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couple pieces of fruit per day can be a healthy alternative to sweets, but we also recommend you reduce your fruit consumption if it is one of your primary sources of food.
Fish . Fish, such as salmon, contains important omega-3 fatty acids, which have been scientifically proven to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Omega-3 fatty acids also help maintain healthy triglyceride levels. Furthermore, fish is a great source of protein. That said, we recommend avoiding certain bottom-feeders (shrimp, crab, lobster, etc.) because they are essentially the garbage men of the sea, eating every dead thing that sinks to the bottom.
Organic foods . Organic foods are free of pesticides and other chemicals, so it makes sense to consume foods that are organic when presented with the option—the less chemicals you put in your body, the better.
Supplements and vitamins . A daily multi-vitamin and a daily fish-oil supplement can help you get any essential vitamins you were missing before.
     
    Special Diets
    Again, we’re not asking you to live by some strict diet. Nor do we subscribe to any one particular dietary lifestyle as the end-all-be-all in terms of dietary health. Rather, we believe that different people have different dietary needs, thus we encourage you to experiment with different elements of your diet until you find the results you’re looking for (i.e., until you feel better, until you feel healthy). In addition to the above mentioned foods to avoid, reduce, eliminate, and incorporate, here are examples of five diets from which we’ve seen great results.
     
     
Vegetarianism . Most people are familiar with vegetarianism, though there is an entire continuum of vegetarianism. At its fundament, a vegetarian diet consists of no meat, but might include other animal products like dairy and eggs.
Veganism . A vegan’s diet doesn’t include animal products (meat, dairy, eggs, honey, etc.). We both experimented with a strict vegan diet for one year (it was a bet between the two of us—long story), and the results were astounding: we felt more energy, Ryan lost a considerable amount of weight, Joshua maintained a healthy weight, and, most importantly, we both felt better on this diet. Since that experiment, we decided to incorporate some dairy, eggs, and fish back into our diets, which leads us to the next diet.
Pescatarianism . This is essentially the diet to which we both adhere currently. Pescatarians are basically vegetarians who eat fish. We also consume some dairy products, albeit significantly less than we used to.
Paleo or Primal . Although neither of us subscribe to this diet (because we don’t eat meat), we have some friends who have had tremendous results from some form of a paleo or primal diet. The Paleo Diet mimics the types of foods most people on earth ate prior to the Agricultural Revolution (a mere 500 generations ago). These foods (fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and seafood) are high in the beneficial nutrients that promote good health. The Paleo Diet is low in the foods and nutrients (refined sugars and grains, dairy, trans fats, salt, high-glycemic carbohydrates, and processed foods) that frequently cause weight gain, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and numerous other health problems. The Paleo Diet encourages dieters to replace dairy and grain products with fresh fruits and vegetables—foods that are more nutritious than whole grains or dairy products. For more information visit paleoplan.com. Also, see our friend Matt Madeiro’s documented progress on the primal plan (including pictures of his progress) at threenewleaves.com/my-primal-progress-with-pictures. 
Intermittent fasting . Intermittent fasting is a pattern of eating that alternates between periods of fasting (consuming only water) and non-fasting. For example, a person who intermittently fasts might not eat for 16 hours per day and then eat two or three meals within an eight hour window during the day. Thus, any of the four above