When I learned I was going to be having knee replacement surgery I started taking a more intense interest in my current health and what I could do to assist my own recovery from surgery. In the following article, I report on some of what I found.
Most people in Western Society eat only a fraction of the variety of foods their ancestors did, just a few hundred generations ago. Our bodies evolved in conditions in which they were exposed to a constant stream of fresh, varied and unprocessed foods. This constantly changing diet provided us with the fuel we needed for optimum health. In contrast, most people in North America are living in a state of chronic nutritional depletion. This is partially due to the increasing intake of simple carbohydrates (sugar and starchy food like flour, rice and potatoes). As we increase our intake of simple carbs, we decrease our intake of protein, vitamins and minerals, since simple carbs tend fill us up while being low in these essential nutrients.
Dr. Emanuel Cheraskin, professor emeritus at the University of Alabama Medical School, has made a career out of determining what an optimal diet for healthy living would look like. He spent twenty years studying what the healthiest individuals ate. By looking at healthy people instead of rats suffering from deprivation induced diseases in a laboratory, he was able to develop guidelines for the best nutritional intake for ongoing health. He has determined that conditions of modern life make daily use of multi-vitamin supplements essential. IN addition, he has come up with recommendations for optimal food choices. His recommendations don't include quantities or calories. He has simply come up with lists of foods to eat a lot of, foods to eat sparingly and foods to avoid.
It is important on a daily basis, and even more so when you are under stress or have undergone surgery, like I did when I had my total knee replacement, to focus on foods that contain the nutrients that enhance the body's defense and repair systems. For instance it is known that healing slows if you are deficient in Vitamins C or A. Both of these vitamins are required in sufficient quantity to promote the production of collagen, critical for tissue repair and growth.
Some vitamins, like Vitamin C, are easily destroyed during food processing. For this reason, it is best to choose fresh foods that are locally grown, and not exposed to the nutrient destroying conditions of storage and transport. This isn't always possible, of course. Next to fresh, frozen has the least impact on nutrient degradation. Frozen is followed by canned, freeze-dried and dehydrated.
Foods you should consume regularly are:
Beans (including dried beans)*
Berries
Brown rice*
Cheese
Corn*
Eggs
Fruit
Meat
Milk (preferably low fat or skimmed)
Nuts
Peas (including dried peas)*
Potatoes (Irish and sweet)*
Poultry
Seafood
Seeds
Vegetables
Whole-corn meal*
Whole grains
(corn, oats, rice, rye, wheat)*
Whole-grain breads*
Whole-grain cereals*
Whole-grain flours*
Whole-grain pastas*
*Unrefined carbohydrates.
If possible, consume some fruits, vegetables, berries, seeds and nuts raw each day. The popularity of smoothies or protein shakes makes this easier than ever. If foods must be cooked, steaming has the least impact on nutritional value. Alternatively stir frying, for a short period of time, will have less impact on their nutritional value than boiling, frying or roasting.
Unrefined carbohydrates, such as brown rice and whole grain breads, pastas and cereals are important as a source of calories and fiber. Fiber helps naturally move food through the gut and will help prevent various diseases and conditions that damage your health.
Dr. Cheraskin advises that there are some foods to eat only on a limited basis. Fat is one of the most important of those. Fat should be trimmed from meats. Leaner varieties of meat such as fish or chicken should be eaten more often than beef or pork. If you can, consider grass fed as opposed to grain fed beef, or choose venison or buffalo meat.
Salt, sugar and caffeine are three other commonly consumed items that should be used in moderation. His complete list of foods to limit are:
Animal fat
Chocolate
Cocoa
Coffee
Hydrogenated fats (margarine, peanut butter [in excess], shortening, coffee whitener, and many convenience foods)
Salt
Soft drinks (especially the caffeinated varieties)
Sugar
Tea
Not surprisingly, Dr. Cheraskin's studies have also convinced him there are foods to avoid, because they increase the likelihood of diminished health or they encourage the onset of disease. One large category that stands out, simply because it is so commonly consumed, is composed of foods whose main ingredient is refined, or "white" flour. In this family are all the white breads, rolls, muffins, buns, pancakes, waffles, crackers, pastas (non-whole-grain), pretzels, and biscuits.
In addition to the above, preservatives such as the nitrites and nitrates found in bacon, ham and all kinds of processed meats should be avoided. An example list of the types of foods to be avoided is below:
Alcohol
Artificial coloring agents and artificial flavorings
Highly processed or refined grain foods, (corn, oats, rice, rye, wheat)
Sugar-high foods
"Athletic beverages"
Bran muffins
Cakes and icings
Candy
Candied sweet potatoes, (or in syrup)
Chocolate, chocolate milk, chocolate sauce
Coffee cakes
Cough drops
Custards
Dessert wines and cordials
Doughnuts
Frozen desserts
Fruit drinks, (canned or frozen)
Fruit in syrup, (canned or frozen)
Graham crackers
Hot chocolate
Ice cream or ice milk
Lozenges
Milkshakes
Mints
Popsicles
Puddings
Punch drinks
Sherbet
Sweet pickles
Sweet rolls
Sweet syrups
Sweetened applesauce (and other sweetened sauces)
Sweetened breakfast cereals
Sweetened breakfast drinks
Sweetened yogurt
Nutritional deficiencies, as demonstrated by study after study, are all too common in this age of plenty. Our lack of understanding, our natural inclination to follow our taste buds, and billions of dollars spent on advertising by international food companies all conspire to needlessly keep us from enjoying optimal health.
Our modern lifestyle encourages us to eat fast and convenient foods, that current food production and processing techniques have robbed of much of their nutritional value. At the same time we are exposed to conditions of crowding, daily stress and environmental toxins for which we have not evolved defense mechanisms. We CAN fight back. But it takes intelligent food selection, care in preparation of food, and daily supplementation with one or two multi-vitamins pills or capsules if we hope to reach our ultimate level of health.
No comments:
Post a Comment