Walk down the aisles of most supermarkets and you will be bombarded with the confusing array of foods or food-like substances. In the fresh vegetable/fruit section are foods that are rich in nutrients – vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, anti-oxidants, fibre and bursting with natural flavours. On the other end of the spectrum are what I call food-like substances – these are “foods” that are very much removed from natural ingredients.
Very often these foods have a long shopping list of ingredients – many of them looking and sounding very much like biochemicals from a chemistry laboratory. And yes they probably were created in a laboratory – designed to captivate and tantalise our palates and make us desire more and more. Unfortunately the nutrient value of these foods is minimal – and in fact with all the salt and oil and refined carbohydrates can contribute to ill-health.
ALSO READ : Turning the Tide – The role of diet in preventing and even reversing non-communicable diseases (1)
Dr Dean Ornish, Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA, and founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute, was the first to prove that it is possible to reverse atherosclerosis through lifestyle interventions – whole food plant-based diet, exercise, stopping smoking, relaxation techniques and social support.
His most recent research has focussed on the power of lifestyle interventions to arrest or even reverse early prostate cancer, by turning on protective genes and turning off cancer promoter genes. Amongst his many literary accomplishments, he wrote a book called “The Spectrum – a scientifically proven program to feel better, live longer, lose weight and gain health.” Although I have not read the book, I have read the reviews and heard him speak about his concepts. Too often we feel we have to make an all-or-none decision about lifestyle.
However, scientific research has shown that even small changes can make a big difference. Just adding a few colourful vegetables to your menu each day can significantly increase the immune-boosting effect of your foods. Increasing the amount of fibre through whole grains and legumes, apart from improving your satiety and sustaining power, also protects against gut diseases and can promote longevity.
You have the option to choose your level of health and the diet that best fulfils that goal. It is not a matter of right or wrong. The beauty of this approach is that your dietary choices become not a destination but a journey. It is the role of your lifestyle coach to enable you to move along the spectrum towards a healthier state.
As you reap the benefits of more nutritious choices, you are inspired to try even better options, and forego choices that inhibit that progress.
The purpose of an improved diet is not to make life burdensome, but to improve your vitality and well-being. Most people have a pretty jaundiced concept of a whole food plant-based diet. It would be helpful to learn some of the basics of nutritious, but also delicious food preparation. Thankfully there are some really great ideas from web sites such as “Forks over Knives”, Dr David Katz, Chef AJ, etc.
Here is a good site with many resources to look up and try out. Part of the purpose of these blogs I write is to challenge your thinking and your status-quo, and help you to realise that you don’t have to be stuck in your present rut.
There are multiple evidence-based options to improve your physical and mental well-being, improve vitality and reduce aches and pains that diminish your quality of life. How rapidly and how much you want to change your life is up to you.
I am happy to engage with you and answer questions and guide you on your journey. My rooms number is 039 6821414. Next week we will, with broad strokes, discuss the pros and cons of some of the most popular diets – the variations on the ketogenic diet – also called the Atkins diet, the Banting diet, the Paleo diet – in its various forms. Until then, think seriously about where you would like to be in terms of your health.
Do you feel trapped by your genetics and environment to be carried down the pathway to illness and premature death, or do you have choices to buck the trend? We all have to eventually face our mortality, but we can improve the quality of our lives and our enjoyment of life by wise choices.
Dave Glass
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