For the next part of my Nutrition Series, we’re talking about the current conventional food system, specifically eating organic and natural. There are two aspects to this- produce and meat. I have touched on each here, but I implore you to educate yourself. There is much to be learned about our food system, not just the health effects of it, but the political and environmental aspects of it as well.

In our house, we call our grass-finished ranched beef "A Happy Cow"... we figure that's the truth.

Organic vs. Conventional Produce

We all know that eating organic is healthier. It is a current trend that has finally started to gain some ground in the last 10 years. There are numerous reasons to choose organic over conventionally grown produce (by conventionally grown, I mean grown with the use of man-made pesticides and herbicides). The most obvious reason to avoid them is to decrease the number of harmful chemicals and compounds you put into your body. There are at least 107 active pesticide ingredients that are known to be carcinogenic (cancer-causing). Here are some other reasons why you might want to consider organic.

• When produce is left to defend itself against pests and diseases, it generates phytochemicals, which help it to ward off any harmful invaders. Those phytochemicals are super health for us, acting as antioxidants, they stimulate detoxification enzymes, boost the immune system, and act as antiviral/antibacterial agents. When we eat conventionally grown foods, they lack these compounds because they received outside help.

• Consider your children, if you have a family. If they’re eating conventional, their bodies are smaller and therefore the volume of pesticides they’re consuming relative to their body size equates to a much higher concentration of pesticides in their body.

• Conventional farmers do not replenish the soil, but instead use chemical fertilizers and such to keep producing. The health of the soil is a direct function of the health of the plant. Without any regeneration of nutrients (and instead a healthy concentration of man-made chemicals), we end up with contaminated, sick soils. These soils erode and contaminate our water sources and our groundwater through infiltration of rain.  Organic farmers use natural fertilizers which restore the nutrients to the soil without creating a toxic environment.

• Conventional farming has high environmental and societal costs such as costs involved in generating the chemicals, pesticide regulation and testing, hazardous waste disposal and environmental damage. Organic food costs more to you directly, but doesn’t come with the same hidden costs to our society and our planet. Buying organic makes a statement about how we care for ourselves and the world as a whole.

What do you do if you can’t afford to eat organic? There are a couple things you can do to help decrease the amount of chemicals you’re consuming. First, consider that the thicker the skin, the less danger there is of the fruit or vegetable absorbing the pesticide, herbicide, or fertilizer. So, things like Oranges, bananas, cantaloupes can be bought conventional with minimal effect to you since we don’t eat the skin (the drawback here is that by doing this we still support the system that is causing damage to the environment). Other fruits and vegetables such as apples, pears, potatoes, and carrots can be peeled, removing most (but not all) of the chemicals. Here is a handy list of what fruits and veggies can be eaten conventionally, and what are considered to be harmful if not purchased organic.

OKAY As CONVENTIONAL
Fruits:
Avocado
Bananas
Coconut
Dates
Figs
Grapefruit
Guavas
Lemons
Limes
Oranges
Papayas
Passion Fruit
Pineapples
Tangerines
Watermelons

Vegetables:
Alfalfa sprouts
Asparagus
Beets
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cassava
Cauliflower
Fennel root
Jicama
Leeks
Peas
Radicchio
Red chard
Snow peas
Yams

Only SO-SO for CONVENTIONAL

Fruits:
Cantaloupe
Honeydew
Pomegranates

Vegetables:
Broccoli
Squash (with very thick outer peelings)

MUST HAVE ORGANICS

Fruits:
Apples
Apricots
Blackberries
Blueberries
Casaba
Cherries
Currants
Grapes
Kiwi
Kumquats
Lychees
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Persimmons
Plums
Prunes
Raisins
Strawberries

Vegetables:
Bean sprouts
Bell Peppers
Carrots
Celery
Corn
Cucumbers
Green Beans
Hot peppers
Lettuce (all kinds)
Mushrooms
Onions & shallots & garlic
Potatoes
Rhubarb
Spinach
Sweet potatoes
Winter squash (yellow squash)
Zucchini

Meat and Factory Farming  101

So, we now have a basic understanding of the importance of eating organic fruits and vegetables, but what about meat? Well, depending on the animal, there is a nightmarish story for each with respect to factory farming. My first comment here would be to say that realistically, the direction that humanity took in maintaining a food supply for our ever-growing population was logical. I think as with all things, people look for ways to industrialize everything they do, and farming was no different. It was efficient, financially prosperous, and it insured a stable food supply. However, what we are seeing today with the health of our meat is a result of something that seemed like a good idea but is now being realized as a huge mistake on our part. This is where I will warn you before you continue reading. Ignorance truly is bliss sometimes, and if you think that you’re not capable of the work and or money demands that it might take to make a different choice, then I would suggest you stop reading. This information is disturbing enough that it becomes difficult to turn a blind eye to it. That said, here’s a little bit of background on how we manage meat in the US.

Factory farming began in the 1920s soon after the discovery of vitamins A and D; when these vitamins are added to feed, animals no longer require exercise and sunlight for growth. This allowed large numbers of animals to be raised indoors year-round. The greatest problem that was faced in raising these animals indoors was the spread of disease, which was combated in the 1940s with the development of antibiotics. Farmers found they could increase productivity and reduce the operating costs by using mechanization and assembly-line techniques.

There are two kinds of chickens raised in the industrial farm setting: broilers (the kind we eat) and layers (the egg-making chickens). Broiler chickens are selectively bred and genetically altered to produce bigger thighs and breasts, the parts in most demand. This breeding creates birds so heavy that their bones cannot support their weight, making it difficult for them to stand. The birds are bred to grow at an astonishing rate, reaching their market weight of 3 1/2 pounds in seven weeks. Broilers are raised in overcrowded broiler houses instead of cages to prevent the occurrence of bruised flesh which would make their meat undesirable. Their beaks and toes are cut off to prevent damage resulting from fights, and the broiler houses are usually unlit to prevent fighting among the birds. Many birds are sick from the chemicals and the obscene growth rate they’re subjected to; as a result, the farmer must go and collected the dead birds through the crowded house each day. Here is an 8-minute video on the Life of a Broiler Chicken. Go to a health store and see what kind of other options you have . There is a different between organic, all natural, and free-range. Organic chickens may be simply on organic feed, but are still raised conventionally, where are a free-range chicken may not be in a broiler house, but is still pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones. Educate yourself about what you’re buying, and make comprises on what you can to keep your food budget under control.

Layers are held in battery cages that are very small with slanted wire floors which cause severe discomfort and foot deformation. Between five and eight birds are crammed in cages only 14 square inches in size. Since the birds have no room to act naturally, they become very aggressive and attack the other birds in their cage; to help combat this behavior, the birds have their beaks seared off at a young age. The layer hens are subjected to constant light to encourage greater egg production. At the end of their laying cycle they are either slaughtered or forced to molt by water and food deprivation, which shocks them into another layer cycle. Many birds become depleted of minerals because of this excessive egg production and either die from fatigue or can no longer produce eggs and are sent to the slaughterhouse. Eggs are similar in that there are organic, all-natural, free-range, etc. choices available. You may startle at the price of a dozen organic AND free-range eggs, but consider what you spend on beer, or a single Starbucks latte to put it in perspective.

Pigs are one of the most intelligent animals… and are definitely the most intelligent among the animals we eat. Pigs are highly social creatures, and are confined in narrow cages where they cannot even turn around. Many pigs become crazy with boredom and develop vices like mouthing, and nervous ticks; their tails are cut off at birth to prevent other pigs nervous chewing habits from being confined. Pigs are born and raised inside buildings that have automated water, feed and waste removal. They don’t see daylight until they are shipped for slaughter. Dust, dirt and toxic gases from the pigs’ waste create an unsanitary environment that encourages the onset of a number of diseases and illnesses, including pneumonia, cholera, dysentery and trichinosis. As with chickens, they are fed an unhealthy, abundant diet of antibiotics and hormones to keep them from getting sick from their living situation and to hurry the growth process.

Cattle are first raised on a ranch where they eat grass and roam the countryside until they reach a certain weight. Once that is achieved they are transported to the feedlot. Most beef cattle spend the last few months of their lives at there, crowded by the thousands into dusty, manure-laden holding pens. The air is thick with harmful bacteria and particulate matter, and the animals are at a constant risk for respiratory disease. Feedlot cattle are routinely implanted with growth-promoting hormones, and they are fed unnaturally rich diets designed to fatten them quickly and profitably. Because cattle are biologically suited to eat a grass-based, high fiber diet, their concentrated feedlot rations contribute to metabolic disorders. Because they are no long given grass (what they are designed for), they become ill… so ill in fact that were they not sent to slaughter, they would really only survive a few months longer. Think about that. We’re eating animals that are near-death sick. I can’t imagine that their meat is healthy, but rather as sick as they were when they went to slaughter. If beef is something you enjoy and desire to keep in your diet, consider grass-finished beef. This can be found at some health food stores, as well as from local ranchers in your area. Make sure you ask if it is grass-finished; however, because many cows are grass-fed and then sent to feedlot to fatten up on a feedlot diet. Remember, that as a meat eater, I am not necessarily advocating a meatless lifestyle, unless you can’t obtain alternatives to factory-farmed meat. Here’s a good educational series about factory farming, but in a less-disturbing and more enjoyable setting.

In all of these cases of meat, these animals live in close confinement, standing in their own feces for most of their lives. Its no wonder that we see cases of e-coli and salmonella becoming increasingly common. Ever wonder why we occasionally find those things in our spinach and other produce? The sick animal waste is contaminating our water sources which of course are used to water our other crops.

This issue of factory farming is a much bigger picture than I have painted here. This is MUCH abbreviated version of the whole picture. I would recommend a couple places for additional information.

Michael Pollen is a writer of books on this exact subject. He is a very realistic, whole food, health-minded person. He still eat meat (burgers for that matter), and has looked at our society’s way of managing the food economy and how the corporate food system is creating food that is making us all sick. My favorite book of his is The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

Joel Salatin is a farmer who has achieved a farming system that not only creates healthy animals, but also gives back to the Earth at the same time. He has the most amazing farming system (I learned about him in the Omnivore’s Dilemma) and is now an author. His books are stories about the road he has traveled and battles he has fought to be able to keep his farm the way it is. He is a great writer. I would recommend Everything I Want to do is Illegal, although he has a bunch of great books to choose from.

If you’re not much of a reader, I would check out Food, Inc., a documentary on the food system. It’s is an eye-opening documentary. I watched it twice. Once on my own and a second time with my significant other because I wanted him to understand why I was making us spend so much on food!

Here are a couple good online resources as well:

• Nutritional value of fruits, veggies is dwindling
• Food and Water Watch has lots of information
• Check out Food CEO- a site for sustainable food
• Check out this article “Meet Your Meat- Why we Should all care where our Burger comes from”

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Well, I made it through one full week. If you didn’t get a chance to check out what this experiment is all about, check out my first post in this series. I think overall it went pretty well. I had a couple set backs, but for the most part I think I stuck to the plan. I have noted some positives and negatives thus far. Here they are:

The Good Stuff

• Increased energy during the day
• I feel much more alert and clear headed
• It looks like I’ve dropped a couple pounds

The Not-so-Good Stuff

• My body doesn’t seem to be fully adjusted yet, as I have to go the bathroom a lot, and it’s not what I’m used to “seeing”, if you know what I mean.
• I found myself eating the same things simply because they were easy, so there wasn’t much variety this week.
• I’m not sure if the couple pounds I dropped are legit or are just water weight.

So, I have three more weeks of this, and I am going to try to make sure I don’t have any slip ups… it’s not always easy if you’re somewhere with limited fare. For example, I went to an NFL game last night… not the best choices for the Paleo Diet. I will continue to log my progress every Monday, so stay tuned for more!

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On Monday, I started my new series Quest for Nutrition. In that post, I discussed an nutrition experiment I was planning to run. In order to document the results of this test I’m running, I will be jumping ahead a bit in the series and discuss some different diet perspectives (this diet is not what I would consider to be mainstream). I started this diet on Monday, August 22, 2010. I plan to continue this test for four weeks, charting my progress and interesting details each week. I must say that for the most part, I have been eating this way for some time; however, I haven’t really achieved a solid, cohesive 4-weeks without some kind of break in the plan (e.g. my son’s birthday cake). In fairness to the experiment, changes in the way I feel may not be as drastic as they would have been had I just come off of a normal “American Diet”.

Before I explain what it is I’m going to do, let me explain how I got here. For the last few years I have been plagued with digestion problems. Frequently, I would end up with pain and bloating in my lower GI that I couldn’t explain. At first it seemed to coincide with my menstrual cycle, so I figured that was the problem; but as time went on both the pain and the frequency got worse and I began to think that it was a result of something I was eating.  IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) just seemed like everyone’s excuse for everything GI-related, so I continued searching for other possibilities. The problem was, I couldn’t pin down what it was that was causing the problem. There were days when I would eat something and be fine, and the next day I would eat the same things and be miserable all afternoon. It was until about a year ago that I began to think it had something to do with certain types of bread products.

After a solid year of trial and error, I concluded that I had a gluten allergy. For those of us who aren’t gluten experts, gluten is a component of wheat and is now used in thousands of other things as well. Due to our increased consumption of it, many people are now intolerant and/or allergic. As an experiment I took myself off gluten and my problems miraculously vanished. I think I probably could have figured this out a lot sooner, but I was not ready to accept that I would have to give up so many things that I love.

The last few months I’ve been living completely gluten-free and I have felt amazing. I don’t think I realized how bad it was until it stopped. I started buying cookbooks and trying to learn to bake gluten-free bread and other treats. I’ll tell you what, baking gluten-free is no small task. Many of the flour options are other grains such as rice or tapioca, and in my opinion, they suck. The bread is dry and just not the same. In fact, I disliked the gluten-free alternatives so much I decided I would rather go without.

During this transition from away wheat and bread products, I was doing tons of research  and I happened upon a particular diet that actually advocates a grain-free lifestyle (among other things). I was nearly grain-free, having been so disappointed by the wheat substitutes I had tried. What I read I found intriguing, especially since I had pondered some of the same things.

The diet is called The Paleo Diet. It first became well-known in the early-1970′s; however, the premise of it was researched and expanded on by Professor Loren Cordain at Colorado State University. It operates under the following principles:

• Man has only been eating grains for the last 10,000 years and our bodies have not yet genetically adapted to them.

• What man has lived on for many thousands of years longer was meat, fat from meat, fruit, veggies, nuts and seeds.

• While fruit and veggies come with a peel or skin that is edible in its raw form (and usually very good for us), grains are coated with an exterior that is actually toxic to us. Hence why grains must be processed and modified so much for us to eat them and hence, why they are considered “bad” on this diet.

• Given that we know carbs are not essential to our diet, and that too many of them send our insulin machines into overdrive, there’s no detrimental effect on our bodies to avoid grains.

• Man was not meant to consume dairy products past our toddler years. When we’re born,  lactase enzymes are present in the small intestine to enable us to consume our Mother’s Milk. As we get older  lactase disappears from our bodies and by the age of 4 or 5 we can no longer digest it property. More than 70% of the world’s population can’t digest dairy products.

• Sugar in refined form is also not something that we have eaten in large quantities until the agricultural revolution. Sugar causes all the same problems (obviously ) as large quantities of grains ,and therefore should not be eaten.

So, this is a lifestyle that attempts to mimic what we have spent most of human history eating (aka, what we are more evolved to eat). From my research, I have noticed that there are several different variations to this type of diet. Some are pretty hardcore (Professor Cordain’s plan being one of them), even forbidding yogurt and legume because they cannot be eaten in their raw form and therefore would not have been available to Paleolithic man. Other people follow a more “modernized” paleo plan which includes some of the healthier foods that we didn’t have back then. The primary things that never change, however, are no grains, no dairy, and no sugar.

Paleo diet pyramid thanks to: Mark's Daily Apple

To be realistic about this experiment,  I have questioned a few things relative to Cordain and others findings. First, if we truly haven’t evolved to the agricultural processing of today’s world, then why are so many of us perfectly fine eating so many carbs? Why should we ignore things like beans just becuase our ancestors lacked the ability to cook them? I am sure as I plug along I’ll have other questions as well. I aim to see if I can answer some of them along the way.

There is a multitude of sites online which follow and discuss this diet. In addition,  Cross Fit trainers all across the US follow this diet and recommend it to all who join. I’ve tried a lot of different diets, and have experienced the ways in which food effects my daily mood, energy level, and health. As I stated in a previous post, I was vegetarian (nearly vegan) for man years, so my experience with different diets is well-rounded. I have even tried Atkins, which is a no carb diet. The problem with some of these extremes, is that I could never come to terms with not eating fruit or many types of vegetables. EVER.  That just seems wrong. One attractive aspect to the Paleo diet is that it doesn’t tell me that I can’t have something healthy like fruit, and it doesn’t recommend I chow down on fried cheese and pork rinds instead. Rather, it is asking me to only eat the most unrefined and natural products I can. So while initially this concept seems extreme (no grains! no dairy! oh my!), the more I break it down the more reasonable it seems.

My experiment is going to fall somewhere closer to a “modern paleo” diet. I have definitely chosen to stay gluten, dairy and sugar free but I have also found a few places where I think I can bend the rules and still stay true to the diet. For instance, I drink coconut milk in my lattes, and I have found yogurt made from coconut (and yummy ice cream too).  Here’s a snapshot of what I’m eating every day.

• For breakfast I have a coconut milk latte and a gluten-free, dairy-free protein shake.

• I have a mid-morning snack (if I’m hungry) which includes a serving of raw almonds (not roasted!) and either a hard-boiled egg OR a piece of fruit.

• For lunch, I eat a full plate of dark leafy greens (this also ties into nutrient density, which we’ll discuss in another post), I have a sub sandwich wrapped in lettuce instead of bread (the sandwich typically has avocado instead of mayo and a couple different kind of meat and veggies). This is an example… while the salad is a permanent fixture at lunch my protein choice changes.

• If I’m hungry I have another snack mid-afternoon which is typically a serving of sunflower seeds and raw veggies.

• For dinner, I fill half of my plate with a vegetables (my favorites are broccoli, green beans, or asparagus), a chicken breast, lean steak, or other protein, and then another piece of fruit. I try for fruits low on the Glycemic Index, meaning they have less effect on the body’s insulin response; however, if I’m going to have something (tropical fruits as an example) with a lot of carbs/sugars then I make sure to eat it with a larger meal to slow down its effect on my blood sugar. One note here: green beans are a legume and so are not part of a strict paleo diet. This is one place I am breaking the rules.

• Notice that I’m still getting carbohydrates- plenty of them. I’m just getting them from natural, unprocessed foods (fruits and veggies mostly) that don’t wreak havoc on my blood sugar levels.

How does this fit into a macro-nutrient breakdown? Based on the menu above,  my breakdown is 40% protein, 40% fat, and 20% carbohydrates. Of course the diet itself doesn’t recommend that anyone worry about macro-nutrient break downs, or that you count calories. They also don’t appear to advocate any kind of eating cycle… simply to eat when you’re hungry. While this is different from today’s typical “eat every 3 hours, eat a huge breakfast even if you’re not hungry” strategy, it also seems pretty rational.

I will be posting every Monday on this experiment, detailing my experiences and any changes from the previous week. One thing to remember is that while I am writing about all of this nutrition information… about how to live your healthiest life, there also must be balance. I am sure there are many who read all of this stuff and think about quality vs. quantity. “Do I want to live a long life, or do I want to enjoy the time that I’m here?” It’s a legitimate question that we all have to ask ourselves. I fall somewhere in between, choosing to practice a healthy diet 85% of the time, and allowing myself that other 15% to treat myself on special occasions.

For those of you who are interested in learning more about this diet, here are some helpful links of places that I went to when I first started researching. Remember, as with any diet, there are people to scientifically back it up, and there are just as many to scientifically refute it. It is one of those things that you have to decide for yourself what you believe.  Happy reading.

• Professor Cordain’s Paleo Diet Blog- contains an email newsletter sign up where he provides a multitude of reference for each of his articles. This is a good site for the scientific buff who’s not bored with all the technical stuff. He also has a book available on Amazon.
• Mark’s Daily Apple is a great site with lots of good info. The Primal Blueprint 101 is a great post about how it works and where to start. It’s a little less technical and a little more reader-friendly.
• Of course, Wikepedia has a good reference paper on the subject as well.
• The Modern Paleo blog provides some additional perspectives on what to eat; it is a little less strict and allows for some additional foods that we know to be healthy. The idea is that the paleolithic people missed out on these foods, but that doesn’t mean we should.
• Here at Everyday Paleo you can follow a Mother of three who is living a Paleo lifestyle. This blog has some great info as well as some good recipes.

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As I noted in my previous post, I am starting a new series on this blog pertaining to our health and how to optimize it through understanding what we eat. If you missed my last post, you can view it here. In order to fully understand some of the other important concepts relative to nutrition, we must first understand how different diets are generally broken down. The are three macro-nutrients commonly referred to in most diets- carbohydrates, protein, and fat. In general, 100% of your daily intake of food is a combination of these three things. The percentage of each that a person eats can vary depending on his/her diet. One thing that I consider to be crucial to understanding how to be healthy, is the role of our metabolism, and how different variations of the macro-nutrients can effect how our metabolism operates. Here is the nitty-gritty science of it all- most of which I have grabbed from handy sites such as Wikipedia (no sense in re-inventing the wheel here).

• In food science and in many informal contexts, the term carbohydrate often means any food that is particularly rich in starch (such as cereals, bread and pasta) or sugar (such as candy, jams and desserts). There are simple carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, and candy and there are complex carbs which are generally whole-grain products and things like vegetables. Carbohydrates are a superior short-term fuel for organisms because they are simpler to metabolize than fats or those amino acid portions of proteins that are used for fuel. The most important carbohydrate for animals is glucose; so much so, that the level of glucose is used as the main control for the central metabolic hormone, insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is central to regulating energy and glucose metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle. See Wikipedia if you want to learn more about this. Note: while insulin comes into play during times when our blood sugar is raised, Glucagon performs the opposite function: it will raise our blood sugar levels when they are too low. Insulin stops the use of fat as an energy source (and therefore during times of Glucagon use, our bodies utilize fat as an energy source). It stands to reason then, that too many carbohydrates equates to a constant elevated level of blood sugar, which in turn tells the body to provide a constant supply of insulin. If we are always utilizing insulin, then we are never using fat as our energy source. However, when insulin is absent, glucose is not taken up by body cells and the body begins to use fat as an energy source, for example, by transfer of lipids from adipose tissue to the liver for mobilization as an energy source. There are 4 calories in one gram of carbohydrate. Based on the effects on risk of heart disease and obesity, the Institute of Medicine recommends that American and Canadian adults get between 45–65% of dietary energy from carbohydrates. The Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization jointly recommend that national dietary guidelines set a goal of 55–75% of total energy from carbohydrates, but only 10% directly from sugars (their term for simple carbohydrates).

• Protein is essential to the human body, providing the building blocks of muscle and tissue synthesis. Proteins are broken down in the stomach during digestion by enzymes known as proteases into smaller polypeptides to provide amino acids for the organism, including the essential amino acids that the organism cannot biosynthesize itself.  The indispensable amino acids are leucine, isoleucine, valine, lysine, threonine, tryptophan, methionine, phenylalanine and histidine. Most animal sources and certain vegetable sources have the complete complement of all the essential amino acids in adequate proportions. Unlike carbohydrates, protein has almost no effect on blood sugar levels, therefore, it does not contribute to elevated insulin levels in the body like carbohydrate do. There are 4 calories in one gram of protein. According to US & Canadian Dietary Reference Intake guidelines, women aged 19–70 need to consume 46 grams of protein per day, while men aged 19–70 need to consume 56 grams of protein per day to avoid a deficiency. Several studies have concluded that active people and athletes may require elevated protein intake- as much as 1-2 grams per pound of lean body mass (muscle).

• Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are generally triesters of glycerol and fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure and composition. Although the words “oils”, “fats”, and “lipids” are all used to refer to fats, “oils” is usually used to refer to fats that are liquids at normal room temperature, while “fats” is usually used to refer to fats that are solids at normal room temperature. “Lipids” is used to refer to both liquid and solid fats, along with other related substances. Fats form a category of lipid, distinguished from other lipids by their chemical structure and physical properties. This category of molecules is important for many forms of life, serving both structural and metabolic functions. They are an important part of the diet for humans. Fats or lipids are broken down in the body by enzymes called lipases produced in the pancreas. Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble, meaning they can only be digested, absorbed, and transported in conjunction with fats. Fats are also sources of essential fatty acids, an important dietary requirement. Fats play a vital role in maintaining healthy skin and hair, insulating body organs against shock, maintaining body temperature, and promoting healthy cell function. Fats also serve as energy stores for the body, containing about 9 Calories per gram of fat. They are broken down in the body to release glycerol and free fatty acids. The glycerol can be converted to glucose by the liver and thus used as a source of energy. In general, it recommended that fat not exceed 30% of your daily calories. Often, less than 25% is recommended. Remember there are good and bad fats… generally speaking just stay away from anything that is saturated fat or contains trans-fatty acids and you’ll be okay.

Now that we have that out of the way, one important take away from this is that carbohydrates are the primary effectors of the insulin levels in your bloodstream. The more of them you eat, the more insulin your body needs. Note: there are ways to keep this in check, such as eating fat or protein along with your carbs). The other important message here is that carbs are not essential nutrients in humans: the body can obtain all its energy from protein and fats. The brain and neurons generally cannot burn fat for energy, but can use glucose or ketones; the body can also synthesize some glucose from a few of the amino acids in protein and also from the glycerol backbone in triglycerides. Current guidelines for food sources suggest that carbohydrates make up the majority of our diet… while that works for some, it doesn’t work for everyone. If this macro-nutrient is not essential, then we can control how much we consume without any threat to our health (and likely the opposite will occur- improved health). I happen to believe that the modern-day carbohydrate recommendations are too high. Americans eat too many of them, keeping their blood sugar continuously elevated. We end up with continually elevated levels of insulin in the bloodstream to bring glucose levels down, and ultimately storing, rather than burning, fat.

Insulin levels in the body cause more problems than just diabetes. Too much insulin in the body will result in insulin resistance (a precursor to diabetes), a physiological condition where insulin becomes less effective at lowering blood sugars. The resulting increase in blood glucose may raise levels outside the normal range and cause adverse health effects. In an insulin-resistant person, normal levels of insulin do not have the same effect in controlling blood glucose levels. During the compensated phase on insulin resistance insulin levels are higher, and blood glucose levels are still maintained. The elevated insulin levels have additional effects that cause further abnormal biological effects throughout the body including high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, excess fluid retention, elevated blood fats, and other degenerative diseases.

The first thing each of us should look at is how much of each macro-nutrient do we eat each day? Are we carb junkies? If so, what kind of carbs are we eating- simple or complex? How much protein are we getting, and is it all coming from animal products, or does some of it come from healthy vegetable, nuts, and seeds? Ask yourself the same question about the fats in your diet. One of the biggest fallacies in the American diet is that fat is bad. The fat that is clogging your arteries is not coming from the fat in your diet. It’s coming from the excess glucose being stored as fat because insulin levels are too high.

Most of us eat too much sugar. When I say sugar, I don’t just mean candy and cookies. I am talking about the sugars in your bread, your baked beans, your fruit salad, your salad dressing, crackers, and everything else. Keep track, and look at the carton/box of everything you eat. You’ll be surprised at how much hidden sugar there is in the food we eat. I would say that most Americans are likely consuming too much carbohydrates, too many of the bad fats, and too little protein.

Macro-nutrient breakdowns are going to be specific for everyone. I typically consider a healthy range of carbohydrates to around 30%, protein around 40% and fat around 30%. More than 30% carbohydrates and I believe the body is robbed of protein it needs and flooded with insulin it doesn’t. The trick is knowing what to get your carbs, protein, and fats from! They are not all created equal. We will dive into this in the next post, Organic vs. Conventional foods, and Grain-fed vs. Grass finished.  Here are some links to additional resources for understanding macro-nutrients.

• Wikipedia has a list of macro-nutrients further broken down for additional information.
• Here’s a great calculator which shows many different schools of thought for macro-nutrient percentages.
• Here’s another macro-nutrient summary.

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Health and Fitness has been one of my primary research areas. I am continually finding new information relative to nutrition and constantly working towards improving and changing up my fitness routines. That said, I also am not what you would consider a “natural” at being healthy. My body and mind gravitate towards the sugary-fatty-carb-heavy foods and I also lack the natural ability to stop myself. So, for me, health is constant work. I have to stay conscious about what I’m eating and why. Because this has become such a passion for me, I have decided to blog about nutrition in a multi-part series. I will first address some important basics about nutrition and and then we’ll discuss some different theories on nutrition and how we should be eating to maximize our health and vitality. There are a wealth of different opinions on the subject. After using myself as a guinea pig for many years, I have definitely formed my own opinion about what I believe to be best for my body. This is the first part of the series, an introduction if you will about what I will be writing about in the coming weeks. As an added incentive for change for myself, I am also going to share with my readers my journey on my newest health and nutrition experiment.

Among some of the most important nutrition concepts for me is natural, organic and unprocessed foods. I was a vegetarian for many years because I could not come to terms with what they were doing to (and putting in) the factory farm animals we ate.  However, after many years of additional nutrition eduction I believe that we as humans need to consume meat (although the caveat to this is that we do NOT need to eat as much as we think). Now I choose to buy only grass-finished beef, fully organic and farm-raised chickens, eggs, etc. I will not eat an animal or animal product that has come from the factory-farming system. While there is a definite increase in price for choosing to eat this way, if you eat less animal products than the current American each day, it will balance out fairly well. Natural and organic eating includes fruits and vegetables as well.

Another important aspect of nutrition is balancing the macro-nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fat), and staying aware of the nutrient density of your food choices. Nutrient density is a function of the quantity nutrients (micro-nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, amino acids, etc.) contained in the food per calorie. A good example would be to compare something like spinach which has one of the highest food densities to a Twinkie, which has basically nothing (I wouldn’t even consider it a food to be hones). In a cup of spinach is 10 calories and a multitude of vitamins and minerals. Twinkies have 15 times as many calories and no nutrients. Americans tend to eat too many calories… this is a fact that is most obvious to everyone at this point. In addition to our weight problem, we also suffer from malnutrition problems that cause everything from cancer to kidney and liver disease, poor immune system function, to diabetes. Americans eat high-calorie, low-nutrient dense foods.

There are many thoughts about what we should be eating. The macro-nutrient breakdown has been changed and modified and depending on the school of thought can be anywhere from 60% carbs, 15% fat, and 15% protein to 0% carbs, 40% fat and 60% protein. Generally there is some scientific study or book to back up the breakdown percentages. We will discuss these differences and how these macro-nutrient breakdowns can effect people differently. There are also many things that we eat everyday that I think we’re only recently beginning to realize are bad for us. Things like gluten, dairy, and refined sugar. We’ll also talk about how these food-types effect the body and why they may be worth cutting out of your diet.

Finally, I am going to discuss some of the mainstream diets out there that people tend to follow, the pros and cons of each, and then I will discuss some that are not yet mainstream, but are beginning to pick up speed. My next “experiment” with nutrition will be taking one of these newer theories for 30 days and blogging about how it is working.

Too many of us blindly put things in our mouths without stopping to consider how it contributes to our health problems. I think everyone is aware of the connection between diet and diabetes and heart-disease; however, I am a believer that the majority of our health problems in modern society our a function of what we eat. Here is a list of the upcoming posts in the series:

• Macro-nutrients: carbs, protein, and fat and their role in regulating metabolic hormones
• Organic vs. conventional; grain fed vs. grass finished
• Nutrient density; learning how to shop healthy
• Gluten, Dairy, and Refined Sugar- what you should know
• Acid-Alkaline factors- why its important and how you can improve your balance
• Common diets- the good, the bad, and the ugly
• Another perspective- new and different ideas about eating
• A weekly update post about my new health experiment

I hope people will participate in this series. Feel free to ask questions and add to these posts. While I spend much of my free time reading and researching these topics, I am by no means an expert. I welcome other ideas and perspectives! Happy reading.

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