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There are many different aspects of nutrition that can be discussed, depending on what level of specificity
you are pursuing. On the very deep level, one can talk about each and every vitamin and mineral and go through
the various benefits that each of these compounds provide. Before we can even start to learn about these, we
must first begin with we know: our diet.
The first meal of the day, breakfast, is a very important meal. Your body has not taken in any form of nutrients
in approximately 6-8 hours. It is important to have a solid meal because you are breaking the fast (break-fast).
The size of the meal should be enough to carry you to your lunch hour; if you don t have the opportunity to eat
a piece of fruit before lunch hour. Attempt to keep within the standard common sense nutritional ideas. Stay away
from frying your foods, stay away from high levels of refined sugars in your meals, and stay away from drinking
high levels of liquids with your meals as this interferes with digestion by diluting the acids of your stomach.
Regarding liquids, remember that coffee with caffeine tends to increase one's metabolism and can create nervous
reactions at times. Think about how you feel if you DON'T have your coffee in the morning. Regarding milk, it is
important to remember that milk is a mucous producer. It tends to clog the absorption sites in your small intestines
making it harder for your body to absorb the high quality nutrients you may be eating. Another fallacy about milk
is that calcium is attached to a protein complex in milk. After the age of three or four, we do not have the enzyme
in our bodies necessary to break down this protein complex. Therefore, please don't drink milk for calcium; it's just
not going to happen. Forms of calcium that are useable, (short of calcium supplements), would include any of the green
leafy vegetables. Tomatoes are also a good source of calcium. Sesame seeds have a very high level of calcium as well.
You would want raw sesame seed for the best level of useable calcium.
In general, lunch should be the biggest meal of the day from the following point of view. Your body will need the calories
you eat for use in creating the energy you need to finish out the day. If you eat your biggest meal of the day at night,
many of the foods that need to be digested are not digested prior to going to sleep. When this occurs, there is a greater
tendency for your body to put on weight. While it may be very small amounts each night, it would be easy to see that this
can add up over time.
So how about portion sizes? While I am not going to give you specific amounts of ounces per portion, I will give
you some common sense generalities. Obviously, a larger man will need more good calories in his diet than a smaller
woman, so giving ounces per portion would greatly depend on your body weight and activity level. If you are eating
protein and vegetables, a good rule of thumb would be to have the protein portion to be one-third of the vegetable
portion. In many cases if you are still hungry, have extra salad rather than more protein. Our bodies have very
specific limits on how much protein can be used efficiently. Why eat so much that your body converts the high- priced
protein into lower priced carbohydrates? Simply eat more vegetables to start.
First let me give you a basic description of how the different categories of foods are digested, as this will help you
understand the recommendations that follow. The enzyme used is called salivary amylase. Starches would include breads,
pastas, potatoes, etc. Proteins are digested in the stomach. Usually proteins take the longest amount of time to digest
because of their makeup. The third major category of foods is fruit. Their nature is to have high levels of sugar
(fructose-the good kind of sugar), and in many cases, higher levels of water. Fruits are normally digested in the
small intestines.
The proper order of eating should be to eat fruits on an empty stomach. Why? Because if the stomach is full of food when
you eat fruit, the fruit stimulates the stomach contents to be released into the small intestines. Whatever was in the
stomach would therefore, NOT be digested properly. Since it was not digested properly when it entered the small intestines,
the normal absorption of nutrients of the stomach content would not take place. One school of thought is to eat a high level
of fruit for breakfast. It is easily digested and absorbed well in that scenario. The energy you receive from the fructose
would be highly beneficial for your body. Also, there would really be no limit as to how much fruit you would eat at
breakfast. Your limit would be when you became full or at whatever level you chose. If you decide to eat fruit throughout
the day, just be sure it is not eaten shortly after a meal was eaten.
Starches such as potatoes, pastas, and breads can be eaten with all types of vegetables, but really should not be eaten
with proteins, as this interferes with complete digestion. This is probably the most difficult concept to follow because
we have been trained to eat rice with fish, meatballs with pasta, etc. However, if you have pasta with salads you will find
that you are not bloated at the end of the meal, and digestion can occur much more easily. The same is true when you have a
big protein meal. For example, a nice steak dinner is digested much easier if you eat it with your heart's content of salad
rather than bread. Experiment with this and you will find this to be true.
Please refrain from eating fruit deserts AFTER a big protein meal. That is a sure way of being very gassy, and having very
poor digestion. Again, this is a concept that will take some time to get used to because of our training over the years.
For example, the big issue now is high-fat foods. A couple of critical issues with this is that many low-fat or no-fat foods
have incredibly high levels of sugar in them. The way your body's biochemistry works, these types of foods will give you
the same weight producing results as the high fat foods.
The last concept that will be discussed in this brief forum about nutrition is MODERATION. Please don't attempt to do it
all at once. While this is not perfect, it will give you the chance to see how the extra vegetables satisfy your appetite.
When eating baked potatoes, if you normally use a great deal of butter and sour cream, perhaps the next time you eat the
potatoes, the amount of butter is cut in half. Maybe you have gotten into the habit of eating cookies and ice cream late
at night. Not only is this bad from a refined sugar point of view, but eating high-fat and high sugar foods late at night
is a sure way of putting on weight. Well, perhaps you should eat it every other night to start so that you can wean yourself
off of this type of snack. Eventually, you may reward yourself with this snack once per week instead of nightly.
The foods you eat do more than give you nutrients like vitamins and minerals. They can also promote inflammation or reduce
the inflammation in your body. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and fish will help to reduce inflammation,
while a diet with lots of fried foods, saturated fats, trans fats, junk food and sugary foods will make inflammation worse.
This is important for all of us, but especially for people with chronic diseases. Using this approach will assist you in
your journey to better health through nutrition. However, nutrition alone does not suffice health. To be healthy you must;
eat well, move well and think well. It is the sum of these that allows you to be complete. Exercise, as well your mental
attitude, is imperative for you to reach your optimum state of health. While there are many more issues regarding nutrition
that were not reviewed, it is hopeful that this information will give you a starting point in your quest for better
nutrition. If you have any questions about these concepts, feel free to ask for more information.
Dr Adil Karmali BSc MChiro DC
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