Your Nutrition Transition
Every ship has a rudder. The reason is simple: it needs guidance, something that keeps it moving
straight or in the direction it wants to head. Planes have rudders, too. When you canoe, you use
your paddle as a rudder.
When you eat, what’s your rudder?
When you are eating according to The Nutrient Rich® Healthy Eating Plan, your rudder is the
principle of nutrient density.
All complex ideas (such as Nutrient Rich®^ healthy eating) have central tenets or fundamentals that
act as the rudder. But this central idea usually applies itself in a number of different ways, which
forge rules that provide further guidance.
Golden Rules are the ones that you can hang your hat on, with confidence, because they are going to
hold true time and time again. Once you know the Golden Rules, all kinds of further guidelines can
help you stay in alignment with the core principles.
The central tenet (rudder) in Nutrient Rich®^ healthy eating is nutrient density. That fundamental
gives rise to three Golden Rules.
So let’s zero in on The Three Golden Rules of Healthy Eating that will be powering everything you
learn from here on.
The Three Golden Rules of Healthy Eating
Golden Rule #1: Eat what your body needs to function and perform
well. What you eat provides an array of nutrients, including health-
promoting protein, essential fat, real food carbohydrate, water, fiber,
vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals, all of which your body needs to
function and perform well. These nutrients are not optional unless you
want to compromise your function. All of the nutrients found in plant-
based foods play an essential role in helping your body functioning at
optimal levels.You need all of these nutrients to build, pad and fuel your cells and organs, hydrate, regulate,
mobilize and protect your body.
In addition to essential nutrients (those your body can't make by itself and has to get from food,
plant food provide other substances of value. A great example is phytochemicals. Just because they
are not seen by the majority of nutritionists as essential for keeping you alive does not make them