Eating For More Than Hunger

Ask most folks why people eat and after the funny look they'll answer something like: "So they don't starve." or "To stay alive."  While those are the most obvious reasons people eat, another reason that is nearly as important is to improve or maintain health.  Of course people eat for other reasons, too, ranging from pleasure to boredom, but we aren't as concerned with those reasons today.

Way back before the advent of modern medicine,  people were using food to modify health and treat illnesses.  The first books of medicine were actually cook books.  This was not because there weren't medicines available (there were lots of herbs in use) but rather that there is no other factor that determines as much about a person's health as what they eat.

Every time we eat a meal, we have an opportunity to please our taste buds or to please our bodies.  It's also possible to do both at the same time.  Pleasing the taste buds and the body simultaneously is the only real way to improve health when eating in my humble opinion.  What that means is that good-for-you can and should equal good-tasting.

It's no secret that a most diets fail.  In fact nearly 95% of dieters regain the weight they've lost.  In the United States people spend more than $33 billion per year trying to lose weight with diet programs, special foods and diet beverages.  How could so many of us fail so often?

The answer lies in the fact that diets just aren't the way to get or stay healthy.  Not only do they have a terrible connotation, but the restrictions to calories, fats and other taste-enhancing components can cause foods to be terribly unsatisfying.  Instead of dieting, try changing your eating habits permanently for the better.  Making changes to your way of eating instead of following a fad diet offers a much more reliable and flexible option.

Changing the way we eat can be a daunting task.  It's definitely not the easiest work to undertake.  It can be helpful to take small steps to reach the goal of eating better everyday.  An easy way to start down that path is to begin asking yourself if what you are eating is pleasing to taste buds or pleasing to the body or both.  Sometimes we aren't necessarily sure if what we are eating is good for us or not and that's ok.  There are definitely things we know aren't good for us at all and things we definitely know are better for our health.

'Bad for you' foods are made to appeal to the most basic human desires - usually the craving for fats and/or sweets.  Fats and sweets were at one point a rare part of the human diet.  We crave them because our bodies need them to run but were historically difficult to find.  Our desire for them isn't a bad thing.  It's just the way we're wired.  However over the course of human development, cooks have been able to exploit the resources available to them and make abundant the very things which were once so rare.  The same things that are beneficial in small amounts have become detrimental because they are eaten in excess.  What that means is not that we should avoid fats and calories altogether, rather we should learn to incorporate them in our diets in moderation.

The next time you're in a restaurant, look at a menu and examine the foods you find appealing.  What kinds of foods are they?  Would you consider these foods to be healthy?  It's ok to find foods typically considered 'bad for us' appealing.  After all, most of the time when we go to a restaurant we are going there to eat for pleasure, and not with our health foremost in our minds.

At this point, you have a choice - eat something 'healthy' that might be less appealing or eat something 'bad' that really appeals to you.  In some cases you can be lucky enough to find something 'healthy' and appealing, but often this is not the case.  Sometimes there is a happy medium and sometimes there isn't.  However using your wits you can manipulate your meal a little to get better nutrition and reduce some of the 'badness'. 

Here are some examples:

Scenario 1 - Burger Craving
You are craving a cheeseburger.  You have lots of options with this one.  You can get one from a fast food joint, from a pub or you can make one at home.  You can have french fries with you burger or soup or salad or nothing at all.  You can accompany your burger with beer, soda, or water.

The fast food burger is naturally the worst choice.  It has little nutritional value and is highly processed.  The norm in the fast food restaurant is to serve it with fries and a soda.  Fries and a soda are definitely not the healthiest thing you could be eating.  If you must eat at the fast food place, try skipping the soda and fries.  Have water to drink and in place of fries perhaps add something a bit healthier to your meal like a salad or fruit.  You still won't be eating an optimal meal, but you've gotten rid of some of the worst parts.

The pub may offer a better solution.  You can get a better quality burger that will have a better nutritional value and you can opt to have salad or soup with your meal instead of fries.  Salad is good because it is fresh and provides vegetable nutrients.  Soup can either be good or ok, depending on type.  Cheese soup is not as good of a pick as minestrone, but it is likely better than fries.

Making the burger at home may be the best solution as you can control the type of meat you are using, what toppings you use and what you eat it with.  If you are interested in low carb diet, you can omit the bun and fries and never even be tempted by their presence on your plate.  You can add all the veggies you want.  You can drink water with your meal or any other favorite beverage.  It's a win-win situation.

Scenario 2 - Breakfast
You go to a restaurant for breakfast and you want something satisfying, but you are keeping an eye on your health.

You could have muesli with fruit and yogurt.  Though you like how healthy the meal seems, you know you'd be missing the breakfast you really want to eat.  You might even eat a second breakfast at home later or make up for it with an extravagant lunch.

You could have pancakes, but really they are nothing more than fried refined flour with lots of syrup on top.  There isn't a lot of fiber or nutritional content in them and they are high in sugar.  They may be good for the taste buds, but your body will suffer.  You'll experience a jump in blood sugar that will be followed by a loss of energy.  You will probably be hungry again in a short while.

You could have bacon and eggs with hashbrowns.  Though this meal offers significantly more nutrition than the pancakes, there isn't much in the way of fiber or vitamins from vegetables.  You're missing out on micro-nutrients and variety.  Your meal may also be high in saturated fat.

You could have an omelet.  It includes the meat you might crave, but it also features sauteed vegetables.  It comes with whole-grain toast and fruit instead of potatoes.  This choice is kind of a happy medium since you are still eating a satisfying breakfast that makes you happy, but it includes some vegetables which offer more nutrition and a little more fiber from the toast. 


The moral of this story is that when you are just starting out on the path to changing your eating habits, you can simply make choices to improve a meal.  Take one step at time to get where you are going.  Ask yourself, "Is this the best choice I could be making?" and answer honestly without beating yourself up.  Then ask yourself, "Can I make this a better choice?"  It's up to you to decide when and how you start making changes in the way you eat.

The biggest hurdles to our goals are usually found in our own minds.  Be generous with yourself and patient with yourself.  By starting to think about what might make an optimal meal and making small modifications, you are preparing yourself for bigger changes to come.  It takes time and learning to see where and how you can improve is an important part of the process.  You can do this.  Nothing about the process is difficult.  It only requires you to want to make the necessary changes.

Food Combining

Food combining, also known as trophology, is a theory that claims that certain types of foods should be eaten only in specific combinations. As yet there is little scientific research to support the claims, but anecdotal evidence abounds regarding the improvements in digestive health experienced by those who have tried it. It is not designed to be a system of eating that promotes weight loss, rather its purpose is to help get the most benefit and nutrition from food.

Basically proponents of food combining believe that carbohydrate-rich foods (carbs) such as bread, pasta, carrots, potatoes and cereals should not be eaten in combination with protein-rich foods such as meat, eggs, dairy and nuts. Fruits are to be eaten alone, waiting 20-30 minutes before consuming anything else.

The idea behind this is that amalyse, the enzyme which converts carbohydrates to sugar, works best in an alkaline environment. Pepsin, the enzyme responsible for breaking down proteins, acidifies digestive juices. In effect the two neutralize each other, diminishing the effectiveness of digestion. This can reputedly lead to poor digestion, drowsiness after eating, and gastrointestinal symptoms.

My own experience with this is that foods do break down rather quickly and easily if combined as recommended by trophologists. However this often leads me to feel hungry again fairly quickly. In some cases I don't ever feel full. I feel that although this can perhaps be a good way to digest your food more completely, it might not be practical for every day eating. Most people hate feeling hungry and it can lead to snacking at inappropriate times.

This theory is also a bit at odds with some of the concepts discussed in the South Beach Diet, which is in part based on the idea that carbs need to be consumed with a sufficient amount of fat in order to slow the process of converting carbs to sugars. (This keeps spikes in blood sugar from happening and thereby reduces the amount of carbs converted to fat for storage in the body.)

However many people suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrone and other such ailments claim some relief of symptoms by following the food combining regimen.

If this seems like something of interest to you, I suggest reading more about it. You could try Fit for Life which is likely the most famous book on the subject or The Complete Book of Food Combining: A New Approach to the Hay Diet and Healthy Eating which is a more recent book that treats the subject slightly differently.

If you are doing more research online, key words searches could include 'food combining', 'Herbert Shelton', 'Hay Diet' or 'natural hygiene'.

Building Blocks of the Body

Good cooking and good eating starts with a basic understanding of the chemical makeup of food and how it is absorbed into the human system. It is the understanding of this knowledge that helps us know what the most nutritious and healthful foods are for our bodies.  It is the manipulation of this information that helps us create good meals.

There are literally thousands and thousands of explanations of how the body converts food to useful 'building blocks' online. I could write an explanation of my own, but with so many great resources out there, I am going to simply post one from Merck and encourage you to do more research yourself if you feel so inclined.


From the Merck Manual Home Edition:

Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are digested in the intestine, where they are broken down into their basic units: carbohydrates into sugars, proteins into amino acids, and fats into fatty acids and glycerol. The body uses these basic units to build substances it needs for growth, maintenance, and activity (including other carbohydrates, proteins, and fats).

Carbohydrates

Depending on the size of the molecule, carbohydrates may be simple or complex.

Simple carbohydrates: Various forms of sugar, such as glucose and sucrose (table sugar), are simple carbohydrates. They are small molecules, so they can be broken down and absorbed by the body quickly and are the quickest source of energy. They quickly increase the level of blood glucose (blood sugar). Fruits, dairy products, honey, and maple syrup contain large amounts of simple carbohydrates, which provide the sweet taste in most candies and cakes.

Complex carbohydrates: These carbohydrates are composed of long strings of simple carbohydrates. Because complex carbohydrates are larger molecules than simple carbohydrates, they must be broken down into simple carbohydrates before they can be absorbed. Thus, they tend to provide energy to the body more slowly than simple carbohydrates but still more quickly than protein or fat. Because they are digested more slowly than simple carbohydrates, they are less likely to be converted to fat. They also increase blood sugar levels more slowly and to lower levels than simple carbohydrates but for a longer time. Complex carbohydrates include starches and fibers, which occur in wheat products (such as breads and pastas), other grains (such as rye and corn), beans, and root vegetables (such as potatoes).

Carbohydrates may be refined or unrefined. Refined means that the food is highly processed. The fiber and bran, as well as many of the vitamins and minerals they contain, have been stripped away. Thus, the body processes these carbohydrates quickly, and they provide little nutrition although they contain about the same number of calories. Refined products are often enriched, meaning vitamins and minerals have been added back to increase their nutritional value. A diet high in simple or refined carbohydrates tends to increase the risk of obesity and diabetes.

If people consume more carbohydrates than they need at the time, the body stores some of these carbohydrates within cells (as glycogen) and converts the rest to fat. Glycogen is a complex carbohydrate that the body can easily and rapidly convert to energy. Glycogen is stored in the liver and the muscles. Muscles use glycogen for energy during periods of intense exercise. The amount of carbohydrates stored as glycogen can provide almost a day's worth of calories. A few other body tissues store carbohydrates as complex carbohydrates that cannot be used to provide energy.

Glycemic Index: The glycemic index of a carbohydrate represents how quickly its consumption increases blood sugar levels. Values range from 1 (the slowest) to 100 (the fastest, the index of pure glucose). However, how quickly the level actually increases also depends on what other foods are ingested at the same time and other factors.

The glycemic index tends to be lower for complex carbohydrates than for simple carbohydrates, but there are exceptions. For example, fructose (the sugar in fruits) has little effect on blood sugar.

The following also influence a food's glycemic index:

• Processing: Processed, refined, or finely ground foods tend to have a higher glycemic index.
• Type of starch: Different types of starch are absorbed differently. For example, potato starch is digested and absorbed into the bloodstream relatively quickly. Barley is digested and absorbed much more slowly.
• Fiber content: The more fiber a food has, the harder it is to digest. As a result, sugar is absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream.
• Ripeness of fruit: The riper the fruit, the more sugar it contains, and the higher its glycemic index.
• Fat or acid content: The more fat or acid a food contains, the more slowly it is digested and the more slowly its sugars are absorbed into the bloodstream.
• Preparation: How a food is prepared can influence how quickly it is absorbed into the bloodstream. Generally, cooking or grinding a food increases its glycemic index because these processes make food easier to digest and absorb.
• Other factors: The way the body processes food varies from person to person, affecting how quickly carbohydrates are converted to sugar and absorbed. How well a food is chewed and how quickly it is swallowed also have an effect.

The glycemic index is thought to be important because carbohydrates that increase blood sugar levels quickly (those with a high glycemic index) also quickly increase insulin levels. The increase in insulin may result in low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) and hunger, which tends to lead to consuming excess calories and gaining weight. Carbohydrates with a low glycemic index do not increase insulin levels so much. As a result, people feel satiated longer after eating. Consuming carbohydrates with a low glycemic index also tends to result in more healthful cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of obesity and diabetes mellitus and, in people with diabetes, the risk of complications due to diabetes.

In spite of the association between foods with a low glycemic index and improved health, using the index to choose foods does not automatically lead to a healthy diet. For example, the glycemic index of potato chips and some candy bars—not healthful choices—is lower than that of some healthful foods, such as brown rice. Some foods with a high glycemic index contain valuable vitamins and minerals. Thus, this index should be used only as general guide to food choices.

Glycemic Load: The glycemic index indicates only how quickly carbohydrates in a food are absorbed into the bloodstream. It does not include how much carbohydrate a food contains, which is also important. Glycemic load, a relatively new term, includes the glycemic index and the amount of carbohydrate in a food. A food, such as carrots, bananas, watermelon, or whole-wheat bread, may have a high glycemic index but contain relatively little carbohydrate and thus have a low glycemic load. Such foods have little effect on the blood sugar level.


Proteins

Proteins consist of units called amino acids, strung together in complex formations. Because proteins are complex molecules, the body takes longer to break them down. As a result, they are a much slower and longer-lasting source of energy than carbohydrates.

There are 20 amino acids. The body synthesizes some of them from components within the body, but it cannot synthesize 9 of the amino acids—called essential amino acids. They must be consumed in the diet. Everyone needs 8 of these amino acids: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. Infants also need a 9th one, histidine. The percentage of protein the body can use to synthesize essential amino acids varies from protein to protein. The body can use 100% of the protein in egg and a high percentage of the proteins in milk and meats.

The body needs proteins to maintain and replace tissues and to function and grow. If the body is getting enough calories, it does not use protein for energy. If more protein is consumed than is needed, the body breaks the protein down and stores its components as fat.

The body contains large amounts of protein. Protein, the main building block in the body, is the primary component of most cells. For example, muscle, connective tissues, and skin are all built of protein.


Fats

Fats are complex molecules composed of fatty acids and glycerol. The body needs fats for growth and energy. It also uses them to synthesize hormones and other substances needed for the body's activities (such as prostaglandins). Fats are the slowest source of energy but the most energy-efficient form of food. Each gram of fat supplies the body with about 9 calories, more than twice that supplied by proteins or carbohydrates. Because fats are such an efficient form of energy, the body stores any excess energy as fat. The body deposits excess fat in the abdomen (omental fat) and under the skin (subcutaneous fat) to use when it needs more energy. The body may also deposit excess fat in blood vessels and within organs, where it can block blood flow and damage organs, often causing serious disorders.

Fatty Acids: When the body needs fatty acids, it can make (synthesize) certain ones. Others, called essential fatty acids, cannot be synthesized and must be consumed in the diet. The essential fatty acids make up about 7% of the fat consumed in a normal diet and about 3% of total calories (about 8 grams). They include linoleic acid and linolenic acid, which are present in certain vegetable oils. Eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, which are fatty acids essential for brain development, can be synthesized from linolenic acid. However, they also are present in certain marine fish oils, which are a more efficient source.

Linoleic acid and arachidonic acid are omega-6 fatty acids. Linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid are omega-3 fatty acids. A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of coronary artery disease. Lake trout and certain deep-sea fish contain large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. In the United States, people tend to consume enough omega-6 fatty acids, which occur in the oils used in many processed foods, but not enough omega-3 fatty acids.

Kinds of Fat: There are different kinds of fat: monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated (see Coronary Artery Disease: Types of FatSidebar). In general, saturated fats are more likely to increase cholesterol levels and increase the risk of atherosclerosis. Foods derived from animals commonly contain saturated fats, which tend to be solid at room temperature. Fats derived from plants commonly contain monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fatty acids, which tend to be liquid at room temperature. Palm and coconut oil are exceptions. They contain more saturated fats than other plant oils.

Trans fats (trans fatty acids) are a different category of fat. They are man-made, formed by adding hydrogen atoms (hydrogenation) to monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fatty acids. Fats may be partially or fully hydrogenated (or saturated with hydrogen atoms). In the United States, the main dietary source of trans fats is partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, present in many commercially prepared foods. Consuming trans fats may adversely affect cholesterol levels in the body and may contribute to the risk of atherosclerosis.

From: http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec12/ch152/ch152b.html

Theories on the Best Way to Eat

You may be asking yourself, "So how do I know what I should be cooking or eating? What is the optimal diet for me?" There are a number of theories that address those questions, many of which have been written down and tested. Making sense of these theories is up to you.

There is a great deal of information available on how to eat today.  So many books and articles have been written on achieving the best diet possible for weight loss, overall health or for specific ailments.  However, everyone is different and it is very likely there is no single best answer to the question, "What should I eat?"

The other issue that is commonly ignored when dealing with diet and lifestyle change is, "What do I think and why?"  Too often people are given a command to follow a particular regimen with little regard as to why.  Understanding the concepts behind the commands are important as it frees people up to decide for themselves.  We are much more likely to participate fully in a program we design for ourselves since we know ourselves best.

The challenge is then twofold:

1- To prepare yourself for the challenges ahead.

and

2- To arm yourself with information.

Self-Work
I've found that combining concepts from several sources of information can be better than just sticking to one method.  This requires that you experiment a bit and that you know your own body better than the average Joe.  It also requires you to think and make judgments about the information you receive.

Another quality you must possess is patience.  Many food programs require time to work.  It simply isn't possible to see results overnight and anyone that says otherwise is probably selling something.  Be patient with the routines you adopt and patient with yourself.  Making mistakes is part of being human.  There is no need to punish yourself for failing.  It happens.  Gently pick yourself up and try again.

Becoming a good cook and a good eater also requires you to be an active participant in your own well-being.  Leaving the decisions to someone else may be easier, but ultimately you are the one responsible for what you pick up and put in your body.  You also might need to become a skeptic and question concepts that come from traditionally trusted sources like doctors, governments and other such institutions.  This doesn't mean you should avoid advice from those sources, but understanding what factors contribute to certain advice can be very telling.

Perhaps the single most essential personal quality required for success is the desire to improve.  By visiting this blog and reading this far, you've already proven that you are ready for change.  In reality that's what is required of someone wishing to become healthier - making permanent changes for the better.   The difference between losing weight and becoming healthier is that weight loss is often associated with temporary changes in diet or activity.  Lifestyle change is what's required for maintenance of the healthful improvements to one's life.  However no matter what anyone says, without the sustained desire to really help yourself there is no real way to succeed.

Books to Start With
The two books that have influenced the way I eat the most are Eat Right 4 Your Type: The Individualized Diet Solution to Staying Healthy, Living Longer & Achieving Your Ideal Weight
by Peter D'Adamo and The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Lossby Dr. Arthur Agatston MD.

Eat Right 4 Your Type suggests an optimal diet based on blood type and includes lists of foods most appropriate for each of 4 types.  The South Beach Diet recommends control of blood sugar by carefully combining certain types of foods.  Both books have an explanation of the concepts behind them refuted by scientific research.  They are a great place to start for anyone interested in improving their diet and subsequently their health.  Combining the styles of eating that these books suggest gives you a solid base from which to start experimenting.

These are two books that have worked for me.  While they can be great introductions to some of the concepts I stick to, I urge you to go out and do some research of your own.  You certainly don't have to stop at two books.  Make learning about food a priority.  Ask the people around you what has and has not worked for them.

(Images courtesy of public-domain.zorger.com )