Main Takeaways of a Healthy Diet

DIET OVERVIEW

The importance of our diet is about more then what we should eat, it is also about the foods we should stay away from (a majority of the time). It is common knowledge that our bodies are made up of what we feed it, but I think it is important to really reiterate what that actually means and how our diet can affect so much more of our daily lives then a lot of people might be aware of. We know we need to eat all the veggies and stay away from processed foods, but do you actually know the WHY behind that reasoning? Or HOW it has an impact on how our body functions?

If you are looking to improve your hormones, gut function, skin issues, or just overall wellness and well-being, I hope you will follow along to learn the science of how powerful the food we put into our body really is!

WHY ARE MOST DIETS DETRIMENTAL FOR YOUR HEALTH?

There are so many different diets that people try out, hoping they will finally find the one that works for them. What many people find is that they may get amazing results with a specific diet, but they are miserable on it. It is too hard, too restricting, too bland, too whatever. If you find that a certain diet works for you, I'm not here to tell you otherwise. I just want to let you know you may be missing out on a very important aspect of your health by restricting the food you eat.

Keto: often not enough carbs to support hormone function
Weight Watchers: usually promotes a bad relationship with food
Optavia: expensive, promotes caloric restriction that is not sustainable

Three of the common diets above have one major downfall. They heavily restrict either one or two important (and vital) macronutrients and calories that our body NEEDS to function. Macronutrients are the fats, carbs, and proteins in our food. Without all three of these macros, our body will run out of its stores and have no other option but to start malfunctioning because they each have a very specific role in the body.

Fats: protects organs and hormone function, helps absorb nutrients
Protein: build and repair body tissues
Carbs: main energy source for your body, provides fiber

So now that you hopefully realize it is important to not cut any of these macronutrients out of your diet, I hope you will realize that "dieting" or literally just everything you eat does not have to be complicated.

I'll discuss more in the future about proportion sizes, examples of foods you should fill your plate with and the only foods you really should stay away from. The main takeaway today is this:

Carbs are not the enemy.
Fat will not make you fat.
Protein all day, everyday is not necessary for complete health.
If you know someone in the middle of a dieting journey, it may be helpful for them if you share this with them and let them know that dieting does not need to be so restrictive.

WHAT A BALANCED MEAL LOOKS LIKE

As mentioned above, it is important that you are giving your body the right foods in the right amounts if you want your body to work for you and not against you. There is a lot of influence out in the world suggesting that you can eat whatever you want and still have the body of your dreams. This is true to an extent, but just because you have a body you love doesn’t mean you have a healthy body. The best part is that I believe you can have a body you love that is as healthy as it has ever been.

While I don’t think there is one specific diet that works for everyone, I do think there are aspects of a diet that can be beneficial for almost every person. An important thing to remember when it comes to your diet is that it does NOT have to be complicated. It may seem confusing at first as you try to establish good eating habits, but I promise it will get easier as you continue working on making your diet beneficial to your health.

There are certain guidelines to aim for when choosing what to put on your plate. Again, you don’t want to avoid a certain macronutrient just because a certain diet says so. All macros are good for you and will benefit your body in some way!

A general guideline for macros to aim for is:

- Fat: 10-30% of daily intake. Anything less and your hormones may quit working properly, you may feel hungry more often (which can lead to overeating on other foods), and your body won’t be able to absorb certain vitamins that your body needs (which puts your immune function and physical appearance--skin, hair nails— at risk)

- Protein: 10-20% of daily intake. Not getting enough protein can lead to muscle loss (which will not help your body composition), brittle hair and nails, feelings of weakness, and can slow your body’s healing process

- Carbs: 40-70% of daily intake. A lack of carbs in your diet will cause a lack of fiber in your diet (responsible for healthy digestion) and result in loss of energy for your body and brain

You want to aim for 60-70% of your macros to come from plants of all colors due to the immense nourishment it provides the body with:

- Phytonutrients: plant based nutrients
- Enzymes: helps digest foods and absorb nutrients
- Antioxidants: attack free radicals that damage the tissues in your body, anti-cancer
- Fiber: necessary for proper digestion and cardiovascular health
- Vitamins/minerals: building blocks of life
- Prebiotics: help feed the healthy bacteria in your body
- Made mainly of water: helps hydrate your body
- Easy to digest: especially when cooked, the body will spend less energy digesting plants

FOOD = MEDICINE

I talked a bit yesterday about how powerful vegetables and fruits are and I wanted to talk a little bit more on three of those topics mentioned. Most whole foods will provide your body with exactly what it needs to function. When your body has exactly what it needs, it leaves little room for disease to step in and take over.

1. Antioxidants work by weakening free radicals in the body and protecting the cells. Free radicals are waste produced by the cells. When the body can not rid itself of the free radicals, it creates waste buildup, damaging cells and prohibiting the body from functioning properly. Free radicals result in a higher risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer, and other inflammatory conditions.

There are different types of antioxidants and they each have separate functions. By eating a plant filled diet and switching up what plants you do eat, you are likely to be getting each of the main antioxidants needed for health. You can also find them in nuts, seeds, and spices,

2. Fiber helps keep the gut healthy by acting as food for healthy bacteria and removing excess toxins from the body. It also helps to prevent constipation. Because most diseases occur due to excess toxins and inflammation, fiber is essential in working to prevent the undesired symptoms of many diseases.

Similar to antioxidants, fiber is found in fruits/vegetables, nuts/seeds, whole grains, and beans/lentils.

3. Vitamins and minerals are also considered micronutrients, and just like macronutrients, your body has a threshold for each one in order to properly function. There are too many functions of vitamins and minerals to list, but the main gist is that they provide the body with metabolism, energy, immunity, bone and cellular health, antioxidant properties, and so much more.
Since there are many different vitamins and minerals, your best bet to ensure you get enough of your micronutrients is to eat as much of a whole foods based diet as possible.

IS ORGANIC REALLY BETTER?

If you type in “pesticide on crops” into google, some of the first images that show up are people wearing masks. Scroll a little further and you see people in full hazmat suits as they spray the crops. Go down a little further and there are images of crops with signs that say “Danger. Pesticides. Keep Out”. What is so dangerous that people have to be fully protected when spraying the food we eat? A major concern is that the chemicals they are using have been linked to causing cancer and other serious disease, especially to the nervous and endocrine system.

Pesticides work by poisoning whatever pests it is target to. If it works to poison them, what is stopping it from poisoning us? A little bit of this chemical might not cause too much damage, but how much is too much? You also have to consider the fact that if you are eating all your fruits and vegetables from pesticide sprayed crops, those chemicals on your food will start to add up.
I understand this can sometimes be a controversial subject, but I want to point out that is no harm done when eating organic. That being said, do I think you should skip on eating certain foods, especially fruits and vegetables, if they are not organic? No, I still think you should load your plate with those foods because they will still provide you with beneficial nutrients.

However, if you can resonate with the fact that a lot of pesticides have been proved to be toxic and are linked to some cancers and hormone dysfunction, I want to encourage you to slowly start swapping out the foods you buy for organic options. It doesn’t have to be all at once. Just by starting with one food, your body will have one less thing to filter out. If interested, DM me and I can give you a few examples of some of the foods with higher concentrations of pesticides!

REMINDER: DRINK YOUR WATER

Why is it so important to drink water? Because it makes up almost 2/3 of our entire body. If we aren’t drinking enough water, our body can start to malfunction, even if it isn’t noticeable at first. A few things that results from dehydration are:

- The tissues of your brain can shrink in size. Our brain is made of about 80% water, so when we fail to provide our body with enough water, it will start to “shrivel” up.
- Your bowels will not have any fluid to add to the stool, making it hard and leading to constipation.
- The cells found on our skin can start to also shrink, causing dry, flaky, or wrinkly skin to appear.
- Our blood becomes thicker and we lose blood volume. This means our heart will have a harder time getting blood and the oxygen in it to our organs.

A good estimate to determine how many ounces of water you should drink is to divide your weight (in pounds) by two. For example, someone weighing 180 pounds should drink at least 90 ounces of water a day. If you aren’t used to drinking this much water, some of the ways I like to make sure I am getting enough water in daily is to start my day by drinking about 30 ounces as soon as I wake up. I also like to carry a water bottle with me wherever I go and will often find myself reaching for it without even realizing it. Any type of drink made with water, such as tea or water flavored with lemon or fruit, does also count towards your daily water intake.