Nutrition

Finding your way through the diet wars

Are you tired of the diet wars? Are you concerned about how food choices affect the environment or animals? Should you count calories?

Which diet is best?

Keto? Vegan? Paleo? Atkins? Mediterranean? Weight Watchers? Gluten free? Grandma’s? Canada’s Food Guide?

Is there a perfect diet?

We all intuitively know that eating healthy is important for optimum health. Too much junk food? Yup, bad. Don’t like veggies? Your body might be missing something!

But actually, eating healthy has become so confusing! Fat used to be the villain. Now, based on the latest science, they say that sugar is the bigger villain. What about gluten?

Canada’s food guide changed. Did they get it right?

“The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.”
Thomas edison

We don’t remember Thomas Edison, the inventor, as a medical wizard, but he seemed to have some pretty good forward thinking medical intuition. In fact, today we call it nutritherapy. One modern doc, with tongue in cheek, has coined this idea the “farmacy,” farm produce (whole food) instead of pharmaceuticals (drugs). It is part of a larger movement called “personalized medicine,” or “precision medicine.”

Some lessons from history

We have known for millennia that nutritional deficiencies cause disease. The Chinese learned over 5000 years ago that eating seaweed, which is high in iodine, was an effective treatment for goitre (an enlarged thyroid gland from iodine deficiency).

Two million ocean faring sailors died of scurvy between Columbus’s discovery of America and the mid 19th century, more than all losses from storms or sea battles combined. James Lind is credited with discovering that lemon juice (citrus fruit containing vitamin C) was the cure. Similarly, rickets was found to be caused by Vitamin D deficiency.

Fast forward to 1948 when the famous Framingham Heart Study started. When elevated cholesterol levels were shown to be associated with hardening of the arteries, with heart attacks and strokes as the result, fat was believed to be the culprit. This led to food processing and dietary changes focussing on lowering fat.

However, with the low-fat movement, food processors (to improve taste) and meal planners, ended up replacing a lot of those fat calories with sugar and carbohydrates. That scientists say has contributed to what is now believed to be one of the largest threats to our global health.

Our biggest global health challenges

Right now you likely think the Covid-19 pandemic is our most significant global health challenge. Well it’s big, and it has caused significant economic disruption. But the post-pandemic mental health fall-out will be much bigger than the pandemic.

Can our diet help us overcome the anxiety and depression that is now rampant? The answer is an unequivocal YES. Keep reading if that is you?

But there is an even bigger global pandemic than Coronavirus which has silently been festering for decades – insulin resistance. It often shows up later in life as some of the most common causes of death on our planet: heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and cancer. And it also predisposes you to autoimmune disorders and inflammatory disorders. And inflammation is a forerunner of many other conditions including chronic pain, post-concussion syndrome, and of course arthritis. And we now know, depression as well.

Our nutritional habits are a huge part of it. And ultimately, the solution.

Insulin resistance

Insulin resistance leads to hyperinsulinemia, an increase in the amount of insulin, produced by the pancreas, in the bloodstream. You may know it as “pre-diabetes,” when blood sugars are still in the normal, non-diabetic range, but if you were to measure the insulin required to keep the blood sugars normal, it would measure high. Another closely related medical term that you may hear is “metabolic syndrome.”

Why is it silent? Because measuring insulin is expensive and not a regular part of check-ups. In Why We Get Sick, one of the global experts on this topic, Dr. Benjamin Bickman, offers a self-diagnosis quiz to help you identify if you are at risk:

Do you have more fat around your belly than you’d like? (You can measure your abdominal girth at your belly button. If you are over 40 inches as a male, or 35 inches as a female, you are at risk).
Do you have high blood pressure?
Do you have a family history of heart disease?
Do you have high levels of blood triglycerides (on a fasting lipid profile blood test)?
Do you retain water easily (prone to edema)?
Do you have patches of darker-coloured skin or skin tags at your neck, armpits, or other areas?
Do you have a family member with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes.
Do you have polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)?

If you answered “yes” to one question, you likely have insulin resistance. If you answered “yes” to any two questions (or more), Bickman says you most certainly have insulin resistance.

A medical explanation of insulin resistance

The sugars and carbohydrates that we consume get digested and broken down and absorbed as glucose (that’s what we measure when we do your blood test for sugar with a vial of blood or a finger-prick). In order to keep that blood sugar (glucose) from rising too high, your pancreas releases insulin to lower the sugar to normal by using it in working muscles, storing it as fat throughout your body, and feeding energy to your brain.

The problem is that our modern diet is so heavy on sugar and what we call “high glycemic carbohydrates,” that our tissues become “numb” to insulin as the result of constantly peaking blood sugars. This makes the pancreas work harder to keep the sugars low.

This is in combination with an increasing sedentary lifestyle for many of us. Here in PEI, and much of Canada, we drive everywhere. Unless we follow the advice to get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week with intentionality, we use less of the glucose up in our muscles.

This can go on for decades before the actual signs of Type II Diabetes show up. But these elevated levels of insulin are themselves a health risk for the conditions mentioned above through the common pathway of chronic inflammation.

How big a problem is this? 40% of Canadian adults are believed to have it. It is not only prevalent in western nations, but it is also rampant in India and China. And in our kids. Of course sedentary lifestyles only make it worse.

What’s the solution?

While a single blog post won’t do justice to the topic, there are principles that anyone can begin to implement immediately. Further down, we will reference lay literature that is legitimately scientifically based and not just another fad diet.

One reliable author, Dr. Mark Hyman, who was one of the authors of The Daniel Plan, has coined the term “pegan diet,” which he says combines the best principles of each of the diets mentioned in the opening of this post. His book by that title is excellent and accurate information.

Step # 1

Reduce your high glycemic (usually white) carbohydrates and replace them with some more complex carbohydrates (whole grains), but especially with protein and healthy fats (such as Omega 3 rich fish, olive oil, nuts, avocados) . Animal protein such as grass fed beef, chicken, and fish are good sources. Avoid pop and fruit juices altogether.

Step # 2

Increase multi-coloured fruits and vegetables to at least ½ of your total daily intake. If you are at risk for hyperinsulinemia on the above quiz, watch the intake of fruits that are high in fructose, a sugar found in most fruit. It was thought to be a healthy sugar but it is now also linked to fatty liver and elevated uric acid (which contributes to gout).

Step # 3

Eat lots of foods rich in antioxidants. Particularly, if you have evidence of inflammation on blood tests or have symptoms like joint pain, post-concussion syndrome, or chronic pain. Wild blueberries are readily available in the Maritimes and are an excellent source, whether fresh or frozen.

Step # 4

Intermittent fasting also helps prevent insulin resistance and there is research that shows it to be an effective intervention for post-concussion syndrome. It is of course an ancient spiritual practice as well, which combined with the other Self-Mastery Skills in this series, will benefit you as a whole person.

Step # 5

Reduce processed foods and rather concentrate on whole foods. One author says, if it comes in a package with a barcode, it is likely highly processed.

Step # 6

Moderation. Still in vogue. Eating is a social activity and when you are too restrictive you are unlikely to stick to your plan. Allow for treats on special occasions and with special people. Food is meant to be enjoyed. Cook together as couples or families. Put down the devices while you eat. Eat slowly and savour the taste of each bite. Eat together with your faith community. Use smaller plates and reduce your portions. Share entrées when eating out.

Step # 7

Be self-aware of emotional eating. The emotions of fear, anger or sadness may trigger your limbic system to crave food, especially sweet or salty food. Some foods and caffeine containing drinks can be addictive. The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study has shown a link between obesity, disordered eating, and childhood trauma. Experts now recognize obesity as a disease that requires a multidisciplinary approach with compassion and without judgement.

The end of the diet wars

The best diet is the one that you can eat as a lifestyle AND that is fashioned specifically for YOUR needs. And the diet that has the best odds in conjunction with the other 19 Self-Mastery Skills in this blog series, to keep you healthy or restore your health, AND increase what is now called your “healthspan.” And that will give you energy and strength to fulfill your God-given purpose and destiny.

In his letter to the early church in Corinth, Paul talks about our human bodies being “temples of the Holy Spirit,” and the importance of looking after them.

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20

Next steps

Canada’s Food Guide is actually a pretty good place to start and the recent changes appear to be in line with the latest research.