Natural Girl Diary - A Resource for Joyful, Natural Living
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Recipes
    • Fruit >
      • Blackberries >
        • Blackberry Crumble
        • Probiotic Popsicles
    • Soups >
      • Vegetable Soup
    • Salads >
      • Fruit & Greens
    • Smoothies >
      • Sunshine Smoothie
    • Snacks
    • Stir Fry >
      • Quinoa Squash Stir Fry
    • Sweet Treats
    • Holiday Recipes >
      • Mother's Day Drink
  • Food 101
    • Color
    • Cruciferous Cuisine
    • Apples
    • Gluten
    • Nutrient Rich Foods
    • Healthy Fats
    • Heart Healthy - Foods That Love You Back
  • Resources
    • Books >
      • Imagine That
      • Food101 Gluten
    • Tools >
      • 9 Excellent Things for Your Health
      • Food Journal
      • Clean Eating Guidelines
      • GF Avoid
      • Nutrient Rich & Healthy Fats Guide
  • Kids
    • Activities >
      • Spring
      • Summer Fun >
        • Scavenger Hunt
        • binoculars
    • Fairy Theme Party
    • Frozen Fun
    • Holidays >
      • January >
        • Healthy Kids Printables
      • February
      • March
      • April >
        • Sock Bunnies
        • Bunny Pops
        • Banana Bite Eggs
        • Plastic Egg Wreath
      • May >
        • Maracas
      • June >
        • 9 Tips for Healthy Summer Snacking
        • Summer Solstice
      • July
      • August
      • September >
        • Edible Apple Cups
      • October >
        • A Very Veggie Halloween
        • Monster Eyeballs
        • Monster Mash
        • Halloween H20
      • November >
        • Fruit & Veg Turkeys
        • Cornucopia Treat Containers
      • December >
        • Healthy Hot Cocoa
        • Gluten Free Sugar Cookies
        • Lemon Cashew "Cake" Balls
        • Christmas Crayons
        • Play Dough
        • Gift Wrap
        • Gift Tags
  • Body
    • Breast Health
  • Spirit
    • Nature Therapy >
      • Earth
    • Nurturing Tools
    • Inspiring People >
      • Victoria Boutenko
      • Dr. Terry Wahls
      • Dr. Weston Price
      • David Wagner
    • Spiritual Practices >
      • Gratitude Game
  • Natural Remedies
    • Detox Bath Recipes
    • Immune Boosting Smoothie
    • Probiotics
    • Vitamin D
    • Healing Drinks & Teas >
      • Cranberry Hot Toddy
    • Kid Remedies
  • Contact

Healthiest Foods to Kick-Start the New Year

12/30/2012

4 Comments

 
Statistics taken from the Journal of Clinical Psychology, University of Scranton (2012), reveal nearly 50% of the U.S. population will make a New Year’s resolution this year.  Out of approximately 155 million resolutions, only 8% of those made will ultimately be successful.  The list below shows the top 10 resolutions made for 2012, which identifies losing weight and staying fit and healthy as the number 1 and number 5 most popular resolutions respectively.
Picture
Figure 1.  Top 10 Resolutions of 2012, 
retrieved from
http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics
It’s really no surprise that weight loss and getting fit and healthy are at the top of resolution lists.  According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM),“Two-thirds of adults and one-third of children are overweight or obese”.  In the January 2012 issue of Oprah magazine, Dr. Oz explained the number one reason Americans are heavy, “The brain, very smartly, wants nutrition.  But the average American is eating empty calories.  So you finish that 2,000 calories and your brain says, Keep
going until you get nutrients
.” 

Since many people don’t realize which foods have the most nutrients, they keep eating  empty calories and the cycle of undesirable results continues.  Furthermore, well-intentioned resolutions fail.  People need help achieving weight loss goals and proper tools to help them maintain a healthy weight more than ever.  With this in mind, this post will introduce a few handy tools to help set you up for success.   Meet Your New Best Friends:  ANDI, MUFA, & PUFA.
ANDI

ANDI stands for Aggregate Nutrient Density Index and was developed by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.  The Index (ANDI) assigns a score – up to a possible 1000 - to a variety of foods based on how many nutrients they deliver to your body in each calorie consumed.   Dr. Fuhrman’s best recipe for the prevention and reversal of disease, and for permanent weight loss is simple.  Eat foods with most nutrients in the fewest calories possible.  

If you’re a Whole Foods Market shopper you’re in luck.  The store has recently begun to label some foods with their ANDI scores. If not, we have included a printable list of the highest rated ANDI foods to make healthful grocery shopping easier.  

MUFA and PUFA

MUFA and PUFA are acronyms that describe two healthy types of fats essential for proper nutrition.  Both fats are unsaturated and are mostly plant-based in origin as opposed to saturated fats which are typically found in animal-based foods.  The worst fat of all is trans-fats which is typically a by-product of processing used by manufacturers to enhance the shelf-life of some foods.  

MUFA (pronounced moo-fah) is short for monounsaturated fatty acid.  These omega-9 fatty acids are plant-based fats found in foods like avocado, olives, nuts such as almonds, cashews, pecans and macadamias, vegetable based oils, and dark chocolate.    Various studies on MUFA rich diets show that these super healthy fats enhance heart health, protect against chronic disease, increase weight loss and body fat loss especially in hard to lose places like your belly.   These fats have also been shown to slow the bio markers of aging, prevent cancer and heart disease and reduce inflammation!   As an added bonus, MUFAs are satisfying and filling. 

PUFA (pronounced poo-fah) is short for polyunsaturated fatty acid.   PUFA fats are omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids which also have health benefits.  Omega-3 fatty acids are heart healthy fats that may lower LDL cholesterol, blood pressure and blood triglycerides. Some common sources of PUFA are:  walnuts, flax seed, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, seaweed, some fish and seafood such as salmon, trout, sardines and crab. The American Heart Association recommends that most healthy people eat two servings per week of fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids.   If you don’t care for fish then adding the nuts and seeds listed will accomplish the same results.
PRINTABLE GROCERY LIST

It’s one thing to read this post and learn some new things about how to keep a weight or health resolution.  It’s another thing to have some tools to help you out with your goals.  While we can’t help you eat good food or exercise more, we can offer an ANDI, MUFA, and PUFA guide so you don’t have to memorize which nutrient rich foods and healthy fats to add to your diet.  Even if weight isn’t an issue for you, you WILL want to include more of these foods if you desire to increase and maintain optimum health.

Print the list here – and good luck with your 2013 health resolutions! 
 
4 Comments
Olivia Grigaitis
1/1/2013 08:09:48 pm

This was so informational! Thank you for the education!!!

Reply
Julie B
8/26/2014 01:20:56 am

Thank you for your informative article. I always get the fats mixed up. Somehow I haven't heard of the ANDI score before! I followed your link to download your list, but only the title is on that page. There isn't anything to download.
I did download your food journal and junk food detox sheet, though. I am determined to fix my horrible eating habits (now that I've eaten that last Peanut Butter wafer bar!)
Would you please shoot me an email when you get the link fixed? I think it would be very useful at the store.
Thank you.

Reply
Arizona Desi link
2/14/2021 05:31:27 am

Thanks forr writing this

Reply
Frisco Fridge Repair link
8/19/2022 03:33:01 am

Good postt

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Follow Me on Pinterest Email Us
    Sign up to receive the Natural Girl Diary Newsletter 
    Picture
    As Seen On:
    Picture
    "We love your site and think you have a lot to offer parents, children and people who want to make a difference in their daily lives!"  

    - PBS Parents

    Stephanie
    About Natural Girl Diary

    Natural Girl Diary is a website on a mission!

    Experience the joy of natural living through our whole-food, plant based recipes, natural health information, positive messages, and "green" crafts through this website, our newsletter,  facebook page and  pinterest boards.

    In~ Joy!

    About Stephanie Mullani

    Stephanie Mullani is the Owner & Creator of NaturalGirlDiary.com, and the Owner of Tru Publishing (wwwtrupublishing.com), an independent press that produces books on holistic  solutions and proactive approaches to help us better care for ourselves and our earth.


    Categories

    All
    Articles
    Fun Crafts
    Giveaways
    Guest Posts
    Howdoesshe Posts
    Pinterest Boards
    Recipes


    Archives

    May 2018
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    March 2016
    November 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012


    zulily: Daily deals for moms, babies and kids
    512425_Smilebox Logo 120x60 Animated Button
    Burt's Bees
    Gaiam.com, Inc

    Follow this blog
© Copyright 2012-2022 NaturalGirlDiary.com ~ All Rights Reserved

Privacy Policy