I encourage my patients to live in a way that supports life. To this end I call for a "whole food, food clean" diet. The general principles are simple. Our food has to be minimally processed and free of antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, flavors and other additives.

Here are some questions to whether a food is whole or not (with help from Cynthia Lair, author of feeding the whole family):

 • Does the food look like once lived on this planet? Lettuce, eggs, yes. Marshmallows, NutraSweet, no.

 • How many ingredients does it have? Whole foods have one ingredient itself.

 • What has been done to the food since it was grown? Read the label. If the label reads more like chemistry, Dona't eat.

 • Is this a "product" split "of a food or Â" whole "food? Is only part of a fruit juice. Oil is only part of the olive. When you eat partial foods, your body craves didnÂ't get the party because for thousands of years, the whole food has been the only food he has ever known.

The cleanest food is organic food, period. Everyone to eat organic whenever possible. But starting with the three dirtiest foods: water, meat / fish and milk cowa.

 • Cleaning water is easy. Buy reverse osmosis or distilled water, or get a purifier using one of these methods to your home. Spring water is only one water Elsea tap.

 • Eat pasture fed and finished, antibiotics and hormones in meat and eggs free. Add vegetable protein sources to your diet, like tempeh or beans to offset the cost. Most of us are eating way too much meat anyway.

 • Eat fish at sea only. Farm raised fish are the dirtiest. The Environmental Working Group takes an updated list of fish to avoid.

Dairy products  • Cowa, including yogurt, cheese, and ice cream should be avoided completely with the exception of small amounts of organic butter or ghee. However, it will stop once that uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. Take at least two weeks, the food work for food.

After these foods have been cleaned, and then begin with fruits and vegetables. Soft thin skins absorb pesticides best. Buy these organic next. Always wash fruits and vegetables, even organic ones, in the soap plant and water. For now, the difference between organic and conventional will be very clear, and will be seeking organic food whenever possible. In Kansas City, where I live, we are fortunate to have the Kansas City Food Circle. They maintain a directory of local producers of organic and natural foods. Look for a similar organization near you.

Dona't dirty food clean cooking with aluminum or plastic cookware. Aluminum, a known brain toxin, seeps into food from cookware. Leaching from plastic hormone-like compounds in food. Using cast iron, stainless steel, glass, ceramic or clay instead.

Bethany Klug, DO specializes in holistic medicine at the Kansas City Holistic Centre.

She teaches whole foods nutrition and holistic living online. Visit University Of Masters for information about her courses. Please enter “DRKLUG” in the referral box when you enroll.

She authors the monthly column “The Doctor Cooks” for the Kansas City Wellness Magazine. The Doctors Cooks Weblog is now online with past articles, menus, recipes, tips and other resources. Please subscribe!

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