You are what you eat!

Hello! How are you? Awesome, I hope!

We have previously covered three of the five most important components of a healthy lifestyle: not using tobacco, not drinking more than 1-2 alcoholic drinks per day, and exercising at least 30 minutes per day. Today we cover component #4.

Thou shalt eat a nutritious whole-foods, plant-based diet!

I think that most folks think that experts are "confused" about what constitutes a healthy diet. This is because they hear many articles in the lay press that seem confusing and contradictory. The reasons for this are probably too complex to cover in today's article (perhaps a future one), but in my opinion the true experts are not confused, at least on the main points. Scientific study after scientific study consistently show the staggering health benefits of a whole-foods, plant-based diet in preventing premature death, as well as a dizzying array of chronic diseases. Not a fad diet, not a "low carb" diet, but a simple, natural diet. Here are but a few links to some Internet articles on this topic:

http://www.naturalnews.com/005070_cancer_health_plant-based_diet.html

http://www.thechinastudy.com/about.html

http://nutrition.stanford.edu/documents/Plant_based.pdf

http://www.cancerproject.org/media/news/070612

So what IS this diet?

As the name would suggest, the most important component of this diet is a preponderance of vegetables and fruits, unprocessed and in their natural state. At the very least, one should eat at least five servings per day. Nine is even better. In addition to vegetables and fruits, other components of a nutritious diet include whole grains, legumes/beans, and nuts/seeds.

Make no mistake, this is not a "low carb" diet! Indeed, most of one's calories would be coming from carbs. Since carbs promote energy, which promotes exercise, this is exactly as it should be, in my opinion. But we are talking about "good" carbs, from vegetables and whole grains.

And yes, nuts and seeds often contain quite a bit of fat, but it is heart-healthy unsaturated fat, as opposed to the artery-clogging saturated fats found in animal products.

What should I NOT eat?

There are some calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods that are not consistent with a healthy diet. These include:

• Processed carbs, such as white bread, cookies, donuts, and cakes.


• Processed, man-made foods in general. If man made it, don't eat it!


• Whole-fat dairy products, including ice cream.


• Sodas, including diet sodas.


• So called "fast food", such as McDonald's.


• So called "junk food", such as chips.


• Added sugar, including artificial sweeteners.


• Added salt.

What about meat, poultry, and fish?

Here's the thing: in my opinion, and the opinion of many top researchers, a vegan diet containing no animal products is the absolute healthiest. With the exception of vitamin B12, there is not a single nutrient in animal products that cannot be obtained (and in higher quality!) from plants. There is also growing evidence that animal products promote cancer and diabetes. Too radical? Try it for a month, maybe you will find it easier than you think! But if you do choose to consume animal products, you should try to make the healthiest choices within that limitation. These would include:

• Choosing mostly fish and poultry, as opposed to red meat.


• Choosing lean red meat over fatty red meat.


• Choosing non-fat dairy over whole-fat or reduced-fat.


• Choosing egg whites over eggs.


• Minimizing all of these as much as possible.

How much should I eat? How often?

Calorie needs vary for each individual. We may go into this in more detail in a future article. Contributing factors include weight, basal metabolic rate, activity level, and goals (e.g. weight loss vs. weight maintenance). But believe it or not, if you are eating only the highest-nutrient foods, I feel that the quantities will take care of themselves. Put another way, I think it is very difficult to be overweight if you are eating mostly fruits and vegetables.

As to how often you should eat, the answer is "often". Welcome news, huh? The most common recommendation seems to be six meals per day. Personally, I eat eight.

"But I can't possibly eat that often!" you say. But I will bet that you already do. You may think you only eat three meals per day, but if you stop to think about it, I will bet that many of you realize that you also snack throughout the day. There are many reasons to eat often. It provides "steady" energy, wards off post-meal sluggishness, and helps to keep blood glucose levels stable. It keeps your metabolism running around the clock. And it helps head off eating binges.

What do I drink?

The first answer can hardly be a surprise: water. No, I am not going to tell you that you have to drink some arbitrarily large amount, like eight glasses per day. But many folks probably do not drink enough, and even mild dehydration can affect how you feel. Most of the time when I get a headache, I realize I have not been drinking enough. A good rule of thumb is that you want to drink enough to produce clear urine. (Sorry, no nice way to say it!)

One caution: if you decide you need to increase your water intake, do so gradually. This will allow your body time to adapt. Otherwise, do not be surprised if you seem to be in the rest room every fifteen minutes!

What other beverages are recommended? Tea is great, particularly green tea, but black tea is no slouch either. Black coffee is also fine. (I also indulge in a soy cappuccino fairly regularly.) As we have previously discussed, one or two alcoholic drinks are also okay, red wine in particular.

I also enjoy fruit juice in moderation, though I suppose that is a bit controversial. I do NOT drink store-bought juice, but only fresh-squeezed juice that I make myself. And I limit myself to one serving per day. It is a bit controversial because I am not consuming the fruit "in its natural state"; instead, I am "processing" it. This also makes it more calorie-dense. However, there is some data that suggests that some nutrients are only available in juice; that if the foods are eaten in their natural state, these nutrients stay "locked up" in the fiber and are not available for use in the body. So I do not recommend fruit juice in place of whole fruit, but I think it is a reasonable addendum. Besides, I really, really like it. :-)

What should I NOT drink?

Avoid soda, even diet ones, as the long-term safety of artificial sweeteners has not been established. Besides, remember, we are eating a whole foods diet. We want foods from the fields, not from the lab!

So not surprisingly, I am also recommending against any sort of energy drinks, meal replacement drinks, protein drinks, and the like. I MAY reluctantly allow a sports drink, but only if you are perspiring enough over a long enough period of time to justify it.

But wouldn't you rather have a banana? :-)

And what about supplements?

Ah yes, supplements. If you have been paying attention so far, you can probably guess what I think of man-made, lab-created supplement pills and powders.

The supplement industry is a $61,000,000,000.00 industry. Yes, I always like to type out all of the zeroes, because I think we get numb to what numbers like "61 billion dollars" really mean. Not surprisingly, a good chunk of this money is spent in marketing, to create a demand for these products that nobody really needs. Here are some sobering facts about dietary supplements:

• The supplement industry is unregulated. No, seriously! They call it the Food and Drug Administration for a reason. Food is regulated, drugs are regulated, supplements are not. Even though they are often marketed almost like drugs!


• This means that consumers have no assurance that a supplement is effective. Or even that it contains what it says it does. Or even that it is SAFE.


• There is no evidence that isolating a micronutrient in a pill provides the same benefit as obtaining the same micronutrient from food. Furthermore, there is evidence that "mega-dosing" can be harmful.


• There is no evidence that taking supplements will make up for an otherwise-unhealthy diet.

Sorry folks, but there is no magic bullet. If you must take a supplement, take vitamin B12, and make sure it has been tested by the USP (it will say so on the label). You may ask why I make this exception. The short answer is that vitamin B12 is not available except from animal sources, due to damage we have done to our soil. The USP is an independent lab that supplement manufacturers can voluntarily submit to. The USP will then test that the supplement contains what it claims to. Keep in mind that they are not testing for efficacy or safety, but B12 is safe in the proper amount.

In conclusion...

To summarize our main points:

1. Without questions, the healthiest diet is a whole foods, plant-based diet. The health benefits are nothing short of staggering.


2. The most important component of this diet is at least five servings of vegetables and fruits per day. Nine or more servings is even better.


3. Other components of this healthy diet include whole grains, legumes/beans, and nuts/seeds.


4. Meat should be eaten minimally, if at all. With the exception of vitamin B12, there is no nutrient in meat that cannot be obtained from plants. Unsaturated fats are far superior to the saturated fats found in animal products.


5. Processed foods should be avoided. If man made it, don't eat it! The verdict is still out on the long-term safety of artificial sweeteners.


6. Added sugar and whole-fat dairy products should be avoided.


7. Believe it or not, if you eat food of a high nutritional quality, the quantity has a way of taking care of itself.


8. Eating frequent, small meals is best for energy, blood sugar level, and metabolism.


9. Water, coffee and tea are the best beverages. Alcohol only in moderation. Freshly-squeezed fruit juice can also be enjoyed in moderation. Steer clear of sodas, even diet ones.


10. Supplements are not regulated, not effective, and often not even safe.

That is all until next time, when we cover the fifth and final component of a healthy lifestyle. Rest assured, it is a weighty issue! Until then, take care, and MAKE IT HAPPEN!