Live Longer, Live Stronger: Ways to Eat the Daily Dozen

One of my favorite resources is Dr. Michael Greger. He has dedicated his career to validating research, as it relates to nutrition and our health, preventing diseases and reversing them, if at all possible. He has written several books, all of which are research-based, including, “How Not to Die,” “How not to Age” and “How Not to Diet.” He also has a valuable website, NutritionFacts.org, that provides updated, interesting new information on how we can help our bodies live longer and better.

Based on his research of thousands of studies, he has developed the “Traffic Light System” and a “Daily Dozen Checklist.”

The Traffic Light System classifies foods as dangerous to us (red light), not great for us and so should be minimized (yellow light) and fabulous for us (green light).

Red-light foods are ultra-processed foods and processed animal foods, such as cookies, chips, candy, soda, hot dogs, bacon and oils.

Yellow-light foods are processed plant foods and unprocessed animal foods, such as bread and steak.

Green-light foods are plant-based and whole, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans and whole grains.

Rather than being a meal plan, his Daily Dozen is a list to inspire us to include the healthiest foods in our diet. Here’s a summary:

__Beans:__ Three servings per day (1/2 cup of beans or ¼ cup of hummus, for example)

__Fruit:__ Three servings per day (One medium fruit or ¼ cup of dried fruit)

__Berries:__ One serving per day (1/2 cup of fresh or frozen, or ¼ cup of dried)

__Vegetables:__ Two servings per day (1/2 cup per day)

__Leafy greens:__ Two servings per day (One cup raw, ½ cup cooked)

__Cruciferous vegetables:__ One serving per day (1/2 cup)

__Flaxseed:__ One serving per day (One tablespoon, ground)

__Nuts and seeds:__ One serving per day (1/4 cup of nuts, two tablespoons of seeds)

__Whole grains:__ Three servings per day (1/2 cup of hot cereal, rice, quinoa or other grains)

__Spices:__ One serving per day (1/4 teaspoon of turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, cloves, etc.)

__Beverages:__ Five servings per day (12 ounces of water, green tea or herbal tea)

__Exercise:__ Once per day (90 minutes of moderate or 40 minutes of vigorous)

It may look difficult to get his Daily Dozen accomplished, but I’ll share an example: I start each day with a smoothie that has ground flax seeds, turmeric, beans, fruit, cranberries, seeds and a leafy green like kale, spinach or mustard greens. That checks off a lot of the boxes! Then, if you make a soup with vegetables and grains for one of your meals and a salad for another meal, you’ve made it!

For more information, go to NutritionFacts.org and enjoy longer, better living!

Cheryl Mothes is a natural health nutrition counselor who loves helping others realize the impact nutrition can have on living their best, as well as preventing and reversing disease. She and her husband Rick Hetzel own Fresh Healthy Café to offer healthy food choices to the community.