I don’t like the idea of “diet”, because it sounds to me very restrictive and limited. However, a few years ago during a lovely dinner , I had the pleasure of meeting Dr Sears, one of America’s most renowned pediatricians who is well known for his passion of spreading health and wellness throughout America’s family. During the dinner he told me that “diet” is a term that simply means a way of eating, so we are all on sort of a diet. And he shared that the diet he has been on for the past 20 years is what he called the “5S diet”. This was the first time I thought that a diet plan was extremely interesting, simple and sustainable.
Here it is, the simple yet wonderful Dr. Sears 5S diet and the reasons why we should add these items to our way of eating:
Seafood
“eat wild pacific salmon because it is the healthiest seafood, and it is rich in omega-3 fatty acids that help reduce heart disease and build healthy brain cells.”
more:
- seafood lowers the risk of breast and colon cancer
- improve learning and attention span in school-children
- improve cognitive function in the elderly
- elevate mood, resulting in less depression
- promote healthy skin and vision
Smoothie
“make a big smoothie every morning, around 1200 calories and sip all day long”
click here to find Dr Sears favorite smoothie recipe.
Salads
“the more green ingredients you can eat the better. When you put different types of vegetables and fruits together they work in synergy, helping each other to provide a great amount of nutrients.”
more about salads and smoothies:
- Colorful fruits and vegetables are rich in phytonutrients that help protect against types of cancer, and heart disease.
- Phytonutrients also strength immune system
- Fruits and vegetables are rich in fibers that helps to lower blood cholesterol, prevents constipation, and steadies blood sugar.
- Protein is important to help body grow, repair and strength bones, muscles, and ligaments.
- You can add protein to your salad using seafood, beans, lentils, tofu, lean meats, nuts, etc.
Spices
“my favorite two spices are turmeric and black pepper. And putting these two spices together, is one of the oldest spice secrets. Black pepper helps more of the turmeric get absorbed into the blood stream.”
more:
- Black pepper helps food move through the digestive tract faster and helps to digest food more efficiently.
- Turmeric is the spice super star, because it has over 50 healing actions including a natural anti-inflammatory compound, aiding digestion, acting as a decongestant, relieving headaches, and improving circulation.
Supplements
“the supplements fill the gap in case the other 4 S cannot do all that. My three favorite supplements are Omega 3 Fish Oil supplement (one gram a day), Hawaiian Astaxanthin, and Juice Plus+.”
more:
- Omega 3 helps practically every part of your body.
- Astaxanthin is the pigment that makes salmon pink, and it is one of mother’s nature most powerful antioxidant.
- Juice Plus+ is a whole-based supplement full of “phytonutrients”, a disease-fighting chemicals that help to keep our bodies healthy.
- IMPORTANT: Not everyone needs supplements. If you are generally healthy and eat a wide variety of whole foods, including fruits, vegetables and fish, you likely don’t need supplements
In sum the 5S are:
- Seafood
- Smoothie
- Salads
- Spices
- Supplements.
Easy to remember and delicious items to include on our diet!
Meeting Dr Sears, led me to learn about his Wellness Institute. So I am super excited to share with you that last month I became a Certified Health Coach by Dr Sears Wellness Institute. This certification has a balanced approach focused on Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitude & Nutrition, the four essential pillars that I believe to be the base for a health living. My main excitement in becoming a Health Coach is to share with all of you, simple yet science-based solutions and tools on my posts, coaching classes, and also coming soon workshops. And there are so many wonderful things to be learned and shared, I am looking forward to feel some kind of “helpers high” too! Thank you for being in this journey with me!
some dreams are worth sharing…
mariane
more about Dr Sears: askdrsears.com
photos by: Mike Vidales
photo me and Dr Sears by: Oliver Barth
outfits: Florencia Arias (local company from Honolulu)
