When you go to an acupuncturist, they will inevitably ask you if you have any food cravings. The idea is not to shame you or find out about your "guilty pleasures". In Chinese medicine, the nature of your cravings is diagnostic - it helps us understand where your imbalances are.
Read moreBooks from the library: The China Study
Since we've all just recovered from the Thanksgiving Turkey, only to gear up for the Christmas Goose/Chanukah brisket, I thought I'd share this very important book with you.
The China Study tells the story of T. Colin Campbell, PhD, a prominent researcher in nutrition science who, over 30+ years of studying the effects of diet on cancer, has come to the conclusion that eating animal-based protein (meat, eggs, and dairy) is at the root of the "diseases of affluence" that afflict our society.
His work began in the 1970's by studying carcinogenic toxins, but he quickly began to discover the importance of diet in the development of cancer. Many people go to great lengths to avoid toxins in their food - buying organic, avoiding nitrates in meat, or styrofoam or BPA in food packaging. Dr. Campbell's research showed that more important than the presence of toxins is the presence of excess animal-based protein, which actually enables the damaging effects of toxins to develop into full-blown cancer. These findings led Dr. Campbell to get funding for the China Study, which was a broad-scale study that gathered information on the eating habits and health outcomes of people in different parts of rural China. The book goes into all of these findings and outcomes in detail, so I won't summarize all the evidence here, but Dr. Campbell makes a very strong case for eating a plant-based diet. He also uses the last part of the book to detail his experiences and frustrations with the Industry of food and food science.
Dr. Campbell is advocating for a plant-based, whole-foods way of eating. He is not talking about being vegan for the sake of the animals or for its lower environmental impact. He is not talking about being a vegetarian who eats a lot of refined carbohydrates. He does suggest eliminating all animal-based protein as a recipe for health and longevity, but he doesn't find it all that important if your vegetable soup might have a chicken stock, or your whole wheat bread has a small amount of dairy in it. According to Dr. Campbell, it's more important that a) you don't have a burger or pour a cup of milk in your cereal everyday and b) you are eating whole foods: whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits.
Now, the times when I have walked away from dairy have been some of the healthiest times in my life. However, I was once a vegetarian and I have to say, forsaking meat entirely didn't work for me. There are just certain times when I crave meat. Chinese Medicine, also, doesn't advocate for everyone to give up meat entirely. In TCM, meat has a warming, yang energy. For people with certain imbalances, eating meat is actually seen as therapeutic. But like a therapeutic drug, even people with those imbalances don't need it everyday. When consumed in excess, that warming, yang energy could also fuel some undesirable processes and create imbalances.
Let's remember that TCM theory developed at a time when people didn't have access to meat on a regular basis. People at that time were often undernourished and working physically all day long. Until fairly recently, no one in China was eating a lot of meat on a regular basis, certainly not daily as we do in North America. As The China Study discovered, as meat consumption in China has risen, so have the rates of all the major diseases we see in the US today, such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. The fact is that most omnivorous people in North America are eating way too much meat, eggs, and dairy.
I prefer a flexible approach to eating that takes my cravings into account, but The China Study makes a very compelling case for cutting meat and dairy out of most of my meals and it's a must-read if you're interested in health. I'm reminded of a mantra from another great book, Michael Pollen's Food Rules: an Eater's Manual:
*Eat food (real, whole, not processed)
*Not too much
*Mostly plants
Have other books you'd like to suggest for our bookshelf? Feel free to leave a comment here!
USDA Changes the Holy Grail Food Pyramid
pyramid-plate-popup
Let me start with the things that I love about this change:
1) Vegetables and fruits are half the plate. Vegetables more than fruits. Yay. I'd love it if they said "Fresh or Frozen Fruits", 'cause you know those canned peaches aren't really that good for you.
2) They say "Protein" and not "Meat", although meat is probably what people think of first when they see the word protein. When you scroll down on the website and click on "What is Protein?", however, they talk mostly about beans as a source of protein and fiber. I'd love it if they said "Beans and other proteins" instead.
3) They say "Grains" instead of "Breads, grains, and other starches". On the website they say at least half your grains should be whole grains.
4) Dairy is off to the side (I wouldn't mind it being excluded, but I understand that the USDA can't do that to the dairy industry).
5) Sweets, oils, etc aren't on there, as in, they are not recommended. That doesn't mean that people don't eat them, but it doesn't appear like the government is actually endorsing them.
6) Honestly, I just like the visual better, because people (especially kids) can look at their own plate and evaluate it.
What do you think? Pyramid vs Plate?
Vote here, and feel free to comment with your ideas.[polldaddy poll=5107156]
You are what's eating what you eat
Did you know that there are billions of tiny organisms living in your small and large intestines, and that some actually help your body digest and use the nutrients in food? If you've ever heard people talk about eating yogurt or taking pro-biotics, they're trying to populate their gut with the 'good' kind of bacteria in an effort to keep other less desirable organisms (like yeast) at bay
.One recent study on intestinal bacteria found that we can basically be divided into three distinct types of bacterial makeup - kind of like blood types. Just like you might have O- or AB+ blood, the composition of your gut flora will likely match one of three types, or enterotypes as the researchers call them. This research is still somewhat limited but in the future may lead explanations as to why some people have certain cravings more than others, like a sweet-tooth for example, or why different people respond to certain foods or drugs differently.
New research is also shedding light on another function of these intestinal bacteria. A recent article in Scientific American reported on a study that shows that the bacteria in the digestive tracts of mice actually influences their brain development and mood. Mice with less intestinal flora were found to have less anxiety and higher levels of neurotransmitters like dopamine and seratonin.
It remains to be seen what either of these studies mean for humans, but the fact that these bacteria are an important part of our body ecology is clear. Imbalances of these bacteria can be part of the cause of many conditions, ranging from eczema to allergies to irritable bowel disease.
So how do you keep a healthy balance of intestinal flora? Imbalances are most often caused by use of antibiotics, stress, and poor diet, especially a diet high in sugar and sulfites and low in fiber. If you do have to take antibiotics for an infection, or if you're going through a particularly stressful period, try to supplement with yogurt or pro-biotic supplements, and stick to a diet low in sugar and high in fibrous vegetables to promote the return of healthy flora.
Nutrition Basics
"Eat this fat, don't eat that fat." "Eggs are high in cholesterol -- but they're a good source of protein." "Alcohol is bad, but red wine can be good for you." If you're new to healthy eating, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed with all the information that's out there about nutrition.
If you're interested in moving towards a healthier diet, forget about the details for a minute and start with the basics. Here are a few general tips to keep in mind:
Cook at home more often
We all love to go out for a good meal, and with our busy lives, it can be hard to cook at home all the time. However, between the large portion sizes and the amount of oil, butter and salt that is used in restaurant food, eating at home the majority of the time is a major step you can take towards healthier eating, and a healthier wallet! With a little planning, it doesn't have to take up a lot of time.
If you are someone who really goes out to eat a lot, here's a great book we've found that shows you how to cook meals that are similar to restaurant meals, but for less calories and saturated fat. The Cook This! Not That! series uses easy-to-find ingredients to help you cook at home more often, instead of going out to restaurants.
Eat more beans, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains
Eating more beans, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains will automatically make your diet healthier. Besides containing necessary vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to function, beans, vegetables, fruits, and whole grain foods are full of fiber. Fiber is important for our health in so many ways, and most Americans are not getting close to enough fiber in their diets. For more information on fiber and your health, click here. By focusing on getting more of these four types foods everyday, you take a huge step towards better nutrition.
Some examples of whole grains are millet, quinoa, brown rice, and barley. Ideally, they should be soaked for at least a few hours before you cook them, as soaking grains makes them easier to digest. Whole wheat is ok as a bread choice, but wheat contains a lot of gluten which contributes to dampness in the body (see below). Many people are very sensitive to wheat and do not realize it, so we suggest limiting your wheat intake, even whole wheat. Sprouted wheat breads seem to be a better choice, and now there are many options for gluten-free bread or breads made from other grains, such as spelt.
Avoid the Four Damps
Dampness is a term in Chinese Medicine that many people who have gone to an acupuncturist have heard about. To understand the concept of dampness, think of a musty, moldy basement. Think of cholesterol-lined arteries. Think of your sinuses when they're clogged. Gross! But we need these images because these foods taste sooo goooood. The Typical American Diet is replete with these four damp-producing foods:
Sugar - damp itself, and also feeds dampness-producing yeast and bacteria - this includes alcohol!
Dairy - damp/phlegm-producing yumminess
Fried foods - and too many saturated fats in general
Processed wheat flour products - remember elementary school science, when you made glue out of flour and water? Now think of your intestines.
In TCM practice, dampness is one of the most difficult pathogens to get rid of, so changing your diet to consume less damp-producing foods is a great step towards health. We are not suggesting that you never ever eat any of these foods, but we are suggesting that you seriously limit your intake. How long would it take that musty basement to dry out after a flood? Depending on your body, if you're eating enough vegetables, beans, whole grains, and fruits, a little damp once in a while isn't necessarily the end of the world.
Journal about your food for a week
An important first step when trying to move towards a healthier diet is to really look at what you are actually eating now and how it is affecting you. How do you feel after you eat pancakes? I personally get really sleepy, so now I know that if I have pancakes, I have to be prepared for a nap later. It's not that I never eat pancakes, but now I know what to expect if I do. Are you actually getting a healthy amount of fiber? I thought I was until I realized that an apple only has 3 grams of fiber! What are the emotions that pull you to eat those damp foods, or to keep eating after you're full? Keeping a journal is not about writing down every calorie you eat or drink, but about keeping track of your moods, cravings, and other changes in bodily functions at the same time as the foods you're eating to get a sense of how different foods are affecting your body.
Fiber facts
High-fiber diets are recommended for prevention of all kinds of health issues, including Type II Diabetes, metabolic syndrome, high cholesterol, heart disease, and colorectal cancers. We have been hearing about fiber for decades, but eating enough fiber is so important to our health that the basics bear reviewing.
There are essentially two kinds of fiber: water-soluble and water-insoluble.
Insoluble fiber is important for promoting bowel movements and maintaining bowel health. This is incredibly important, not just for comfort-sake (as anyone who has been constipated will tell you) but also because bowel movements are one of the main ways that our bodies excrete toxins from the body.
Soluble fiber has many important effects as well. It has been shown to:
lower blood cholesterol by lowering low-density lipoproteins (LDL - the cholesterol you want Less of).
control blood sugar by slowing the absorption of sugars. (This is why eating an apple won't spike your blood sugar levels as high as drinking apple juice, which has all the fiber removed.)
help with weight loss by providing bulk to a meal with less calories as well as requiring more chewing time for each bite, making it harder to over-eat.
Getting more fiber actually isn't that hard to do and just involves a few mindful choices at the grocery store and in your meal planning. Click here for tips on getting more fiber in your daily diet.