How I Made Dramatic Improvements To My Health In Only 3 Months

By Paul Short on 25/08/2012

Salmon & Kale Superfood Salad. Yum!

Over the past three months I’ve made some pretty dramatic changes to my diet and daily routine and since I’ve been seeing equally dramatic results, I thought I’d write about what I’ve been doing, and why. But before getting into the details, I’ll add the following disclaimer to keep the establishment health nazis from throwing me in the goulag for talking about health:

The following are my own experiences and should not be considered medical or health advice. If you aren’t capable of deciding for yourself what to eat, then consult with a health professional.

Now here are the changes I made (highlighted) and some sources and other info:

Eliminated wheat and most grains from my diet

I decided to write about this first because it is the one thing that has made the most dramatic difference in my overall health – I eliminated wheat or anything containing wheat from my diet. That’s right – no breads, pasta, cereal, canned soups, sauces, etc. As a result, my hunger level decreased, my mind is more clear, my overall mood is more stable, my waist went from 38″ down to about 32″, the man-boobs have disappeared and several minor skin conditions have disappeared as well. And all of this happened almost immediately, with the weight loss happening over about a 4 week period.

I can attribute all of the above to the elimination of wheat from my diet because it’s the only thing I changed significantly during that time period. I owe Dr. Davis of the Wheat Belly book and blog for this one.

Eliminated processed sugar and artificial substitutes

No sugar or artificial sweeteners for me any more. I now get all my sugar from natural sources, like fruits and vegetables, all organic if possible. Like wheat, sugar and most artificial sweeteners cause your insulin levels to spike and then drop, causing insulin resistance which can lead to Diabetes later in life. Check out Dr. Robert Lustig’s video on Youtube entitled “Sugar, the bitter truth” for more on what sugar does to your body.

Drink lots of fluoride-free water

This one is a no-brainer for me, considering the history of fluoride, how it’s been marketed to an unwitting public, how it’s one of the main ingredients in Prozac and other mind-altering pharmaceuticals and how numerous modern studies show that it damages the brains of babies and lowers their IQ. My mind needs to be fresh and my creativity at it’s peak for the work I do and becoming stupider is simply not an option.

Started eating hulled hempseed

After doing a little research (okay, a lot) on hempseed, I found out that it is one of the most complete and bio-available foods for humans to consume (Link 1, link 2), so I went out to my local bulk foods store and purchased a pound (1/2 kilo) to try it out and I’ve been eating between 50 and 100 grams per day ever since, which brings me to the next section…

Started eating more superfoods

In addition to the hempseed, I started eating a lot more superfoods. Now, the word superfoods conjures up images of exotic plants that only grow in remote locations, but that’s simply untrue. Walnuts, avocados, salmon, free-range eggs, turmeric, bluberries, kale, coconut oil, fresh garlic, ginger and many other foods are classed as superfoods and they are readily available year round at most well stocked grocery stores and markets. There’s no reason why many of those cannot be added to just about any diet. Heck, most people could benefit greatly by eating an apple or a banana every day.

Started eating more natural salts and fats

I know, most doctors will tell you to stay away from salt and fat, but when you realize that the regular table salt in most restaurants and on most dinner tables today is highly processed, may have fluoride or other chemicals added and in no way resembles natural salts from years ago, you start to see a problem. Natural salt doesn’t just contain sodium, it also contains dozens of trace elements and minerals that your body needs to stay healthy and round-out your overall nutritional intake. Think about it – animals seek out naturally occurring salt deposits and ‘lick’ them, because they need it. Our bodies need salt as well, so choose a natural sea salt instead of the chemically laden stuff that’s commonly available.

Fats? Yes, fats. I know, it flies in the face of everything you’ve been told, but natural fats like the Omega 3, 6 & 9 found in organic eggs from free-range chickens, wild salmon, mackerel, sardines, krill, organic butter, walnuts, coconut oil, some animal fat and hempseed is super-healthy for your body and brain. I stay away from vegetable oils though, because many are made from corn and soy that may or may not be genetically modified (GMO) and I’d rather consume things that are as natural as possible.

Started getting more natural sunlight

Back when I was in my early teens, the TV news started reporting how the sun caused skin cancer and everybody went nuts. People in my town started wearing long sleeves and hats when they went outside, they started slathering any exposed skin with sunscreen and generally treated the sun like it was some monster that was going to kill them if it’s rays touched their skin. But if you are like me and don’t always buy into the propaganda, you do a bit of research on the fringe of modern medicine and find that as long as you don’t burn, sun exposure is highly beneficial in that it cuases your skin to create vitamin D3, an extremely beneficial substance that may actually help prevent different cancers. In fact, numerous studies have been done that show the majority of people in Western countries are deficient in vitamin D3 which, compounded with the Western diet of processed junk and toxic chemical exposure, is contributing to a host of health problems.

I try and spend at least a half our a day outside in the sun and my mood is brighter, I look healthier than my albino-like neighbors and am also more active since my outings involve walking or doing yard work. The only disadvantage so far is that everyone insists on telling me I should wear sunscreen. I try my best to let them know that some sun exposure is a good thing for overall health, but usually get the typical “Are you a doctor now?”, to which I reply “Are you?”.

Sunscreen, no thanks. Smearing chemicals on my skin and then baking it in in the sun is not my idea of a healthy activity.

The supplements I take daily

Whether I’m in the sun or not, I take about 6,000IU of a good quality vitamin D3, a vitamin B complex and a couple of seaweed tablets for extra iron and natural iodine. That’s it.

My typical daily food intake & routine

For breakfast I have 2-3 eggs either scrambled, boiled or poached, a small avocado or half a large one and organic yogurt with blueberries, hempseed and walnuts. I also have either a cup of coffee or green tea.

For lunch I eat either fish or chicken, steamed kale with garlic, salt, pepper, ginger and raw or cooked carrots. Sometimes I have spinach, broccoli or mixed greens salad or I boil up sweet potato and mash it with some avocado and turmeric, salt and pepper.

Dinner is usually similar to lunch and for snacks between meals I usually have a piece of fruit or cottage cheese. For a late night snack I usually have yogurt or cottage cheese with hempseed and chopped apple or banana.

My diet has more variety than the things listed above, but those are the staples for me. For example, salad dressing is usually extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar with chopped garlic, turmeric and salt and pepper. I cook with coconut oil or organic butter, sometimes I buy apricots, dates and good quality chocolate and unpasturized honey and make my own protien bars with hempseed and rice protien, etc. But I never count calories and I’m never hungry. You’ll notice that there’s no bread, pasta, rice or regular potatos, that’s why.

Conclusion

Following the above, I went from a lethargic slug with a disproportionate amount of weight around my mid section to a healthy, happy and alert person who can’t remember ever feeling so good. I even started working out daily and am already seeing quite a difference in my physique – t-shirts that used to be tight around the middle are now tight across the shoulders and chest, I need a belt to keep my 34″ waist jeans from feeling like they’re falling off and here’s the most incredible thing – something I would never have expected – the color is coming back in my hair! During a recent haircut, the barber pointed out that my hair is dark with little sign of gray at the roots, but the ends were gray.

I’m in my mid fourties and feel better than I did in my mid twenties. Eating right, not buying into conventional wisdom and getting more exercise is all it took and anyone can do this.