Herald article #2, healthy diet

Earlier this month I spent a week in Portland, Oregon attending the first International Conference on Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine. This event was attended and presented by leaders from around the world, 19 countries in all. Each day started out with a leading PHD presenting the most recent studies on Diet and Exercise, followed by a leading clinical practitioner (MD, Cardiologist, Nephrologist, or Orthopedic surgeon) presenting on how they were having consistent, remarkable results from applying these nutrition and exercise protocols to their patients. The topics covered were: Hypertension, Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Autoimmunes, Cardiovascular, Type 2 and Type 3 Diabetes and more. These are all disease processes which are heavily influenced by lifestyle, and when you strip away all the technical biochemistry, neurology, and physiology of the presentations, what was left at the heart of things is actually the gut. The problem with our gut is Inflammation, sustained and ever increasing, because of our poor diet. This starts out on a very small scale, one in which you really have no idea that it is happening. The gut and its microbiotic flora are of key importance to good health. 80-90% of all serotonin (your feel good neurotransmitter) is manufactured in the gut. Your thyroid produces 2 forms of hormone, the majority of which is inactive and must be activated in your gut. 80% of your Immune system is located in your gut and communication from these immune cells to your nervous system is thru your microbiota. So how do you create and maintain a healthy gut lining and microbiota? It all starts with your mother, she provides you with your first inoculation of microbiota as you travel through the birth canal during delivery, ( it does not happen with a cesarean). So it is extremely important for women considering childbirth to get their gut in order. For all you mothers to be and the rest of us, here is a beginners list of items to grow a healthy gut: Diet, Exercise, Stress Management, and Sunlight, all big words that don’t mean much unless we put some specifics to them. You’ve all seen that commercial where the actor in the white lab coat says “when diet and exercise are not enough” , well that is a marketing statement, with no truth to it, because when you are given correct information about diet and exercise and you are compliant, they work every time. So here is what a health promoting Diet consists of: First, It should be plant based, with a minimal amount of starch/carbohydrate and maximal amounts of nutrition, yes, at every meal, even breakfast. The cruciferous family of veggies provides the most nutritional bang for your buck (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kale, turnips, and radishes). These veggies provide major and trace minerals, phytonutrients, enzymes, anti-cancer factors and more. Second, a variety of nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, macadamia, pistachio, flax, pumpkin, sunflower, chia, quinoa, and hemp). These provide your body with healthy fats, fiber and protein. Other healthy fats include avocados, olive oil and coconut oil. Third, “lean protein”, fish, chicken, beef, and eggs. Lean protein comes from animals that have been grass fed, or from animals that are wild. It does not come from animals that are fed cheap grains (soy, or corn). Fourth, fruits, limited to small berries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. These provide powerful nutrition with minimal fructose. Fifth, pre-biotics, such as garlic, onions, inulin and probiotics in the way of fermented foods, sauerkraut, kim chee, miso, pickles, kefir, yogurt, kombucha. These foods feed and fortify the health promoting microbiota population of your gut. Look for our article next week when we discuss the foods that have gotten us into this unhealthy mess and also what are the best types of exercise.