Nutrition

3 Nutrition Truths for the New Yea

thewanderingrd1 Comment

Happy New Year! I know it’s late, but I decided to sit out the first Internet wave of new year nutrition advice. This was intentional, but then the SEVEN snow days with my three kids at home kicked me completely out of commission. (Although extending vaca wasn’t half bad…if I’m honest!)

So, although I am somewhat late, at this point I hope you are like me and still mulling over what/if anything to do differently now that it’s January. If so, these are my deep thoughts and words of encouragement to help you keep it real for 2018—with real food and real talk, as always! Because January is the peak of nutrition-related misinformation, in case you haven’t noticed.

But stick with me (if you want, subscribe to follow this blog via email, or follow @dvnorwood on Instagram or The Wandering RD on Facebook) and we’ll get through it together. Let’s start with three “nutrition truths” to help you wade through the media buzz and start your year off with steady, science-based steps in the right direction.

  1. Goals Are Still Resolutions (Do Set Goals)

So, new year. New you? Wrong. If you read the many wellness articles this year, most tell you not to set resolutions. Have you noticed lately the health and wellness conversation has shifted from always trying to improve yourself to accepting yourself?

I get the focus on self-love. I mean, I love you (ya know, as a neighbor) enough to want to help you figure this stuff out. So, surely, I want you to love yourself. But as with all things, a healthy balance is important. And to be our best, I believe we all can make small changes to our lives that would improve our health, wellness, relationships, productivity, etc. The important things in life are worth the effort—are they not?

Nothing explains what happens when we don’t put forth the effort as well as the scientific concept of “entropy,” which is the universe’s tendency for disorder (a.k.a. why our kids’ rooms get messier by the day.)

So, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with setting goals. And you can even call it a resolution, if you want. Because isn’t a goal still a resolution? “Resolutions” just have a bad rap because it’s human nature to want to change ourselves in grandiose ways and then drop the ball when it’s unachievable. So, if “resolutions” are a New Year thing, then maybe “goals” are better.

But the point is this: it’s never a bad idea to set realistic, small resolutions (a.k.a. goals) to improve yourself or your circumstances. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about that. It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with the current you. It doesn’t necessarily mean your self-worth is in jeopardy. If anything, it means you are investing in yourself, and isn’t that something we do when we can see our own potential?

And further, there’s no reason anything has to start on January 1st. I don’t know about you, but I’m still mulling my goals over and yes, it’s almost February. It’s great if you want to ride the wave of motivated people in January, but it’s equally great if you decide you’re ready to start something in September. Goals have to be realistic and practical. It helps to have a plan in place to be able to achieve them. And most importantly, before you even try, you have to decide which goals will be meaningful or you will fail and not even care about it—don’t ask me how I know this…

So, wait till you are fully ready, but go ahead and start to wrap your brain around what it is that would help you become the you that you’ve always wanted to be!

I was reminded recently in this NYT article that sometimes, for many of us, the hardest part of doing anything is starting…(unless it’s finishing, then read the book, Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done. Ha! It’s a great quick read and I am not paid in any way to say this.)

  1. Diet is a Four-Letter Word (Do NOT Restrict Drastically)

About half of the population makes resolutions that involve losing weight and getting in shape. But have you heard? “Diet” is a “four-letter” word—literally, and figuratively. Yes, diet can be just a word that means “habitual nourishment,” but it has come to conjure up images of a very restrictive way of eating to lose weight. Research shows that’s bad because most people lose weight only to gain it back when they go “off” the diet, and often even more weight than they lost. So, bottom line: diets don’t improve your health if you gain back the weight (or more) and even decrease your metabolism in the process. And then there are the feelings of failure you’ll have to deal with, too.

So, if your goal is to restrict yourself so drastically that you can’t maintain it, then please, please, please change your goal to a more attainable, sustainable one. It’s okay to want to make changes to your diet, even to lose weight and/or improve other aspects of health, but consider smaller changes that you can incorporate to become lifelong habits.  That said—even a lower sugar, and/or lower carbohydrate diet can be maintained if you slowly make changes that become your new normal, which is especially helpful for preventing and managing obesity, prediabetes and diabetes.

  1. Mindfulness Isn’t Always Intuitive (Do Practice Mindfulness)

So, 1) set goals, 2) don’t drastically restrict—this begs the question: what’s a person to do?

Have you heard about Intuitive Eating? It’s often used in the same sentence as “mindfulness.” The principles promote a non-diet approach to eating, which involves ditching the scale, listening to hunger and fullness cues to determine food intake, and perhaps most importantly, finding other ways besides food to deal with emotions.

Let’s be clear, I am not at all against any of these things. But I do have a serious problem with the word “intuitive.”  If eating is supposed to be so intuitive, how are so many people doing it “wrong”? It appears to me that eating is not intuitive for a large part of the population, or there wouldn’t be a growing obesity and diabetes epidemic.

The problem may be this: it’s intuitive to eat what is available. Studies show people weigh more when presented with more variety and diversity of food options (think: buffets). And in America, we have a disproportionate amount of unhealthy foods available at our every turn.

Or the problem may be this: what if certain people with a genetic predisposition for overweight or obesity are biologically driven to overeat certain foods (such as refined carbohydrates and sugar)? It is far from conclusive, (and I talk about it in this comprehensive post about sugar) but there is a school of thought that refined carbohydrates and sugar could be addictive in some individuals. If it proves true, aren’t we judging and–even worse—alienating many people we are trying to help by telling them, or even trying to teach them, to simply “eat intuitively”?

I believe it’s not fair, accurate, or helpful to call eating “intuitive” in our food culture and that it does more harm than good.

Rant over!

That said, can one learn to eat mindfully? Absolutely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, it appears mindfulness may be harder for some people to learn and practice, perhaps due to one or more of the following:

  • our fast-paced culture,
  • our food supply,
  • differing genes,
  • and/or emotional issues (including eating disorders).

Some people can eat “everything in moderation” while others prefer to avoid certain foods because they can’t stop at a “reasonable” portion. It’s highly individual and we all know ourselves best, although sometimes need help and guidance teasing out all the factors that affect building healthy eating habits.

It should be noted it is impossible to talk about mindful eating without fully addressing the emotional aspects of eating, especially eating disorders, preferably with qualified therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists, in addition to RDs.

Nonetheless, mindfulness for most everyone involves learning to incorporate more real foods, and far fewer processed foods, especially those with refined carbohydrates. I like to say it is a practice, because it is important enough to do the hard work and there is no room for perfection or guilt–just keep at it the best you can.

And you can always count on me to try to make practicing mindfulness as simple as possible with an ever-growing list of easy, real food recipes.  Stay tuned for a post with specific tips on how to practice eating mindfully!

Eat Local!

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Do you “eat local”? It happens to be a major food trend. Surely you’ve seen some bumper stickers? You might even say it’s “trendy.” And if that’s what gets you to eat local, I can live with that. After all, I’m a foodie, too! But if you’re on the fence about buying locally produced food–and wondering if it’s worth the extra cost–let me share the many advantages that I strongly believe make it worthwhile to eat local. You may not be able to eat local all the time, but the more often you do, the more you support your community while enjoying the personal benefits. I love it when everybody wins!

Do you think it’s ironic that, as a military spouse, I’m talking about anything local? Oh, it’s not lost on me…(oh, and please don’t ask me, “Where are you from?” unless you have the time.) But in talking to someone today about anticipating the next possible move, I found myself saying, “I never want to leave wherever I am.” I do love it here in Virginia Beach. And in Japan when I volunteered as a mentor for COMPASS, I even taught the “Local Insights” class.  Hmmm…maybe I embrace a “local” life like no native could! Not better, just different, and I’m grateful for the opportunities!

And I would be remiss, as the Wandering RD, if I didn’t mention that eating local takes on new meaning when you are traveling and exploring a new place. Whether in the US or elsewhere, eating local allows you to experience the unique flavor of a culture–through its people and its food–however temporarily. Yes, everybody eats…but we all do it a little differently. Not better, just different, and I’m fascinated by this!

The bottom line: eat local whether you’re a native, a transplant or just passing through!

Top Reasons to Eat Local:

  1. Local food is fresher. It doesn’t have far to travel from farm to table. Local produce is not generally waxed or sprayed with any gases, and it naturally lasts longer than conventional produce because it is often picked within 24 hours before it is purchased. Conventional fruits and vegetables are often in transit for 7 to 14 days before arriving at a grocery store.
  2. Local food may contain more nutrients. Because local produce is generally fresher, certain nutrients (for example, vitamin C) don’t have time to break down after harvesting and before the food can be consumed.
  3. Local food is sold in season and tastes better. Local produce is not usually picked before it is ripe to allow time for travel. It is allowed to mature naturally and this offers the best possible taste.
  4. Local food is better for the environment. Local food uses fewer natural resources and less packaging during transit. Many local farmers engage in sustainable eco-friendly practices. Farming also preserves land and open space and prevents overdevelopment and the various forms of pollution that accompany it.
  5. Local food contributes to the local economy. Farms and restaurants using local food products are typically small businesses providing a valuable product and/or service to the community and need local support in order to succeed. Patronage benefits the small business owner and the local economy in general. And the open space provided by farmland maintains beauty and quintessential charm to an area, which can also contribute to tourism.
  6. Local food is grown by your accountable neighbors—often according to the highest standards of farming practices, even when not technically certified “organic.” You can ask the growers about their methods or even visit the farm yourself to find out.
  7. Local food is more and more convenient every day. Urban farmer’s markets are the norm now in many cities. There are many restaurants with a focus on using local products. You can join a community supported agriculture (CSA) program where you prepay for the season and receive weekly boxes of produce. Or there are home delivery options where you can have local products delivered. The Neighborhood Harvest in Suffolk, VA delivers locally, hydroponically grown salad greens, microgreens, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggs and more. All of these options are making local food far more accessible than ever.
  8. Local food is easy, real food! Local farm foods are the most optimal easy, real foods! Vegetables, fruits, eggs, meat and dairy products… If you aren’t finding them to be easy, we can change that! Check out my recipe index, which I am continually growing (pun intended). And don’t hesitate to ask me what to do with that strange vegetable you get in your CSA or any other question!

What About You?

What’s your experience with eating local? Do you shop at a farmer’s market? Have you tried a CSA? Do you pick your own strawberries or blueberries? Do you have a garden? (Even that counts as local!) What motivates (or would motivate) you to eat local? Share it here!

Resources

Obesity and My Musings on What We Know For Sure

thewanderingrd2 Comments

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble; it’s what you know for sure that does.  –Mark Twain”

This is such a popular quote, you may have heard it. I love how it succinctly summarizes my beefs with nutrition. I mean, how would you feel if your mommy brain (or daddy brain, Google says that’s a real thing) realized one day, after spending 7 years of your life on higher education, that everything you learned “for sure” is fundamentally wrong? And, oh by the way, you are still paying for that higher education? (The only bright side is consolidation at an extremely low rate…but I digress.)

Well, I can tell you how I felt. Somewhat stupid. In trouble even. But only at first, because I realized for a moment I fell into the very nutrition trap non-experts can get sucked into—taking everything at face value and not digging deeper. Well, if I believe it’s not the destination, but the wandering journey that’s important, I can at least find some peace (i.e., forgiveness for my moments of professional weakness) and resolve to make things better for myself and anyone who will listen. The fact is, my education (both in school and in life since) has given me all the skills I need to analyze nutrition science and its many influences, i.e., politics, economics, society, etc. And in so doing, I like to think I’m able to provide information you don’t often find on the Internet. (And so, to B, I say: really, it’s priceless, this “negative dowry” I brought to our marriage. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it this time.)

So, in this first “overview” post, let’s consider this morsel: why do we get fat? I thought we knew the answer 20 years ago when I started my career: we get fat because we eat too much, or exercise too little, or both. Calories in exceed calories out, so we store them as fat. End of story, right?

Well, as sure as we were, it appears that is not true. After decades of being urged by the USDA to eat more carbohydrates (mainly grains, breads and starches) and fewer fats (particularly saturated fat from meats, eggs and dairy products) and proteins (meats and eggs, for example),1,2 the obesity epidemic has steadily increased,3 and diabetes along with it.4 Researchers have learned diet affects many systems in the body (see Figure 15), so that they now realize we have grossly oversimplified weight gain. In fact, we have been looking at it all wrong.

Dieteffects copy

We don’t eat too much to get fat.  Getting fat makes us eat too much.6

What exactly does that mean? Obesity is considered a disease condition, which occurs in some people who have the genetic metabolic misfortune that causes their body’s hormones (namely insulin, and others) to drive them to overeat the wrong type of foods, thereby causing weight gain.5,6

Another way to say it is this: a calorie is not a calorie. That is, if you are prone to obesity your body handles carbohydrates (especially refined carbohydrates and sugar) differently than protein and fat.7,8 This may not sound like that big of a deal, especially if you are thin as you read this, but the implications are indeed huge (pun intended):

  1. Being overweight or obese is considered a medical condition—not simply gluttony and a lack of willpower. Some people have genes that make them more susceptible to obesity. That, coupled with the poor quality of food (rich in refined carbohydrates) that has become our culture, creates a serious medical problem. When we consider studies in which thin people try like crazy to gain weight and can’t no matter how much they eat or how little they exercise, the theory of gluttony falls apart.9 In short, some people have thin genes and stay thin no matter what they eat, some people have obesity genes and can keep weight off by choosing better foods, and a small percentage of people have obesity genes that are expressed regardless of what they eat. But I am ashamed to say in the past I have judged patients who have not been successful with the “simple” advice I have given them. If you’re honest, you have probably done the same, sizing up strangers at the grocery store or out at a restaurant when they choose unhealthy foods. Still worse, if you’re like most people, you have probably felt ashamed of yourself for not being able to get to or stay at a healthy weight. I’d love for us all, individually and as a society, to leave the shame out of it and instead focus on figuring out what to do next.
  2. If you are overweight or obese, you can change how you eat and still feel satisfied. Most people who are overweight have tried many diets. Most of these leave you feeling hungry and deprived. You do have a choice to make—to change how you eat—but you don’t have to starve yourself when you are choosing the healthiest foods for your body. Real, whole foods as part of a diet that is lower in carbohydrates (especially refined ones) and processed foods will leave you feeling satisfied, improve your health, and help you lose inches and/or weight…but I’ll elaborate much more on that soon and over time!
  3. You do not need to count calories to eat for better health and lose weight. I have always hated calories. Calorie counting is a lot of work, takes the fun out of eating, and usually towards the end of the day, leaves you feeling short-changed. If you’re eating the healthiest foods for your body, they will satisfy you and you will be able to stop eating when you feel full.  When some people eat too many carbohydrates and highly refined carbohydrates, it can cause a cyclical hormonal response that causes frequent hunger and subsequent overeating.6 Side note: have you ever wondered why we even use calories to measure the energy food provides? Burning foods in a laboratory to obtain their caloric value makes no sense when that’s not what happens when we eat them. Let’s forget about calories and commit to choosing better quality foods and see what happens
  4. You don’t even need to exercise to lose weight. Don’t get me wrong, it is very important to exercise for many health benefits, such as heart health, stress relief and mood, improved sleep, and maintaining muscular and bone strength, especially as we age. And exercise also helps people with diabetes or impaired glucose metabolism use carbohydrates better, which indirectly may make weight loss more achievable. But studies show when we exercise in an attempt to lose weight, we compensate with an increase in appetite and intake of food.10 We also may unknowingly compensate by decreasing activity later in the day after we’ve exercised.11 So, the effects are balanced pretty evenly by the body. Think of all the people who run marathons but are not extremely thin. The take home point is this: weight control in overweight people is more about changing how you eat than changing how much you exercise.
  5. Even if you’re not overweight, this information still applies to you. I hear many people tell me they never had a problem with obesity, until suddenly they did in middle age. So, you never know if you might have to deal with obesity yourself and it’s easier to prevent weight gain than it is to lose weight. At the very least, it is possible you know people who are overweight or obese and knowing this information can modify your perceptions—and society itself over time—to become more accepting and helpful to those plagued with obesity and all that goes along with it. But even if you could guarantee obesity would never be a problem for you, there are many other diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and cancer that may possibly be prevented by eating a healthier lower carbohydrate, low sugar diet. Diabetes, Alzheimer’s and cancer have been shown to be related to obesity.12,13,14  Alzheimer’s has even been dubbed “type 3 diabetes.”15,16 The research linking obesity to refined carbohydrates and sugar is mounting.17,18,19 And inflammation may be part of the process by which certain diseases are precipitated by dietary factors.20,21 It is altogether possible these other diseases are related to refined carbohydrates and sugar intake even in the absence of obesity. Although there is research about decreasing risk of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle approaches including decreased refined carbohydrates,22 much more research is needed in other areas. But to this self-diagnosed “control freak,” it’s fascinating to think that through our nutrition we might have this much natural control over many aspects of our health.

Are you with me so far? I’m cruising through topics because this is a “big picture” of where we are headed, together I hope. I will conclude with this for now: sometimes, as in the case of obesity, we think we know something for sure. But if we let bias get in the way and are not diligent in considering the old and new evidence fully, we get into trouble and may even have to retract our words…I hate it when that happens! There is always going to be a tremendous amount of misinformation about nutrition and your health circulating the Internet. I can’t change that. But I can sift through it carefully and share fascinating topics, elaborating on what I’ve started to explain here, and how it’s made my family change the way we eat on a daily basis. Although if you’re looking for perfection, you won’t find it here. But we are redefining our taste buds and keeping things healthy, simple and tasty. And yes, I’m working on recipes!

For the record, misinformation isn’t just the case with science; although Mark Twain is usually referenced as the author to the quote above, there is actually no record he said it. But even film makers (The Big Short) have credited him for it. Even though I expect movies to take creative liberties, I was nonetheless disillusioned to find out the quote was erroneous. Checking the facts—scientific or otherwise—is labor-intensive, but because I believe we are better off for it, I am happy to do it for you whenever I can. Thanks for waiting for my posts and reading! Please ask questions or share your comments if I have piqued your interest…or even made you feel uncomfortable.

References