Food First

For most of my patients, no matter why they’ve come to see me, I usually take a food-first approach.  It’s not sexy and it’s not always easy, but it’s usually the right move.  Many people are not eating to fuel their bodies or they are eating foods that they are sensitive to (and not aware of) or they are failing to eat foods they need to create their best health.   There is so much noise on social media and the interwebs on the “only” or “best” way to eat—what foods you should eat, what foods you shouldn’t eat, what ratios of macros you need, when you should eat, when and how long you should fast, and the list goes on. I am not nearly so dogmatic in my thinking around nutrition.

I think there are multiple ways that we can eat in a healthy and nourishing manner—just look at the Blue Zones, five areas that have been identified as having very long-lived people. This longevity is felt to be derived at least in part from the inhabitants’ way of eating.  Having said that, there is a wide variety in their diets ranging from the foods of Okinawa to the Adventists’ foods of Loma Linda, California to those of Sardinia.

I think people can accomplish the goal of eating healthily in a variety of ways.  But if you asked my philosophy, it would be governed by several tenets:  eat more fiber, eat less processed junk, eat (relatively) more protein, and avoid foods you are sensitive to. 

Just like other health-related decisions, I think nutrition choices are and should be nuanced, and I will make different recommendations based on a person’s goals, their personal preferences, even their relative bandwidth to make changes.  Are you trying to lose weight? Are you trying to improve your squat? Are you wanting to improve brain health?  Are you trying to change  your body composition?   

I am here to help.  If you want to know what the science says about different ways of eating, I can help with that too!  I believe in evidence-based medicine, but I also believe that decisions should be informed by preference and experience as well.

Now go eat some veggies!