Are you already pretty healthy?  This means you do all or most of the following:

• Drink lots of water
• Eat whole grains instead of processed grains
• Don’t eat fast food
• Don’t drink soda
• Rarely eat junk foods like Oreos and Cheezits.
• Read food labels
• Exercise regularly

Here are my top four tips for taking your nutrition and health to the next level.

1. Limit foods with ADDED sugar.  This is in the form of cane sugar, dextrose, maltose, corn syrup etc.  If the food contains an added sweetener it should not be one of the first three ingredients.  There are naturally sweet foods such as fresh and dried fruit, carrots and sweet potatoes.  When we regularly consume foods with extra sweeteners our taste buds become accustomed to that really sweet taste.  As you begin limiting and avoiding these foods your taste buds will adjust and you will be able to appreciate the naturally sweet taste of a mango, apple or raisins.
2. Add green (vegetable and fruit) smoothies to your daily diet.  Have them for breakfast preferably.   This is an easy way to get more servings of vegetables into your diet with our eating copious amounts of salad.  Since the blender masticates the greens and fruits, not much energy is needed to digest the smoothie.   The nutrients are absorbed into your bloodstream quickly and efficiently.  The end result is more energy for other activities.  Check out my recipe at http://www.healthywholehappy.net/Free-recipes.html
3. Limit gluten.  Many people have sensitivities to gluten and are completely unaware of it.  Try reducing it significantly or eliminating it from your diet for 2 weeks and see if you notice a difference.  Some things you may experience are: less bloating; less brain fog; clearer skin; weight loss.  For me personally, I feel lighter when I don’t eat gluten and when I stopped eating it, prolific flakes I had in my scalp (dermatitis) for over a decade finally vanished.  This is after years of trying shampoos, medications and natural remedies.  The main reason why gluten has become such a big problem in the last 50 years is because the gluten that is produced nowadays, especially from wheat plants is more genetically modified and altered so that crops produce a larger yield with a much higher concentration of gluten.  It has also become quite ubiquitous.  It is in so many products that you never suspect, such as salad dressings, sauces, meat, candy etc.  Read the book Wheat Belly by William Davis to get more details.   Rice, quinoa, oatmeal, millet, potatoes are all naturally gluten-free.  Some oatmeal may be contaminated because they are manufactured in the same factories as gluten grains such as wheat, barley and rye.  To avoid contaminate oatmeal, select brands that are label gluten-free or stick to steel-cut oats or oat groats.  they are less processed forms of oats.
4. Limit or omit dairy.   (Including yogurt) I really  need a separate post just to cover all the issues with dairy.  I’ll make it as brief as possible.  Here goes:

• Dairy is mucus forming in the body
• It is also very acidic so the calcium it contains is neutralized.  The body actually leaches calcium from the bones to neutralize the acidity.  The net result is not stronger bones and teeth.
• In nature no other mammals drink milk after infancy and they also do not drink the milk of another animal.