The Real Dirty Dozen Revealed
We've all heard about the Dirty Dozen, but what about the real Dirty Dozen?
Jeff Novick created his own list called, "The Real Dirty Dozen: The 12 Deadliest Dietary & Lifestyle Factors & What You Can Do About Them" and it has a lot of great tips on how we can all live a healthier life.
1. Smoking Don't smoke and avoid second hand smoke.
2. Excess Calories/Body Weight Maintain a healthy weight with a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 (a BMI of 18.5-22 may be optimal), and a waist circumference of less than 35 for women and less than 40 for men, and a waist to height ratio of less than .50.
3. Inadequate Diet (not enough fruits, vegetables, and intact starches) Eat a diet based predominately on a variety of minimally processed whole plant foods (fruits, vegetables, starchy vegetables, roots/tubers, intact whole grains and beans). Good thing that's what the meal plans focus on!
4. Alcohol Limit intake to less than 1 drink a day & less than 4 drinks a week. Not drinking at all is optimal.
5. Inactivity/Sedentary Lifestyle 150-300 minutes per week of moderate activity (or 60-120 minutes of vigorous activity). The inclusion of some balance, flexibility work is also recommended.
6. Excess Added Sodium/Salt Total sodium from all sources to less than 1500 mg/day. No added salt/sodium is optimal.
7. Excess Saturated Fat Keep saturated fat to less than 7% of total calories (less than 5% is optimal). Dairy, meats, fish, oils, butter, chocolate, coconut, seeds, and nuts are high in saturated fat.
8. Dietary Cholesterol Keep total cholesterol to less than 25 mg/day. None is optimal. (Cholesterol is only found in animal foods).
9. Added Sugars/Caloric Sweeteners Keep added sugars/sweeteners (including fruit juice and natural sweeteners) to less than 5% of total calories. None is optimal.
10. Added Fat/Oils Keep added fats/oils less than 4% of calories. None is optimal.
11. Refined Flours/Grains (such as white bread, cookies, etc) Less than 5% of calories. None is optimal.
12. Hydrogenated/Trans Fats Avoid these.
If you're looking to eat better and lose weight, I can't recommend the meal plans enough. They're always vegan, low-fat, and oil-free.