Ciao amici, I wanted to do a gut-healing part two post on more in-depth food lists. If you want to read my gut-story post, please click here.
Okay! So let’s talk elimination and detox. I worked with Nikki Yelton, RD, a holistic nutritionist focused in auto-immune disease. She helped me discover what foods fuel and hinder my gut and evidently life. Nutrition is not one-size fits all! We are all bio-individually made – different genetics and ethnic roots. Because of this, we need to understand what works FOR OUR body. I also want to mention that I do not “diet,” the known term that means eliminate and hate. Diet means lifestyle, or creating a meal plan specific to your needs.
What is the anti-inflammatory diet?
It is a meal plan to eliminate all inflammatory foods to which then you will gradually introduce in moderation to see how your body reacts.
Through working with my nutritionist, I had to eliminate:
- Dairy
- Gluten
- Red meat
- High-histamine foods- sardines, cashews, walnuts, sunflower seeds, avocados, whole olives, mushrooms, spinach, dried fruit, raspberries, mustard
- Nightshades – tomato, eggplant, peppers
- Lectins – beans, peanuts, white and red potatoes (sweet potatoes were allowed!)
- Sweeteners – processed sugars, honey, stevia, syrup, etc.
- Fermented foods and beverages – kimchi, vinegar, alcohol, kombucha
- Grains – oats, rice, amaranth, barley, etc.
- Packaged goods, canned meats and fish, cold cuts
What to eat:
- Proteins:
- Fish (shrimp, salmon, scallops, all white fish), lamb, chicken, turkey, veal (all free-range/ grass-fed, wild caught, and organic)
- Carbs:
- steamed/ roasted/ grilled/ raw veggies
- Sweet potato
- Low-glycemic fruits (berries)
- Fats:
- EVOO, coconut/ avocado oil, ghee, MCT
* This meal plan is not vegan!
CLICK HERE FOR COMPREHENSIVE LIST I USED
Dirty Dozen *avoid if not organic – spinach, strawberries /[all berries], kale, apples, nectarines, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, potatoes
Clean 15 *low amount of pesticides and can eat if not organic – avocado, sweet corn, pineapple, kiwi, honeydew, cabbage, muchroom, broccoli, papaya, onion, eggplant, asparagus, cauliflower, cantaloupes, sweet peas
TIME + LENGTH
I made sure to eat my first meal within an hour after waking, and had food until 8pm. Ideally fasted for 12 hours.
Breakfast: morning smoothie with NUZEST protein powder
Lunch+dinner: meat/fish, potato, veggie, fat
Snack: protein powder
I did followed the above diet for 21 days.
Comprehensive guide from Richmond Integrative and Functional Medicine here.
Other resources: https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/full-list.php
