What Foods Should I Eat? And The Strategy For Choosing

26 Apr

Frustrated man pulling on his hair wondering what foods he should eat

Introduction:

When most people ask what foods they should eat, they really want to know what foods they can eat to avoid weight gain or to stop symptoms that they suspect might be food-related.

However, remember that food alters your biochemistry, so it is not only about what you see or feel, but also what your internal environment is like.

Luckily we can get a glimpse of this internal environment via some blood markers like FBC (shows iron levels and immunity), LFTs,(liver function tests) HBA1C (sugar levels), and Lipids (cholesterol)

Concerning weight, it is worth noting you might appear to be of normal weight but carry a high percentage of body fat.

The term skinny fat is often used to describe this situation.

Why am I gaining weight even though I eat a healthy diet?

This is probably one of the commonest questions I hear both as an NHS GP and functional medicine doctor.

While some people admit they eat a poor diet, most are convinced they eat a healthy diet religiously.

In my early years as a GP, I was skeptical of everyone in the latter group, but with many years of experience, I have realised some do have a point.

You see, there are a few factors at play, in addition to the food you eat of course.

The first of these factors is genetics.

Genetics

Our genes code our genetic information including how our bodies process food.

Some of us are born with genes that process certain kinds of foods better than others.

However, it is not all doom and gloom.

Just because you pocess certain genes, you are not confined to an inevitable end.

This brings us to the concept of epigenetics.

Epigenetics

Epigenetics studies the effect of the environment on our gene expression.

In other words, modifiable factors within your reach like lifestyle and diet can indeed shut off the expression of a gene you might have.

So, just because you have a family history of heart attacks, you might change your outcome by eating the right foods and incorporating the right lifestyle modification.

State of Digestive Health

There is a common saying “you are what you eat”, thought to have come from French lawyer Anthelme Brillat-Savarin who wrote in 1826, “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are”

There is even a better one in my opinion that goes, “You are what you digest”.

In essence, you could eat the healthiest of foods, but if your digestive system is not up to par, the food wouldn’t be doing you much good.

For your food to be digested properly, your stomach, liver, small intestine, pancreas, and large intestine must work in synchrony and at the right tone for the best effect.

Overall Health

Conventional medicine compartmentalises the different body systems.

So, we have the digestive system, the circulatory system, the nervous system, the endocrine system, and so on, and see a different specialist for each.

However, it is important to point out all these body systems work in unison to achieve a given effect.

In essence, this means, a problem in the nervous system or endocrine system might influence your gut function and vice versa.

Microbiome

There is also a vast community of bacteria, fungi, and protozoa present in the gastrointestinal tract, which plays a vital role in digestion among other things.

This community of microbes is known as the microbiome, it’s estimated to be about 100 trillion.

The microbiome plays a crucial part in food craving, processing, absorption, and manufacturing of nutrients.

It also secretes neurotransmitters that affect brain function via the vagus nerve-The so-called gut-brain connection.

Some say ideally you should be eating for your microbiome!

Hidden Food Allergies or Intolerances

Hidden food allergies or intolerances are a huge topic and are widely overlooked.

It is a difficult area, not least because some of the symptoms might not be so obvious, but also because some of the tests are not so reliable.

The easiest place to start is always an elimination diet, which involves removing gluten, sugar, and dairy from your diet.

You might be surprised that a lot of your symptoms vanish just like that!

So How Do I Chose The Right Foods For Me?

To answer this question, we have to start from the very basics and talk about the various food classes, also known as macronutrients.

Macronutrients are nutrients required by the body in large quantities that provide the body with energy.

There are three types of macronutrients, namely carbohydrates, proteins, and fat.

While virtually no food types exist in only a single macronutrient, different foods have different combinations of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in varying proportions.

Some food types or classes generally have an abundance of certain macronutrients and knowing which types are best suited for your body to a degree is a matter of trial and error.

What Carbohydrates Should I Eat?

While everyone's carbohydrate tolerance is different, avoid at all costs simple sugars and refined carbohydrates like bread, biscuits, cakes, sweets, and so on.

These foods have a high glycaemic index that spike blood sugars and lead to fat deposition, weight gain, insulin resistance, diabetes, and high cholesterol.

A type of carbohydrate that resists digestion in the small intestine and gets fermented in the large intestine is called resistant.

Resistant starch is fodder for your gut microbiome which is great news!

Common food sources include beans, lentils, sweet potatoes, plantains, and more.

In my opinion, leafy green vegetables which are low in calories and high in fibre and nutrients should ideally be a staple in any diet.

However, if you have gut issues like small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), this might cause more harm than good.

Concerning fruit, berries are the preferred choice, why?

They are low glycaemic and full of vitamins, minerals, and health-benefiting phytonutrients.

Protein

Chose quality protein sources from either animals or plants.

Concerning animals, chose grass-fed beef or organic chickens if possible.

These sources have the right ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats and thus less inflammatory.

Nuts are a great source of proteins, also high in vitamins and minerals.

To get the most benefit from nuts, eat them raw.

Fats

Avoid refined vegetable oils like the plague.

These include sunflower oil, corn oil, canola oil, and so on, which cause systemic inflammation, leading to a cascade of symptoms and weight gain.

Monounsaturated fats like olive oil and olives contain a healthy monounsaturated fat, oleic acid, which helps reduce cholesterol and blood pressure.

Coconut oil and butter contain different types of saturated fats that help reduce inflammation.

Coconut and palm oil also contains medium-chain triglycerides, which help weight loss and are a great source of brain fuel.

As a bonus, they have antibacterial and antifungal properties.

Is Juicing Healthy?

The topic of juicing is an extremely common one, and usually generates lots of questions:

Is juicing healthy? Will juicing make me lose weight? Will juicing make me gain weight? Will juicing make me constipated? And so on.

As you can imagine, this is a huge topic, but to keep it simple follow one rule.

If you are going to juice, juice your vegetables and not your fruit!

And if you can’t resist, try throwing in a few berries.

Are Smoothies Healthy?

This is another common topic that generates lots of questions.

Smoothies have a slight advantage over juicing as the pulp of the fruit or fibre in the vegetable is present to a degree in the mix.

This helps slow down the absorption of sugar and thus creates less sugar and consequently insulin spikes.

Again, to keep it simple, aim for more vegetables than fruit.

As taste is more likely to be an issue, try throwing in a few berries to taste, or maybe a relatively small quantity of a higher glycaemic index fruit.