Making sense of what to eat

With a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics and a keen curiosity about this space, I get asked all the time about my thoughts on keto vs paleo vs. carnivore, vs. vegan etc. While it can be daunting to figure out what the right way to eat is based on so many conflicting “expert” opinions, when you really start to dig into it, most of these theories have a LOT of overlap in what they believe to be true. So perhaps instead of focusing on the differences it makes sense to focus on what everyone seems to agree to. Here are some of the key principles most of the current thought leaders in nutrition agree on…

AVOID PROCESSED FOODS

Processing food strips it of much of its nutritional quality and often requires the addition of salt, sugar, seed oils and preservatives. Try to avoid buying pre-packaged meals and snacks and instead shop around the perimeter of the grocery store which is where the fresh food is kept.

REDUCE SUGAR AND REFINDED CARB INTAKE

While not all nutrition experts agree on eliminating or restricting carbohydrates, almost all agree that sugar and refined carbohydrates are detrimental to our health. Sugar and refined carbohydrates spike insulin and high intakes can lead to insulin resistance and weight gain. Some easy swaps to make: eat organic dark chocolate or cacao nibs instead of candy or milk chocolate and try miracle noodles, cassava pasta or lentil pasta instead of traditional pasta. There are a lot of great pasta alternatives out there!

LOAD UP ON VEGETABLES, ESPECIALLY LEAFY GREENS

There is some controversy about how much fruit should be consumed due to its higher sugar content but almost all nutrition experts agree we should be consuming a LOT of vegetables, particularly leafy greens due to their high nutrient content and fiber, and relatively low calories per serving. I try to incorporate vegetables in every meal—try making a vegetable heavy breakfast scramble for breakfast, having a salad for lunch and having cauliflower rice with your dinner. If you are struggling to get enough greens try AG1, an amazing form of powdered greens that you just mix with water.

AVOID SEED OILS

In recent years the detrimental impact of seed oils (canola oil, safflower oil etc) has started being recognized. Seed oils are highly inflammatory and contain linoleic acid, which is associated with heart disease, cancer, dementia and other ailments. Instead of these oils use cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil, grass-fed ghee, or organic coconut or avocado oil.

INCORPORATE A DECENT AMOUNT OF HEALTHY FATS IN YOUR DIET

When I was studying nutrition at the University of British Columbia in the 90’s, fat was viewed as a dietary enemy. Today we realize that this was misguided thinking—and HEALTHY fats are critical to a nourishing diet. What are these healthy fats? Try olives, olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds, coconut and fresh nut milk to name a few.

GIVE YOUR DIGESTIVE SYSTEM A BREAK EVERY NIGHT

In recent years intermittent fasting has become a popular trend; however, even those experts who still believe breakfast is the most important meal of the day agree that giving your digestive system a rest every night is critical to allow our insulin levels to go down and clean up free radical production, resulting in less inflammation. A minimum 12-hour break isn’t hard to achieve—if you finish dinner at 8pm wait until at least 8am for breakfast.

IF YOU EAT ANIMAL PROTEIN, MAKE SURE IT IS GRASS-FED, PASTURE-RAISED OR WILD-CAUGHT

While there are widely divergent views on the benefits vs. negative impacts of eating animal protein, almost all nutrition experts agree that if you do eat animal protein, make sure it’s not industrially raised. Sadly, industrially raised animals/fish are fed antibiotics, hormones and other chemicals and when we consume those animals or their by-products, we are inadvertently consuming the same.

I could go on for hours about nutrition and will cover more topics in future blogs, but for now I hope that you can see that really there is a lot of consensus about what to eat and what to avoid regardless of your preferred dietary program. And while these are some of the things I try to do in my day to day life in order to feel my best, we are all human and it’s okay to not eat perfectly all the time.

Below are some of the mentioned products!

Athletic Greens

Jovial Grain Free Cassava Pasta

Nutiva Coconut Oil

Prasad Organic Ghee