The Natural High Diet
By Hara Estroff Marano
www.eDiets.com, March 2005
If you want to lose weight, start by feeding your brain. Achieving
high energy, mental alertness and an optimistic outlook is the best
way to gain control over your eating. A diet that makes you feel
naturally high also raises your fat-burning metabolism. Did we
mention that it also contributes to high self-esteem as you begin
to feel and eat better?
This is the advice from nutrition experts Hyla Cass, M.D., and
Patrick Holford, coauthors of the book Natural Highs: Supplements,
Nutrition and Mind/Body Techniques To Help You Feel Good All the
Time (Penguin Putnam). In it they present the perfect brain-food
diet based on extensive research in the areas of nutrition,
psychology and neuroscience.
Statistics show that most of us are exhausted, stressed and
depressed. To combat this we turn to a variety of boosters to get
us through the day (and night). We gobble a muffin with coffee in
the morning to get a rush, sip a soda or have a cookie to overcome
the afternoon slump and wind down at night with a cocktail.
This often adds up to excess calories, weight gain and feelings of
hopelessness. What we are unknowingly doing, say Cass and Holford,
is attempting to regulate our moods and energy with substances that
work only in the short term - but lead to caffeine lag, blood sugar
drops, tiredness and an unhealthy cycle of bad foods.
Here is a highly effective weight loss diet the experts
recommend:
Eat a serving of high-quality protein three times a
day.
Higher quality protein is better absorbed and more efficiently
utilized, so you will need to eat less of it. Adequate protein
promotes good moods. However, too much protein encourages fat
storage, so use moderation. Good examples of high-quality protein
foods are seafood, poultry, lean red meat, soy, lowfat yogurt, rice
with beans, rice with lentils.
Eat cold-water fish three times a week.
This is one of the best sources of omega-3, an essential fatty acid
crucial to optimal brain function. Omega-3s are found in salmon,
tuna, mackerel, sardines and cod.
Eat two eggs a week, or sprinkle lecithin granules on your cereal,
salads or vegetables.
These are the best sources of phospholipids, which help you
metabolize fat and enhance your mood and mental performance.
Eat one serving of low-Glycemic Index (low-GI) complex
carbohydrates at every meal.
Complex carbohydrates are long chains of sugar molecules strung
together that are digested slowly and help prevent fluctuations in
blood sugar levels that can cause depression as well as cravings
for sugar and alcohol. Complex carbohydrates also help raise
serotonin levels, which calm you down and lift your mood. Good
examples of low-GI foods are whole grains, bran, beans, apples,
cherries, dried apricots, plums and pears.
Eat one or two servings of antioxidant fruits and
vegetables with every meal.
These replenish the body and brain with oxygen, giving you energy
and combating illness. Antioxidant-rich foods include prunes,
berries, kale, spinach, broccoli and alfalfa sprouts.
Have a heaping tablespoon of ground seeds a
day.
These provide you with the needed energy and essential fat to keep
your body and brain churning out maximum energy. In a blender or
coffee grinder, grind half flaxseeds and half sesame, sunflower,
hemp and pumpkin seeds. Keep in a sealed glass jar in refrigerator,
and add to your salads, sprinkle over vegetables or cereal, or have
in a shake.