What’s the Best Diet for Health?
As a naturopathic doctor, I use food as medicine.
This is a foundational piece of a naturopathic treatment plan. Food can be the tool of profound healing. The opposite is also true. Food can be detrimental to health and healing. This can be difficult to navigate. We have so much information available to us now, but much of it can appear to be conflicting.
Who hasn’t been seduced by the latest trends or nutrition recommendations?
Here are some recent articles that are typical of common headlines:
20 Best Super Foods for Weight Loss
100 Unhealthiest Foods on the Planet
The Keto Diet: Benefits and Why it Works
Study: Keto Diet may lead to long term health risks
Confusing, right?
Even though I love cutting-edge scientific discoveries in medicine and nutrition I always take this with a grain of salt, so to speak (sorry, I couldn’t help it). This is because it’s not that long ago that mainstream nutrition experts were recommending strategies that have since been reversed. Those of us that were around in the 1980s remember low-fat diets that were carbohydrate-rich. This was followed by the Atkins Diet, Palm Beach Diet, and then Paleo. Caloric restriction was promising longevity but it seems to have been replaced by intermittent fasting. Keto continues to be a buzz word and many endorse it as the panacea to all ills.
Don’t get me wrong.
I do enjoy following the scientific research that is related to diets like intermittent fasting and the keto diet and continue to be open-minded when I hear from those that have benefitted from these ways of eating.
I do believe that these are good options in certain circumstances. For instance, for someone that is looking to reverse the effects related to metabolic syndrome both of these diets are looking like they’re effective interventions. I would, however, not recommend these interventions for someone with an eating disorder.
I tried intermittent fasting for about 6 months as I was seduced by the promises of improved health. I’ve dedicated my career to health after all!
What I discovered was that in the mornings when my schedule required me to be alert and run meetings, that I felt spaced out and found it difficult to think. I hadn’t eaten for 15 or more hours and I was experiencing low blood sugar. I eventually realized that it wasn’t for me and feel much better and am more productive when I eat breakfast.
This reminded me that nutritional needs are individual.
It’s also not uncommon for a patient to have a “superfood” like blueberries appear on their food sensitivity testing results. They remove the food and the symptoms improve. This usually blows their mind because they had read about how healthy that particular food is. However, that wasn’t the case for them.
We often can believe that there’s a holy grail of nutrition that is going to work for everyone. Time and time again, I have found this to not be true. When I work with patients, I incorporate their past experiences, individualized testing (including food sensitivity testing), their diagnoses, and our goals to assist with the development of a nutritional plan.
It’s also important to recognize that this is a working plan and is subject to change. A long-term, highly restrictive diet is never the goal. Occasionally this is indicated for healing initially, but no one thrives under this sort of circumstance.
It’s important to recognize that food is much more than just a health outcome.
Food is how we bond and celebrate together. It anchors us in our culture and permits us to experience the cultures of others. My city of Tucson is one of 36 cities worldwide designated as a Unesco City of Gastronomy. Good food is everywhere!
Clearly, there isn’t one diet that is the best diet for everyone.
We all have different needs. A holistic approach and some experimentation can go a long way in determining what the best diet is for you. Consider experimentation with diet trends if drawn to them but be sure to constantly evaluate whether or not you are benefitting in all the aspects of your health; physically, mentally, and spiritually.