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What should I eat?

Embarking on a journey to better health can often feel like navigating a maze of conflicting advice and complex nutritional theories. But what if the secret to vibrant health lies not in the latest trends, but in the wisdom of our ancestors? In this weekly series, we'll uncover the time-honored principles of a traditional diet, principles that once formed the cornerstone of robust health and simple living. This week, we begin with a topic that's fundamental yet often misunderstood: the real impact of processed foods on our bodies and well-being. Dive into our article to discover how stepping back to the basics can pave the way forward to a healthier, more balanced life. Each step is a stride towards unlocking the secrets of a nourishing diet that's not only sustainable but also deeply rooted in the wisdom of generations past. Are you ready to start a journey that's as enlightening as it is nourishing? Let's begin.

Article

OK let’s dig into the question: “What do I eat?”

Carnivore Diet:

I like the carnivore diet, but it’s boring. Not many people can or will stick to it. I have found that the carnivore diet is especially good for people with autoimmune disorders. Plants cause an immune response. Every living thing has some level of self-defense. Plants are no different. This is not usually a problem for most people, but people with autoimmune issues seem to respond in a way that may be counter to inducing health. The carnivore diet is also good for breaking patterns. When you are starting a new way of eating or you want to change your eating but don’t want to put too much thought into it. Carnivore. It’s great! Just eat meat. Mostly beef. Simple. You will lose weight. Your blood sugar will normalize. The guidelines are clear. Meat. That’s it.

As a side note, I would avoid processed meats. Avoid sausages and eliminate hot dogs. Lunch meat is processed, so I would reduce or eliminate that as well.

Usually by now, I get asked the question: “What about vegetables? You need them don’t you?” Well, no, not really, but we will save that for another day. For now, just understand that this way of eating is simple, it’s effective and works. However, most people can’t stay on it for long. Also, most people over the age of 40 have reduced stomach acid and may have a hard time with red meat. This is a simple fix, just add in a supplement to help support HCl acid production. I like this one.

This will increase your stomach Hcl. Many people who have weak stomach acid think they have strong acid because a common symptom is acid reflux. When they go to their doctor, they are told they are told their stomach acid is too strong and they are given an antacid. This is false for most people. You will have a tough time digesting meat on antacids. It will stop you from digesting red meat altogether, and the meat will rot instead of break down, which causes a whole host of other problems. We will cover this in another article. Antacids can raise your pH in your stomach, to 8 or higher. Once you get above 4, red meat won’t digest properly. Your pH can be anywhere from .5 to 4. The reason it doesn’t burn despite being only .5, is because there is a thick lining to protect the stomach wall. In most cases, people suffering from acid reflux feel burning because the acid is entering an unprotected area.

Keto Diet:

Another way of eating is Keto. Keto, again is great, but how many people want to measure everything they eat? Many people have increased energy and better mental clarity, and they lose weight. Yet, most can’t stay with it. Keto is not hard but it’s more complex than some may present it as. Everything you eat must be measured to balance out the ratios between fats, proteins, and carbs. This can be tedious, at least I found it to be very tedious. In the clinic, I could never get a patient to stick to it, not even for the short term.

Traditional Diet:

So what should you eat? Well, this goes back to the bigger question of, “What are your goals?” Carnivore or keto can be great for breaking patterns and losing weight, but long term, I think a traditional diet is the way to go.

“What the heck does that mean?” That’s the problem. It doesn’t mean much to most people, but a traditional diet is foundational and its truly something you can build true health on. If you use the principles we will discuss, your health will improve. More than that, you will have better energy, sleep better, have better circulation, heal easier, and your blood sugar will balance. I don’t recommend it as a first step though. Why? Well, if you are eating poorly, I want to make things as simple as possible. In the clinic, I don’t usually have the opportunity to explain things as fully as I am doing here.

So what is a traditional diet? Well, there are 11 principles that I will cover. So let’s start with the first one.

First Principle:

The first and fundamental feature of traditional diets is the fact that
they contain no industrially processed or refined food. It used to be that the list of processed food ingredients only included white sugar, white
flour, canned condensed milk, canned foods, and industrial seed oils made from cotton seed and corn.

The list is much longer today and includes the following:

• Refined sweeteners (sugar, high fructose corn syrup often
labeled “fructose,” agave syrup, maltodextrin, fruit juices and
many others) in pastries, cookies, donuts, bars, condiments,
muffins, cakes, breads and ice cream.

• Industrially processed oils (soy, canola, corn, cottonseed,
safflower and sunflower) in cooking oils, chips, snack foods,
fried foods, fast food, salad dressings, mayonnaise, artificial
whipped cream, margarine, spreads and condiments.

• White flour in breads, pasta, crackers, cookies, and pastries.
Extruded and puffed grains in breakfast cereals and other
products.

• Pasteurized and homogenized milk; low-fat and skim milk.

• Artificial sweeteners (NutraSweet and Splenda) in diet foods.

• Artificial flavors (MSG and many others) in almost all
processed foods; artificial salt (usually not labeled) in many
processed foods.

• Additives (artificial colorings, dough conditioners, preser-
vatives, modified starches, antifreeze, and fiber) in almost all
processed foods.

• Plant-based fake meats and plant-based beverages such as soy
milk, oat milk, rice milk, etc. Foods containing soy protein and
soy protein isolate.

• Foods containing industrial and agricultural chemicals
(pesticides and herbicides, including those inserted into seeds
through genetic engineering) in all foods that are not organic.

I think we already talked about refined sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup, but basically, its a cheap sweetener that has a huge impact on your blood sugar causing your body to go into or stay in storage mode. Not only does this cause you to accumulate fat, especially around the midsection but it causes problems with energy, and digestion, and causes your body to work harder to maintain its blood sugar balance. Mid-section adiposity can use hormone imbalances as well as excess estrogen.

Seed oils, we discussed recently. Among other things, they are pro-inflammatory. Most boxed, canned, and prepared foods contain seed oils. When cooking at home, simply use animal fats. You can use extra virgin olive oil as well, but go light on the heat and make sure it’s real. There are some popular brands that say “extra virgin olive oil” on the bottle but if you read the ingredients, they are mixed with soybean or other oils.

White flour is a problem for multiple reasons. Aside from the fact that white flour contains more gluten today than it used to and that it contains pesticides, it also has had its nutritional oils removed to make it shelf stable. Maybe I should write more about white flour in another article. I probably will. For now, suffice it to say, it needs to be reduced or eliminated.

Milk. This is a hot topic and will be a whole article on its own, down the road. I will attempt to be brief and just give you the broad strokes. Aside from the chemicals involved in milk production, there are other problems. So even if you buy organic, there are concerns. When you get milk from a cow, the way it used to be done, the farmer would clean the utter and then milk the cow. Simple. Now, in commercial farms, that doesn’t have to be done. Let’s just say that the bacteria count is less of a concern on commercial farms. The Pasteurization kills all the bacteria so it’s not a problem. Right? Well, first, it does kill all the bacteria, but that includes the good bacteria which is part of what makes milk healthy. Second, while it does kill all the bacteria, it doesn’t remove it. This is thought to be the reason why some people can’t seem to drink the last bit of milk in the carton. The next problem is the homogenization. This makes the fat molecules the same size so it doesn’t separate but causes:

Altered Fat Molecules: The intense mechanical processing alters the natural size and structure of milk fat globules. This can potentially affect how our bodies digest and metabolize these fats.

• Potential Impact on Heart Health: Some theories suggest that the smaller fat molecules in homogenized milk can pass more readily into the bloodstream, potentially carrying substances like the enzyme xanthine oxidase (XO). This could theoretically impact heart health.

• Possible Allergic Reactions: The homogenization process may also alter milk proteins, potentially making them more allergenic. This could increase the likelihood of milk allergies or intolerances in sensitive individuals.

• Nutrient Absorption: There is a theory that the altered fat structure may impact the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (like vitamins A, D, E, and K) found naturally in milk. They often counter this by adding synthetic chemical isolates of vitamins like D.

Fake sugar is a problem. We have been sold a bunch of lies and falsehoods when it comes to what a healthy diet is. Many health problems that were blamed on animal fats and red meat are actually linked to sugars, grains, and chemicals. People no longer know what to eat and this makes people more susceptible to marketing of diet scams and trends. If advertising companies tell you the truth about fake sugars, you won’t buy anything that contains them. They sell people on the idea that it’s better to have chemicals and no calories than natural products with calories. I am not saying you should eat sugar, but when you consume a product with no calories, you may be fooled into thinking it’s either healthy, like water, or that there are no consequences for consuming it. Artificial sugars can cause problems in the digestive system. They can cause leaky gut syndrome, increased food allergies, headaches, sugar cravings, and more.

Artificial flavorings and additives are just chemicals to change the look and flavor of something. Over the years there have been many that were found to cause serious health problems and were quietly banned. They should be reduced or eliminated.

Plant-based fake meats and beverages. The list of ingredients that make up a plant-based burger-like substance is a bit shocking. Take a look at the ingredient list. Let me know if you think any of it sounds appetizing. The vitamins listed, are not vitamins. They are chemical isolates and not even close to what exists in nature. It’s kind of funny when you think about it though. All those ingredients to make unhealthy things, taste like something healthy. It falls short on both health and taste.

Lastly, chemicals. This one is harder to eliminate but we can do our best. If you are eating whole foods. Real foods. This becomes easier. I would encourage you to get meat locally. Preferably from a local farmer. 50 years ago they didn’t have organic food. It was called food. Just food.

The public didn’t notice the change in our food supply because we were only looking at the end product, but its changed…. A LOT. Farmers used to raise our food, but now its, more often than not, large corporations. The way they raise food is different. Cows are fed in feed lots, pumped full of chemicals and fed grain (something cows don’t actually eat). Cows raised by farmers have a different fat profile. Higher omega 3 fatty acid and less inflammatory than those raised in feed lots. Less chemicals are also used because the cows are healthier and able to eat grass, which is what cows prefer. Chickens are even worse and so are the eggs of chickens raised in farm factories. I won’t get on my high horse about it, but the basics are simple. When you raise animals and only look at the numbers and not the health of the animal, you are not going to turn out the healthiest product. You are going to turn out the most efficient.

As we wrap up our exploration of the first principle of traditional diets – avoiding processed and refined foods – remember, this journey is about making gradual, informed changes towards better health. Each week, we'll delve into another principle, building a foundation of knowledge and practical tips that are easy to follow and apply. By understanding and embracing these principles, you're not just changing your diet; you're embarking on a journey to improved well-being and vitality. Stay tuned for our next article, where we'll uncover another key aspect of healthy eating, guiding you step by step towards a more wholesome, balanced lifestyle. Remember, good health doesn't have to be complicated, together, we'll make it simple and achievable.

News

As the old joke goes…. 5 out of 5 scientists agree with whoever is funding their study.

Unveiling a controversial perspective, this article sheds light on the sugar industry's role in shaping dietary guidelines over the past decades. Delving into the history of nutritional advice, the piece questions the long-standing narrative that animal fat is the main culprit behind rising diabesity rates, suggesting instead that refined sugars and carbohydrates might be the true offenders. The author, Brian Cates, brings to the forefront startling claims about the sugar industry's influence on medical research dating back to the 1960s. With a blend of historical research and current critique, this article invites readers to re-examine what they've been told about diet and health, hinting at a deeper, more complex story that's been unfolding within the food industry.

One more article just to support what I was saying regarding artificial sugars. A lot could be said about artificial sugars. My biggest axe to grind with their marketing is that they present it as if it’s a healthier alternative because there are no calories, and that is not the case. I read one study a few years ago that said it takes weeks to get sucralose out of your system. I do not know if it’s true or not. I won’t eat anything with Splenda in it, but every day it seems there are “new discoveries” on the negative effects of various chemicals in our foods that were once promoted as healthy and safe.

Thank you for reading

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