Ten Foods to Target Health #vegetarian #vegan #plant-based
Author: Oksana Aron, MD Source: Weight Loss NYC Aug 5, 2023Healthy Weight Loss
Losing weight doesn’t mean starvation and suffering. Real weight loss requires that you maintain proper health and nutrition every day. Finding the proper balance of nutrition and calories is key to success. Include a medically proven diet plan as part of your way to weight loss success. -Dr Oksana Aron
What you eat is more than just calories and nutrition, it also can affect systemically many aspects of your body and health. A key component to this is keeping your digestive tract healthy and replete with healthy bacteria, or microbiome.
There are more than 40 trillion bacteria in the body, essential for everything from digesting food to protecting against infection… We need a diverse microbiome to improve our gut health and have a healthy gut … ‘One way we can encourage this microbial diversity is by consuming a varied and colourful diet, and avoiding eating the same thing every day, even if it is healthy…’
Gut-Healthy Options
- Fermented foods such as
sauerkraut, kimchi, and kefir, along with tempeh and miso and kombucha
offer support for favorable bacteria. - Avocados are a popular staple and for good reason, they source 13g of fiber and healthy vegetable fats providing good balance for your diet.
- Asparagus is a good source of vitamin K, and prebiotic fiber - also found in garlic, onions, oats and artichokes.
- Chia and Flax seeds both very popular sources of soluble fiber, easy to include into your diet via toppings on yogurt or mixed into smoothies.
- Oats has shown good support in many forms, with 5 grams fiber per 50 gram serving.
- Pears host pectin which
binds to cholesterol in the gastrointestinal tract and slows glucose absorption by trapping carbohydrates.
- Lentils and other legumes including peas, chickpeas, and kidney beans are another vegetarian fiber source, with one cooked cup of lentils yielding 15 grams fiber.
- Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries and others are rich in antioxidants and fiber, plus effortless to add to your diet either on their own or added to just about anything.
- Ginger offers anti-inflammatory properties stimulates improved digestion.
- Inulin, a natural source of plant fiber, is
recognized by the FDA as a natural food additive to boost dietary fiber
.
Best Diet for Gut Health
From the list above and more, include high fiber and plant-based foods into your diet, looking at 30g fiber per day. Balance out the above with vegetables, fruits, nuts seeds, whole grains, legumes and of course salads. Also look to lower inflammation: manage stress, and avoid processed foods, refined sugars and excess fats.
Importance of Gut Health
Digestive health is more than just calories and nutrients, your body reacts to everything you consume. Serotonin and immune responses, as well as sleep quality are found to have links to your digestive system. More obviously, weight gain and other inflammatory responses are the counter to good health. With proper high-fiber diet, you will find need to snack and binge will be greatly reduced, and your body will also be better able to focus on nutrient absorption and clearing out waste.
Medical Weight Loss
Dr Oksana Aron specializes in medically supervised weight loss programs to help patients lose weight where other methods have failed. Visit Dr Aron Medical Weight Loss Center website to learn more and schedule your initial consultation.
Labels: diet, nutrition, vegan, vegetarian