I have been practising as a nutritional therapist since 2018 worldwide and most of the time I am asked two questions:
1- What do I eat?
2- What supplements do I take?
My answer to the first question comes without any hesitation and doubts. I just reply that I eat natural food, cooked by myself, and I do not touch ultra-processed food that, generally speaking, comes in the ready-made meals form. Instead of naming them as ultra-processed food, it would be more appropriate to define such meals as ultra-processed products. They pretend to be food but, in my opinion, a product with more than 20 ingredients showing on the back label shouldn’t be classified as food.
When people hear about the natural food, they seem surprised because they think that they eat natural food too. However, that’s not the case in more than 70% of my patients.
For example, Nestle Cheerios Honey Cereal, Kit Kat Milk, vegan chunky chips and the cheap daily meal deals that all UK supermarkets offer to consumers are not natural food. Why? Because these products don’t come from any plant or animal. They come from factories and food chains that create edible products, but not natural food. For better understanding how I perceive nutrition join me at the Natural Foods Revolution plan.
The famous and popular Nestle Cheerios Honey Cereal contains more than 10 ingredients, half of which are differently named sugar such as wheat starch, honey, whole grain maize flour or invert sugar syrup. Clearly, such a product can’t be defined as food. It’s an empty calorie product because it only provides high calories and no nutrients or vitamins. On top of that, it increases your chance to develop diabetes type 2 and other chronic diseases. Nestle Cheerios Cereal is not different than Kelloggs or any other brand of cereals.
Is there any alternative to cereals? Of course. You can eat porridge. Avoid trending porridge products with flavours. Admittedly, it may seem boring to eat porridge but you can add fresh fruit, seeds or nuts and make it tastier.
It’s just a simple example how you can make some daily healthy swaps that provide more nutrients and vitamins in your diet. And the most important part: better health and strong immune system.
So, my answer to my clients about my diet looks like this:
Breakfast (only one option)
Porridge with cacao nibs, cinnamon fresh fruit or nuts.
Two slices of whole grain bread with olive oil and fresh tomato. Alternative almond or peanut butter or hummus.
Vegan protein shake with almond/coconut milk and frozen fruit.
Snack
Fresh fruit and vegan protein shake.
Lunch and dinner
I always cook lunch and dinner and options can go from salad with tuna, lentils, Spanish omelette, some whole grain pasta with vegetables, dry rice with vegetables, spinach with prawns, beans, seafood soup, salmorejo (Spanish cold tomato soup with garlic, bread, extra virgin olive oil and salt), salmon cooked in the oven with potatoes…
I have many recipes that I’ve learnt over the years form my mother, who loves to cook. My mother doesn’t know the meaning of ready meals and, of course, their artificial taste. Luckily, she has educated me with good and healthy cooking habits. I wish I could cook amazingly like her, unfortunately that’s not the case although at least I know that I am using just natural ingredients for my cooking. Natural and healthy food which come directly from our mother nature.
What about supplements? I will explain my daily supplements routine in two weeks time.
