Diet
There are so many types of diets around. What could possibly be the best one?
Even though I am a registered nutritionist as well as a homoeopath, apart from saying “eat a healthy balanced diet and stay away from processed food” I don’t get too involved with my clients diets. Primarily because everyone has such entrenched ideas about their diet, I see it as an obstruction to cure in trying to have them change too much. Also, I rarely see anyone who is not eating a good diet. I guess the healthy types seek the healthy medicine. I’ve never had to retrain someone off a SAD (Standard Australian / American Diet).
So lets look at a few types.
Carnivore
On a carnivore diet, people eat only meat and meat fat, nothing else. It is considered to be a premier method of driving down inflammation in the body. The internet abounds with people who have been on the diet for years.
Vegan
No animal products eaten whatsoever. Usually for ideological reasons. It has helped some people overcome a cancer diagnosis. There are fundamental nutritional deficiencies with this type of eating, namely Vitamin B12, Zinc, Iron and fat soluble nutrients.
Vegetarian
Eat mostly a plant based diet with the addition of eggs and / or dairy. Less nutrient deficiencies due to the addition of some animal products.
Gluten Free / Dairy Free
The first thing most naturopaths tell you to do is avoid gluten and dairy. I’ve not always seen this as a panica as I witness so many people still eating too much processed food and thinking it is a healthy alternative just because it is gluten and dairy free. Many of the alternatives may end up being worse than the GF/DF.
Dairy alternatives are all factory produced and usually in aluminum lined tetra packs which carry their own adverse health issues. Almond milk is one of the most popular but almonds contain the highest amount of oxalate of any nut and may contribute to calcium loss.
Gluten free grains are higher in phytates than gluten grains, unless these are soaked or fermented they may also contribute to calcium loss.
Low Carb / High Fat or Paleo
Reducing carbohydrate intake from grains and starchy vegetables and consuming more animal protein and fat. They avoid dairy as this was not eaten by paleolithic man. This diet helps to reduce inflammation, diabetes type II, obesity, cardiac disease amongst others.
Grain Free
Eating only meat and vegetables, with some dairy and nuts. I think this way of eating is probably better than GF/DF. It is the best diet for weight loss. It helps to drive down inflammation and will give all the benefits of LCHF.
Is there a best one?
I think people will choose which diet that resonated best with them. I often think, if you travelled to a developing nation, how easy would it be to stick to your chosen diet? So many people in the world struggle to find food to stave off hunger, getting political about which diet is best is a bit developed world privilege.
I like these cliches “Everything in moderation” and “A little bit of what you fancy does you good”.
My favourite book on nutrition is Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon with MG Enig; New trends Publishing; 2001. It is a foundational text that many other nutrition writers have used to launch their own careers in promoting these foundational aspects of nutrition and well being. This book teaches so much common sense about food and diet. Especially, it talks of the importance of animal fat and how not to be afraid of fats in our diets. Soaking grains and even fermenting them before use renders them much easier to digest and then they don’t have to be avoided, sour dough bread is easier to make than you think. Fermenting drinks like kombucha and kefir help to provide important enzymes to help us digest food. Fermenting vegetables like cabbage to make sauerkraut again provide these all important enzymes.
A little more on fat. The low fat fad for the past number of decades has influenced many of us to avoid too much fat in our diets. Fat is vitally important though. Eating fat helps us to detoxify as it stimulates the liver to produce bile. The bile enters the digestive tract and binds toxins so they may be excreted via faeces. Fat and cholesterol are also important in producing steroid hormones, which include most of the endocrine hormones such as oestrogen, cortisol and thyroid hormones. Low fat diets lead to deficiencies in fat soluble nutrients such as Vitamins A, D and E. This in turn affects absorption and distribution of minerals such as calcium. Osteoporosis may be the result of insufficient fat in the diet. Constipation may even be a result of not enough fat in the diet, in the carnivore diet, consumption of more fat is advised if this is a problem.
The basics
Things to avoid
sugar
refined grains
processed foods
commercial vegetable oils
Things to include
Animal fat
Fermented foods
What do you consider a healthy diet? Is there a topic you’d like me to cover for you?
Disclaimer: This information is supplied for educational purposes only. Sources include published literature and anecdotal experiences of myself and other men, women and animals. The information is not intended for the treatment of any particular individual person or disease. If you are suffering any particular complaint please consult professional help.
Jayne, you write clearly, uncomplicated information that we don't often find elsewhere. Your straight forward information on fat might hopefully persuade those who find it hard to dismiss the brain washing of decades, to finally enjoy animal fats again, as we did when children. Thank you.
Such wonderful, clear common sense! Thank you. I share these sentiments wholeheartedly. In fact, I often find with my clients that as they start to feel better with a remedy, they naturally gravitate towards the healthiest food (and lifestyle!) for them. And otherwise, most informed people benefit from doing less, rather than more. There is so much complex information out there -- our ancestors did not need to take 15 supplements to sleep at night! I've found that simple is easier, more effective, and saves a ton of mental energy.