Not sure what to focus on? We show you the 9 most helpful approaches to a healthier diet.
Here is a collection of 9 inspiring ways for you to start improving your diet in order to get rid of chronic disease. Thesen have been tested by others and worked for so many people before you.
There are many ways to do it, and you can find the approach that is right for you. The most important thing is to get started. You can do a little bit of all, or start with one or two. Whatever feels doable for you at the moment. Review the list regularly, and see if you are up for more or want to focus on some of the other options at the moment. Focusing on any one of the options in the list will have a great impact on your health.
1. More vegetables
Whenever you are eating, see if you can add a vegetable or increase the amount of vegetables. Here’s how to get started:
- Some cucumber slices with breakfast.
- Bean burrito for lunch.
- A side salad, more vegetables at dinner.
- Potatoes with, and in, everything. There is so much you can make from potatoes, and they are an important part of a healthy diet.
- And a carrot in the evening.
- An avocado with coconut aminos in the evening when you want something fat and salty to fill you up (substitute for a less healthier snack some evenings).
- See if they have cut up vegetables at the store to eat on the go.
- Cut up carrots, bell pepper, cucumber and celery and make a dipping sauce of peanut butter and maple syrup.
- Whatever your habits are, see how you can improve them and add more vegetables. Raw vegetables are superior, but any will be great. Be creative and add them wherever you can.
- What vegetables to focus on? Start with the ones that you prefer from this list: Spinach, asparagus, sprouts, celery, cucumbers, kale, sweet potatoes, potatoes, fennel, artichokes, potatoes, carrots, garlic, ginger, onion, lettuce, bell peppers or others.
- Mindset: how can I make vegetables a bigger part of this meal?
2. Fruits in
Focus on getting as much fruits in during the day as you can enjoy. Here are some option:
- Fruits and berries on your oatmeal in the morning (or just plain fruits for breakfast or before breakfast).
- An apple or two before lunch.
- Fruits in your salad og as a snack with lunch.
- Dates and bananas are great to feel full. Put them in your bag every morning. Eat as much of them as you are comfortable with.
- Apleslices and dates after dinner.
- When you are home or have the opportunity, make yourself a platter of berries and cut up fruits. Enjoy during the day.
- Bring apples and bananas with you in your backpack or in the car.
Any fruit will have amazing benefits for your health. The trick is to eat MORE of them. If you enjoy melon, papaya or others, indulge in them. Eat a whole melon or a whole papaya as often as you’d like.
3. Greens in
Like it or not, greens are an important part of getting your body healthier. They rid our body of toxins and they help get rid of chronic disease. It is hard to stay or get healthy without eating leafy greens. They are packed with mineral salts, electrolytes and vitamins that our body needs to rid itself of disease. Try to slowly increase your greens like this:
- If you enjoy salads, amazing! Focus on eating them as much as possible and reduce the oil and fat in dressings. Try making dressing with fresh lemon juice and maple syrup and little to no oil (pure olive oil or coconut oil is the best option, stay clear of canola). Enjoy with whatever fruits or vegetables you like.
- If you are not into salads, there are many great ways to get greens in your diet either way. Smoothies are perhaps the easiest. A mango, banana, pineapple smoothie with spinach and orange juice can be so refreshing, and you will not even taste the greens.
- Fresh juices are also an amazing option to enjoy greens, see number 5 in this list.
- Wraps are a great way to increase your intake of greens. Try to find gluten free ones and stuff lots of fresh greens in there.
- Try blending spinach into your soups, stews or adding some on the side next to your meals.
The more greens you eat, the more you will learn to like – and after a while – love them! Promise. Your taste adapts after time, so give it a go and you will not regret it.
4. Throw it in the blender – smoothies!
Smoothies are a great way to eat more fruits, berries and greens. Try one of favorite smoothies from Medical Medium here. Don´t let anyone fool you into adding yogurt, dairy or eggs to your smoothie. If you want to get rid of chronic disease, those are important to keep out of your diet as much as you can. Keep it clean with only fruits, berries and optional greens. If you need it to be more filling, add some more banana, mango, avocado or gluten free oats. Here are some ways to get started:
- Make a morning smoothie with fruits and berries. Increase the size as you get used to it
- Look for clean smoothies at the store and use it as a part of a meal
- A large smoothie with lots of banana and oats is filling and a great way to keep your energy during the day
- A smoothie bowl with granola can be a delicious meal in the morning or evening
- Ever tried a warm bowl of berries topped with granola and honey or maple syrup? It is a wonderful dessert or pick-me-up during the day.
Some people think that food has to be chewed in order to get the full benefit. But smoothies are an easy way for your body to digest food. You get all the benefits of the ingredients even if you blend them. And it is easy to “hide” some ingredients in there that you normally wouldn’t eat (maybe spinach in a blue or yellow smoothie or some fruits you don’t normally enjoy on its own).
5. Enjoy fresh juices
If you are into fresh juices (or are interested in trying), you are in luck. This is one of the absolute best ways to get more of the super healthy fruits, vegetables and even herbs in your body. Any fruit or vegetable will be so beneficial for you to juice. And when getting used to it, it tastes amazing and feels so refreshing.
The ultimate winner to help get rid of chronic disease is, of course, pure celery juice in the morning on an empty stomach, check how to do it right here. If you don’t want to start there just yet however, don´t worry. Any green juice or fresh fruit juice will do amazing things for your whole body.
If you are worried about the whole fiber/pulp debate, remember that if you eat a normal diet, you get the amount of fiber you need from your other foods. Fresh juices extract the vitamin- and mineral-rich juice straight out of the plant for you to absorb right away. It is an excellent way to get more of the nutrients in you. You can normally not easily eat two cucumbers og five oranges. But the juice from two cucumbers (add optional apples if you don´t love the taste) or five oranges is normally easy to consume in a day. Make a habit of juicing once a day, or more. The fresher the better, but you can also prepare in advance and keep for later in the fridge. Whatever works best for you.
Store bought juice do not offer the same health benefits unfortunately, but seek out the clean ones if this is your only option. They are certainly so much better than a lot of other drinks out there and will still offer vitamins and minerals.
6. Berries, berries, berries
All edible berries do wonders for your health. Wild blueberries (the ones that are smaller and blue inside) are the ultimate disease-fighter. But even store bought strawberries (give them a thorough wash) are great for helping you get rid of chronic disease. There is almost not a thing that berries can not help with. A few berries here and there will not do much, try to get more and more in your body every day.
- Berries smoothies are great option to be able to eat more berries
- Put lots of berries in or on your oatmeal in the morning
- Put berries in your lunchbox
- Eat a big bowl of berries and fruits for dessert (warm can also be delicious)
Frozen berries are the way to go. They are so much cheaper, easy to store and still have an amazing content of nutrients your body needs to fight off disease.
7. Go wild with fresh herbs
Fresh herbs are well known to have so-called “anti-inflammatory” properties. The problem is that people do not eat a lot of them, and especially not fresh herbs. While the right herbal teas certainly will have health benefits, eating or juicing fresh herbs will do so much more for your health.
There are also some amazing herbal supplements that helped pull so many people out of chronic disease. The ones from Vimergy are the best, and one of our favorites for chronic disease is Lemon Balm.
Try implementing fresh herbs in any of these ways:
- As tea (thyme tea with honey is wonderful)
- On your food (increase as you go)
- In soups, stews and other dishes (seek out recipes that are based on lots of herbs)
- In fresh juices (fresh herbs such as parsley can make awesome refreshing shots all on its own. But you can also mix them with fruits and or vegetables). Here are some amazing, safe and tasty recipes to help you feel your best.
Celery is actually a herb, no wonder it gives such unbelievable results for people all around the world. If you are open to trying pure celery juice on an empty stomach in the morning you will do wonders for your health.
8. Reducing the biggest triggers
It is often better to focus on what to increase, rather than the focus on avoiding certain foods. However, when getting rid of chronic disease, avoiding foods that worsen your disease is important and can give tremendos results. Some of the biggest triggers for chronic disease are eggs, milk and gluten. While these are also very common allergens, even though you haven’t noticed any reaction to these, and don’t have an allergy, try to cut them out (one or all if you can) and see how you feel after a couple of weeks and months.
Limiting or avoiding these foods is difficult for many people. If it seems overwhelming or impossible, or you simply don’t want to do it, keep your goal for your health in mind. No matter how good food with these ingredients tastes, a healthy body tastes so much better. Focus on whichever one is easier for you, and reduce it where it doesn’t “hurt” too much. Maybe you can use oat milk in your coffee or (preferably) herbal tea? Or have one egg instead of two when you eat it? If avoiding seems out of the question, limiting can also do wonders. After a while you might find other foods that you enjoy equally much and that help you get rid of chronic disease. Get started and see where it takes you.
9. Reducing processed foods
Reducing processed foods will help you in many different ways. It will reduce wheat (gluten), canola oil and other harmful oils, additives, processed sugar and high fats. This can certainly help a lot. It is not our favorite approach (because some processed foods can be good, such as lentil pasta and clean pasta sauce. And it is important to learn about and increase the foods that will actually help your body), but if this seems like something you are motivated to do, then do it without hesitation! It is a great start.
The important thing is what you eat instead of the processed foods. If limiting something results in you eating more eggs, cheese, yogurt or other dairy products or other forms of bread containing gluten, it will not give you great results. But if you change it to whole foods in the form of fruits and vegetables, gluten free oats, potatoes and cleaner oils like coconut or olive oil, it will do wonders for your health both short term and long term.
10 BONUS: Make a swap
Where can you make a more healthy choice? Look at your diet today. Write down what you eat in a normal week. Is it possible to swap some of it for more healthy alternatives? For instance:
- If your breakfast consists of eggs and bacon, can you reduce the eggs and bacon, and add avocado and tomato beans? Then gradually over time, maybe you are happy with gluten free toast with avocado, greens and beans? We know it might seem impossible at first, but you will be amazed with how your taste and preferences can actually change when given time, compassion for your body and creativity. Or introduce a different breakfast some days of the week or some weekends. Whatever seems doable for you.
- If your breakfast is oatmeal made with cow’s milk, maybe you can gradually change it to gluten free oats made with oats milk with lots of berries, fruits and honey on top.
- If your dinner is pasta bolognese, can you change some of the ingredients to more healthy options? Add beans to the meat, change the sauce for a cleaner one or make one from scratch using fresh ingredients (tastes so much better also). Buy whole grain pasta and see if you over time can find a lentil, pea or rice pasta you can enjoy for your health.
- The options are endless, be creative, and have a look – meal by meal – on how you can improve the meal or some of the ingredients according to the list over (1-9).
No matter where you start, it is a start. And that is the most important thing. You are moving forward. No one can know what your journey will look like and how your meals will change over time. There will be ups and downs, but keep pushing forward. As you go you will gradually get more energy, more knowledge and more inspiration to make better choices without feeling deprived.
It is possible to do this while still feeling happy and good with your meals, feeling full and satiated.
Keep reading for more inspiration.
We are cheering for you.
