I get a lot of people ask what a healthy eating plan looks like. It really isn't so simple though. I think what people want is a recipe. If they eat a+b+c, then they will get result d. It doesn't work that easily though. There are a lot of similarities between us humans, there are also a lot of unique traits. We should be thankful because diversity is what keeps a species alive. The downside is that we need to concentrate on our individual body to get the best results.
To carb or not to carb? With so much research at the moment promoting a low carbohydrate diet and the benefits of it we could be led to believe that completely cutting back is the answer. There are people from the zero carb movement who have been doing it for years with some amasing results. Time permitting I hope to investigate these diets and present some examples for anyone new to the concept. The main worry we had as health care practitioners was the overall effects of no carbs on the body. We believed, up until quite recently, that the brain can only run on carbohydrates. This was some of the basis behind turning a blind eye to some of the negative effects of a carb rich diet. The problem we may have now is that with all those negative effects of carbohydrates being highlighted as big news people are ignoring the good points.
What is our personal reason for eating? I think we need to ask ourselves the question, what are we eating for? Energy for working or playing, socialising, body transformation, long life, a form of feel good buzz. There are even more reasons why people eat, all of them will have a different plan for eating. Research is leading us towards greater understanding of how the body works and we are constantly narrowing down our theories until we can find the best ones out there. 20 years ago we were taught on our nutrition courses to get our elite endurance clients to carb load. We have since found out that it is better to keto adapt, a lot better. The cycles of mTor and AMPK activation in the body has shown different effects for muscle growth that we are still uncovering today. Once we know what our motivation is for eating, we can plan for it better.
Food is our energy and what our body is made of. We have moved way beyond a calorie is a calorie. At one stage we thought it was just a simple calorie surplus or deficit to add or lose weight. Let the body sort out the rest. That was a very lazy way of doing things, and even now, those who find the explanation of how different foods work on and in the body will aggressively defend their positions. The body is very complex and hormonal responses that we have inherited over years of evolution play an important part in how we use the food we eat. As previously mentioned, we have similarities and unique differences. This is where experimentation diets come a long way.
Take time to learn about your body. Most people don't want to get an expensive food tolerance test that may or may not be accurate. It can take a lot more time but recording the way your body acts to certain foods can help. How do you feel when you eat a lot of carbs? How do you feel when you eat a lot of fibre? A lot of fats? protein? You could also try different forms of macronutrients and see how they affect you. Try it for at least a week. Remember that sometimes a new food source or dietary regime can be hard to adapt to because we don't have enough gut biome. You can develop them over time and this biome is unique to us all. If you can, try to get a simple blood glucose kit, keto strips (pee strips). Record your results as you eat different food. A little bit of difficulty now will save problems later. You don't need to keep recording because you know how certain things affect you.
We may have spent years eating the wrong way. Chances are that because of advertising and government guidelines our family eating habits may have changed. We may have been eating perfectly suitable foods for our bodies due to the passing down of recipes from the previous generation. There is probably no way for us to remember what that was as even the oldest person alive today was affected by advertising. Try to have some patience with your journey.
There are people who live healthily on different proportions of macronutrients. We need to eat for ourselves and not just because someone else eats that way. We can get some inspiration to try out new plans, but listen to your body. try to cut processed food out. Choose organic where it is available. Limit the amount of food if possible. Try not to eat constantly (we are not grazing cows). Use the food you eat by moving a little bit each day. See what food works for you, not necessarily the one that gives you the greatest high. Most of all, don't just shove anything into your mouth without knowing what it will do to you. Leave that kind of eating to the dogs.
Stay Healthy!
To carb or not to carb? With so much research at the moment promoting a low carbohydrate diet and the benefits of it we could be led to believe that completely cutting back is the answer. There are people from the zero carb movement who have been doing it for years with some amasing results. Time permitting I hope to investigate these diets and present some examples for anyone new to the concept. The main worry we had as health care practitioners was the overall effects of no carbs on the body. We believed, up until quite recently, that the brain can only run on carbohydrates. This was some of the basis behind turning a blind eye to some of the negative effects of a carb rich diet. The problem we may have now is that with all those negative effects of carbohydrates being highlighted as big news people are ignoring the good points.
What is our personal reason for eating? I think we need to ask ourselves the question, what are we eating for? Energy for working or playing, socialising, body transformation, long life, a form of feel good buzz. There are even more reasons why people eat, all of them will have a different plan for eating. Research is leading us towards greater understanding of how the body works and we are constantly narrowing down our theories until we can find the best ones out there. 20 years ago we were taught on our nutrition courses to get our elite endurance clients to carb load. We have since found out that it is better to keto adapt, a lot better. The cycles of mTor and AMPK activation in the body has shown different effects for muscle growth that we are still uncovering today. Once we know what our motivation is for eating, we can plan for it better.
Food is our energy and what our body is made of. We have moved way beyond a calorie is a calorie. At one stage we thought it was just a simple calorie surplus or deficit to add or lose weight. Let the body sort out the rest. That was a very lazy way of doing things, and even now, those who find the explanation of how different foods work on and in the body will aggressively defend their positions. The body is very complex and hormonal responses that we have inherited over years of evolution play an important part in how we use the food we eat. As previously mentioned, we have similarities and unique differences. This is where experimentation diets come a long way.
Take time to learn about your body. Most people don't want to get an expensive food tolerance test that may or may not be accurate. It can take a lot more time but recording the way your body acts to certain foods can help. How do you feel when you eat a lot of carbs? How do you feel when you eat a lot of fibre? A lot of fats? protein? You could also try different forms of macronutrients and see how they affect you. Try it for at least a week. Remember that sometimes a new food source or dietary regime can be hard to adapt to because we don't have enough gut biome. You can develop them over time and this biome is unique to us all. If you can, try to get a simple blood glucose kit, keto strips (pee strips). Record your results as you eat different food. A little bit of difficulty now will save problems later. You don't need to keep recording because you know how certain things affect you.
We may have spent years eating the wrong way. Chances are that because of advertising and government guidelines our family eating habits may have changed. We may have been eating perfectly suitable foods for our bodies due to the passing down of recipes from the previous generation. There is probably no way for us to remember what that was as even the oldest person alive today was affected by advertising. Try to have some patience with your journey.
There are people who live healthily on different proportions of macronutrients. We need to eat for ourselves and not just because someone else eats that way. We can get some inspiration to try out new plans, but listen to your body. try to cut processed food out. Choose organic where it is available. Limit the amount of food if possible. Try not to eat constantly (we are not grazing cows). Use the food you eat by moving a little bit each day. See what food works for you, not necessarily the one that gives you the greatest high. Most of all, don't just shove anything into your mouth without knowing what it will do to you. Leave that kind of eating to the dogs.
Stay Healthy!
Photo by Ismail Addar on Unsplash
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