If I asked you whether you would want to live longer and avoid serious health issues, I'm pretty sure you'd answer with an unequivocal "Yes!"
Advertisements are plentiful for all kinds of products and supplements that purport to improve longevity or fend off disease. What may be harder to find, however, are ways you can influence these yourself without "six easy payments."
The Inflammation Link
We now know that many diseases are linked to low-grade inflammation in the body. If we can lower inflammation through our diets, there is a good chance of lowering incidence of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis and other medical issues.
Most health care professional concur that if an individual follows the basic principles outlined below for clean, anti-inflammatory eating, many illnesses could be prevented.
Sound too good to be true? It really isn't. Let's look at how we got to this point and how you can shift to eating foods that lower inflammation.
Our Changing Food Supply
Twenty years ago, healthy eating was mostly about balance -- assessing how much carbohydrate, protein and fat was consumed, and making sure plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables were part of the mix.
Today, our diet is heavily influenced by how our food supply has changed, how animals are fed, and the plethora of new products on the market. Navigating what to eat is much more complicated.
The documentary Food, Inc. clearly illustrates how food suppliers produce a vast amount of food at an affordable price -- but at a great cost to our health. Animals raised for food consume corn instead of grass, live in factories instead of on farms, and are raised in less than half the amount of time than in the past.
Corn has become the prominent food for farm animals, and the main component in processed foods. Ninety percent of the products on grocery shelves contain a corn or soybean ingredient.
So, why is this bad? Enter omega-3 and omega-6 fats.
Battle of the Omegas
Cows were not designed by evolution to eat corn. When animals eat grass, the products they produce are rich in fats called omega-3 fatty acids. When they consume corn, omega-6 fats are more prevalent.
This is important because omega-6 fats increase inflammation in the body, while omega-3 fats decrease inflammation. Research shows that the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in our diet 100 years ago was approximately 2-to-1. Recent estimates show our food supply has changed the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats to a whopping 20-to-1.
When we eat large amounts of omega-6 fats, these compete with the omega-3's, which affects not only inflammation, but can also increase diseases linked to inflammation.
Increasing our intake of the three omega-3 fats -- ALA, DHA and EPA -- and lowering our intake of omega-6 fats could be the link toward health and increased longevity.
10 Steps to Anti-Inflammatory Eating
Given what we know, how can we shift the balance and take back our health and happiness? Here are some principles to follow:
1. Choose grass-fed meat and pastured, organic poultry (those that eat a combination of grass, other plants, insects, etc.).
2. Consume wild fish several times a week, such as salmon, sardines and black cod.
3. Eat certified, pastured organic, free-range eggs and choose organic dairy and grass-fed cheese.
4. Eat carbohydrates in their natural state -- organic fruits and vegetables, nuts/seeds, brown/wild rice, quinoa, etc. and limit starchy and/or processed carbohydrates. Consume at least one dark green leafy vegetable and one orange/yellow/red vegetable per day.
5. Limit foods high in flours and sugars, especially foods in a package with more than five ingredients.
6. Use extra-virgin olive oil, and lower your intake of omega-6 oils such as soybean, cottonseed, corn, vegetable, safflower and sunflower.
7. Choose monounsaturated fats such as nuts, seeds and avocado.
8. Choose foods that are non-GMO (genetically modified organisms). Changing the DNA of a food crop can ultimately change how the food acts in our bodies. This could destroy the food's health properties and almost replace what is natural. The complete guide to eating non-GMO foods can be found at www.responsibletechnology.org/GMFree/Home/index.cfm.
9. Drink tea, especially green tea, and limit coffee. Tea contains an amino acid known as L-theanine, which has been shown to counter the normal effects of caffeine, such as high blood pressure and headaches. Minimize alcohol.
10. Consider taking an omega-3 supplement with at least 500 mg. of each of the omega 3-fats DHA and EPA. Even if you consume fish several times a week, a supplement ensures you are receiving enough DHA and EPA. Eat at least one tablespoon per day of ground flax seed, high in the omega-3 fat ALA.
These 10 principles may seem challenging to implement at first. Eating a clean, anti-inflammatory diet is a process and requires reviewing all the foods you eat, from snacks to full meals, whether dining at home or at a restaurant.
The most important thing is to "act now." Set small goals for yourself. Start with your breakfast and then make adjustments to your other meals. Lifestyle change takes time, but commitment will bring you the healthy results you desire.
Susan is the author of A Recipe for Life by the Doctor's Dietitian. For more information, visit susandopart.com
Follow Susan B. Dopart, M.S., R.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/smnutritionist
But man oh man, all these different diets make everything confusing. I will say that i love the idea of eating only grass fed beef and organic fish and etc., but a) who can afford to do so regularly (my former next door neighbor Michael Pollan had it right when he said healthy eating shouldn't just be for the rich)? and b) we don't have a distribution apparatus that allows for that outside of college towns or cities with Whole Foods chains (and see "a)" above for a comment about Whole Foods.
My question: if you can't get grass fed or organic, wild caught, is it better to be a vegetarian or to eat the non-grass fed, farm-raised meat?
Also, while I agree with eating organic for ethical reasons, I've not seen any proper peer reviewed documentation that shows discernible health benefits. Could you perhaps help me find some?
Why are you against genetically modified foods? I only see assertion there with no real evidence.
Thanks!
For anecdotal evidence, there are plenty of communities with high concentrations of healthy centenarians who follow mainly plant based diets, e.g., 7th day Adventists in Loma Linda California, Okinawans, Sardinians, Ikarians, and Nicoya region in Costa Rica.
However, cancer deaths dramatically increased from 1900 (64.0/100,000) to 2005
(188.7/100,000).
Food was fresher and less likely to be exposed to chemical preservatives in 1900. Also, people were not bombarded with as many chemicals on a daily basis as we are today .
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0922292.html
Source: 1900-1970, U.S. Public Health Service, Vital Statistics of the United States, annual, Vol. I and Vol II; 1971-2001, U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, Vital Statistics of the United States, annual; National Vital Statistics Report (NVSR) (formerly Monthly Vital Statistics Report); and unpublished data.
One of the few HuffPost Health Articles without a slew of pro-vegan propaganda.
Goat milk contains fat molecules that are one-fifth the size of cow fat molecules, so goat milk is much easier to digest. It creates an alkaline reaction in the stomach, like human mother's milk (whereas cow milk creates an acid reaction). Goat milk possesses a more highly evolved, bioavailable version of Vitamin A that is easily absorbed. And importantly, it doesn't produce nearly the mucus, phlegm reaction that cow milk does.
http://wisdomoftheradish.wordpress.com
Upon determining that they were problems, I was faced with: what now? I'll starve! Fortunately, with support and resources I was able to find my way to a diet of my own. It isn't for everyone, but perhaps there is something here for someone some of the time.
Recipes! Here are a few to give an idea:
1. Breakfast:
Rice in a bowl. I use white; I should use brown. I use an automatic keep-warm cooker.
Toss in cashews, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, etc.
Add in raisins, currants, etc.
Slice in a banana.
Top with hemp milk.
2. Breakfast / lunch:
Fry up 2 or 3 eggs in olive oil. Watch the heat!
Stir in sauerkraut or kimchi.
Serve on rice.
3. Lunch / dinner:
Rice in a bowl.
Stir up natto and put on top.
Mix in kimchi.
4. Dinner (weekend (just to show that one can be flexible with this))
Grill up bratwurst from the local deli. Make sure no MSG, and no gluten or dairy fillers.
Serve with rice, sauerkraut, kimchi, etc. Don't need potato chips, ketchup, pop, etc.
I also have a list of things to avoid; most should be familiar:
- HFCS
- Aspartame, AKA Nutra(sic)Sweet
- Hydrogenated oil
- MSG
-
These sound good, and creative, and pretty easy, too. Thanks for the good ideas!
Another kind of pickle to try is made from daikon radishes, called, "takuan". You can get little bags of pickles of all kinds at markets that carry Japanese or Korean products. They usually much more "pickley" and are rarely sweetened. Use sparingly - a little can go a long way.
Many of the other suggestions are good ones. Population studies and experimental data overwhelmingly confirm that a plant-based diet is the healthiest one.
I came up with a different conclusion while searching:
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/90/2/263
"The favorable effect of the Mediterranean-type diet on endothelial function might be attributed to the various components of this diet such as olive oil, red wine, vegetables, and fruit. Olive oil is a key component of the Mediterranean diet. In our study olive oil, provided as extra virgin olive oil, was the main source of fat. Olive oil has numerous beneficial effects on endothelial function attributed not only to the oleic acid, the main fatty acid contained in olive oil, but also to phenolic compounds, such as oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol, and tyrosol. In vitro studies have shown that oleic acid prevents endothelial activation by inhibiting the expression of leukocyte adhesion molecules, by scavenging intracellular reactive oxygen species, or by interfering with the activation of nuclear transcription factor {kappa}B. In addition, phenolic compounds are strong antioxidants and radical scavengers, increasing the bioavailability of nitric oxide."
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/292/12/1440
I'm thankful for your blog here. I have a question regarding cooking at high temperatures requiring a different oil other than olive oil, as olive oil oxidizes at around 400 degrees F. In your book, you recommend coconut oil. But isn't coconut oil a saturated fat, which will raise blood cholesterol levels leading to plaque buildup in the blood vessels? I'm diabetic and need to monitor my blood cholesterol levels. I've been using grapeseed oil, which works just fine at high temperatures, but it is a pure omega-6 oil leading to inflammation. When I roast vegetables, I still tend to use olive oil but modify recipes by cooking at lower temperatures for longer amounts of time with varying results such as soggy-looking asparagus. Can you please comment?
Grapeseed oil is stable at high temperatures and although an omega 6 fat does have some omega 3 properties (most oils have combinations of the omegas). Therefore, using a combination of olive oil at low temps, grapeseed oil, coconut oil and some organic butter at higher temperatures is the way to go. Hope that helps.
Best,
Susan B. Dopart
www.susandopart.com
From grass-fed animals.
Very stable at high temperatures. Lots of good fat and tastes yummy.
Susan B. Dopart, M.S., R.D.