A healthy diet needs to contain all the ingredients that the body needs to maintain full functionality. Many people restrict certain foods deeming them unhealthy but balancing essential nutrients with good variety is the key to good nutrition.

A diet with the right nutrients should contain about 30 different foods each day. Many people exclude meat from diets but an ideal one should contain a variety from red meat, chicken and fish. Fruits and vegetables are essential for vitamins, minerals and the dietary fibre that they contain.

Antioxidants in the diet are foods rich in Vitamin E and flavonoids. These substances may protect against heart disease and certain types of cancer. They can be found in fruits, vegetables, vegetable seed oils, nuts, grape products and soybeans. I also suggest supplementing your diet with a combination antioxidant product such as Revenol. (Always check if you are taking a medicine that there is no interaction with supplements.)

Dietary fibre decreases the risk of intestinal disorders and heart disease. You need to eat about 30g per day from fresh raw fruits and vegetables, wholegrain and wholemeal foods such as wholemeal bread and brown rice.

Make sure you have about 8 glasses of filtered water every day.  There is a chapter on water in my book, Look Better, Feel Better, Live Better.

Some fats are essential and the Omega-3 fatty acids are contained in oily fish such as tuna, sardines and mackerel. If you wish to augment your intake of Omega 3 then I suggest a good quality fish oil capsule such as Morepa or a vegetable based supplement such as Forti-flax Granules.

Saturated fats from red meat, chicken and dairy should comprise no more than 8% of total intake. ( If you are on a cholesterol lowering medicine e.g. simvastatin then remember that grapefruit juice must not be taken with the medicine because it interferes with the breakdown of the statin in the body.)
 
One of the unsubstantiated but interesting theories about diet and its health promoting properties is the argument about the alkaline/acid balance. I have experienced the energy producing effect of an 80/20 split in diet i.e. 80% alkaline foods and 20% acid foods.
Alkaline foods are those such as vegetables, most fruits and green drinks whereas examples of acid foods are meat, dairy, alcohol, caffeine and white pastas.
Green drinks are a helpful addition if you are following this diet and we provide more information about this on the website.

Because research suggests that our soils, through intensive industrial farming, are lacking in essential nutrients I suggest that you supplement with a liquid colloidal ionised mineral product such as Maximol.
My book Look Better, Feel Better, Live Better has a section on diet.