Nutrition overview - Food as Medicine

We spend a lot of our time thinking about what we are eating, what "should" we be eating, and how our nutrition is affecting our health.  The next few blog entries we will touch on some of the major topics in nutrition.  Notice I use the word nutrition to describe what food you put into your body to fuel your life - I don't like the word "diet" because it tends to imply something that you "go on to", or something you do for a short period of time.  Nutrition is foundational to our health. 

Americans are bombarded with information every single day about "healthy eating" - from our parents, spouses or significant others, coworkers, books, magazines, TV shows, commercials, and the list goes on and on...  However, as a nation, we have the highest rates of obesity, and obesity-related disease, of all the developed countries.  This summer of 2013, the American Medical Association (AMA) finally recognized obesity as a disease - hopefully to bring more attention to the health consequences of obesity, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and to get better insurance reimbursement for the providers who are working with their patients to help them get to a healthy weight.

The rates of obesity (defined as BMI above 30) have sky-rocketed in the last 20 years.

We have forgotten somewhere along the way that our food is our medicine.  Most of the pharmaceuticals and prescription medications that we have today can be traced back to a plant origin.  Just because something is made in nature, does not mean that it is not potent.  We evolved eating food that came from the land - foraging wild fruits, veggies, nuts, roots, fungi, and hunting wild meat.  This diet is not feasible for the vast majority of us in the current day.  However, what does remain is that our bodies evolved to function, grow, and be healthy entirely fueled by foods that we got from our environment (which did not include dietary supplements from our local drug store).

So what's the bottom line??
1) Food is our original medicine, and we should try to get most of our nutrition from foods that are found in their original state.  Try to eat or cook with WHOLE foods - things that you could find in a garden.  Using foods that are close to their original state allows your body to best utilize the food, without additional ingredients or processing.
2) Avoid foods that come pre-packaged and highly-processed.  Just because it says "Lean Cuisine" or "healthy" on the package doesn't mean it is good for you.

Try to eat at least one of each color every day!

3) Try to eat a wide variety of foods, as this will get a wide variety of nutrients and minerals. A good rule of thumb is to eat one of each color every day, i.e. something that is red (like strawberries or an apple), something orange (like yams or golden beets), something yellow (like squash or a bell pepper), something green (like kale, spinach, broccoli, or avocado), and something blue/purple (like blueberries or eggplant). 
4) Supplements should only be used when we are not getting adequate nutrition from our foods.
5) Exercise is necessary in order to maintain our health, prevent disease, and maintain a healthy weight.  Goal: at least 30 minutes, 5 days per week (at a minimum).  Figure out something that works for you and your life.
6) Avoid sweetened beverages, both diet and sugar-containing.  Drink water!
7) Maintaining a healthy weight is not just about "looking good" as our culture defines it, but rather is about preventing diseases that can be caused by excessive weight.

We will talk about many different aspects of nutrition and exercise in future blog posts, and discuss how to get all of the nutrients you need from a healthy, balanced diet.  If there is a specific question you have or want addressed regarding nutrition and exercise, let us know!

In the mean time, some good nutrition resources include the Harvard School of Public Heath, the American Heart Association, the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, or the CDC.