Don’t Worry About the “Perfect” Diet. Fix the Obvious First

Junk food is addictive and we need to change our diets. Most of us don’t need to adhere to a strict philosophy when it comes to diet. You should, however, make obvious changes. Here are a few things all dietary gurus will agree on:

  • Avoid refined sugar
  • Avoid refined grains
  • Avoid chemical additives and processed foods (including heat/chemical extracted oils)
  • Eat real food: If it comes in a bottle, box, or a can, it probably is not good for you. Similarly, if it was not available 10,000 years ago, it probably is not good for you.

All Diets Have Strengths and Weaknesses. This Is About Physiology–NOT Philosophy

Dietary advice creates confusion for most people. What is the right diet? Answer: there isn’t one. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. The good news is that you don’t have to choose one and ignore the others. Think instead of what your body needs at the moment. Here are some popular diets:

  • The Roadmap to Health: This is the diet I like to recommend. Its strengths are that by avoiding complex carbohydrates (there are 2 versions—one is for IBD sufferers), it helps improve the microbiome. Not that complex carbohydrates are “bad” but most of us eat too many of them and avoiding them helps digestion and the microbiome. It also recommends that 75% of the diet (by volume) be fresh produce. This makes it a powerful tool for reducing inflammation and improving the health and diversity of the microbiome. It is not perfect—no single diet is. It does not address lectins or FODMAPs, which can be a problem for some people. Sometime the amount of fiber is too much—especially for people suffering from IBD.
  • The Mediterranean Diet: Medicine is falling in love with this. Great for people with insulin insensitivity, high blood pressure or heart disease. This diet will reduce inflammation. The downside is that if you have celiac, gluten sensitivity, or lactose intolerance, the diet will cause problems for you.
  • Ketogenic Diet: This is very effective for people with insulin insensitivity. Also useful for people who get seizures. Most Americans will feel wonderful when following it because as a people, we eat too much carbohydrate. The downside is that people following it do not get enough vegetables. We need fiber and you tend not to get it on this diet. The polyphenols and fiber in vegetables reduce inflammation and help you develop a healthy microbiome.
  • The Paleo Diet: It is based on the idea that we were healthier as hunter gatherers and that settling down and farming set us up for chronic health problems. No complex carbs are allowed (like in the Roadmap to Health), so it tends to be good for people with digestive issues. The problem is that nothing is said about vegetables, so many people following it are not getting enough fiber and would benefit from more polyphenols. Vegetables are not “forbidden” but ignored. Followers tend to eat a lot of meat and not much produce.
  • Vegan: Vegans are either the healthiest people you’ve ever seen, or the sickest. In a planet as polluted as ours, eating at the bottom of the food chain makes sense. Also, it is high in fiber and polyphenols—very good for the microbiome. Unfortunately, many vegans fill up on starch and do not enjoy the digestive benefits of eating a lot of vegetables. They tend to have deficiencies of zinc, vitamin B12, and sulfur containing amino acids (to name a few). Most don’t get enough protein or pay enough attention to amino acid balance. Meat naturally contains all eight essential amino acids. While it is certainly possible to obtain complete protein from plant sources, vegans need to be mindful of where they are getting their essential nutrients.

A “Good” Food Can Be Bad for You

Food sensitivity, although not well-researched, is a real problem. Dr. Arthur Coca focused on this in the 1960s. Personally, I have found that when you identify and remove a problem food it can really help some patients. A vegan who is sensitive to soy may not respond to any treatment until the soy is removed from the diet. I knew someone who could do nothing to improve her osteoporosis only to find out she had celiac disease.

We Can Tolerate a Lot

The American diet has been horrible for several decades, but only recently has life expectancy gone down. This means we can tolerate “bad” foods to a certain extent. But diet can heal—literally. If you have symptoms, get strict. It does not have to be forever, just until you are happy with the way you feel.