bite my words

Dispelling nutrition myths, ranting, and occasionally, raving

Tag Archives: diet


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Why cheating makes me angry

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Reading the article How Nutrition Pros Cheat — And Get Away With It irked me. The author begins by making a great point. That many people trying to lose weight have an all or nothing mentality and don’t permit themselves to have certain foods when they’re dieting. The problem is, that’s not realistic. You can’t expect yourself to never have your less than healthy favourites ever again. If you’re forbidding yourself from having them then you’re not likely to maintain that diet and meet your goals. 

What irked me about the article was the continuous referral to unhealthy favourites as “cheat” foods. This just perpetuates the mentality that the author is suggesting getting away from. If you’re thinking of a food as a “cheat” then you’re still on a Diet. In order to develop healthier relationships with food we need to avoid demonizing foods and thinking of indulgences as cheating. Your healthy eating should be part of your overall healthy lifestyle. A permanent change. Not a temporary diet. This doesn’t mean never eating unhealthy food. It means learning where, when, and how much of these foods you can consume without guilt and without derailing your nutrition goals. Letting yourself have a small ice cream cone is not “cheating”. Never allowing yourself to enjoy ice cream again is cheating yourself out of the pleasure of enjoying one of your favourite foods. 


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We’re eating ourselves to death

You may have recently seen in the news that diet is the top risk factor for disease and premature death in Canada. This is based on a study entitled the Global Burden of Disease. They’ve created a number of reports for countries around the world. The report for Canada indicates that the number one risk factor for disease in our country is diet. The top diseases that it contributes to are: cardiovascular, cancer, and diabetes. The second greatest risk factor is smoking, followed by body mass index (BMI) which (in some cases) can also be an issue of diet. Scrolling down the list there are a number of additional risk factors which are also closely related to diet: high blood pressure, high fasting plasma glucose, high total cholesterol, alcohol use, iron deficiency, and low bone mineral density.

I think that there are two sides to this coin. On one side, it’s unfortunate that we’re essentially making ourselves ill. On the other side, diet is a controllable risk factor so we have the power to improve our health. Honestly, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Healthy eating doesn’t mean never having a cookie or french fries. The most important step you can take to improve your diet is to simply prepare the vast majority of the food you eat at home. Don’t rely on restaurants, take-out, or pre-packaged meals. Take a page from this year’s Nutrition Month theme which is: Plan, Shop, Cook, Enjoy! Use the findings of this report and the fact that it’s Nutrition Month as motivation to set a healthy eating goal for yourself. Start small. If you eat lunch out everyday make a plan to bring lunch from home at least one or two days of the week. Or, ensure that you always have nutritious snacks on hand so that you’re not buying a chocolate bar or bag of chips when you get hungry. Don’t try to overhaul your entire diet at once. You’re too likely to get frustrated and give up entirely. Chose one goal for the month and then build on that.


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Detox diets

‘Tis the season for detox. All over the news and magazines and twitter are people pushing detox tips and diets for the new year. I hate to break it to you but there is no need to detox. Oh sure, if you generally eat an unhealthy diet then you’re going to benefit from a switch to eating more fruits and vegetables and home-prepared whole foods. But that juice cleanse or the seemingly endless number of detoxifying foods being promoted? Complete nonsense.

Think about it. What toxins do you think are lurking around in your body awaiting the magical parsley and lemon smoothie to be removed? Where exactly are these alleged toxins lurking anyway? Give your body a little credit; it’s a waste and toxin removing machine. Your kidneys and liver (provided you aren’t suffering from failure of these organs) do a great job of filtering out the toxins from your body. Admittedly, some toxins such as mercury (1) and many pesticides (2) accumulate in your body and take much longer to be excreted. Even so, a detox diet is going to do nothing to hasten the removal of these compounds.

While some detox diets simply advocate for healthy food choices, others are extremely limiting and can be dangerous. If you’re not consuming adequate nutrients for an extended period you’re putting yourself at risk of nutrient deficiency. If you’re consuming insufficient calories you’re likely doing the opposite of what you desire and wreaking havoc on your metabolism. Most people I know who undertake these extreme detox kicks end-up bouncing back-and-forth between extremes; from deprivation to excess (particularly of unhealthy food choices). I know that it’s not quick or sexy but making gradual, sensible choices that you can continue to adhere to for the rest of your life is going to provide you with longer lasting benefits than any detox will.


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The new normal

A recent article in the Globe and Mail discusses How Fat Has Become the New Normal. While, it seems fairly evident that, as a greater proportion of the population becomes overweight or obese, this would tend to normalize that state, this “duh” conclusion is not the focus of my post today. My issue is with the approach taken to combat the obesity “epidemic”. The approach many doctors are reported to be taking, according to the aforementioned article, is “to shift the discussion from weight to activity. Instead of telling people about the importance of losing weight, it could be much more effective to make it easier for people to get out and be physically active in their communities.” I definitely think that shifting the focus from the negative and focusing instead on the positive is essential to reducing obesity rates. However, I don’t think that placing the emphasis on getting people to be more physically active is the solution. Yes, we should be encouraging people to be more physically active, to engage in active transportation, and to get daily exercise. My quibble with this article, and approach, is that there’s no mention of diet. For prevention of weight gain and for overall health, both physical activity and a healthy diet are essential. For weight loss, a healthy diet is far more important than physical activity. Why is this fact so frequently overlooked in discussions of obesity? The solution is not as simple as “getting out” and “moving more” we need to take a long hard look at what we’re ingesting and why.


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Psoriasis Diet

I was recently asked about the association between gluten and psoriasis. I hadn’t heard about this before so I thought that I would look into it a little bit more closely.

For those who don’t know, psoriasis is a condition in which the skin develops red patches covered by dry silvery scales. The severity of the condition can vary considerably between individuals. Also, the condition can wax and wane for an individual. The scaly patches are a result of a much more rapid than normal growth of skin cells. The cause of this proliferation of skin cell growth is still unknown. Treatments are generally topical creams.

According to the Psoriasis Society of Canada, “diet is thought to play only a small role in psoriasis”. According to the research papers I found, a few links between diet and psoriasis have been investigated. The most recent paper I could find was from 2005 and there were no strong links indicated between diet and psoriasis. Basically, there may be some benefit to consuming a low-calorie diet. Results of studies looking at the effects of polyunsaturated acid supplements on psoriasis have been mixed at best. There may be a link between gluten and psoriasis. Patients with psoriasis and elevated antigliadin antibodies (AGA), and psoriasis sufferers seem to have a higher incidence of elevated AGAs than the general population, may see improvement in their psoriasis symptoms on a gluten-free diet. Despite increased levels of oxidative stress seen in psoriasis patients, studies of supplementation with antioxidants have not shown any benefits to date.

Until further research is available, psoriasis sufferers may wish to try modifying their diets to see if they find any improvement as a result. However, there is not enough evidence to recommend any one diet to ameliorate psoriasis. Also, psoriasis patients should discuss supplement use with their doctor or pharmacist as there is a risk of drug-nutrient interaction.

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