Nutrition: How to Eat Well

By Basmaa Ali, MD
 
Our ancestors lived on the edge of starvation. In an effort to consume enough calories, we ate a wide variety of foods, which amply serviced the robustness of our immune system, maintenance of our bones and joints, regulatory needs of our mind and a host of housekeeping functions in our bodies integral to health. We took the nutrient density and biochemical diversity of food for granted.
 
Evolution favored those who were well adapted to calorie scarcity. Most of us, therefore, developed a fondness for sweet and calorie-dense foods. It was to our advantage to gorge on them when we rarely came across them. We intimately knew our food and lived in synchrony with its geography and seasons.
 
In the late 19th century, for the first time in human history, western hemisphere developed means where only a handful could grow enough calories to feed us all. Emboldened by this success, we started manipulating food at will. Today we genetically engineer foods, use pesticides, make food optimized for shelf life rather than long human life, transport food over long distances so we can eat what we want year-round, deplete the soils we grow crops in, fish our seas to exhaustion, raise our cows on corn rather than grass and accept hormones and vitamins from pills rather than food.

The results are in. The millennials (children born between 1979 and 1995) are the first American generation whose life expectancy is less than that of their parents. They are being crushed under the weight of their own bodies.
 
Scientists today realize that the unique genetic makeup (constitution) of an individual deeply impacts his interactions with food, but it will take us many decades to understand this relationship at a molecular level. Luckily, we do not have to wait that long to use food as medicine effectively today. Traditional cuisines are the result of centuries of human experimentation with nature’s bounty. If you are in good general health, consider following these simple guidelines common across many traditional cuisines:
 
·              Eat locally grown, organic food.
·                    Limit or eliminate processed foods from your diet.
·                    Use meat as a condiment.
·                    Eat seasonally. The cheapest fresh produce is probably the fruit and vegetable in season.
·                    Remember: 1/3 of the stomach is for food, 1/3 for water and 1/3 for air.
·                    Make 80 percent of what you eat plant-based.
·                    Eat whole grains rather than white flour or white rice.
·                    Eliminate white sugar. Honey in small quantities is fine. Stay away from sugar substitute unless you have diabetes, as they are unproven in helping people lose weight.
 
Nutrition is critically important in treating obesity, diabetes, hypertension, depression, osteoarthritis and autoimmune diseases. If you suffer from one of these, consider consulting an Ayurvedic (the medical part of yoga)or traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. Practitioners from both traditions ask patients a series of questions to diagnose individual constitution types. They can then recommend a personalized diet targeted at balancing the patient’s constitution and congruent with his or her lifestyle. The beauty of a diet customized to your constitution is that it is much easier than one that works against your natural tendencies.
 
Every meal is an opportunity to either add or take away from your health. Make sure you are adding vitality to your body every time you feed yourself. This is the only body you’ve got!
 
Basmaa Ali, MD, a resident of Cambridge, practices at Zanjabee Integrative Medicine and Primary Care in Woburn, which combines western medicine with yoga, acupuncture, shiatsu massage and nutrition. Zanjabee, which is affiliated with Winchester Hospital, is located at 300 TradeCenter, Suite 4750 in Woburn. For more information, call (781) 933-7000 or visit www.zanjabee.com.


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