Let food be your medicine

“The wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings. Let food be your medicine.” Hippocrates

Eating right is a learned skill that needs to be practiced consciously and persistently until it becomes a habit. There are many reasons why we have been eating less healthy as we have become more affluent.  Our lives are more complicated, busy and rushed and to save time we have compromised our healthy eating behavior. There are more and more houses and apartments now being built without a working kitchen; we are eating out more, mostly high-calorie fast foods; we eat while multi-tasking, whenever we can, quickly and more alone. To make matters worse we also seem to overeat in response to stress even when we are not hungry. We seem to have more cravings, which override the natural feeling of fullness, to certain foods to deal with stress. We have become emotional-addictive eaters, feeding our stresses not our body. Scientists have discovered that serotonin, an important brain chemical responsible for feeling of wellness, can be altered with certain foods. High calorie junk foods, sugar containing desserts such as ice cream and cake, fast foods such as pizza and French fries play havoc with our brain’s serotonin levels. These foods are considered comfort food for the simple reason that they momentarily boost our serotonin level and thus help us feel better. The problem is that their effect is not long lasting and as our stress returns, we feel the need to eat again and this vicious cycle continues.  This binging behavior can also bring about other negative feelings such as guilt and depression.  To maintain a steady serotonin level in the brain a healthy way of eating is required. I believe that even the recently revised FDA food pyramid is not the healthiest way to eat.

Here are some general suggestions of how to eat healthier.

Lifestyle:

• Do not drink alcohol, even drinking moderately can harm you.
• Stop using nicotine-containing products.
• Eat slowly and chew your food, softer foods 5-10 times, and more dense foods (meats/vegetables) up to 30 times before swallowing.
• Learn techniques of mindful eating.
• Foster a healthy relationship with food and becoming aware of reactive, habitual patterns of eating.

Diet:

• Follow a Mediterranean Diet. Pick mostly vegetables and fruits from all parts of the color spectrum, fish and other sources of omega-3 fatty acids, some whole grains, monounsaturated fats, and low-fat dairy.
• Eat vegetable protein more than animal sources. Increase high-fiber diet including soluble fiber such as psyllium, oats, and barley.
• Decrease sugars and simple carbohydrates. Decreased consumption of red meat and fried foods
• Avoid high calorie processed foods of poor nutritional content and trans fats
• Low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean-type diet with a focus on low–glycemic index foods rich in antioxidants
• Rice (especially high amylose- less sticky brown rice) lowers insulin secretion in most people, but do not eat with animal protein)
• Choose foods with Glycemic Index of less than 60 and Glycemic load of less than 20.

Implement intermittent fasting

• Diet that cycle between a period of fasting and non-fasting during a defined period.
• Eat a good breakfast, good lunch and an early light supper. Eat most, about 80%, of your calories by 3-4 PM.
• Time-restricted feeding (TRF) involves eating only during a certain number of hours each day.  Start with fasting at night for 12 hours and then you may extend this TRF to 18 hours each day, only eating during the remaining 6 hours, preferably eating breakfast and lunch, and skipping dinner.
• Whole-day fasting (WDF) involves regular one-day fasts. Start with a liquid fast for one day a week and then increase to 2 different days out of the week, AKA the 5:2 diet. During the WDF you can consume water and broth. If needed may consume up to 500-600 calories during WDF.

Other Considerations:

• Avoid foods you are allergic to or cause digestive issues
• Use a rotation diet, if possible
• Do not eat these food combinations at the same time: Combining milk with any fruit, coconut, walnut, meat, egg, yogurt, horse grams, lentils, and vegetable cause disturbances of digestive enzymes. Avoid it completely. Do not combine fruits with any other food items