The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has been and continues to be challenging as we move forward through this year of uncertainty. We are all crying for a sense of normalcy and for light at the end of this dark tunnel. Every conversation seems to circle back to the pandemic, the horrific polarization of our country and violence in America we are witnessing unfold in cities across the country. Well, our series hopes to help restore some sense of hope in our health with this, Project Delta Series. We realize these are tough times for everyone and we need to focus on our health and safety every day. The greek symbol for Delta stands for change. We all have it in us to change. Project Delta will provide you with lifestyle choices that can directly impact our health by our daily actions through proper nutrition, exercise, and positive outlook. We cannot change what is happening globally, but hopefully, if we begin with ourselves, we can slowly increase our area of influence to improve lives beyond our own. We will be working to bring you relevant content on topics that can improve your health where you live in this new series. We all must take to heart that, our health matters and we are responsible for our own health! We must strive to-be a healthier version of ourselves each and every day, which by no means will be easy, but will be well worth the effort. Become an asset, not a liability! As we have seen over these past few months obesity, compromised immune systems, and auto immune diseases are all factors of co-morbidity related to how well a person would respond to the COVID virus. Part of taking responsibility for our health begins with part 1 of this series: Nutrition.
Probably the single most important component of our health and often the most overlooked would be and is, nutrition. We are what we eat! Our health directly reflects how we eat, good or bad, but you can control the outcome by learning how to fuel your body in order to boost your immune system, reduce cholesterol, normalize blood sugar, reduce blood pressure, and improve your overall health. If you don’t fuel your body with the proper nutrition then you risk falling victim to all the first world diseases our society has become accustomed to living with: Heart disease, Diabetes, and Cancer just to name a few. The word and concept of good nutrition has become a very confusing topic for not only the general population, but healthcare professionals alike. This will sound terrible, but there is no money in a healthy society!
Most people don’t go to the doctor when they are healthy, they should though! Your relationship with your physician and healthcare professionals should be one of continued health, not one based on illness, but insurance doesn’t pay for maintenance or staying healthy. Unfortunately, our healthcare industry has been built on a reactionary approach to health versus a preventative approach. Our society has reached epidemic levels of these first world disease I speak about and it is up to you to change. Television commercials now target prescription medications in addition to the soft drink, fast food, alcohol, and weight loss industries.
Patients are now going to their physicians requesting certain medications because of mass marketing campaigns. We are then bombarded daily by new research or documentaries supporting the efficacy of the latest diet or supplement to hit the market. We cannot help but be confused, but I believe we are all trying our best to decipher the relevant data in order to share with our patients the most up to date research so we as healthcare professionals can make a positive impact on our patients lives. Your Health Matters! However, the healthcare and wellness fields seem to be hard pressed to come to a consensus regarding what a healthy diet looks like. One of the problems behind this difficulty defining what a healthy diet should consist of involves pressure from special interest groups. Remember earlier when I told you, your health matters? Well, your health does not matter to the special interests! Special interest groups receive subsidies, sponsor many of the non profit organizations like the American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association as well as many others. These special interest groups control how the food pyramid looks, what food gets served in schools, what food reaches the grocery store shelves, as well as what/how foods get marketed to the general public. We will always be misled and confused when it comes to how we should eat. The more confused you are, the more money the special interest groups make and the more unhealthy you become.
Try deciphering food labels, try calculating fat content in skim or any of the various percentages of milk on your grocery store shelves. Try to determine which diet will be sustainable for you in the long term. Short answer: you can’t! Because of the misleading information provided to you through masterful marketing and quite frankly the lack of education throughout the healthcare industry in terms of nutrition make eating healthy that much more difficult. We listen to the so called experts and special interest groups when it comes to nutrition without ever really understanding how food effects our health. We must take it upon ourselves to become educated on Nutrition. Only when we actively asses what we eat and how our nutritional intake effects our bodies physiology will we see an improvement in our health for the long term. Your health constantly changes, which makes monitoring your lifestyle choices an important part of your daily routine.
According to Wikipedia, nutrition is the science that interprets the nutrients and other substances in food in relation to maintenance, growth, reproduction, health and disease of an organism. Nutrition includes ingestion, absorption, assimilation, biosynthesis, catabolism, and excretion. The Standard American Diet (SAD) these days consists approximately 65% from refined and processed foods, drinks, and packaged foods; 25% from animal based foods, and roughly 12% from plant based foods. The (SAD) part about the 12% of the plant based food consumption in the American diet is that 6% of the plant based consumption comes from fried plants like French fries. So, the typical Standard American Diet for the majority of Americans consists of less than 6% plants, which is SAD. The percentage of plant consumption should not be all that surprising though. With the majority of Americans eating out for most meals we are hard pressed to find many plants on the menu besides French fries. Restaurant chains are getting better, but they are nowhere close to offering significant nutrient dense options.
Nutrient density holds the key to you health. Unfortunately, most foods we consume on a daily basis are nutrient deficient. Plant based and whole food nutrition holds the key to unlocking weight loss and improved health. It is important to not get wrapped up in diet ideologies like Vegetarian, Vegan, Keto, Paleo, and on and on……All too often we get wrapped up in ideologies we feel identify us as an individual and anyone else’s opinions to the contrary only help polarize us and our ideologies. We all know one fact about diets, they don’t work long term. Most popular diets are fantastic at the initial weight loss and novelty, but are not sustainable and the majority of dieters gain more weight back the following year. Why not change for the better so you don’t have to diet anymore.
What does good nutrition look like? Good nutrition consists of nutrient dense food choices. Whole food and plant based nutrition fits that bill. In order to improve your health you must incorporate plant based, whole food into your diet. You must cut out your reliance on the following: animal based foods and saturated fats; processed and refined foods and drinks; and reduce your consumption of fried foods as well as oils. Plant based, whole food nutrition has been proven time and time again to improve overall health and weight loss. I would personally try to keep your animal based product consumption to less than 15% of your total daily nutritional intake.
Why plants? Plants are the most nutrient dense, fiber rich food you can consume. Plants consist of one natural ingredient, not ingredients you can’t pronounce. Researchers continue to identify phytochemicals or phytonutrients found in plants. The truth is, there are so many phytonutrients found in fruits and vegetables we eat that we may never know all the health benefits associated with their consumption. The phytonutrients help repair damaged cells and provide antioxidants to help protect you from all the free radicals in your system. Plants, especially green vegetable, provide a substantial amount of protein per 100 calories, which most of us think only comes from your consuming meat based protein, but that could not be more misleading. Animal product consumption comes with the downside of saturated fat. Too much saturated fat damages cells, leads to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Most people think sugar and carbs are the main causative factor in developing diabetes. Not so! Saturated fats can clog your insulin receptors. When insulin receptor cells are continually blocked it doesn’t take to long before the body responds by shutting off insulin production, which leads to type 2 diabetes. So, if you unclog the insulin receptors you can reverse the effects of type 2 diabetes. Please work with your physician so that you can develop a structured plan to reduce your dependence of prescription medications.
Eat more plants and whole foods. This simple, yet often complicated way to view nutrition usually makes people defensive. I often hear statements like, “I can’t become a Vegan or Vegetarian” or “I can’t eat like that”. Well, your exactly right! You probably feel the same way about exercise as well. Most of us respond to everything new with “I can’t”. No one likes change, especially when you have learned most of your eating and exercise habits from your family and now are set in your ways.
I challenge you to look at the health of your family and extended family. Really objectively look at your families health, be honest. Are you or anyone in your family obese? Does anyone in your family have Diabetes, Heart Disease, or Hight blood pressure? My guess is yes on all accounts and that makes them a liability. So why not consult your healthcare provider and have some bloodwork done? Examine your lifestyle and make some changes in order to become an asset. If you look at your health as a lifestyle and food as nutrition you may just start losing weight, reducing your reliance on prescription medications, and feel full of energy. Your health matters! Your health matters not only to you, but your family, friends, and colleagues. Without good health you have nothing and you are a very big liability! Start now. Start transitioning to more plant based whole foods. Take baby steps. Here is how:
- Reduce consumption of sugary or artificially sweetened drinks. That includes diet sodas!
- Reduce consumption of fried foods and oils
- Eat at least 4 fresh fruits a day and 1 huge salad with lunch and dinner
- Eat whole foods, not processed or refined foods. Whole is better!
- Cut animal based consumption to less than 15% of your overall food intake.
Committing to change takes time and effort, but I know you can do it. Become an asset, not a liability!
Your Health Matters,
Brian