DIET
No 5. Diet must be personalized

Dear friend
If you follow the guidelines in my previous post, do you know that you are automatically following many of the other food-related principles of healthy living? đđťđđťđđť
Take these principles for example:
âď¸ Eat mostly whole foods, close to their natural form
âď¸Â Avoid processed foods – including industrial bread!
âď¸Â Reduce and work up to avoiding sugars (saving them for special occasions rather than every day)Â
âď¸Â Reduce dairy and keep it to a minimumâ¨
âď¸Â Reduce grains and legumes and keep them to a minimumâ¨
If most of the time youâre filling your plate with vegetables and other plant food and topping it off with a small portion of protein, then you can just go ahead and tick those boxes! Isnât that wonderful?
The more you do this, the better youâre going to get at identifying (and creating) delicious and satisfying vegetable recipes.
(â¨Â What does keep to a minimum mean? Donât have every day. If you tolerate it ok, then enjoy it once or twice a week.)
Moving along to this weekâs topic, I canât conclude this newsletter series on diet without addressing this final, important principle.
Youâre unique. So, all the best diet guidelines in the world are not the best for you until you adapt them to your personal needs.
For example:
AgeÂ
- A child doesnât have the same needs as an older person. For children it is important to have quality animal proteins. I am not in favour of vegan diets for children or teenagers, particularly if they are active.
- The elderly, in contrast, require little-to-no animal proteins and can easily turn to plant foods. All the better for their digestion, which doesnât get easier as we age!
Level of activity
- Someone who trains several times / week đ§ââď¸đđď¸ââď¸đ´ââď¸đď¸ââď¸đââď¸âˇď¸đŁ will not at all have a same diet as a sedentary person.
Geographic location đ
- If you live in hot climates for example, you really should avoid cooking and vice versa. If you live in Toronto, in the cold winter months, you do not want to be having a cold gazpacho, right!
Seasons
- More raw and juicy fruits that âcleanâ in the summer, more cooked or root foods that ânourishâ in the winter.
Your constitution
- This is your genetic makeup. If you know for example that you have genetically weak kidneys or cardiovascular issues, in the family, than you diet needs to be filled with foods that are good for your kidneys and for your heart .
Your current state of health đ¤
- If you have a serious condition, your diet needs to be far more restrictive and with less deviations from the ideal foods, whereas someone that is active and generally healthy, can allow themselves to make more exceptions.
So, my advice to you is:
1.    First, do not buy into all these diets and advice that is a âone-fit-all formulaâ. As you can see above, there is a common base but each one of us is unique and therefore you need to fit your diet to YOUR needs and abilities.
2.    Make sure to vary your diet and adapt it to the season, your level of activity, your geographical location,…
3.    Most of all: enjoy your food !!  Make it colourful, beautiful and tasty. Make sure that it is fresh, organic or as close to that as it can possibly be.
And remember!
Unless you have a very serious health condition, follow the 80%-20% rule.Â
Life is not perfect, and neither should you be!! đ¤ˇââď¸đ¤ˇââď¸
Bon appetit!
Love & light, Dejana â¨

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