Lifestyle Pillar: Diet and Public Enemy Number One
This will be the first of many MANY posts on diet. Let's face it, when considering the six pillars of lifestyle medicine (substance abuse, diet, physical activity, sleep, stress management, and relationships), substance abuse may be the most harmful, but diet issues are certainly the most common. Considering how we were built to eat vs how we were taught to eat there are some HUGE differences. I grew up with the 4 Basic Food Groups. My children were taught the food pyramid. In my opinion the 4 food groups were guesses and the food pyramid was marketing. Let's get real on how humans are supposed to eat, shall we?
When it comes to public enemy #1, you've heard it before and I stand with everyone who's ever told you. It's PROCESSED FOOD! With almost no nutritive value, less than 5% of our calories should be from this category but in the USA a whopping 65% are processed. If it comes in a box or a bag you can bet it's bad for you! The ONLY exception I can think of off the top of my head is Quaker Oats. Just because that breakfast cereal touts vitamins doesn't mean it's good for you! Vitamins do not negate the fact that you are eating a pile of sugar. Take Kellogg's Special K cereal. It was MARKETED as a weight loss cereal. Here's the comparison to Lucky Charms - a sweetened children's cereal:
Don't be fooled by the 10 gm vs 4 gm of sugars. The bottom line is the Special K has MORE grams of carbohydrates than the Lucky Charms does!
Processed foods, for the most part, are just piles of hidden sugar, salt, and fat, which increase our cravings, increase our appetites, and replace healthy foods with food-like substances that do absolutely nothing for our health. Sprinkling vitamins on them doesn't change that fact!
So, if 65% of our calories are coming from processed foods that means only 35% of our calories are trying to meet 100% of our needs and it just doesn't work. Check out this graph:
The X-axis - how much each country spends on their healthcare system.
The Y-axis - lifespan.
Look how much more we spend and look how much longer everyone else lives!
Out of 39 developed nations in this world we are 39th in lifespan and the reason? PROCESSED FOOD!
When it comes to carbs. Good carbs grow out of the ground, bad carbs come from a factory. It's a really easy line to draw.
Okay, so processed food is public enemy #1 when it comes to the Standard American Diet, but let's face it, you already knew that, didn't you.
Spoiler alert: Next blog will be on Public Enemy Number 2: DAIRY