· Whole foods, organic
· Whole grains (organic if possible; make sure the ingredients include the word “whole”)
o Brown rice
o Cereals
o Breads – spelt, kamut before wheat
o Whole wheat, brown rice pasta
o Note: since wheat is so prevalent in our Canadian diet, try to avoid it whenever possible, ensuring that other grains are eaten as well; same thing with corn
· Seeds
o Flax seed, pumpkin
o Sunflower seeds
o Sesame seeds, chia
o Hemp hearts (IsaCrunch)
o Note: if hard seeds are not ground, soak for 24 hours to begin sprouting and open seed jacket
· Nuts
o Six whole walnuts per day, or
o 12 raw natural almonds (do not eat roasted almonds)
o Eat a variety of nuts if possible, rather than just one kind; pistachio is high fibre
o Organic when possible
· Salt
o Cook with iodized sea salt
o Do not add salt after food is cooked
· Cinnamon
o ½ tsp daily
o On cereal
o In coffee, etc.
· Red wine
o Up to one glass per day with meal
· Fish
o Three times per week, wild not farmed
o Avoid sauces
o Salmon
o Trout
o Any other; Norwegian is cleanest
· Omega 3 oils
o Fish oil
o Olive oil (2 tbsps/day)
o Cook with coconut oil, not olive oil
o Other omega rich oils
o IsaOmegas (up to 4-6 each day)
· Natural peanut butter – make sure nothing is added, organic when possible; avoid using this product regularly as it is acidic; replace with natural, raw almond butter, which is alkaline
· Avocado
o ¼ - ½ per serving; high fibre and omega
· Dark chocolate
o 80-90% cocoa
o One small piece per day
o IsaDelights – up to six per day; has amino acids and sugar equal to 1/8 apple
· Water or herbal tea – enough so pee is pale yellow to clear, not dark yellow
o Eight glasses per day (not with meals) or ½ your body weight in ounces
o Pure spring/mineral water or filtered
o Do not drink de-mineralized or reverse osmosis water (it is dead water with no nutritional benefit) (unless using Isagenix system)
o Do not drink distilled or reverse osmosis water on an empty stomach (it leeches minerals and vitamins from the body)
· Coffee – organic / fair trade
o In moderation
o Decaf
· Vegetables – organic when possible
o High colour
o Greens (broccoli, rapini, spinach, kale, etc.)
o Oranges
o Reds (peppers, tomatoes)
o Healthy Greens
· Anti-oxidants
o Green tea
o Blueberries (IsaDelights’ ORAC = 2cups)
o Pomegranates
o Cranberries
o Ionix Supreme and Tropical Berry
o Isagenix Antioxidants
o Ageless Actives (Vit D, CoQ10, Resveratrol)
· Fruit – organic when possible (IsaFruits = 5 servings; 30 different fruits)
· Meat – organic when possible
o Lean cuts, especially two-legged (e.g. chicken, turkey – no pork)
· Beans and lentils
· Tomato sauce
o At least once a week
· Garlic and onions often
· Cheese – avoid dairy; use rice cheese if possible
o Choose (goat) feta over cow cheeses
· Yogurt – avoid dairy
o Preferably plain
o No sugar, no aspartame, no preservatives
· Homemade soups (organic)
· Homemade juices (organic); include the pulp when possible (fibre)
Remember to always eat protein at breakfast to feed your “starving” brain. Eat protein at each meal: up to 30 g /meal; 1 g protein for each pound of body weight per day
Here's a fairly comprehensive listing of foods to avoid:
- Cow’s milk/dairy
- If you drink cow’s milk, make sure it is organic
- Use rice or almond milk instead (almond milk has no sugar!)
- Goat’s milk as an alternative
- Women: also avoid soya milk
- Pork
- Instead choose lean red meats, buffalo, turkey, lean chicken, and of course, fish!
- Margarine – never use margarine!
- Instead use butter in moderation
- White sugar
- Use brown or raw sugar if needed
- Use maple syrup (organic)
- Use organic honey
- Use stevia (natural and 0 calories)
- White flour – avoid wheat
- Instead use spelt, kamut or rice flower; wheat as a last resort
- Try to use only organic flours
- White rice
- Instead use brown rice, either short or long-grain
- Try to use only organic rice
- White potatoes
- Instead use sweet potatoes/yams
· Baby carrots (they are soaked in chlorine)
· Acrylamides (more poisonous than trans fats)
- Trans fats
- Avoid any food that does not say how much trans fat is in the product
- Do not buy foods with any trans fat
- Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil/fat
- For example, processed peanut butter – use natural, raw almond butter instead
- Fructose/corn syrup (unless the fructose source is plant based/organic)
- Sugary fruit drinks
- Processed maple syrup – use natural, organic maple syrup instead
- Pop of any kind, either diet or regular; any carbonated drink
- Any artificial sweetener (zylatol is okay)
- Processed foods: avoid, as much as possible, foods that come in cans, bottles, boxes, bags, containers, etc. (unless they are whole foods)
- Prepackaged meals
- Chips, snacks, cookies, cakes
- High salt content canned foods – choose instead low salt varieties
- Processed cheese – buy cheese from deli instead; buy only the amount needed
- Choose processed foods with few ingredients and organic ingredients
- Foods with many ingredients
- Avoid, as much as possible, foods whose ingredients are not whole foods
- Avoid foods whose first five ingredients are not whole foods
- Avoid foods which have sugar as one of the first three ingredients
- If you don’t know what the ingredients are, avoid them
- Enriched foods
- Avoid processed or enriched foods as much as possible
