From the Hip #3 - Basic Principles for Healthy Eating

I recently watched “Forks Over Knives,” a documentary-style advocacy film promoting a low-fat vegan diet (or, as they phrase it, a “whole foods, plant-based diet”) as a panacea to America’s rampant health problems: diabetes, obesity, heart disease, etc. The movie states, in no subtle terms, that all of our health problems are linked to the consumption of animal products. It covers the stories of a few everyday people who had great success with adopting the prescribed low-fat vegan diet (as well as other significant lifestyle changes) and the work of two of the main players in the medical and scientific community that are at the forefront of the push for these dietary prescriptions, Dr. Campbell (the author of the infamous “China Study”) and Dr. Esselstyn. Overall, the evidence cited in the movie is far from scientifically sound. I won't go into great detail about it in this post, but I will say that most of the cited evidence provided to support the film's recommended diet and to condemn the consumption of all animal products is either grossly misinterpreted or rests on scientific procedures of a caliber that would maybe crack the top 10 at a 6th grade science fair—not great. 
But the film was not all bad. In addition to making a few very good general points that we could all benefit from hearing (namely: the power of diet in the prevention of disease, and the fact that we should all be eating more plants), it really got me thinking about how we think and talk about diet today. While many of us have every intention of making well-informed, scientifically-based decisions about our own dietary choices, the reality is that sifting through all the dietary science out there still does not leave us with a clear-cut “ideal” diet. Perhaps this is because there is no ideal diet (I’d put my money on this option); perhaps it’s because the scientific community is still working to hone its testing methods and understanding of human biochemistry (I believe this is part of it as well); most likely it’s some of both. Regardless of the reasons, even the scientists who are most immersed in nutrition research find themselves juggling handfuls of contradictory pieces of evidence as well as unclear and ever-changing ideas. Certainly there are some principles that are well-established and supported to the point that we can safely consider them substantially conclusive universal prescriptions: the ill effects of consuming massive amounts of processed sugar, large amounts of alcohol, and diets extremely deficient in certain nutrients would fall into this category. But beyond this, we are left in the center of a shouting match between different parties arguing for their dietary beliefs and interpretations, and often it sounds more like a squabble over cultish dogma than a discussion rooted in scientifically-substantiated principles. Vegan, raw food, vegetarian, high-carb, low-carb, high-protein, low-protein, high-fat, low-fat, Paleo, Atkins, IIFYM, Keto, fruititarian, Mediterranean, etc. Everyone seems to think they're right and everyone else is wrong.

Taking a good hard look at the science and a nice big dose of common sense, I think there are a few basic principles that can set us on the right path to developing our own healthful dietary habits:

• Eat a balanced diet of whole foods rich in nutrients. If you eat whole foods (minimally processed) rich in nutrients—things like vegetables, wild-caught seafood, eggs, whole-food starches, fruits, and pastured meats—you’re going to be doing better than about 98% of the population. Eat these foods in balanced proportions (in other words, if 90% of your diet is fruit, or meat, or any one food, you’re probably doing it wrong) and be reasonable about it all (if you’re following a diet that says eating fruit is going to kill you or a filet of wild-caught salmon will give you cancer, it’s time to change).

• Experiment with what works well for you. Isolate foods to eliminate from your diet for a week or two, reintroduce it, and see if you notice any positive or negative changes. Do the same with relative proportions of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Do the same with supplements, liquid calories, meal timing, etc. Everyone is different, and there’s a lot you can learn about yourself with a bit of self-experimentation. Don’t think that you’re intolerant to gluten or don’t handle animal fats well because someone else is. Experiment, listen to your body, and see for yourself. Also, if something serious happens (i.e., you can’t breathe, you turn purple, your joints seize up) every time you eat a particular food, stop experimenting for a second and see a doctor. There’s a time for self-experimentation, and there’s a time where anaphylaxis is about to kill you.

• Stop worrying. (Extreme food allergies withstanding) I maintain that stressing and worrying about the minutiae of your diet can undo all of the good that a healthy diet does for you. If you are having a full on crisis because you accidentally ate some gluten, or avoiding social situations that may have some of your no-no-foods, or putting yourself on an incredibly restrictive diet for no reason other than the internet told you to, all to the point where you’re left feeling isolated, distressed, and hugely inconvenienced because of how many things you won’t allow yourself to eat, you're doing it wrong. Does this mean you should just eat McD’s and Coldstone every day and not give a damn about it, and you’ll be healthier for it? No. Don’t be dumb. Follow the above two principles, eat well, be happy, and stop freaking out when you find out that the low carb dish you just ate actually had some brown sugar in it. You're gonna be okay. 

Maybe some day the nutrition science community will finally be able to “crack the code” and figure out, to the most intimate detail, exactly what the human body needs to thrive, and then we’ll all eat specially-formulated nutrient packs and live forever, but probably not. So while you’re waiting for science fiction to happen, follow the above principles, be smart and self-aware, and be happy and confident with your choices. 

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