QE Strong

A free guide

Cool the fire.

Everyday foods that help your body do what it was designed to do.

In short bursts, inflammation heals you. It closes a cut, it fights a cold. The trouble is when it never switches off. A lot of what we start calling getting older is not age. It is inflammation. And the strongest lever most of us have over it, three times a day, is the fork.

An overhead spread of anti-inflammatory whole foods: leafy greens, berries, wild salmon, extra-virgin olive oil, walnuts, cherry tomatoes, turmeric, ginger, and a cup of green tea.

If you remember one thing

Eat more of what grew. Eat less of what was manufactured. Make color and plants the center of the plate, not the side.

The model

Build the plate

Half  Color

Vegetables and fruit. A rainbow across the week, not a single superfood.

A quarter  Protein

Fatty fish two to three times a week. Beans, lentils, eggs, poultry.

A quarter  Whole grains

Oats, brown rice, quinoa, sweet potato. Intact, not refined.

Bring these in

Foods that help you cool down

+Extra-virgin olive oil SolidYour main fat. A cornerstone of the most-studied way of eating.
+Fatty fish & omega-3s SolidSalmon, sardines, mackerel. Among the best-supported foods there are.
+Leafy greens & cruciferous SolidSpinach, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage.
+Berries SolidBlueberries, strawberries, blackberries. Easy to add to anything.
+Nuts & seeds SolidWalnuts, almonds, flax, chia. A handful, not a bowl.
+Turmeric & ginger EmergingA lovely, low-risk cooking habit. Pair turmeric with black pepper.
+Green tea EmergingA calming daily ritual, with some promising research behind it.

Ease back on

What keeps the fire lit

−Added sugar & sugary drinks SolidStart with liquid sugar. Soda, sweet tea, the flavored coffee.
−Ultra-processed foods SolidThe single biggest category to shrink. Long labels you cannot pronounce.
−Refined grains SolidWhite bread, white pasta, most pastries. Swap toward whole.
−Processed meats SolidBacon, deli meats, hot dogs. Occasional is fine. Daily is not.
−Fried & fast food SolidCook at home with olive oil more often.
−Excess alcohol EmergingA little may be neutral. A lot feeds inflammation. Honest moderation.
Solid Many human studies and broad agreement.
Emerging Promising, but not settled yet.
This is a wise, well-supported way to eat. It is not a treatment for any disease. I will not overstate it to you.

Start here

Your first seven days

Do not overhaul your life. Change one thing a day. By Sunday you have a new pattern, without a single miserable moment.

  1. Swap one sugary drink for water or unsweetened tea.
  2. Add one real vegetable to lunch and to dinner.
  3. Make olive oil your main cooking fat. Retire the rest.
  4. Eat fatty fish once. Fresh or canned both count.
  5. Swap one refined grain for a whole one.
  6. Build one plate the half, quarter, quarter way.
  7. Rest. Repeat the two changes that stuck.

A budget-friendly start

The first cart

Produce

Spinach or kale, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, lemons, a bag of frozen berries, apples.

Protein

Salmon or canned sardines, eggs, dried or canned beans and lentils, chicken.

Pantry

Olive oil, oats, brown rice or quinoa, canned tomatoes, walnuts, turmeric, black pepper, ginger, green tea.

Frozen produce, canned fish, dried beans, and oats are some of the least expensive food in the store. You can eat this way on a budget.

A cream bowl of fresh blackberries and blueberries topped with mint, beside turmeric root, walnuts, and a small pitcher of olive oil in warm window light.

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.1 Corinthians 10:31

Taking care of your body is not vanity. It is gratitude. You are tending something you were given. Do it with joy, not guilt. Start with one change today. That is enough.

Rak Chazak, Friend.
Rob René