Tag Archives: diet

Food and Health.

This won’t be an all-inclusive blog posting. To be all inclusive would require a novel, or at least novella, length blog post. People who have read earlier blog posts will know that I’m a fan of people eating healthy and not a huge fan of “fad diets”. The best healthy diet is the one you can adhere to.

As I’ve mentioned in other posts, and can be found online, diet and other lifestyle options can affect one’s chances of developing various chronic diseases. Though in this post I’ll be limiting myself to diet, and just a few things about it as well – and save other comments and suggestions for another time.

One piece of advice I can remember getting is to make sure one’s plate (ok, the food on one’s plate) is colorful as in having a lot of different colors. Granted in some cases (carrots and spinach) the colors don’t really indicate that they’re both high in the Vitamin A precursor Beta – Carotene, but both are (and have different profiles of how much of other healthy vitamins and fiber they have). Making sure that there are differently colored foods also means you’re likely to get other benefits. Both blueberries and cherries have a lot of antioxidants in them which can affect health. Though I think that we tend to look at their antioxidant effects too much at the expense of other effects they might have, such as on sugar absorption and metabolism. Never mind that blueberries and cherries also contain some fiber. There is growing evidence that blueberries can help prevent/treat type 2 diabetes. This doesn’t mean, however, that eating them replaces medications such as metformin, acarbose, rosiglitazone, and many others. Cherries may carry a similar benefit.  Tart cherries are touted to have anti-inflammatory effects and might help reduce the need for non steroidals in some people.

The fatty acids one eats can also affect health profoundly. The N-3 (also known as omega-3) fatty acids not only help protect against heart disease, but also seem to have a role in preventing depression and helping treat it as well. Though depression as an inflammatory mediated illness has gotten some press (though at the moment I don’t have a reference for that, and who hasn’t felt miserable when (s)he has a cold or the flu), it also avoids the fact that N-3 and N-6 fatty acids also get incorporated into cell walls, including nerve cells. This incorporation also affects the fluidity of the cell walls and therefore how well receptors work as well as how easily (or hard) nerve cells release neurotransmitters.

My advice, as always, is to try to avoid getting vitamins and such through supplements for a few reasons:

  1. In some cases they can do more harm than good (especially true of fat soluble vitamins). In one study, smokers that took vitamin A supplements had higher rates of lung cancer than those that didn’t.
  2. You might not be getting all the relevant forms of particular vitamins. For example, there are different forms of vitamin K, some promote clotting, others bone health.
  3. With a varied diet, one can get enough vitamins and antioxidants without supplements. You have to eat anyhow, even if you buy pills.

There are several times, however, where it might be worthwhile. For example:

  1. If you have had a gastric bypass, or a stomach resection for another reason, taking supplemental B12 is important so as to keep stores normal.
  2.  If you have a disease, or take a medication, that interferes with absorption of particular vitamins (Crohn’s and other diseases that affect the ileum can interfere with absorption of B12, anti ulcer mediations do the same.)

I’ve talked about diet before (The Pantry Prescription) so I won’t go into it today. I may do an updated version of  that post in the future.

Anyhow, here are some references to a few of the things I’ve mentioned today:

Coultrap, S. J., Bickford, P. C. & Browning, M. D. Blueberry-enriched diet ameliorates age-related declines in NMDA receptor-dependent LTP. Age (Dordr) 30, 263-272 (2008).

Ren, T., Zhu, J., Zhu, L. & Cheng, M. The Combination of Blueberry Juice and Probiotics Ameliorate Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) by Affecting SREBP-1c/PNPLA-3 Pathway via PPAR-α. Nutrients 9, (2017).

Stull, A. J. Blueberries’ Impact on Insulin Resistance and Glucose Intolerance. Antioxidants (Basel) 5, (2016).

Lee, Y. M. et al. Dietary Anthocyanins against Obesity and Inflammation. Nutrients 9, (2017).

Mazaherioun, M. et al. Long Chain n-3 Fatty Acids Improve Depression Syndrome in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Iran J Public Health 47, 575-583 (2018).

Masoumi, S. Z. et al. Effect of Citalopram in Combination with Omega-3 on Depression in Post-menopausal Women: A Triple Blind Randomized Controlled Trial. J Clin Diagn Res 10, QC01-QC05 (2016).

Grant, R. & Guest, J. Role of Omega-3 PUFAs in Neurobiological Health. Adv Neurobiol 12, 247-274 (2016).

Husted, K. S. & Bouzinova, E. V. The importance of n-6/n-3 fatty acids ratio in the major depressive disorder. Medicina (Kaunas) 52, 139-147 (2016).

Kobayashi, M. et al. Dietary n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Late Pregnancy and Postpartum Depressive Symptom among Japanese Women. Front Psychiatry 8, 241 (2017).

Levant, B. & Healy-Stoffel, M. N-3 (Omega-3) Fatty Acids: Effects on Brain Dopamine Systems and Potential Role in the Etiology and Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders. CNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets (2018).

Pusceddu, M. M., Kelly, P., Stanton, C., Cryan, J. F. & Dinan, T. G. N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids through the Lifespan: Implication for Psychopathology. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 19, (2016).

 

The 100-year-old scientist who pushed the FDA to ban artificial trans fat – The Washington Post

The 100-year-old scientist who pushed the FDA to ban artificial trans fat – The Washington Post.

Though this link is on the older side, it does get me thinking. I feel like different foods or food groups are either vilified (get rid of fat!!) or put on pedestal (This superfood belongs in everyone’s pantry!! Go out and buy it now or the world will end!).  I know I’m being a bit hyperbolic when I put it like that. However I think that when talking about foods and supplements, it’s better to take a data driven view that is more even keeled. Not all fats are bad.  Trans fats definitely fit into the bad category. Fats are essential in our diet, without them there are key nutrients that we couldn’t absorb such as vitamins E, A, K, and D (though this last one we can make ourselves).

Aside from needing some fats in our diet, some fats are necessary for our diet since we can’t make them ourselves. N-3 and N-6 fatty acids are in this category.  Also known as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, they’re used by the body to make prostaglandins and leukotrienes, which our body uses to help regulate many processes. The help regulate the immune system: in fact omega-3 fatty acids help reduce inflammation and omega-6 promote inflammationFatty acids make up the walls of our cells as well as the organelles inside cells.  How much of our diet fats should make up is something people can debate –  some (like Dr. Dean Ornish) advocate a low fat  – 5% of calories – diet. Others are at the other end of the spectrum. I won’t get into arguing who’s correct, though Dr. Ornish does has  data to show what he suggests helps reverse heart disease. Though to be fair, his program/views also advocates exercise, meditation, and other lifestyle changes, all of which affect heart disease and longevity so one can’t totally point to the low fat aspect and say that is the sole determinant of his success and data.  I think most would suggest 20-30% of calories come from fat. It’s important to get enough of what are called N-3 (or omega-3) fatty acids as well as N-6 (omega-6) fatty acids.

People trash carbohydrates a lot as well. My view of this is that refined sugar should be used sparingly. If one puts sugar in his/her coffee and only occasionally has something else that is sugary (donuts anyone? Ice Cream?), the world won’t end. If having something that is sweet helps keep someone eating healthy but not feel like they’re denying  themselves, then it’s ok.

The big danger is to lump all carbohydrates together. Yes, having some refined sugar is ok, and simpler sugars are ok in moderation: if you’re getting them by eating an apple or an orange, that’s ok. But when we talk about fiber, we’re actually talking about complex sugars which our bodies can’t digest or breakdown. These are actually healthy sugars! If I haven’t done so already, I’ll probably talk more about the specifics in a future blog.

My whole point of this particular blog is to use the above link to have people think about what they hear or read about nutrition, especially if what they hear is lumping all of a particular food/food group together for good or bad!

10 Biggest Nutrition Myths—Ever

>10 Biggest Nutrition Myths—Ever

I am a big fan of having people eat a healthy diet. The best of all possible worlds, doctors would know more about diet and have the time to talk with/educate their patients about this. Additionally everyone would have access to a nutritionist/Registered dietitian and access to healthy foods.  Lastly, people would not buy into fad diets or believe all of the mis information out there. Here is a list of some things to keep in mind.

The Wide-Ranging Role of the Microbiome

What goes in your stomach can influence countless disorders, from cancer to asthma. Dr David Johnson surveys the latest data underlining the ever-increasing importance of a low-fat, high-fiber diet.

Source: The Wide-Ranging Role of the Microbiome

 

Anyone who’s been reading my blog probably won’t be surprised by my linking to this article (you may have to subscribe to medscape to read the full article).

Basically, the gist is that diet effects the kinds of bacteria in one’s GI tract. The good kinds of bacteria (that promoted by a low fat, primarily plant based diet) helps reduce risk of diseases like colon cancer, breast cancer (the former by producing short chain fatty acids and the latter by altering the reabsorption of estrogen that has been chemically altered by the liver and secreted into the GI tract).

 

The Pantry Prescription

With this blog post, I realize I run the risk of sounding like one of those people that touts a new food every day or month (drink pomegranate  juice for it’s high anti-oxidant content. You’ll live to 100!! it’s the next superfood!!!!). As I’ve pointed out, when evaluating health claims for foods/pills/etc it’s probably better to evaluate the claims as how they relate to endpoints such as decreased risk for disease, death, etc. rather than take something just because it’s a good antioxidant or has other reputed health benefits.

Anyhow, if someone were to ask me what kinds of foods should I eat/have handy, here are a few things I’d probably suggest. It is not an exhaustive list by any means. Of course if one has allergies to any of these foods, then they shouldn’t be on that person’s list of foods to have:

#1) Olive Oil. This makes my list because of the health benefits associated with intake. There is an inverse relationship with olive oil intake and the risk of dementia (that is, the more you take, the lower your risk of developing dementia). I has a lot of anti-oxidants in it as well as healthy fats. It’s good for heart health as well. It is important to mention that it’s important to use it IN PLACE of other fats, not just add it to a bad diet. That is, use olive oil in place of animal fats, coconut oil and other saturated fats.

#2) Canola oil. It’s high in Omega-3 fatty acids which are associated with lower risk of death due to heart disease, dementia, etc.  It has a higher flash point than olive oil so can be used to cook at higher temperatures (and has a less strong taste which can be important with some foods).

#3) Flax seed/flax seed oil/ground flax. Flaxseed is also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. However these are medium chain omega-3 fatty acids (as opposed to the long chain omega-3 fatty acids which are found in fish. It is the longer omega-3 fatty acids which have been shown to have health benefits). Not all of the fatty acids are converted to long chain omega-3 fatty acids in the body, but any little bit helps, and any that takes the place of fully saturated fatty acids or trans fatty acids is a good thing. Fish such as tuna, salmon, and sardines, to name a few, are better sources for long chain omega-3 fatty acids.

#4) Legumes, any combination of them you might want (legumes include peanuts, lentils, any type of bean). In combination with a cereal (e.g. rice or wheat) will provide all the essential amino acids (make up a “complete protein”). The health benefits get even better if it’s a whole grain you pair the legumes with.

#5) Tree nuts such as almonds, walnuts, cashews, etc. Though relatively high in calories – they  tend to be high in fats – they are healthy. They contain some fiber. The fats they have tend to be the healthier types of fats and tend to be high in fat soluble antioxidants. Using a handful of nuts such as almonds to stave off hunger pains can help keep someone from consuming even more calories at dinner due to hunger. And they’re better for you than sugary/starchy foods such as crackers.

#6) Eat many different fruits and vegetables. The greater the variety the better. One study showed that blueberry intake reduced the chance of developing diabetes by 40 % (however this is only one study. Whether this is close to the “real number” blueberry intake reduces risk would be determined by looking at/doing more studies). Other fruit intake also reduced risk of certain diseases, for example,  apple intake is associated with a lower risk of developing emphysema.  Rather than relying on one “super food” or whatever fruit is the fad of the day, having a variety of fruits is probably better. Each fruit and vegetable has a different mixture of antioxidants and phytochemicals. The different phytochemicals probably have different affinities for different tissues (this is my supposition here. I have no proof to back it up other than a feeling it might be the case) and by having a variety of foods, it’s likely that more parts of the body will be protected.

#7)  A variety of spices. I would put turmeric high on the list of spices to have as it appears that the curcumin (a substance found in turmeric) is a rather potent anti oxidant and anti inflammatory agent. However, I would make the same argument about spices that I make about fruits and vegetables above. The greater the variety the better.

Notice I have not put on the list meat, poultry, milk or other sources of animal protein.I wouldn’t say avoid them, unless you have a  particular cultural or moral stand on eating animal products. I only mention fish because of the healthy fatty acids some fish contain. Limiting the amount of meat one has is important for maintaining health.  However the amounts of each, frequency of using these in diet is a topic for another time.