There is no shortage of nutritional advice out in the world and it can be conflicting and confusing. Whether you are a person who hasn’t put a second thought into what goes into your body, or you are adapting from the conventionally advised standard American low-fat diet based on grain and processed vegetable oils, it takes some learning to understand our approach as it is likely quite different from what you have been told before.
Our mission is to enable our clients to obtain optimum health by supporting their healing with a very powerful nutritional intervention. It’s not unusual to have questions. Today we share with you some fantastic questions which one of our clients posed below:
I've been trying to follow the guidelines given for my nutrition plan and exposure to environmental hazards. However, I’d like to know which things are highest priority?
1) How CRITICAL is it to avoid ALL soy (e.g., soy lecithin in a dark chocolate bar)? I am not eating edamame or tofu and am trying to avoid products with soy oil, but just what amount is harmful? If the ingredients list less than 1%, is that OK?
Answer: Do your best. If you know that small exposures to soy don't create a major and immediate problem then you'd probably be okay. I wouldn't rely on tons of chocolate bars in the first place so eating a >70% dark chocolate bar over the course of a week probably won't be an issue.
Our mission is to enable our clients to obtain optimum health by supporting their healing with a very powerful nutritional intervention. It’s not unusual to have questions. Today we share with you some fantastic questions which one of our clients posed below:
I've been trying to follow the guidelines given for my nutrition plan and exposure to environmental hazards. However, I’d like to know which things are highest priority?
1) How CRITICAL is it to avoid ALL soy (e.g., soy lecithin in a dark chocolate bar)? I am not eating edamame or tofu and am trying to avoid products with soy oil, but just what amount is harmful? If the ingredients list less than 1%, is that OK?
Answer: Do your best. If you know that small exposures to soy don't create a major and immediate problem then you'd probably be okay. I wouldn't rely on tons of chocolate bars in the first place so eating a >70% dark chocolate bar over the course of a week probably won't be an issue.
2) I found "grass-fed" butter -- I know that it is best, but if butter is "organic", is that okay or no different from the normal cheap butter?
Answer: Even normal butter is fine. Organic is better as it's going to be lower in antibiotic, pesticides and hormones. Pastured butter made at the peak of grass season should have greater nutrient density (specifically CLA), but as long as it's still butter and not some fake spread, I'd say you are okay with it.
Answer: Even normal butter is fine. Organic is better as it's going to be lower in antibiotic, pesticides and hormones. Pastured butter made at the peak of grass season should have greater nutrient density (specifically CLA), but as long as it's still butter and not some fake spread, I'd say you are okay with it.
3) I am using organic coconut oil, but is it CRITICAL that it be cold-pressed?
Answer: No. The only coconut oil I wouldn't use (which isn't a problem for us in non-tropical locations) is any oil they hydrogenate to 'harden'. Refined vs Unrefined for coconut oil only makes a flavor difference and the quality of the oil is relatively insignificant.
Answer: No. The only coconut oil I wouldn't use (which isn't a problem for us in non-tropical locations) is any oil they hydrogenate to 'harden'. Refined vs Unrefined for coconut oil only makes a flavor difference and the quality of the oil is relatively insignificant.
4) What about olive oil? MUST it be "cold-pressed"? What about "first pressing"? Must it be "extra virgin" or can I use the non-e.v.o.o. for sautéing?
Answer: This is a tricky issue. There are a lot of places which actually sell us oil that is not of the quality they claim. Even expensive brands cheat and mix in cheap oils. The good news is that even the worst olive oil is still going to be better than the best of the already rancid seed and vegetables oils, as those are probably what they are diluting the olive oil with. The brand that I've seen consistently test true to its claimed purity and is very economical is Costco's Organic Kirkland Brand.
Answer: This is a tricky issue. There are a lot of places which actually sell us oil that is not of the quality they claim. Even expensive brands cheat and mix in cheap oils. The good news is that even the worst olive oil is still going to be better than the best of the already rancid seed and vegetables oils, as those are probably what they are diluting the olive oil with. The brand that I've seen consistently test true to its claimed purity and is very economical is Costco's Organic Kirkland Brand.
5) One of your hand-outs shows a graph depicting how carbs, protein, and fat work in the body--main message is that carbs spike and go, fats last the longest. HOWEVER, there is no distinction made between simple carbs and complex carbs, NOR does fiber appear on the graph. Please explain the relationship between satiety and fiber intake, as it relates to the other three items.
Answer: This is great reading on your behalf and grasps at several concepts.
A) Fiber, as long as it doesn't come from grain, is a good thing and we should adapt to eating plenty. Most fibers do not RAISE blood sugar. Soluble fiber is fermentable fuel for your microbiome.
B) Simple vs Complex is a man-made distinction. It assumes that complex carbs are slower releasing and that simple is faster - which isn't always true. Your question digs into the validity of measures such as Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load, both of which are imperfect tools. Most "complex" carbs aka starches, are simply very long chains of glucose which break down into glucose rapidly in our body.
Foods in their whole form with the fiber are better for us, but we cannot magically sprinkle fiber onto sugar and expect it to provide satiety or blunt blood sugar. (Example: think of chasing cotton-candy with Metamucil).
Next consider a potato. On its own it's a 'complex' carb with starch and fiber. It will still spike glucose and subsequent insulin rather quickly in it's plain state, but if you pair that baked potato with butter and sour-cream and perhaps some protein, the blood sugar response will be blunted and delayed. It’s not that it took that sugar away, the fat slows down its digestion - perhaps to a point that some people can tolerate a high starch food better.
Answer: This is great reading on your behalf and grasps at several concepts.
A) Fiber, as long as it doesn't come from grain, is a good thing and we should adapt to eating plenty. Most fibers do not RAISE blood sugar. Soluble fiber is fermentable fuel for your microbiome.
B) Simple vs Complex is a man-made distinction. It assumes that complex carbs are slower releasing and that simple is faster - which isn't always true. Your question digs into the validity of measures such as Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load, both of which are imperfect tools. Most "complex" carbs aka starches, are simply very long chains of glucose which break down into glucose rapidly in our body.
Foods in their whole form with the fiber are better for us, but we cannot magically sprinkle fiber onto sugar and expect it to provide satiety or blunt blood sugar. (Example: think of chasing cotton-candy with Metamucil).
Next consider a potato. On its own it's a 'complex' carb with starch and fiber. It will still spike glucose and subsequent insulin rather quickly in it's plain state, but if you pair that baked potato with butter and sour-cream and perhaps some protein, the blood sugar response will be blunted and delayed. It’s not that it took that sugar away, the fat slows down its digestion - perhaps to a point that some people can tolerate a high starch food better.
C) The only way to know how a food impacts YOU is to test your own blood sugar response to a meal. You don't HAVE to do this, but the response to carbs in the diet are unique to the individual - and not uniform such as the "Glycemic Index" charts makes it seem. The Glycemic index is a measure of the average of a small group of people who ate a fixed portion of an isolated food and were then monitored. A measure called Glycemic Load attempts to relate this measure to a realist serving size, but still doesn’t account for difference among individuals.
6) I understand that in an ideal world, everything would be organic, non-GMO, free-range, grass-fed, unprocessed, eaten raw or cooked at low temps, not in plastic, and without any additives. But I live in a world where I have to balance a lot, so, since I cannot ensure all the above-listed conditions, I need to know WHAT IS RELEVANT TO MY HEALTH problems right now -- chronic fatigue, poor hormone function, osteopenia, joint pain, poor sleep.
Answer: I live in this same world and understand these challenges. Unfortunately we have to use a comprehensive approach because of the nature of these conditions, but in order to help prioritize, I would rank your priorities* as follows:
1- Eat as little processed food as possible.
2- Remove added sugar
3- Avoid wheat
4- Avoid grains
5- Control your total carbohydrates load (not counting fiber)
6- Exchange man-made fats for natural fats
Do your best to hold these priorities, and work towards simplifying some of the external stresses in your life.
* We advise an individualize approach to nutrition and these priorities may vary between individuals.
Answer: I live in this same world and understand these challenges. Unfortunately we have to use a comprehensive approach because of the nature of these conditions, but in order to help prioritize, I would rank your priorities* as follows:
1- Eat as little processed food as possible.
2- Remove added sugar
3- Avoid wheat
4- Avoid grains
5- Control your total carbohydrates load (not counting fiber)
6- Exchange man-made fats for natural fats
Do your best to hold these priorities, and work towards simplifying some of the external stresses in your life.
* We advise an individualize approach to nutrition and these priorities may vary between individuals.