Category: Diet

Benefits of a Whole Foods Diet

Posted on by healthcoach

There are two main reasons why whole foods diets have health benefits:

  1. Whole foods displace hyperpalatable processed foods, reducing overeating (it may take a little time for your taste buds to re-adjust, but they will).

  2. Whole foods contain more nutrients (protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals) than processed foods, plus the nutrients are better absorbed.

Let’s talk tangible benefits now. 

#1: Weight management

The hyperpalatable modern diet drives overeating and weight gain. Switching to whole foods improves satiety (your feeling of fullness) and can promote weight loss, because whole foods are high in fiber and protein.. Protein and fiber are your two satiety superstars, activating satiety hormones like PYY, glucagon, and GLP-1. Drugs like Ozempic, which have risen in popularity, are synthetic versions of GLP-1 to keep you full so you eat less and lose weight. 

#2: Improved insulin function

Skipping refined carbs and sugar improves the function of insulin, a hormone that regulates your blood sugar. Better insulin function leads to better satiety, more stable energy, and reduced chronic disease risk. 

#3: Reduced inflammation

Chronic inflammation is excess immune activity in the absence of a specific disease. Higher levels of chronic inflammation are linked to heart disease, diabetes, respiratory diseases, and cancer. 

The Western diet drives chronic inflammation through multiple mechanisms, including: 

  • Elevated blood sugar from eating a lot of highly refined carbs 

  • Excess omega-6 fatty acids (vegetable oils are especially inflammatory when heated)

  • Overeating and obesity (obesity and inflammation are inextricably linked)

Switching to whole foods addresses these problems. It lowers blood sugar by reducing refined carbs, includes anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids (from fish like salmon) to balance omega-6s, and keeps you satiated to prevent overeating, which are all big wins. 

#4: Gut health

The fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds on a whole foods diet contain fiber that improves digestion and feeds beneficial gut bacteria. In response, gut bacteria produce butyrate, a compound that fuels colon cells and reduces inflammation in the gut. The gut is an important place to focus on reducing inflammation, since 70% of your immune cells reside there.

#5: Heart health

As it turns out, the human heart does NOT like the modern diet. A 2021 review links the following cardiovascular risk factors to a highly processed diet:

  • Higher cholesterol levels

  • Impairments to gut health and the gut microbiome

  • Obesity

  • Chronic inflammation

  • Abnormal blood sugar levels and fluctuations

  • Poor insulin function

  • High blood pressure

Heart disease is the number one killer globally, and a whole food diet is a sharp tool in our longevity and vitality toolkit. 

Get Support for Sustainable Lifestyle Changes

It’s no doubt that eating less highly processed foods will have positive effects on your overall health and well-being. In reality, making the necessary changes are simple, but not easy.

If you need help making these sustainable lifestyle changes, we are here to help! At Wellness Academy USA, you can come stay a day, a week, or a month with us on beautiful Coronado Island in sunny San Diego, California to learn how to create new habits that will support health and happiness in your life!

WHAT IS A WHOLE FOOD DIET?

Posted on by healthcoach

We’ve spent most of our history eating fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and nuts before modern food production derailed our collective health. Not only are our bodies designed to digest these unprocessed foods, but a whole food diet also brings benefits like weight loss, reduced inflammation, improved gut and heart health, and more stable energy. 

The opposite of a whole food diet is the Standard American Diet (SAD), also called the Western Diet, is an ultra-processed assortment of foods that are easy to get and keep us overfed with empty calories yet undernourished. Science suggests widespread adoption of the Western diet is what drives the American obesity crisis, leading to higher rates of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases. 

Eating whole foods is part of the solution. If you prioritize foods in their natural state and avoid ultra-processed foods, you’re more than halfway to a sustainable diet for health and longevity.

A quick note on the word diet. “Diet” is commonly used to connote a restrictive way of eating for weight loss, but what it really means is just “a way of eating.” You can follow a type of diet for a list of reasons beyond weight loss goals, including for health goals, performance goals, or simply because you feel best eating a certain way.

The Roots of Sugar Cravings

As we evolved, sugar cravings were useful to encourage our ancestors to eat sugary foods (like fruit) and fatten up for times of famine. Humans even evolved a “mutation” that helped them store sugar as fat, which provided a survival advantage, so now every human being is born with it!

The end goal is to avoid packaged and refined foods high in sugar, vegetable oils (soybean oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, etc.), and ingredients you can’t pronounce. These foods are often ultra-processed and addictive, and they dominate the Standard American Diet.

How to Get Started with a Whole Foods Diet

Following a whole foods diet doesn’t require a doctoral dissertation. You know more than enough by now to get started: Avoid processed and hyperpalatable foods, eat when you’re hungry, consume fiber-rich plants, and get enough protein to maintain muscle mass.

One diet doesn’t fit all, so don’t force it if a particular approach isn’t working for your body. Just focus on the whole foods we’re wired to eat, and you’ll fare well in the long run.

Get Support for Sustainable Lifestyle Changes

The Bottom Line: Eating less highly processed foods will have positive effects on your overall health and well-being. If you need help making these sustainable lifestyle changes, we are here to help!

At Wellness Academy USA, you can come stay a day, a week, or a month with us on beautiful Coronado Island in sunny San Diego, California to learn how to create new habits that will support health and happiness in your life!

How to Tame Sugar Cravings

Posted on by healthcoach

Most people know a high-sugar diet isn’t healthy — it’s linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, cavities, and many other health problems. But that doesn’t make eating less sugar any easier. We’re wired to crave the sugary, hyperpatable treats, so eliminating sugar is hard.

While we can’t rewire our brains to stop craving sugar altogether, we can lower the volume on those cravings. It helps to understand the root causes and triggers, and then let that psychology plus a little science inform the environmental, habitual, and diet changes we can make to reduce the cravings.

The Details of a Whole Foods Diet

As we evolved, sugar cravings were useful to encourage our ancestors to eat sugary foods (like fruit) and fatten up for times of famine. Humans even evolved a “mutation” that helped them store sugar as fat, which provided a survival advantage, so now every human being is born with it! 

While our genes haven’t changed much since Paleolithic times, our lifestyles and environments have shifted dramatically. We’re now surrounded by sugar-laden foods and drinks, allowing us to constantly indulge sugar cravings and store fat reserves many of us won’t ever need to tap into.

Let’s look at four physiological and psychological mechanisms make us crave and overeat sugar.

#1: Dopamine

Dopamine is a chemical that gives you a pleasurable feeling. Your brain releases it as a reward to reinforce (and motivate) “positive” actions and behaviors. The body rewards us with a high dose of dopamine when we consume sugar, motivating us to keep eating sugar and store up for leaner times.

#2: Blood sugar spikes and dips

Consuming refined carbs and sugar spikes blood sugar, and what goes up must come down. “Carb cravings” and “sugar cravings” are not exactly the same thing, but they’re close. Sugar is a type of carb, and it’s processed in the body quickly, leading to those blood sugar spikes. Other refined carbs like pasta, white rice, and bagels can cause similar blood sugar fluctuations and cravings, so a lot of this article applies to those “traditional” carb cravings as well. More complex carbs like fruits and vegetables contain fiber that decreases the blood sugar effects and reduces cravings. 

#3: Hyperpalatability

Sugar is one of three ingredients (along with fat and salt) that makes a food hyperpalatable, or super-stimulating to our tastebuds. We’re wired to crave hyperpalatable foods (again, to stock up on the calories), so we overeat them. 

Sugar’s hyperpalatability is why food manufacturers put sugar in everything: soups, sauces, dressings, sugar-sweetened beverages, and more. The more we’re driven to eat these processed foods, the more we’ll buy. In fact, sugary drinks alone may be the single most significant driver of the obesity crisis.

It’s also worth noting that sugar calories don’t fill you up. People who eat sugar before a meal consume the same amount of calories afterward as folks who ate a zero-calorie snack before — leading to eating more calories overall.

#4: Habit​

Rituals dictate our eating patterns. If you eat a cookie every night at the same time, the force of habit will stimulate cravings as the clock approaches the appointed hour. The more you consume a flavor or taste (especially a something sweet), the more you crave it.

6 Ways to Eat Less Sugar

Understanding the roots of sugar cravings helps you take steps to reduce them. The first tip below is the most difficult to implement, but also the most essential. 

#1: Stop the influx of sugar

Getting off the wheel of sugar intake breaks the dependency. Eliminating sugar won’t necessarily be easy because sugar-withdrawal symptoms are a real thing. But don’t give up – give it a day or two, and stay hydrated with water and electrolytes to ensure dehydration or electrolyte deficiencies aren’t causing your symptoms. 

#2: Eat less carbs

Carbohydrates (especially sugar) are quick energy. When carbs are available, your body preferentially burns them over fat. Eating a low-carb diet trains the body to burn fat for fuel, reducing your body’s reliance on carbs. 

#3: Get enough protein

Speaking of hunger, protein is the most satiating macronutrient (calorie for calorie). It triggers hormones that make you feel full and stay full. As such, high-protein diets are well-documented to reduce overall calorie intake and promote weight loss. As protein intake rises, sugar cravings should fall. 

#4: Better sleep habits

If you aren’t sleeping well, sugar will be irresistible. Why? Short sleep increases hunger and impairs impulse control. Aim for 7-9 hours per night and your body will thank you.

#5: Mind your environment

Proximity and convenience matters. If you’re surrounded by sugar, you’ll eat sugar. If you’re not, you won’t. Ideally, keep sugary foods out of the house so that it requires effort and intention to go get it.

#6: Ride it out

It’s a universal truth that no system, organism, or process stays stable over time. This insight applies to life, emotions, aches, pains, and food cravings. They ebb, flow, and stabilize throughout the day — even when you don’t eat!

Researchers have found 36-hour and 12-hour fasts affect levels of the hunger hormone, ghrelin, roughly equally. In other words, hunger doesn’t increase infinitely. So, if you’re craving carbs, hang in there, and don’t fuel the urge by eating more sugar, as the intensity will subside.

Get Support for Sustainable Lifestyle Changes

The Bottom Line: Eating less sugar will have positive effects on your overall health and well-being. If you need help making these sustainable lifestyle changes, we are here to help! At Wellness Academy USA, you can come stay a day, a week, or a month with us on beautiful Coronado Island in sunny San Diego, California to learn how to create new habits that will support health and happiness in your life!

Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems

Posted on by healthcoach

People in almost every region of the world could benefit from rebalancing their diets to eat optimal amounts of various foods and nutrients, according to the Global Burden of Disease study tracking trends in consumption of 15 dietary factors from 1990 to 2017 in 195 countries, published in The Lancet. The study estimates that one

THE STAGGERING COSTS OF DIABETES – HEALTHCOACH

Posted on by healthcoach

The American Diabetes Association (Association) released new research on March 22, 2018 estimating the total costs of diagnosed diabetes have risen to $327 billion in 2017 from $245 billion in 2012, when the cost was last examined. This figure represents a 26% increase over a five-year period. The study, Economic Costs of Diabetes in the

HEART HEATH

Posted on by healthcoach

Gerald J Joseph Diet

by Gerald J. Joseph, B.S., M.Ed HealthCoach 

Heart disease

Health disease is the number one killer of men and women in the United States today and about one in four Americans die from the disease every year. This adds up to about 610,000 individuals. In addition, 735,000 people have heart attacks each year.

Cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease is a class of diseases that involve the heart, blood vessels and includes coronary artery diseases such as angina and myocardial infarction, called a heart attack. Coronary artery disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease involve atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis

In 1948, researchers under the direction of the National Heart Institute (now called the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute) initiated the Framingham Heart Study, the first major study to help understand heart disease.

In 1949, the term “arteriosclerosis” (known as “atherosclerosis” today) was added to the International Classification of Diseases, which caused a sharp increase in reported deaths from heart disease.

Unfortunately, the results of this major study were misinterpreted and as a result, medical doctors and nutritionists place far to much value on reducing total fat intake, and not on small particle LDL and did take into account the role good fat play on health. While saturated fats and trans fats are indeed linked to heart disease, we now know is that fat, especially plant=based fat is actually good for heart health.

Unsaturated fats actually help reduce cholesterol in the body while boosting HDL levels and overall heart health. A diet high in fatty acids from omega-3 fatty acids from sources such as fish, eggs, coconut, olive oil, raw nuts and seeds are part of an overall wellness program that will help prevent and in some cases begin to reverse heart disease.

Genetics 

There are some genetic factors that contribute to heart disease but it is largely attributed to environment, over consumption of animal proteins, poor gut bacteria, inflammation,  lack of activity and poor lifestyle habits such as smoking and alcohol abuse. When looking deeper into the root causes of cardiovascular disease we must first exam the past and ask the question, why does man develop cardiovascular disease and why did man thousands of years ago also develop cardiovascular disease?

Lets look at Egypt?

In 2009 American Heart Association meeting in Florida, researchers presented study which  result showed that Egyptian mummies, some 3,500 years old, had evidence of heart disease — specifically atherosclerosis, which narrows the arteries. Pharaoh Merenptah, who died in the year 1203 BCE, was plagued by atherosclerosis. Nine of the 16 other mummies studied also had evidence of the disease.

Study results are appearing in the Nov. 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) at the Scientific Session of the American Heart Association at Orlando, Fla.

“Atherosclerosis is ubiquitous among modern day humans and despite differences in ancient and modern lifestyles, we found that it was rather common in ancient Egyptians of “high socioeconomic status” individuals living as much as three millennia ago, says UC Irvine clinical professor of cardiology Dr. Gregory Thomas, a co-principal investigator on the study. “The findings suggest that we may have to look beyond modern risk factors to fully understand the disease.”

When we look at ancient hunter-gatherers, scientists also noted that they also suffered from clogged arteries, revealing that the plaque build-up causing blood clots, heart attacks and strokes was also debilitating man thousands of years ago.

“This is not a disease only of modern circumstance but a basic feature of human aging in all populations,” said Caleb Finch, USC University Professor, ARCO/ Kieschnick Professor of Gerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology, and a senior author of the study. “Turns out even a Bronze Age guy from 5,000 years ago had calcified, carotid arteries,” Finch said, referring to Otzi the Iceman, a natural mummy who lived around 3200 BCE and was discovered frozen in a glacier in the Italian Alps in 1991.”

How could this be possible?

Researchers theorized that diet could be involved. High-status Egyptians ate a lot of fatty meats from cattle, ducks, and geese, and used a lot of salt for food preservation. Beyond that, the study brought up some interesting questions and has prompted scientists to continue their work to fully understand the condition. “The findings suggest,” said co-principal investigator on the study and clinical professor Dr. Gregory Thomas, “that we may have to look beyond modern risk factors to fully understand the disease.”

Mechanism of Action

Atherosclerosis can start very early in life, kids can have little bumps on their arteries and even stillbirths can little tiny nests of inflammatory cells. Studies show that environmental factors can accelerate heart disease showing larger plaques in children exposed to household tobacco smoking or who are obese.

So some say genetics, some say the environment and some say it is a combination of the two with more weight on the environment.

Bacteria & Cardiovascular Disease

What is it to be human?

The facts are, only 10% of the cells in our body are human!

Research has determined that we share our life with around 100 trillion organisms, which comprise something called our microbiome. For every one of our cells, there are 10 microbial cells living on or inside our body, helping us to perform life-sustaining functions that we couldn’t perform without their help.

Our dependence on the microbiome within us has led many experts to observe that we are truly more of a super-organism than simply human.

Gut Bacteria

Git bacteria in your gut can play a role in heart disease. New research shows that choline, a nutrient found in foods like egg yolks and fatty meats, produces the by product TMAO when digested. TMAO is known to promote plaque accumulation in the arteries causing heart disease.

“Dr. Hazen explains, “Bacteria that live in our intestines play a role in the digestion of certain types of food to form the compound TMAO, which promotes the accumulation of plaque in the arteries.”

Participants in the study were asked to eat two hard-boiled eggs and take a choline capsule. Results showed that TMAO levels in the blood increased after ingesting the eggs and the capsule. And when participants were given antibiotics to suppress their gut flora, their TMAO levels dropped. This illustrated how important gut flora is to the formation of TMAO.

Here is the problem with the study; they used “hard boil eggs, and synthetic choline. Eggs yolks from organic eggs that are consumed with a runny yolk are a great source of fatty acids, but when cooked it changes the chemistry of the eggs making them less healthy

Lecithin

Lecithin is known for helping to prevent arteriosclerosis, protecting against cardiovascular disease, improving brain function, facilitating repair of the liver and promoting energy. Lecithin is a fat emulsifier. It enables fats such as cholesterol to be dispersed in water and removed from the body. It also protects vital organs and arteries from fatty buildup. Most commercial lecithin is derived from soy.

The best food source for consuming lecithin is egg yolks. Part of the controversy surrounding eggs and cholesterol revolves around the lecithin content of the egg yolk. Since egg yolks are an excellent source of lecithin they are considered beneficial in reducing cholesterol only if the cooking method preserves the lecithin content. Cooking at high temperatures denatures or destroys the lecithin.

This means that any form of cooking that results in runny yolks preserves the lecithin and makes the egg beneficial in reducing cholesterol. Egg yolks cooked solid do not have the same benefit. Documented health benefits of lecithin includes the following.

Lecithin helps to prevent and treat atherosclerosis by lowering total cholesterol, lowering triglycerides, lowering LDL cholesterol and increasing HDL cholesterol. Lecithin reduces the risk of gallstones and in some cases has reduced the size of existing gallstones.

Lecithin helps to repair liver damage caused by alcohol consumption. Lecithin also helps psoriasis that is related to faulty fat metabolism. Lecithin is critical in the body’s ability to utilize the fat soluble vitamins A, D, K, and E. Adding lecithin to your diet could help with utilization of any and all of these essential vitamins. Lecithin is an important component of brain and nerve tissue. It is particularly concentrated in the myelin sheaths that serve as the protective coating of the nerves.

Lecithin helps to prevent age associated memory impairment and may prevent further deterioration of mental function in Alzheimer’s patients.Parts of the lecithin family are becoming popular health supplements. These are phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine. While phosphatidylcholine has primarily the same benefits as lecithin, phosphatidylserine has tremendous brain and nerve benefits.

These include alleviating dementia and early symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Phosphatidylserine also improves memory, attention span and learning ability. Another benefit of phosphatidylserine is that it reduces excessive release of the stress hormone cortisol.

Currently there is strong evidence to support the role of systemic inflammation in the development and progression of atherosclerosis.

In the End

Heart health starts and stops by consuming foods that our body co-evolved to consume which include high plant-based foods, root vegetables, whole fruits, nuts and seed, low amounts animal proteins, dairy and grains, daily movement, hydration, and a dash of love.

References 

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Hu F.B., Stampfer M.J., Rimm E.B., Manson J.E., Ascherio A., Colditz G.A., Rosner B.A., Spiegelman D., Speizer F.E., Sacks F.M., et al. A prospective study of egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women. JAMA. 1999;281:1387–1394. doi: 10.1001/jama.281.15.1387. [PubMed][Cross Ref]

Qureshi A.I., Suri F.K., Ahmed S., Nasar A., Divani A.A., Kirmani J.F. Regular egg consumption does not increase the risk of stroke and cardiovascular diseases. Med. Sci. Monit. 2007;13:CR1–CR8. [PubMed]

Nakamura Y., Iso H., Kita Y., Ueshima H., Okada K., Konishi M., Inoue M., Tsugane S. Egg consumption, serum total cholesterol concentrations and coronary heart disease incidence: Japan public health center-based prospective study. Br. J. Nutr. 2006;96:921–928. doi: 10.1017/BJN20061937. [PubMed][Cross Ref]

Handelman G.J., Nightingale Z.D., Lichtenstein A.H., Schaefer E.J., Blumberg J.B. Lutein and zeaxanthin concentrations in plasma after dietary supplementation with egg yolk. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1999;70:247–251. [PubMed]