What we choose to eat, and how we choose to eat it, comprises our diet. Therefore, all of us are on some kind of diet, even if it is the SAD (Standard American Diet) diet.
The tricky thing is this: most of us have no idea of the impact that the diet we are on is having on our health. The SAD diet is full of sugar and processed food, laced with soda pop, sprinkled with overcooked vegetables, and “tastes soooo good.” There’s a reason for that; I’ll cover it in more detail later. But it’s no accident. This has created a nation of sick, pained, and fat people.
There seem to be an endless number of diets out there. The good news is that nearly all of them try to get you off the SAD diet: eat less sugar and processed food; eat more ‘real’ food. Because of the obesity risks of the SAD diet, more people are shifting to diets that control weight. The bad news is that no one diet works for everyone. If there were such a thing, it would be a simple matter to get our weight under control.
But just as each of us is an individual, the way we integrate our food consumption and how our body decides to utilize the food we consume varies greatly from person to person. Hence, what works well as a diet for one person may not make a bit of difference for another. And what’s frustrating for many of us is that we all know people who seem to be able to eat anything they want and they just stay slender. (OK, skinny!). The rest of us often feel like we’re starving ourselves, and we just watch the weight pile on. So much for that perfect body we hoped to have.
What We’re Dealing With
Our intake of food has only three components—protein, carbohydrates and fats. Since protein needs have been well defined, each diet tends to have the same amount of protein. That means that the only items that can be manipulated are carbohydrates or fats. There are advantages and disadvantages with each option.
Low Carb Diet
There is no minimum need for carbohydrates. You will not see a recommended daily allowance for carbohydrate consumption. This is interesting, because carbs do break down into glucose, which provides fuel in the body. Nevertheless, carbs are not necessary…in any diet. They just taste great.
Carbohydrates are plentiful in vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Simple carbohydrates break down into glucose quickly, and complex carbohydrates require more processing by the body in order to break them down into glucose. Simple carbs cause a more rapid rise in glucose in the body, while complex carbs level out the rise and fall in glucose levels in the blood.
Advantages of the low carb diet:
- Restricts intake of all sugar, limits simple carbs.
- Improves insulin resistance and type II diabetes.
- If the restriction is sufficient, fat is used as an energy source, thus decreasing obesity.
Disadvantages of the low carb diet:
- Severe restriction may not only break down fat, but also break down muscle protein as an energy source.
- Moderate to severe restriction will limit legumes (beans and peas), fruit and some vegetables, where a significant amount of nutrients reside.
- Excess meat and bad fats may be substituted for the healthy legumes, fruit, whole grains.
Low Fat Diet
The anti-fat, anti-cholesterol theory sold to the American public more than 30 years ago is part of the reason we have developed into an obese nation. It’s important for you to know that this low-fat diet was never based on scientific studies—it was just a random idea, driven by media exposure, and it went viral.
Remember what I said in the beginning about how, other than protein, you can only change your intake of fats or carbs? Well, when the anti-fat idea took over, carbohydrate intake increased (particularly using processed foods and simple carbohydrates as our food sources).
Since that time, there has been an 18% decrease in fat intake, with a similar increase in carbohydrate intake and subsequent obesity.
How Fats are the Good Guys
Fats are a necessary part of our body:
- From cholesterol, an actually healthy fat, come all of our hormones and vitamin D.
- Much of the anti-oxidant protection in the cell wall comes from cholesterol.
- The myelin sheath around the nerves is made up of fat; in fact, there is more fat than nerve tissue in our brains (don’t take offense if someone calls you a “fathead”. They are merely being truthful!).
- Structural fat fills out our skin, and pads the bottom of our feet and hands.
- It is fat in our skin that protects it from the drying out effects of hot and cold exposure, wet and dry exposure.
- It is the carrier for many substances in the blood, including the absorption of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.
Advantages of the low fat diet:
- Eliminates ingestion of trans fats and hydrogenated oils.
However, I have to add my own “but” to this concept: but you don’t need to eat those things—they’re bad for you whether you’re on a low-fat or a low-carb or any other kind of diet!
In other words: there really are no advantages to a “low-fat” diet. Your body needs healthy fats. The key word here is “healthy.”
Disadvantages of the low fat diet:
- Decreased fat with meals does not send an early message to the brain about fullness during meals.
- Quicker stomach emptying, thus increasing the likelihood of swings in blood glucose levels.
- Increases triglyceride levels and decreases cholesterol levels (neither of which is healthy from my standpoint).
- Those on this type of diet may not realize the importance of essential fatty acids and thus decrease their intake of EFAs along with decreasing the total fat intake.
Dr. Gardner’s Recommended Diet
Your overall best nutrient value is in vegetables. Fresh, organic ones you grow yourself or buy from a nearby farmer are best.
Fill your plate 1/2 full of vegetables. The other half of the plate should be divided into thirds, with 1/3 being protein (like a small amount of meat or beans), 1/3 being healthy fats (such as an avocado, or cooking with coconut oil, or using olive oil or small amounts of butter), 1/3 being carbohydrates (like 1/2 slice of bread or small amount of whole grain, or fruit for dessert).
The hardest meal to fulfill the above criteria is breakfast. You might want to try a paradigm shift of substituting other menu ideas for breakfast. Nobody says it’s a law that you have to have French toast, or instant oatmeal, or pancakes or waffles. Those carb-laden breakfast menu items are not usually your best choice.
Try a smoothie made in a powerful blender with a big handful of spinach or cabbage or bok choy; add a half a frozen banana or apple (with the seeds), carrots, some more fruit (berries are wonderful), ice cubes if you want it to be cold.
Add coconut milk or water (or some organic cream if dairy is not a problem for you) for consistency.
Try vanilla or cinnamon to perk up flavors, add a dash of salt. You can also add nuts. High quality protein or meal replacement powders add additional flavor and nutritive value.
We have a lot of fun exploring the different (and sometimes rather outrageous) vegetables we can put in our smoothies.
No one can tell the difference. Bright red or purple berries cover up the spinach color if you use enough!
Then—take the time to relax and enjoy your smoothie, rather than gulping it down in the car as you rush to work. Enjoying your food is a key component to eating healthy.
Beware of sugar free items (they usually have aspartame or Splenda as the sweetener) and fat-free products (they usually have sugar added to make it taste good). Just buy your food from around the outside of the store and you will know exactly what you are eating. Organic is best.
Ease on Down Weight Balance Program
For over 20 years, I’ve worked on, tweaked, and applied these principles and hundreds of others that I now have incorporated into a thorough, complete system designed to get you healthy. When you are healthy, your body weight will “ease” into its healthiest weight and state. I’ve named this comprehensive course the “Ease on Down Weight Balance Program.”
This week happens to be the week that the program launches (in fact, if it’s Thursday when this comes out in Meridian Magazine, today is the day it launches!), and I am limiting the number of participants. Barring difficulties, it will launch at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time. I have kept a number of people informed while we have gotten closer to the date. If you want to learn about the program and perhaps sign up, please go to www.stangardnermd.com/easeondown, and I’ll send you a link so you can read more about it.
You can also learn more about these healthy philosophies at my website, www.stangardnermd.com . I think you will find many answers to your health questions as you explore what others have written and my responses.
To your dynamic health and energy! Dr. Stan
