Whole food nutrition is important to sustain proper cellular function. Your body requires whole food phytonutrients that are able to be absorbed and utilized by your cells for energy, maintenance and repair. A healthy and varied diet can help to maintain a healthy body weight, enhance general wellbeing and reduce the risk of a number of diseases including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis.
When the body is not receiving adequate amounts of high-quality, nutritious foods it requires it will eventually begin to break down. We are drifting away from nutritionally balanced, homemade meals to quick, pre-packaged, “grab-as-I-run-out-the-door-and-eat-in-the-car” meals. Many of these foods consumed on a daily basis are nutritionally void, and high in saturated fats, sodium, nitrates, preservatives, artificial colors and flavors, and pesticides. How can we expect our bodies to maintain a good state of health if we are not providing them what they require for basic daily functions?
Here are seven key principles that you can follow to easily give your body the best chance of achieving and maintaining good health.
• Eat a "rainbow" assortment of fruits and vegetables
• Reduce your exposure to pesticides
• Eat to regulate your blood sugar level
• Do not over consume meat and other animal foods
• Eat the right types of fats
• Keep your salt intake low, your potassium intake high
• Drink a sufficient amount of water each day
1. EAT A 'RAINBOW' ASSORTMENT OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
This essentially means selecting fruits and vegetables in a variety of colors, including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Doing this ensures you are providing your body with the full spectrum of pigments with powerful antioxidant effects as well as other nutrients important for optimal health and protection against illness.
Some experts believe that cancer is a result of a “maladaptation” over time to an inadequate intake of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables contain substances referred to as phytochemicals which help to protect against cancer. Phytochemicals include:
• Pigments such as carotenes, chlorophyll and flavonoids
• Dietary fiber
• Enzymes
• Vitamin-like compounds
2. REDUCE YOUR EXPOSURE TO PESTICIDES
Most of our food crops in North America are heavily sprayed with pesticides and herbicides each year. The amounts and variety of pesticides now used are far greater than in any other time in history. Many food products will have a number of pesticide residues, for example Agriculture Canada reports that the average peach in Canada has 31 pesticide residues!
Even though the residue from one pesticide may not exceed the maximum allowable level, a number of residues from pesticides of the same class, acting at the same physiological sites, will have a cumulative and possibly toxic effect. It is very difficult for our bodies to detoxify and eliminate these chemicals, and they end up being stored in our fat cells. The majority of pesticide and herbicide chemicals act on the parasympathetic and central nervous systems and have the potential to disrupt human hormone and endocrine systems, impair the immune system, alter the reproductive system, cause developmental and behavioral changes such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, and increase the susceptibility of cancer. Once in the body, these chemicals can mimic the hormone estrogen, increasing the risk of estrogen-related health problems including breast cancer. Exposure to these chemicals through food consumption actually damages your body's detoxification mechanisms, thereby increasing your risk of getting cancer and other diseases.
Take farmers for example, they typically have a much healthier lifestyle when compared to city dwellers. They have access to lots of fresh food, breathe cleaner air, work harder physically, and generally have a lower rate of cigarette smoking and alcohol use. All that being said however, studies show that farmers have a much higher risk of developing lymphomas, leukemias, and cancers of the stomach, prostate, brain and skin. In fact farmers exposed to herbicides, through spraying and predominantly skin absorption, for more than 20 days per year have been found to have a sixfold increase of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. (Hoar, Z.S., Blair, A, et al. Agricultural Herbicide use and risk of lymphoma and soft tissue sarcoma. JAMA 1886.256, 1141-47.)
Children are more prone to the damaging effects of pesticides because they have different metabolic rates, greater absorptive areas, they eat more food relative to their body mass, and they consume more foods higher in pesticide residues, such as juices, fresh fruits, and vegetables. Children's detoxification systems may still be immature, so their ability to fight off the harmful effects of certain chemicals may be much weaker than an adult's.
The pesticides that are of most concern are the halogenated hydrocarbon family (DDE, PCB, PCP, dieldrin, and chlordane) as these chemicals remain in the environment almost indefinitely. For example, DDT has been banned for nearly thirty years, however it can still be found in soil and root vegetables.
There are ways to help avoid consuming pesticides in your diet:
• Limit your consumption of foods that have a tendency to concentrate pesticides, such as animal fats, meat, eggs, cheese, and milk. Try to purchase free-range and organic forms of these foods.
• Choose organic fruits and vegetables.
• Try to buy local produce, in season.
• To help remove surface pesticide residues, waxes, fungicides, and fertilizers, soak them in a mild solution of additive-free soap. All-natural, biodegradable cleansers are also available at most health food stores. An alternative is to peel the skin or remove the outer leaves of the produce; however these outer layers contain many beneficial nutrients.
3. EAT TO REGULATE YOUR BLOOD SUGAR LEVEL
Every time you consume a meal your blood sugar rises, however certain foods have the ability to cause a rapid rise in blood sugar which boosts the secretion of insulin by the pancreas. Refined sugars, white flour products, and other simple refined carbohydrates are quickly metabolized and absorbed into the blood as glucose. High-sugar, junk-food diets definitely lead to poor blood glucose regulation, obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and ultimately type II diabetes.
The Glycemic Index (GI) rates foods according to how they affect blood glucose levels. Foods are rated as:
• Low-glycemic - these foods will cause the least amount of insulin production and should be the emphasis of the diet.
• Moderate-glycemic - these foods should be consumed in moderation.
• High-glycemic - these foods should be avoided and consumed in minimum quantities as they have the greatest impact on raising blood sugar.
The glycemic index compares the potential of foods containing the same amount of carbohydrate to raise blood glucose. However, the amount of carbohydrate consumed also affects blood glucose levels and insulin responses; this is where the Glycemic Load (GL) comes in. The glycemic load is a relatively new way to assess the impact of carbohydrate consumption that takes the glycemic index into account but gives a more complete picture of the effect that a food has on blood sugar levels based on how much carbohydrate you actually eat in a serving. The glycemic load of a food is calculated by multiplying the glycemic index by the amount of carbohydrate in grams provided by a food and dividing the total by 100. The concept of glycemic load was developed by scientists to simultaneously describe the quality (glycemic index) and quantity of carbohydrate in a meal or diet.
The glycemic load rating food is as follows:
• GL of 20 or more is high
• GL of 11 - 19 is medium
• GL of 10 or less is low.
As long as you eat a reasonable portion of a low-glycemic-load food, the impact on blood sugar is acceptable, even if the food is high in its GI. Generally, foods that are mostly water (i.e. apple, watermelon), fiber (i.e. beetroot, carrot), or air (i.e. popcorn) will not cause a steep rise in your blood sugar even if their GI is high, as long as you consume them in moderation and are conscious of portion size.
4. DO NOT OVER CONSUME MEAT AND OTHER ANIMAL FOODS
Studies are consistently confirming that the higher your intake of meat and other animal products, the higher your risk of heart disease and cancer, especially colon, breast, prostate, and lung cancers. There are several contributing factors to this relationship:
Antioxidants and phytochemicals that help to prevent cancer from developing are not found in meat.
Meat contains high quantities of saturated fat and other potentially carcinogenic compounds such as pesticide residue and when the meat is grilled, fried, or broiled it produces heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The more it is cooked, the higher the level of amines and hydrocarbons.
What about the commonly asked question: “Shouldn't we eat a diet high in meat like our cavemen ancestors did”? Our industrially produced meat that we purchase, shrink-wrapped, from the supermarket and consume is so very different from the wild animals that early humans ate, that the argument really doesn't hold up. Meat from free-living animals and wild game has a fat content of less than 4 percent and is contains more than five times the polyunsaturated fat (good fat) per gram and has substantial amounts (around 4%) of omega-3 fatty acids (good fat). The industrialized breeding of cattle to meet the demand of tender meat results in a fat content of 25 percent to 30 percent or more which contains mainly saturated fats (bad fats) and virtually no omega-3 fatty acids (good fats). Range-fed animals contain ten times as much conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) as grain-fed animals. CLA is an altered form of linoleic acid (an essential fatty acid), occurs naturally in meat and dairy products, and studies show that it appears to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.
Meats that are cured or smoked (i.e. hot dogs, ham, bacon, and jerky) are of particular concern because they contain sodium nitrate and/or sodium nitrites which dramatically increase the risk for cancer. These chemicals are added to help keep the food from spoiling, however they react with the amino acids in foods in the stomach to form highly carcinogenic compounds known as nitrosamines.
If you choose to consume red meat in your diet:
• Try to purchase free-range, organically raised meats or wild game.
• Limit your intake to no more than 3 or 4 ounces daily which is approximately the size of a deck of paying cards.
• Be sure to choose leanest cuts available, avoid fat laden meats.
• Avoid consuming well-done and charbroiled meat.
• Don't eat cured meats including bacon, hot dogs, ham, and jerky, especially if you are pregnant or to children under 12.
5. EAT THE RIGHT TYPES OF FATS
There are different types of fat, some good for you and some bad, and the type you consume is just as important as the amount of fat you eat in your daily diet. There is no question that a diet high in fat, particularly saturated fat and cholesterol, has been linked to many cancers, cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension, skin diseases and diabetes.
The goal for obtaining a healthy diet is to decrease your total fat intake - especially of saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, and omega-6 fats - while increasing your intake of omega-3 fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids. Most people today are consuming way too much of the omega-6 oils found in meats and most vegetable oils (soy, sunflower, safflower, and corn), and at the same time are relatively deficient in the monounsaturated fats from nuts, seeds, olive oil, and canola oil, as well as deficient in the omega-3 fats found in fish and flaxseed oil.
Dietary fat determines cell membrane composition, providing the basis of what makes a fat “bad” or “good”. Our membranes are composed mostly of fatty acids, and the type of fatty acid in the cell is determined by the type of fat you consume. A diet high in cholesterol and in “bad” fats such as saturated fat, animal fatty acids, trans-fatty acids from margarine, shortening, and other sources of hydrogenated vegetable oils results in membranes that are much less fluid in nature, and thus unhealthy. Without a healthy membrane, the cells can't function properly and they lose their ability to hold water, vital nutrients, and electrolytes. They lose their ability to communicate with other cells and be controlled by regulating hormones, including insulin. These “unnatural” and unhealthy forms of fatty acids interfere with the body's ability to utilize important essential fatty acids. “Good” fats such as monounsaturated fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids have just the opposite effect. Olive oil is a great choice as it contains not only the monounsaturated fatty acid, oleic acid; it is also rich in several antioxidant agents that may account for some of its health benefits.
6. KEEP YOUR SALT INTAKE LOW, YOUR POTASSIUM INTAKE HIGH
It is pretty common knowledge now that too much sodium in the diet from salt (sodium chloride) can cause high blood pressure, but less well known is that it also increases the risk of cancer. In order to reach our goal of a higher level of health we must change our dietary habits to decrease our salt intake and increase our potassium intake. In today's diet, only about 5% of sodium intake comes from the natural ingredients found in food. The rest consist of: 45% from prepared foods, 45% added in cooking and another 5% from added condiments.
There are some simple steps you can take in order to reduce your daily sodium intake:
• Do not keep a salt shaker on the table.
• Omit adding salt when preparing food.
• Try using salt substitutes, if necessary. Products such as NoSalt and Nu-Salt are made with potassium chloride and taste very similar to sodium chloride.
• Learn to enjoy the flavors of unsalted food and try flavoring food with herbs, spices, and lemon juice.
• When purchasing pre-packaged foods, read the label carefully to determine the amount of sodium they contain. Try to choose ones that are low in sodium or are sodium-reduced.
• Read labels carefully and recognize the ingredients that contain sodium: soy sauce, salt brine, or any ingredient with sodium as part of its name, such as monosodium glutamate or baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).
• Words on labels or menus that signal that the food is high in sodium are: barbecued, broth, marinated, Parmesan, pickled, smoked, and tomato base foods.
• Condiments and prepared sauces are often high in sodium: barbecue sauce, cocktail sauce, mustard, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, and many salad dressings.
• Avoid canned foods, especially vegetables or soups, as they often contain extremely high amounts of sodium.
Along with watching our sodium intake, you also should be trying to increase your potassium intake as well. Most people have a potassium-to-sodium intake (K:Na) ratio of less than 1:2 as a result of ingesting twice as much sodium as potassium. Some experts believe that the most favorable K:Na ratio is greater than 5:1, however, even this may not be optimal. A natural diet rich in fruits and vegetables can easily produce a much higher K:Na ratio, because most fruits and vegetables have a K:Na ratio of at least 50:1 (i.e. Apples = 90:1, Bananas = 440:1, Carrots = 75:1, Potatoes = 110:1).
7. DRINK A SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF WATER EACH DAY
The human body is composed of approximately 70% water. The body's water supply is responsible for and involved in nearly every bodily process, including digestion, absorption, circulation, and excretion. While the body can survive without food for about five weeks, the body can not survive without water for longer than five days.
We need to drink at least 48 ounces of water per day to replace the water that is lost through urination, sweat, and breathing in order to avoid becoming dehydrated. Basically that means you need to drink a glass of water at least every two hours you are awake, giving you the recommended eight or more glasses per day. Your goal should be eight to twelve glasses per day). Several factors increase your risk of developing mild dehydration and may require you to increase your water intake:
• A faulty thirst "alarm" in the brain
• Disliking the taste of water
• Regular exercise that increases the amount of water lost through sweat
• Living in a hot, dry climate
• Use of diuretics - substances that draw water out of your cells and increase the rate of urination.
• Drinking coffee or alcohol - this is of particular importance because if you drink two cups of water and two cups of coffee, cola, or beer, you may end up with a net water intake of zero! If you consume these beverages, you must compensate by drinking an additional glass of water.
Water is important for many vital functions in the body:
• Water is the primary transporter of nutrients throughout the body and so is necessary for all building functions in the body.
• Many nutrients such as water soluble-vitamins dissolve in water making them more easily absorbed in your digestive tract
• Water helps to regulate body temperature by absorbing and transporting heat. For example, heat produced by muscle cells during exercise is carried by water in the blood to the surface, helping your body maintain the right temperature balance. The skin cells also release water as perspiration, which helps keep you cool.
• Many metabolic processes need to take place in water
• Water is a component of blood and thus is important for transporting chemicals and nutrients to cells and tissues.
• Each of your cells is constantly bathed in a watery fluid.
• Water transports waste materials from your cells to your kidneys so they can be filtered out and eliminated
Many people find it a challenge to get in their eight to twelve glasses of water a day. Here are some easy tips to help:
• Make a bet with a friend, family member, or co-worker to see who can drink more water in the course of a day
• Have a big glass of water every time you change your activity through the day such as when you wake up, just before you leave the house, when you sit down at work, before you leave work, etc
• Keep a big bottle of water handy and within reach of you all day whether you are at work, at home, in the car, watching TV, doing laundry, making meals, etc.
• It helps to drink out of a cup or bottle that has measurements on the side so that you can keep track of how much you are drinking.
• If you are drinking fruit juice, fill half the glass with water.
• If you feel a craving for junk food or are hungry at night, drink a big glass of water. Thirst commonly manifests as hunger.
• Remember that if you drink cola, coffee, or alcohol, you must compensate by drinking an additional glass of water
• Have one glass of water every hour on the hour at work, and you are almost done for the day
• Drink your water through a straw - you tend to take bigger gulps and drink much more
• Add lemon, lime, or orange juice to your water. Not only will this help with digestion, it also makes the water taste great. Instead of juice, freeze bits of lemons, limes, or oranges in ice cubes
• After every trip to the washroom, drink a big glass of water
It is important not to wait until you feel thirsty, as this is your body's signal that you are already dehydrated.
References:
Murray, Michael.
The Condensed Encyclopedia of Healing Foods. Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, November 2006
www.gca.ca/indexcms/index.php?pfn
lpi.oregonstate.edu
www.dwlz.com/WWinfo/water.html
Quotes:
"Nutrition can be compared with a chain in which all essential items are separate links. We know what happens if one link of a chain is weak or is missing. The whole chain falls apart." Patrick Wright, Ph.D
"The human body heals itself and nutrition provides the resources to accomplish the task." Roger Williams Ph.D. (1971)
"The cell is immortal. It is merely the fluid in which it floats that degenerates. Renew this fluid at regular intervals, give the cells what they require for nutrition, and as far as we know, the pulsation of life can go on forever." Dr. Alexis Carrell - Nobel prize winner
"Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food." - Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.)