A Little Dietary Information (repost from my food blog)

A few semesters ago, I took a public health/nutrition class. As a project, I was asked to make a nutrition blog. This is the first post and I really liked it. I need to dig up the sources I used, they are somewhere on my hard drive. So, I will add them when I find them.

Nibbler, my three year old pug. Nibbler loves fruits and
vegetables and you can too! He also loves the baby swing

Ease in to your new healthy lifestyle
If you are a dog lover (like I am!), you know that changing your dog's diet is a gradual process. If you change your pup's food too quickly, they will suffer a range of gastrointestinal upset (1). It's the same for humans. If you suddenly switch from a processed diet to a whole foods diet, you will get diarrhea, bloating, and gas (2). No one ever told me this. Slowly, replace junk food with whole foods to give your gut fauna time to adjust. Also, a gradual change will make it easier for you to keep the change.

Don't give up if you don't like the new foods in the beginning. 
Over time, your palate will adapt to the flavors of foods that aren't designed to get your mesolimbic (reward pathway in your brain) all excited. High sugar, sodium, and fatty foods cause your brain to release the feel good neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. Scientists theorize that this is an evolutionary tactic to get you to select the foods that are optimal for survival (3). This tactic is maladaptive in our current ecosystem (at least in the western world). Food is readily available, so it is easy for you to ingest the high energy foods that were once so imperative and scarce. You are the result of humans who survived long enough to reproduce. The genetic factors that made your ancestors the most fit in times of scarcity are working against you now (4). So, fruits and vegetables don't provide the immense pleasure  you get from a doughnut. Your brain will adapt and this will actually lower your junk food cravings. It will be much easier to not graze eat (5). And, you will find yourself enjoying a big plate of vegetables.

Don't be afraid to add vegetables to a meal
When I eat on campus, I add vegetables from the salad bar to everything. I put spinach and mushrooms in tortilla soup. I add tomatoes and peas to my grilled cheese. My friends often remind me that I am adding calories to my food. But I am also adding filling fiber and water (6). Fiber can keep your blood sugar stable which keeps you from feeling ravishingly hungry in a few hours. And don't forget that I am adding precious micronutrients (vitamins and minerals that humans need for biochemistry to work properly).

Ditch potato chips for vegetables as a snack
Sometimes, we just feel compelled to eat. We might find ourselves eating an entire bag of potato chips while watching a few episodes of 30 Rock. Ideally, you should avoid mindless snacking. Too bad we don't do that. I like to employ, what public health professionals refer to as, harm reduction strategy. You're going to mindlessly snack but you can reduce your harm by swapping a bag of lays for a bag of snap peas. The entire bag of snap peas has far less calories and far more fiber and nutrients.

Don't buy in to marketing gimmicks and fad diets
Food corporations have taken note of the healthy food trend. Nutritional and health science is rapidly evolving. As a result, scientists are better able to tell consumers how they should be eating. Highly trained advertising executives are using this to sell more food. Cereals with similar nutritional value to cake are being marketed as healthy foods because they are fortified with vitamins. They have been fortified with vitamins for decades. They have also been fortified with sugar for decades. (Watch for a post on the history of cereal in the coming weeks.) Similarly, foods that have eliminated trans-fats are marketed as health foods. These foods are better for you now, but they are usually still junk.

This brings me to fad diets: juice fasts, paleo diet, atkin's diet, gluten free foods, and to some degree veganism and vegetarianism. Paleo and low carb diets work by shifting the kinds of foods you eat to healthier alternatives. A lower carb diet would have you swap refined grains for whole grains and that's great. But you don't have to follow a strict diet. If you switch to a whole foods, plant based diet you will lose weight. Extremely low carb diets are actually quite dangerous because glucose is the brain's preferred fuel. (again, watch for a post). Juice fasts are silly to me because they cut out all of that wonderful fiber. They are downright stupid if you use a juice cocktail. You should juice on your own. Or better yet, just puree fruits and vegetables. Gluten free diets are designed for people who suffer from celiac's disease. They are not necessarily better for you and Lady Gaga probably won't lose that extra 25 pounds on a GF diet. Gluten isn't evil, unless you have an intolerance to it. Finally, veganism can be a great whole foods diet. However, it isn't automatically whole foods. Plain lays potato chips are vegan.

Meet with a registered dietitian at least once in your life
RD's use evidence based practice to provide you with the most accurate information. He or she will provide you with plans for a healthier you. You don't need to go in looking to fix a specific problem.