Nutrition has everything to do with health. This isn't news, exactly, but looking around at the crazy information on the market, one wonders if anyone actually makes the connection: what you eat affects how you feel. It's that simple. Your health depends on the food choices you make in both the short and long term.
Take a pill, and all you've done is treat a symptom. Change your eating habits, and create a lasting change in your well-being. There are so many approaches to eating, however, and so much conflicting information that it's come down to this simple question: does whatever you're eating right now make sense?
Well, sense isn't common, and it does depend on some good information. So here is something to consider: what kind of foods are humans evolved to eat? Cheetos? Don't think so. That's a no-brainer, but what about some others that we counted as healthy staples until recently, like bread and pasta. Go way back in your imagination, to hunter gatherer days ? before agriculture and the obesity which followed for the first time among humans ? and consider what would be part of our ancestors' normal diet. If you're about to pop something into your mouth that wasn't around before agriculture, (a relatively recent development in human history), then eat it knowing it's not considered a 'normal' food by your body. Foods your body considers 'normal' contribute to your health, other foods are either neutral or harmful. How simple is that?
A well-known exploration of this concept that certain foods help our bodies thrive is Dr. Peter D'Adamo's book, "Eat Right 4 Your Type," in which he bases his lists of what to eat and avoid on blood type. D'Adamo asserts that type O is the oldest type, and the newer A type didn't show up on the scene until agriculture. So, Os should eat lots of meat and veg because that blood type doesn't know how to handle too much grain. Type As can eat grain, but not dairy. Dairy is a category reserved as a 'normal' food only for the yet more recent human blood type, AB. (Maybe we'll evolve a new type that can handle Cheetos and red licorice, my personal favorite abnormal foods).
D'Adamo supports his blood-type theory with all kinds of careful research, and so what? Does it make sense that humans should rely primarily on foods that occur naturally? Absolutely. If you're going to eat a grain like wheat then, eat it whole, or don't eat it at all, and don't eat much of it anyway because humans pretty much made wheat up! I'm not going to take the, "Does it occur naturally?" debate too far, because it's time to look at another researcher's take on the food and evolution connection.
Dr. Phillip Lipetz wrote "The Good Calorie Diet," a book for the weight loss market, but he also has supported his theories with all kinds of careful research. His describes how the human response to starvation that was developed during the ice age carries on today. Ironic, isn't it, that the food available to us today - rich and sweet and abundant - causes our bodies to behave as though starvation is at hand.
The short story for how this works is that up until the ice age, humans ate whatever was readily available, like roots, plants, fruit, and a little tasty carrion now and then. Along came the ice ages, and those foods became scarce. Now humans were forced to hunt, but it was dicey and the weapons were primitive, so spans of time occured between kills. The result: our ancestors evolved ways to make the most of the conversion of excess blood sugar into stored nutrition in the form of body fat. When they starved, they lived off stored fat.
Today's diet mimics the ice age diet: high fat and high protein, and our genetic programming says, "Uh oh, we're facing starvation again. Better store up some fat." Lipetz goes into convincing detail about food combinations in his book. He describes some that cause the creation of excess fat, such as butter on bread. More useful are his combinations that actually inhibit fat formation, like lean meat with most vegetables. In a society where obesity and its attendant health issues are rampant, these food combinations are helpful places to focus our attention. Yet the single most useful bit to remember from his research is that foods which cause our bodies to create excess fat all have one thing in common: they weren't part of our ancestors' normal diet.
Armed with this overview, next time you're about to pop something in your mouth - whether your focus is health or weight ? you don't need to have a bunch of rules and whacky information in mind. Just use common sense. Ask whether it's a food that was around before the advent of agriculture. If it was, go for it. If it wasn't, then consider that your body won't consider the food 'normal,' and in both the long and short run, that's got health consequences.
Judith Schwader earned a Master's degree in Education, and has written extensively on health and nutrition. She has a background in social science and addressing chronic health conditions through nutrition. Judith invites you to visit http://qandahealth.com, an excellent resource for health.
expert residential cleaners Park Ridge ..Magnesium is an important mineral that serves numerous essential functions... Read More
Salt is vital for our health. Right now, you have... Read More
In this newsletter we will discuss the current controversy about... Read More
Bye Bye HolidaysHoping everyone had a fun, fantastic, exciting and... Read More
Vitamins, minerals and other nutrients are essential to the development... Read More
What if you could actually slow your rate of aging,... Read More
Beverages - and not just alcohol - are a significant... Read More
In large part, you're in control of your health, not... Read More
Spring in New York City is a really magical time.... Read More
Do you notice your child putting off going to the... Read More
Flaxseeds may be the smallest seeds you will find in... Read More
Scandinavian fishermen are a healthy bunch. It had long been... Read More
Copyright ? 2004 priya shah Glutathione, the body's... Read More
Eating out when you are on a restricted diet always... Read More
You are what you eat is a simple, time tested... Read More
1. Look for high quality, crystalline, free-form, amino acids (AAs)... Read More
Please feel free to comment, so that the article may... Read More
There are numerous diets out there that guarantee that they... Read More
1880s - Characterization of monosaccharides by Emil Fischer.1952 - Fresh,... Read More
Although many realize that the liver has its own cleansing... Read More
Just as our country is currently engaged in a war... Read More
Finding simple ways to reduce my waistline is always a... Read More
Are You Half The Man Your Father Was?It is a... Read More
For all I prefer to buy my fresh produce at... Read More
Coconut oil is less known compare to olive oil, corn... Read More
green cleaning service Park Ridge ..How well do you know about vitamin K? This vitamin... Read More
Did you know the average American gains 5-7 pounds every... Read More
With summer comes more sun and with more sun comes... Read More
Fibromyalgia is a chronic and potentially life-altering disorder with symptoms... Read More
Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing my 6-month old... Read More
Better sleep = better metabolism. I have been saying it... Read More
The quality of food we eat (or lack thereof) has... Read More
Recently I found the book : "Eating and health according... Read More
During the Second World War, the Germans used fluoride as... Read More
Archeological records indicate that man has cultivated the olive tree... Read More
Everyone can benefit from understanding how food affects our... Read More
It is believed that cane sugar was discovered before the... Read More
Have you ever thought about where your drinking water comes... Read More
East Meets WestAsian cultures have realized the medical benefits of... Read More
The latest tallies show that over three million people in... Read More
As a low carb dieter, your diet is undoubtedly high... Read More
Lactose is the primary carbohydrate in milk. Cow's milk contains... Read More
Mannatech's patent-pending glyconutrients complex, Ambrotose, is perhaps the greatest wellness... Read More
In parts 1-4 of this series of articles titled "Take... Read More
Please feel free to comment, so that the article may... Read More
THE RISKNo doubt you've heard of the increasingly popular "raw... Read More
Detoxifying the body has become an apparent key preventative measure... Read More
Our diet is an essential factor for the formation of... Read More
Fats (triacylglycerols) ...Some basic terminology ...fat or fatty acid ...In... Read More
Many of us sprinkle oregano on our pizza and stews... Read More
Nutrition |