In last week’s column I reviewed the pros and cons of 12
diet plans, from the Atkins to the Zone.
Gleaning the best from each I’ll layout what I consider to be a healthy
dietary guideline, whether you are trying to lose weight, maximize athletic
performance, or simply stay healthy.
Quantity
Super-size meals equal super-size waistlines. Taking in way more calories than necessary
leads to weight gain, and weight loss will not happen unless we limit our
intake to a reasonable amount. Many of
us were taught to “clean our plate” and finish what we are served so as to not
be wasteful. Consider serving
sizes!
A proven technique to limit serving sizes is to serve food
on a smaller plate – same foods but smaller serving sizes. Also, remember that it takes about twenty
minutes for the brain to “catch-up” to the stomach. This means we often eat and eat until our
brain is satiated, at which point our stomach is stuffed. Eat half a sandwich or half the entrée, wait
a bit, and see if you are still hungry.
Have a cup of tea or coffee after a meal, and wait a bit to see if you
are still hungry for that calorie-packed dessert!
Humans are not equipped to “wolf down” large amounts of food
every few days or even once per day. We
are designed to be grazers, eating frequent small meals. Having three meals per day with snacks in
between fits well with our physiology.
While some studies suggest that skipping breakfast does not
interfere with weight loss I have to disagree with the notion that skipping
breakfast is ok, particularly for those who are overweight and already have
impaired hunger hormone signals. When we
awaken from a full night of sleep, the body is ready to “break the fast” and
replenish energy supplies. If we skip
breakfast, then the body has to breakdown stored energy supplies into glucose
for fuel.
Skipping breakfast is sort of an emergency to the body, calling
on the stress hormone cortisol to signal glucose production, and it can lead to
wide swings in blood sugar and insulin. This
will often leave people feeling weak, shaky, tired, or anxious feeling. Excess cortisol also causes fat to accumulate
around the midsection.
Quality
Our ancestors got their carbohydrates from raw, organic
fruits and vegetables. We are designed
to get six, eight or even ten servings per day.
Are you there yet? 90% of Americans
don’t get five per day, and this is where we are supposed to get many vitamins
and nutrients that are vital for proper metabolism and hormone function.
Sugar and starch are also carbohydrates. In the year 1900 the average American ate
about 3 pounds of refined sugar per year.
Flash forward to a 1994 study that showed we were up to between 50 and
150 pounds per year. We are not designed
for so much sugar!
Starch is a very simple carbohydrate that is digested and
broken down so quickly that it may as well be sugar. Grains, potatoes, pasta and rice are classic
examples. I’m not saying don’t eat
these, just eat so much, and when you do, try for whole-grain products that
take longer to break down and have more nutrients. Wheat breaks down to glucose so fast it will
actually spike blood sugar quicker than the same amount of table sugar.
Why should fruits and veggies be raw? Enzymes for digestion and the nutrients for
good health are found in raw foods. Canned
foods lose about 50% of the nutrients, while freezing causes a 20-30%
loss. Raw foods also maintain higher
levels of healthy fiber.
Why organic? Aside
from avoiding all the crazy chemicals (a whole other matter) our foods get
nutrients from soil, and soils that rely on synthetic fertilizers are mineral
depleted. Organic farming practices
encourage nutrient rich soil, which means nutrient rich food. Plus, organic produce usually tastes better.
Proteins and fats typically come together in food. We are designed for lean protein that is
either lower in total fat or higher in the healthy omega-3 fats, such as wild
game and fish. This does not jive with
the American sources including grain-fattened red meat, dairy and processed
foods such as chips and pastries. Again,
I’m not suggesting to avoid red meat or dairy, but to recognize there are other
protein rich foods and we are getting proportionately way too much saturated fat
from our typical protein sources.
For healthy protein, try grass-finished beef, venison,
free-range chickens and eggs, wild salmon and tuna, European or Greek style yogurts,
fermented soy products such as Tempeh, protein rich grains, nuts and seeds, and
legumes including peas and beans.
Fats are perhaps the most misunderstood dietary
element. Since the American Heart
Association (AHA) began its ideological low-fat campaign back in the 1980s we
have seen obesity rates skyrocket. It
seems trading fat for sugar and starch isn’t working out so well. The AHA missed the point in that we need
“good” fats, for fuel but also for the essential fatty acids, omega-3 and
omega-6, which have important roles in metabolism and inflammation.
Consume healthy oils from fruit (olive), nuts (almonds,
pecans, walnuts), or seeds (flax, chia, pumpkin). Cook with heat stable oils such as coconut
oil or butter. Use the more fragile,
lighter oils, such as olive, canola or safflower, in salads or dips. Stay away from unhealthy adulterated fats
including “trans-fats” and “hydrogenated oils” which are found mostly in
processed and packaged foods, and margarines.
My Dietary Plan
Eat breakfast. Have a
salad entrée for lunch or dinner including lots of greens with brightly colored
red, yellow, orange or purple veggies. Have
a healthy protein with every meal. Snack
on nuts, fruits or veggies. Enjoy
sparkling water or tea with lunch and wine with dinner. Avoid sugar in all its forms, minimize
high-glycemic carbohydrates and use salt sparingly. Serve meals on small plates with roughly 1
part protein, 2 parts fruit or veggies, and 1 part starch such as bread, pasta
or rice.
Take time to sit and enjoy meals – don’t eat on the run or
when you are distracted. Set down the
utensils, chew slowly, and savor your food.
Try to make mealtime an important time to visit with co-workers, family
or friends.
If you don’t cook, learn to cook. Make a mess, make mistakes, but learn to
cook. It will open up a world of healthy
foods. If you have to rely on prepared
foods, go for healthy versions such as NutriSystems. If you struggle with portion control or need
moral support, join Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers.
If you need to lose weight be certain that hormones such as
thyroid, estrogen, and testosterone are optimized. Get control of high cortisol. Get tested for delayed food allergies
particularly to gluten and dairy that can cause weight gain. Consider the HCG diet if you need a
“catalyst” to get weight under control.
That’s it for the “Rollins-Paleo-Mediterranean-Colorado
Diet” – hey, maybe the world needs another diet book!
FREE SEMINARS
“Cleanse and Detox for Great
Health”
Monday, April 15th
“Bioidentical Hormone Replacement
for WOMEN
Monday, April 29th
Seminars are at 6pm, at the IMC
RSVP at 245-6911
Bio
Scott Rollins, MD, is Board Certified with the American
Board of Family Practice and the American Board of Anti-Aging and Regenerative
Medicine. He specializes in Bioidentical Hormone Replacement for men and
women, thyroid and adrenal disorders, fibromyalgia, weight loss and other
complex medical conditions. He is
founder and medical director of the Integrative Medicine Center of Western
Colorado (www.imcwc.com)
and Bellezza Laser Aesthetics (www.bellezzalaser.com). Call 245-6911 for an appointment or more
information.
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