How to eat healthy ? The 4 pillars of healthy eating

Everyone has hi opinion on the question : for him, eating healthy is eating organic. For her, eating healthy is eating fat-free. For him, for sure, it is eating without sugar, for the other obviously, it is gluten free and for this one it is exclusively vegan. For the neighbor it is to ban industrial products and make everything homemade, for the neighbor it will eat everything and variety. I'm sure you have lots of examples and an opinion on how to eat healthy.

And it is normal to have a different opinion because the science of nutrition is very young. We realize today that the food recommendations that have been made to us, and that are still made to us most often, are perhaps not so well founded. I read pretty much everything that comes out on the subject, and it doesn't matter if it goes my way or not. I test and make my mind up. I can tell you that we find absolutely everything and its opposite. So how to eat healthy with so much conflicting information ?

It is difficult to find yourself between the recommendations that we hear everywhere " avoid eating too fat, too sweet, too salty ! "or" 5 fruits and vegetables a day " or "eat 3 dairy products a day". We have to sort it out into agribusiness lobbies and scientific studies in all senses that say everything and its opposite.

What are the consensus around healthy eating ?

You will see there are very few points on which everyone agrees. Finally, when I say "everyone" I'm talking about the scientists and nutritionists who are working on the subject. We will go around what is found almost everywhere. I say almost because we always find exceptions to the rule, as in our grammar ! Eating healthy, a whole story !

To eat healthy, eat vegetables and fruits

Vegetables this is the basis on which everyone agrees. And if a classification is to be made we will give preference mainly to green leafy vegetables, then vegetables of the cruciferous family (cabbage, broccoli...). And finally vegetables rich in carbohydrates (sweet potatoes, pumpkin, carrots...) last. But good overall vegetables everyone agrees on this. Potato is an exception because it is rich in carbohydrates with a high glycemic index*. Depending on its cooking mode it can really vary blood sugar.T

Thefruits are also quite popular, apart from the strict adherents of sugar-free. In priorities we find berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries...), then the unsweetened fruits (green apple, lemon), after all the moderately sweet fruits (pears, peaches...), then come the fruits very rich in sugar (banana, mango...) and last of the ranking the dried fruits (dates, figs...). I am talking here about whole fruits with their fibers because fruit juices are sugar bombs.

The fruits are certainly rich in sugar but eaten whole and raw they bring micro nutrients (vitamins, anti oxidants) essential to our intake. On the other hand the "when to eat" the fruit is debated. We often hear not say at the end of the meal because it digests faster than the rest of the meal. So it would ferment and prevent good digestion. But it does not seem to have a real scientific basis on which this theory is based. If you know what this theory is based on, Don't hesitate to comment on it.

Plants are at the top of the healthy foods on which we can base most of our diet. If there is only one thing to change to have a healthy diet it would be: add vegetables and fruits(especially vegetables you will have understood). Trying to put some in all your meals, it will leave less room for other foods considered less healthy.

 To be healthy eat less

La also everyone agree, we eat too much. So we have a choice, eat smaller proportions, finish the meal still a little hungry. Or practice intermittent fasting or water fasting over several days from time to time.

Not so long ago fasting was mocked in the media. Limit shown as a practice of sectarian fanatics. Today everyone has heard of it and it has even become a health practice and even an additional practice to sport. Especially the intermittent fasting that advocates eating on a set time range.

You must probably already know the benefits of fasting. Fasting lowers the level of insulin in the blood. Insulin is the hormone responsible for weight gain. Also when fasting, the hormones responsible for fat metabolism (glucagon or growth hormone) are increased. This makes it possible to gain muscle mass and it is in this case that in addition to sports it is very effective.

Who can not fast ? Young children and pregnant women, people with gallstones. Overall if you have health problems, ask your doctor if this is a good thing for you. And if you want to be accompanied in this process, there are more and more Centers for fasting.

To eat healthy ban industrial products

This is also a point that we find very often. Eat as few industrial products as possible and cook from Fresh, Whole Foods. I have received testimonies on the subject, many of you felt better passing behind the stoves.

I would add that it is especially necessary to learn to read labels. If you already ban all the ingredients from the list that you would not use yourself in your kitchen, you will avoid a lot of junk food. Naturally we do not put sugar in salty dishes, nor additives or preservatives (apart from lemon juice). In short, the more the list of ingredients looks like a list of ingredients from a "normal" recipe the better.

In addition when we do everything or almost home, we eat less "junk" because it takes time to prepare everything. I know, it takes time. For my part I have in the freezer vegetables, fish, fruits in their raw form. This allows me to eat healthy and quickly. I also prepare seared vegetables in advance that I freeze.


Similarly I prepare cookies in advance I freeze the raw and already shaped dough for the days when I will have less time.

For a healthy diet I avoid trans fats of industrial origin

There are a number of studies now that indicate that fats are not harmful to health, except trans fatty acids*. There are different types of fatty acids : monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated and trans.

Trans fatty acids in their natural state are found in some ruminant meats and some dairy products. But this is not the main source. The major problem is that the main intake of trans fat comes from industrial products (yes again them).

These are hydrogenated fats that are found in cakes, pastries, cookies, breading, chocolate bars, ready meals... knowing that the labeling of trans fatty acids is not mandatory, we must remain vigilant.

This trans fat, low end I would say, is used in the food industry to give flavor and texture to dishes and cakes, also for preservation. Trans fats increase bad blood cholesterol and cardiovascular disease.

Trans fat should not be confused with saturated fat. Moreover, the fat gradually returns to a state of grace. The Swedish Health Assessment Board has compiled 16,000 studies on the subject and highlights that a diet low in saturated fat is not a protective factor for heart disease. He even instead advocates a low-carb (rather than low-fat) diet to combat obesity.

I think the big trend to come after "eating carbohydrates" is to eat low in carbohydrates and also low glycemic index * (because like fats we will have the good carbohydrates and the bad). But we are not quite there again and it is not the general opinion or the recommendations that we hear most often.

The next food to be banned is sugar, fat is no longer in disgrace. We are beginning to realize its misdeeds and it is a good bet that we will hear more and more about it. By eating refined sugar and white flour we explode diabetes, obesity and civilization diseases. No consensus on the subject yet, but sugar is a lot of talk about it. If you want to read a book on the subject I advise you: these carbohydrates that threaten our brain from Dr. David Perlmutter who is both neurologist and nutritionist.

So how to eat healthy ?

I tested several diets, gluten-free or milk of course which has done me a lot of good already. Here I will give you my personal opinion on the subject and how I see things today.


I also tested raw food (otherwise called Live food) I think raw food is perfect for resting the body for a while, but not necessarily the panacea in the long run. I don't know anyone who hasn't reintroduced cooked to their plate after a while. There are even testimonies of people who after years of vintage began to have health problems. The benefits of leaving are most likely due to the massive intake of vitamins and minerals. But I think eating a raw portion every day is very interesting that said.

I haven't told you about it yet but I tested the ketogenic diet for about 2 months. This is a very low carb diet especially difficult to follow I found. I'll make you a ticket on it if you're interested. I think you have to be accompanied when you get into it. My organization has been particularly stressed by this change.

Without gluten or milk of course ... but when the intestines do not go well it is ideal but I think we can go further, because we do not take into account the sugar in this one. Of course, when you have intolerances, eviction regimes are the only way to go well.

The vegan diet for me is more based on an ethical problem than health. So I put it aside and it's up to everyone to know what suits them from that point of view. I was successively vegetarian and vegan for a time. But I chose an intermediate flexitarian route. I think it's important not to impose your choices, not to judge the neighbor's plate. We're all doing the best we can.

In view of the latest studies and my trials, the Paleo diet is the one that has succeeded me the most. In this diet vegetables, meat of grass-fed animals, wild fish, nuts, fruits especially berries are preferred. Basically cereals, dairy products and sugar are eliminated. It also follows the principles seen in the consensus section. In this diet there is also an emphasis on moving your body. That's not the point here, but I point out that it's an integral part of the Paleo lifestyle.

Healthy daily eating

Eating like your ancestors is a good practice. Eat only what your ancestors would have eaten (so not Industrial, nor too sweet). We all have different genetics and our origins necessarily influence what we are able to digest well or not (example milk). It's a theory that makes sense to me.

Eating seasonal and local, considering that nature is well done and that what we need at a given season, nature offers it to us. I admit that it is not easy to follow following the resources we have nearby. But we can try to do our best.

What if you only had one thing to do ? Eat the maximum amount of vegetables in your meals, and leave less room for less healthy foods.

Eat less in general or try intermittent fasting.


Eat less refined sugar, white flour, foods that are both high in carbohydrates with a high glycemic index.

Eat healthy 90% of the time. Yes eating healthy is important for one's health, but the social side of food is undeniable. 90% of the time, if you consider 3 meals a day, it leaves you 2 to 3 meals a week to eat what you want. It's important not to get frustrated either and keep your good mood (and friends). It makes it possible to manage the next, the outings, the birthdays without guilt.