To Your Health: A Good Start To A Healthier Diet

20 Jul To Your Health: A Good Start To A Healthier Diet

Dr. Alan Safdi was one of the most popular speakers at the Telluride First Foundation’s inaugural Integrative Wellness Summit . He is scheduled to speak again at the 2nd annual conference, which takes place September 9 – 11 and also features Deepak Chopra (streaming live); Dr. David Agus; Dr. George Pratt, and more. Jewel is the Friday night keynote speaking on personal growth and wellness. The singer-songwriter also plans to perform songs that highlight life lessons learned. For more about the speakers, go here. To purchase tickets, go here.

A regular contributor to Telluride Inside… and Out, Dr. Safdi’s column is entitled “To Your Health.” (Search under the column name or Safdi’s name on our home page to find all his eye-opening posts)

In March, Dr. Safdi (and his colleague Dr. William Renner) spoke at a 3-day wellness symposium on a variety of hot topics in the field of health and wellness. Safdi and Renner continue that series this summer and fall at a continuation of the Telluride Wellness Summit. Talks are planned for August 2 – 4; at the IntegrativeWellness Summit on September 11; and again, September 28-30. Go here to register.

In the run-up to both events, to whet the appetite for what’s to come, Telluride Inside.. and Out is hosting a weekly series of podcasts on subjects in medical headlines today, including exercise, supplements, longevity, diet and nutrition, break-throughs in cancer research. 

This week, Dr. Safid takes a outlines an approach to a healthy diet.

Scroll down to the bottom of the story to listen to his podcast on the subject.

When you commit to healthy eating, it means more than choosing fresh veggies and fruit over French fries and bacon. It means changing the way you eat too.

According to Dr. Safdi, it is important to consume a healthy diet because eating the right foods is one key way to keep your health now and later, a kind of life insurance.

Foods that are especially healthy include:

Fruits and vegetables – Eating fruits and vegetables can help prevent heart disease and strokes. Eating them might also help prevent certain types of cancers.

“Try to eat fruits and vegetables at each meal and for snacks. If you don’t have fresh fruits and vegetables, you can eat frozen or canned ones instead. Doctors recommend eating 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day.”

Foods with fiber – Eating foods with a lot of fiber can help prevent heart disease and strokes. If you have Type 2 diabetes, fiber can also help control your blood sugar. Foods that have a lot of fiber include vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, oatmeal, and some breads and cereals. To figure out how much fiber is in a food, just read the nutrition label. Doctors recommend eating 20 to 35 grams of fiber each day.

Foods with folate– Folate is a vitamin that is important for pregnant women and women who plan to get pregnant. Pregnant women need to get enough folate so their unborn baby can grow normally. Folate is found in many breakfast cereals, oranges, orange juice, and green leafy vegetables.

Foods with calcium and vitamin D – Babies, children, and adults need calcium and vitamin D to help keep their bones strong. Adults also need calcium and vitamin D to help prevent osteoporosis, a condition that causes bones to get thin and break more easily than usual. Different foods and drinks contain calcium and vitamin D. People who don’t get enough calcium and vitamin D through diet. might need to take a supplement.

Are all fruits created equal or are some even more potent that others? What about fats? Are all fats bad for us? Why do you recommend eating any animal-based foods only in moderation? Why is red meat especially off your own dinner table? What’s the story on alcohol? How many calories should we consume each day? Is that question even answerable?

Check out this week’s podcast as Dr. Safdi provides answers to those and other questions relating to healthy eating.

Editor’s Note: 

Our relationship with Dr. Alan Safdi started several years ago when we attended a Wellness Conference at The Peaks Resort & Spa. Dr. Safdi, is a gastroenterologist with a talent for offering evidence-based medical findings for healthy living in easily digestible sound bytes. We next heard him speak at Telluride First Foundation’s inaugural Integrative Wellness Conference, where the audience got just a taste of his encyclopedic knowledge on mind-body wellness.

More about Dr. Alan Safdi:

Dr. Alan Safdi is a speaker, contributor, and serves on the advisory board of the Telluride First Foundation.

He is board certified in Internal Medicine and in Gastroenterology and a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology. A proven leader in the healthcare arena, Safdi has been featured on the national program “Medical Crossfire” and authored or co-authored numerous medical articles and abstracts. He has been an investigator in over 581 studies and is President of both the Consultants For Clinical Research and the Ohio Gastroenterology and Liver Institute.

Dr. Safdi has been involved in grant-based and clinical research for about 35 years and is passionate about disease prevention and wellness, not just fixing what has gone wrong. He is an international lecturer on the subjects of wellness, nutrition, and gastroenterology.