The right foods for you should make you feel satisfied and energized, not sick and sleepy. There is no preordained, across-the-board “right,” just what’s right for you. Your friend, trainer, or mother may swear that quinoa is king, but if it makes you feel ill, pass on it.
Foods have so much more to them than calories, and yet many people think caloric intake is the bottom line. Au contraire, my friend—there is more to cracking the weight-loss code!
The number of calories a food has is merely information, and as with any other kind of information, less isn’t necessarily better, just as more isn’t necessarily bad. A 100-calorie snack pack of crackers is in no way equal to 100 calories of walnuts. Counting calories is the last thing you should worry about when you’re trying to eat a clean, anti-inflammatory diet.
Food in its whole form is the healthiest version. In fact, the majority of what you eat should have one ingredient. What’s in broccoli? Broccoli. What’s in an apple? An apple. If most of your meals come from a box, then it’s worth rethinking your diet.
It’s easy to assume that when you cut out inflammatory foods from your life, your world gets smaller, but in practice it’s quite the opposite. Living a clean, anti-inflammatory lifestyle is not restricted eating; it’s an adventure beyond the box. It’s getting outside of your old habits and all the problems they bring with them.
Start by adding in a few anti-inflammatory foods and removing a few of the inflammatory foods each week until your pantry and fridge are full of clean, whole foods. Use the below as guides on which foods to enjoy—and which to avoid—as you incorporate more anti-inflammatory foods into your diet. If this seems overwhelming, plans such as the NutriBullet LEAN eliminates foods which many people find inflammatory while focusing on the right balance of food: low-sugar fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and lean proteins.
Valpone used clean eating to treat her chronic pain, including Lyme Disease, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Hypothyroidism, Adrenal Fatigue, Leaky Gut, Heavy Metals. She shares her story on her blog TheHealthyApple.com, highlighting how clean eating and detoxing saved her life.
Valpone lives in Manhattan, where she cooks for a variety of clients, including celebrities. Her work has appeared on Martha Stewart, ABC News, Fox News Health, WebMD, The Huffington Post, The Food Network, Glamour Magazine, Clean Eating Magazine, SELF Magazine, Prevention Magazine, PBS and others.
