Optimum Diet

So, my first assignment is to listen to Dr. Weil's Guide to Optimum Health, a series of 8 CDs. I've listened to the first two CDs now, mainly about the optimum diet. According to Dr. Weil, our daily intake of food should consist of 50-60% carbohydrates, 30% fat, and 10-20% protein. Quite often, though, we Americans are choosing the wrong foods in each category, causing us to develop obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol and on and on.

Carbohydrates = quick energy. But we eat too many high glycemic foods, foods made with white/wheat flour in the form of cookies, cake, waffles, muffins, "fluffy" breads...really all refined, highly processed foods. Instead, choose carbohydrates from the lower end of the glycemic index: dense bread made with whole grains, beans, veggies, berries of all sorts, apples, cherries, pears. (Really all fruit except citrus, which tends to be on the higher end of the index.) Or balance a food on the higher end with a food on the lower end, such as piling blueberries on your waffle in the morning. Or add some fiber to your meal. Fiber slows the digestive conversion to sugar.

Fat is an essential nutrient and I, for one, was so happy to learn this! We all know by now to avoid saturated fats, the fats that turn to solid at room temperature: animal fat (gross), palm oil, coconut oil. Then there are polyunsaturated fats, which stay liquid at room temp. They include your vegetable oil, safflower, sunflower, corn, sesame, margarine, and the like. These fats are chemically unstable, which means when they are heated to high temps (like for cooking), they cause free radicals and you become a breeding zone for nastiness like inflammation and cancer cells. This is the number one reason to avoid fast food. They reuse their oil, which is extremely dangerous and unhealthy, for obvious reasons! Finally, we have the monounsaturated fats: olive oil, expeller pressed canola oil, grape seed oil, and omega 3 oils. Grape seed oil is especially great because it can be heated to high temps without the free radical problem. And everyone should get omega 3's! Food sources include fatty fish (salmon, herring, anchovies, mackerel, some tuna for example), walnuts, fortified eggs, pumpkin, flax seeds, and hemp seeds. Omega 3's protect your heart, protect you from cancer and inflammation, are great for your complexion and your brain development, just to name a few benefits!

Protein - we don't need as much as we think. In fact, if you get too much protein, it will be burned as fuel and our bodies have to work harder to burn protein as fuel verses burning carbs for energy. So too much protein is taxing on our digestive systems, our livers, and our kidneys. If you constantly feel a lack of energy, check to make sure you aren't eating too much protein. The best source of protein comes through beans, nuts, and soy. These proteins are diluted and easier to digest than animal sources of protein. However, if you must eat your meat, be sure it is free range, antibiotic and hormone free (buy organic!). Meats to avoid due to their high nitrate content: lunch meats like bologna, salami, bacon, hot dogs. Too much BHT and who knows what else in these forms of meat!

All pretty common sense stuff, but a good reminder none-the-less. :)