One would think that after our eating for millions of years, more would be understood about foodÕs effect on people. Yet most foods contain hundreds, even thousands of different substances, some of which act as drugs. The ways most foodstuffs are digested is affected by genetic differences that have hardly begun to be evaluated (thatÕs why Aunt Hermione lost 30 pounds on her diet, and you gained weight). Complicating things from a scientific standpoint, meals are digested differently depending on when foods are eaten and in what sequence. An added factor confusing results is that moving or exercising after meals strongly affects how and when food is metabolized.
 Yet not every nutritional issue stays in the dark. First itÕs important to recognize that food is never the entire story Ñ how we move and rest critically affects our health and weight. Humans, like other mammals, seem built to eat, move and rest in sequence, to literally go FAR. Food, Activity, Rest; remember these three letters F-A-R and youÕll have a good idea of how to remain healthy for a long time.
As for what we should eat, epidemiologists, spending long years studying how different people dine, have now provided much practical information. Whether researching Italians or Greeks, Okinawans or Fujian Chinese, some points appear true around the globe:
- It pays to eat plants. The longest-lived population on earth are Okinawan women. Okinawans in general live to 100 seven times as often as Americans, and reach centenary status in far better shape. Even though brains of Okinawans aged over a century usually show AlzheimerÕs changes in their brain cells, frequently they do not present with the clinical disease. The reason is probably that OkinawansÕ arteries can remain remarkably open into great age. The theory is that clinical dementia requires both major nerve cell damage and clogged brain arteries.
As described in the Wilcoxes and SuzukiÕs book ÒThe Okinawa Program,Ó Okinawans eat a bewildering number of seasonal plants and fish, plus soy. While older Okinawan women average 87-88 years, their offspring, eating a more Western diet, do not. Okinawans who come to the U.S. begin to demonstrate American like mortality statistics.
It may not be necessary to eat Okinawan specialties like purple sweet potato in order to remain healthy, or to slavishly follow their example. The data from the
other long-lived populations around the globe benefits from the same factors Ñ lots of whole plant stuffs and fish for nutrition; frequent physical movement; considerable social support and regular patterns of living. In general, these populations follow a pattern of Food-Activity-Rest throughout each day.
Are fresh vegetables always better than frozen? Are sweet potatoes and blueberries healthier than walnuts and goji berries? At this stage, nobody really knows, especially as your particular body is concerned. Still itÕs hard to go wrong eating whole plants, spiced and cooked in tens of thousands of ways.
- Consider eating fish regularly. Yes, 90% of the worldÕs fish stocks are gone due to overfishing over centuries. Yes, mercury is more prominent in fatty fish like mackerel and swordfish and our national favorite, canned tuna. Yes, farm fishing can injure the genetic diversity of wild fish and foul the environment.
Yet many fishes are not endangered, and most have large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids plus a host of other ingredients whose healthiness is not yet comprehended. With new studies showing IQs of children increasing with the amount of fish ingested by their mothers, and long term studies demonstrating that fish oil calms manic depressives and helps heal the heart, a little fish a day is probably a good idea for many of us. A few ounces here and there in a salad or as a condiment to a larger meal may help your brain and arteries without toxifying your body. Taking a walk after you dine should also help.
- Eat breakfast. Insulin production is highest in the morning. Meals are metabolized best in the morning. Studies of obese parents show their children weigh less if they eat breakfast, as is true of most children. Also, many recent studies show people donÕt lose weight easily unless they eat breakfast.
Not eating breakfast may be tantamount to signaling your body that you are in a state of starvation. You probably have not eaten for 12 to 16 hours by the time breakfast rolls along, and your body has subsisted on the glycogen stores in your liver. By the time you awake, you are processing muscle for glucose, since glucose is the only fuel your brain and red blood cells can normally use.
Timing your calories matters. Data going back decades shows that when allowed to eat the same meal only once a day, breakfast eaters lost weight, while evening eaters gained weight. Your grandmother was right Ñ eat your breakfast. Coffee and pop tarts donÕt count.
- Look at food labels. Recently regulators have noticed that trans-fatty acids, the lovely artificial stuff that increases the shelf life of so many starchy foods, are worse for you than standard saturated fats. Campaigns have started to ban them from school lunch programs, but trans fatty acids are all over the place in our food supply. So are saturated fats.
These compounds do not merely affect cholesterol. Saturated and trans fats have direct effects on arteries, particularly in the heart and brain. Often they lead to spasm and narrowing as they are absorbed Ñ including right after you eat. Various kinds of hypoxic damage in the brain occurs when saturated and trans fats are ingested by animals
 One overall lesson is simple Ñ think before you eat. Think of what your body is designed for. Is it adapted for blue cheeseburgers or for salads? Millions of years of evolution have produced a blueprint for you and your health called human design. To pay attention to it, you literally need only think of going FAR Ñ putting food, activity and rest in sequence throughout the day. ItÕs also helpful to think of what foods fit your human design.
Eating provides the fuel for moving. Physical activityÕs effect on your health appears here next week.
Dr. Matthew Edlund, M.D., M.O.H., director of The Center for Circadian Medicine,
is an expert on applied public health, sleep medicine and psychiatry. A former
professor at Brown and University of Texas medical schools, he can be reached
via email to DocME@DoctorEdlund.com. And CLICK HERE to subscribe to our new Fitcast, via the iTunes Store. |
 | |
 |
