that, however he doesn’t mean we should all be vegetarians. We should eat healthy lean proteins high in omega 3 fats and combine them with low GL, phyto-nutrient dense, pH balancing fruits and vegetables high in fibre.

Remove food intolerances

Food intolerances are becoming a lot more recognised and accepted by the mainstream medical establishment. Testing for and removed IgG mediated food intolerances will do wonders for your health and help you lose pounds of “false fat” bloating and water retention. More simply do an elimination diet removing the most common food intolerances – wheat, dairy, yeast, soy, eggs and nuts.

Fix the gut

Once you have removed any food intolerances and allow the gut time to heal this will improve your digestion. You may need to test for any pathogens such as bacteria, parasites or fungus in the gut and do an appropriate elimination programme using antibiotics, antifungals, antiparasitics or antihelminthics where necessary. After this re-populate the bowel with healthy bacteria from yoghurt and pickled foods or take probiotics and repair the intestinal lining with glutamine.

Optimise nutrient status

From doing blood and urine tests we are deficient in many micronutrients. Ramping up micronutrients status such as magnesium, zinc, vitamin D, methyl donors and omega 3 fatty acids can significantly improve your health and body composition.