One of the questions I receive most often is:
“What dietary changes have you made that helped you the most? Or what changes did you make first? It seems so overwhelming to make all of these changes at once, so I’m looking to just focus on the things that will have greatest impact on my health first.”
It’s hard to know exactly what changes made the biggest impact on my health as our diets changed drastically within about 6 months, but there were some definite big ones in the midst of everything that I really think helped the most. And even now, years later, these are the ones that I notice have an impact on my body if I stray to far away from what my diet should be.
1. Cutting out processed foods – In the few months before I really found the ‘traditional’ food movement, I began trying to save money by making more foods from scratch. We had recently built a house and Todd’s hours at work were cut to where he was no longer getting overtime. this meant crunch time on the budget and I began making my own bread and cooking at home as much as I could. Granted – it wasn’t in the same “cook from scratch” method I do now, but it was a huge step in the right direction. We also stopped eating out as much.
2. Making the switch to raw milk – When my son weaned at 16 months old, we found that he -under no circumstances- could tolerate the whole milk I was buying at the store! Constipation, severe diaper rashes, and major gas caused us to take a look at what he was drinking, though it took us a couple of weeks to figure it out. (poor baby) But when talking with a good friend, she mentioned that maybe it was the milk (she had done research to help her daughters ear infections) so I began to google and read about the possibility of a milk issue. We soon tried goat milk from the store and his issues went away within a day or two! But store-bought goat milk available was ultra pasteurized and I knew we didn’t want to go that route, so raw milk became my new focus of research. Since the switch was going to be for my young son, I spent a few months looking at safety data, nutritional data, and talking to people who consumed raw milk. It was then that I learned how much better it was for all of us to drink whole/raw milk that the pasteurized skim milk I had bought for Todd and I. In the end we made the switch and won’t ever go back! I think the biggest reason this had a positive affect on my system was because I was finally getting in such good fats – before we made the switch I had always been on a fairly low-fat diet.
3. I started to eat fat - I grew up under the impression that to lose or maintain weight, one must be on a low-fat diet and I followed this into my adult life. When I was diagnosed with high cholesterol at 23 I went on a strict no-fat diet to get it under control. Once I learned how beneficial fats were to my body, I tossed out my fat-free margarine sprays (blech!) low-fat cheese, and fat-free dressings. Instead I opted to use butter, coconut oil, and extra virgin olive oil. I soon found that my skin wasn’t near as dry as it normally was!
4. Cutting out sugar – one of the most difficult changes I made was to cut sugar out of my diet. To this day I’m still not perfect, but my sugar consumption is drastically different than it was 6 years ago! Instead of finishing off each meal with something sweet and snacking on sweet treats during the day, I find myself more satisfied with the natural sweets I make as an indulgence once a week or two. Looking back, I was eating so much sugar I have no idea how I ever thought my endocrine system could function. Though back then I had no idea that me eating so many sweets was causing such a hormone imbalance…… Even now, when I find myself resorting to old ways, I can feel my health deteriorating as my consumption of sugar increases.
While just those four changes seem like a lot, I also made those changes within about 6 months times – it was not an overnight thing! (ok – the raw milk was, but that was an easy step to make once the decision was made)
I also asked our friends on the Naturally Knocked Up facebook page what their experience was and here’s what they had to say:
- Raw milk! Switching to raw milk made a HUGE and very obvious positive change to our health. We never got sick, for one thing!
- Biggest changes in my health are attributed to what I eat, or really what I DON’T eat. I’ve cut a LOT out, the largest being all processed foods, most restaurants, all sugar (HFCS, even cane sugar), for me cow’s milk because even organic plays with my hormones, and wheat. Second biggest change would be approaching my health by looking at deficiencies and what diet changes/supplements can fix them.
- The obvious, trying to cut out refined sugar and eat more fresh fruits and veggies – for me, that especially means fruits and veggies with vit b to assist in lengthening my luteal phase. Cutting down caffeine intake as well.
- Going gluten free made the biggest impact for me!
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After 14 years of being a vegetarian and eating soy products I have stopped. I am now eating chicken, turkey and fish. My husband and I have been reading books such as ‘Eat Fat, Lose Fat’, ‘Know Your Fats’, ‘Good Calories, Bad Calories’, …’Traditional Foods’, etc. We have started drinking raw milk, eating raw cheese and have cut out carbohydrates. We have been trying to get pregnant for almost 2 years now. 1 1/2 years of that I was on the soy products. I’m praying these changes will help increase our chances of conceiving… God willing. But all in all these changes have been so positive. I feel less aggressive and more feminine and submissive towards my husband. Not to mention just being happier in general.
- Cutting out fake fats and replacing with good ones- I can’t believe how great I felt with just this change!
{Health Home Happiness}
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Consuming more raw fruits and vegetables (organic) makes a huge difference. And raw, organic grass-fed MILK actually makes me feel INCREDIBLE. I also love squeezing fresh lemon juice into my water (rather than having juice or soda which are usually too high in sugar). More protein, more fiber, more RAW foods always makes me feel the best. And try raw honey instead of sugar. Sea salt instead of table salt.
- Not eating out as much and preparing a weekly meal plan
- cutting caffeine down to 1 cup a day was HUGE. I also drastically reduced sugar, alcohol, and carbs at the same time but I’m fairly certain it was the caffeine. (not sure how it affected fertility as I’m not going for that LOL – but I have so much more energy now and am sleeping way better.) {The Local Cook}
- I became less moody when I stopped eating sugar (processed sugar, juices, baked goods etc.). Although I’m not perfect at staying away from it, I differently can tell the difference when I do tiny bit. I think removing Gluten from my diet as well has also helped.
- Learning how to avoid fluoride. Finally, no more acne! {The Cellulite Investigation}
- avoiding sugar
- Changing to the use of all natural whole sugars, cooking only with oils like coconut oil, and trying to incorporate as much homemade foods as possible and cutting out processed foods. No processed foods saves on the budget too. {Our Peaceful Home}
- Cutting sugar. Making real food at home. Discovering I have MTHFR C677T Homozygous gene variation…therefore adding a super dose of methylfolate supplement, plus special versions of b6 & b12 –> Discovering energy that I have never had in my entire life once I added those supplements. I haven’t been able to get out of bed since I was 5 years old…suddenly, I barely need any sleep.
So what dietary changes have made the biggest impact on your health?
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