January 2012, the time for New Year’s Resolutions to shape a New You!  After two weeks of blogging, in which I introduced to you the importance of using diet and lifestyle to protect and optimize our health in this toxic world, I thought I’d take a moment to discuss the topic of dieting. There are so many experts with so many different viewpoints, one can get lost in a pool of confusion between low fat, high fat, and meat fat!  If the goal for diet is weight loss, you can pick any diet, because most diets will work, but results are usually only short-term. This is because most are aimed at starving out when particular component making the body work harder. Long term use of restrictive plans such as no carbohydrates or no proteins can cause a lot of strain on the body.

However, if the aim is health maintenance, body weight with adjust without severe and restrictive plans, and a lot less stress. So the question remains-do you eat like a caveman, a vegan, according to your blood type, all organic, all juice or what??…Too many experts, too many viewpoints….it’s enough to make your head spin! There’s a place for  all of these diets. They will work for some people some of the time, but not all people, all of the time.

Various factors such as disease pathology, current health status, environment, ethnicity, and genetics all interact to create individualized needs that a one-size-fits- all-diet can’t provide. My job in part of the nutritional approach of a wellness program is to guide someone on why certain diets and foods may be most beneficial at certain times. The body changes and so must the diet.

Dr. Mercola recently had an interview with Physicist, Dr. Paul Jamine,t on his viewpoint of the optimal diet.  Dr. Jaminet was called to search out an optimal eating plan due to his own failing health. He and his wife, who is a medical doctor, have complied what they have learned and studied in epidemiological and biochemical journals into a dietary plan that compromises three key points:

1. Optimizing health and energy

2. Repletion of key constituents missing from our modern diet, such as minerals

3. Decreasing the toxic burden on our body.

In the interview, Dr. Jaminet pointed out that food is not simply calories, but is information and energy. He felt that the best way to find an optimal diet is to study:

1. How the body uses food during famine, when metabolism and energy intake must be at its fullest capacity to maintain survival.
2. The nutrients needed for optimal growth; specifically he studied the component that is found in breast milk. His conclusion was that it was compromised of 40% carbohydrates, in which 50% are metabolized in the brain.  Protein is only 7% of breast milk’s volume.  He concluded that high protein diets are not suitable for young children and can cause an increased risk of obesity.
3. Dr. Jaminet looked at other species and saw that although we eat different foods, the metabolic breakdown products are similar.  For example, vegetarians make the claim that many other mammals are herbivores; however, their colon flora is designed to deal with the many toxins that plants excrete to survive. He found that various herbivores metabolize and break down these plant carbohydrates into fats.

Therefore, Dr. Jaminet concluded that we need a balance of micro and macronutrients and came up with the following guidelines:

1. To have a diet with 2/3 calories from fat and 1/3 from carbohydrates and  proteins.  Include eggs, which are 52% fat.
2. The bottom line is to mix fats with carbohydrates and proteins, meat should taste moist, not dry as to maximize nutrient content.
   
3. Glucose from healthy carbohydrates are vital to maximize our body’s ability to fuel cellular processes.
4. Healthy fats are crucial for satiety, membrane permeability, cell signaling, and energy. Fats should be high in saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids and have a balanced omega 3 to 6 ratio. Dr. Jaminet recommends to achieve this optimal balance, eat a pound of fish with a pound of  carbohydrates such as veggies, fruits, and rice, a day. When these carbohydrates and proteins are combined with fats, lactic acid bacteria in the gut is produced for an additional benefit of  immune health. He recommends bone broth as a drink which provides minerals, collagen matrix and it contains approximately 30% proteins. He Beverages to include teas, broths, coffee, some red wine.
5. The diet should contain 15% protein with the best sources being red meats and sea fish. This is the equivalent of 200-600 calories a day of protein. Too much protein, beyond 600 calories a day, or from lean meat sources (which are a higher in toxic content and lower in omega 3s than red meat or seafood), causes the release of excess nitrogen which is converted into ammonia. The body only has a limited capacity to convert this ammonia to urea or uric acid for safe excretion.  When this capacity is exceeded, these byproducts are eaten by gut microflora and create dysbiosis in the gut and various health issues.
6. Use fermented foods for probiotics or take supplements to keep your gut healthy, as it’s approximately 80% of your immune system. Overuse of antibiotics and an imbalanced diet squish the immune system and suppress symptoms. Probiotics modulate receptors in the gut and if overpopulated or under populated and feed too little or too much fiber can affect symptoms positively or negatively.
7. Supplement with minerals. Dr. Jaminet recommends to take a mineral supplement with iodine (if choose to go higher, build up slowly), copper, zinc, magnesium (200 – 400mg), selenium (200mcg), calcium supplementation usually not necessary, 200 mg if need to, chromium. Seafood, sea vegetables, and bone broths help optimize mineral status.

What I liked about Dr. Jaminet’s approach is that he is stressing health, not weight loss. I too recommend a balanced approach. However, how can we take all this science and put into general guidelines that can then modified for each individual? Here are some tips from Dr.  Mercola:

Eventually, you’ll want to eat 5-6 small meals per day, with protein and carbs combined in each meal, and about 50 percent or more of your calories should come from healthy fats like avocados, coconut oil, butter, eggs and animal fat that is not heated at high temperatures and is organically- and humanely-raised. In order to get the most results from your fitness routine you must:

1. Learn about the timing of your meals in reference to your wake-up and bed time, and your workout time.
2. Learn about your macro-nutrient totals. That’s just a fancy word for the optimal percentage of carbs, proteins, and fats in each of your meals.
3. Use good sources of acceptable proteins and carbohydrates.
4. Determine your nutritional type, which will indicate the ideal ratio of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats that your body needs for optimal performance.

Beneficial sources of protein include:

• Organic chicken (dark meat for protein types)
• Fish (as long as it is free of heavy metals and other contaminants.)
• Organic free-range eggs
• Lean, grass-fed red meat
• Whey protein
• Nuts and seeds

Beneficial sources of carbohydrates (fibrous veggie type) include:

• Any vegetable (the more colorful the better)
• Dark green, leafy vegetables such as spinach
• Apples
• Grapefruit

Good sources of starchy carbohydrates are:

• Brown or wild rice
• Yams/ sweet potatoes
• Bananas

So, here’s the next baby steps to take this week:

1. Add some healthy fats into your diet this week. Work on increasing the ratios to an optimal 2/3 fats and 1/3 protein and carbohydrates by making sure you eat a protein, carbohydrate and fat at every meal. This will balance blood sugar and not only help with health, but weight loss.
2. Substitute a major source of your meat for all organic.

References:

Dr. Mercola. This Food Can Slow Your Brain – and it Lowered IQ 4 Points in Recent Study.  Interview with Paul Jaminet, PhD. January 07 2012. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/01/07/dr-paul-jaminet-interview.aspx?e_cid=20120107_DNL_art_1

Dr. Mercola. Try this Simple Trick to Slim Down and Build Muscle Faster January 13, 2012. http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2012/01/13/what-should-you-eat-after-your-workout.aspx?e_cid=20120113_FNL_art_1

Be sure to check out my informational blog on Saratoga.com which includes:

1. Naturopathic Philosophy Highlight… Fun Facts:

• How One Doctor Reversed Her MS with her Diet
• A tax on Soda Helps Health
• A New Approach to Heart Disease Treatment-Chelation?

2. Happenings:

• Upcoming Essential Oils Workshops with Terry Quigley at the Healing Garden. Contact Terry at 518-831-9469 to get more information on attending workshops or to learn more about how to use this powerful therapeutic ancient modality to create a non-toxic, safe medicine cabinet for you and your family.
• Trader Joe’s is Coming-It’s True. Thanks Bruce Roter and the Crew.
• Next Health Forum is February 9^th at 6:15pm. Join me a lovely group of like-minded individuals at the Healing Garden in Rexford, NY in an open forum discussion on the latest in health and wellness. Learn more about this and the upcoming events in 2012.
• PATIENTS: Please review follow ups and cancellation policy on my website
• Time for a symptom re-evaluation?
• All patients can now download the symptom survey done at the original visit online. If you haven’t re-evaluated your symptoms in a year or more, it may be a good time to fill out the form again and bring it in to your next visit. (Please add the numbers in every section when you return it)

3. Radio For Your Body-Mind-Soul

January 18, 2012 Weighing It Out
Join Marcelle to learn the myths, facts, and fiction about maintaining a healthy weight. Today Marcelle talks about the plethora of information which we all see about losing weight and keeping it off! You’ve heard them, too! Call in today with your questions about the latest fad you’ve seen.

4.Book of the week: Perfect Health Diet: Four Steps to Renewed Health, Youthful Vitality, and Long Life by Paul Jaminet (Author), Shou-Ching Jaminet

See this weeks blog that highlights 10 key points to Dr. Jaminet’s philosophy on human nutrition.

5. Don’t miss out:

• The Rest of Fun Facts on my Saratoga.com blog.
• Listen to my colleagues and other experts as they discuss solutions to menopausal issues on a show dedicated just for women in mid-life! Here is a link from my interview on 360menopause Radio Show on Panic Attacks and Menopause and a list of archived shows.
• Check out my latest answer on Dr. Oz’s Sharecare
• View the Updated Link Resources on my homepage