Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
~ Michael Pollan
There is no one-size-fits-all best diet. One person’s food may be another person’s poison and dietary needs change over time.
Nutrition science is a work in progress. Food is medicine but we have a long way to go before affordable customized dietary plans are widely available.
Hmmm! Wouldn't it be nice if doctors got some training on prescribing food for health?
Based on constitutional type one may or may not be able to tolerate certain foods or beverages.
Through the use of genetic data a gluten-free diet is prescribed for celiac disease, a lactose-free diet helps with lactose intolerance, and the avoidance of the amino acid phenylalanine (found in protein foods and some artificial sweeteners) is recommended for an inherited disorder called phenylketonuria (or PKU).
Tech companies now offer genetic and microbiome tests to facilitate customized diets. But, more work needs to be done to assess the validity and efficacy of such tests.
Despite individual differences in absorption and assimilation of various foods, some general dietary guidelines can be applied.
My top 7 dietary guidelines
Trust the inner guru. Listen to your body. Ignore dietary trends.
Avoid lab-made foods. If a food product is packaged, has a long list of ingredients with names you don’t recognize and a long shelf life avoid it. Prepare most of your food at home from ingredients your great-grandparents would recognize.
Eat a rainbow of colour. Fill half your plate with colourful vegetables, preferably fresh, local and in season. Enjoy colourful berries. When considering conventional versus organic, check out the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Dirty Dozen & Clean Fifteen.
Eat mindfully. Chew your food until it feels like you can drink it to reduce the burden of breakdown on the digestive tract.
Fuel the active part of your day. Allow for a long fast between dinner and breakfast. Eat your last meal at least three hours before bedtime.
Drink clean water. Avoid drinks with added sweeteners.
Eat till you’re 80% full (Hara Hashi Bu) as do the long-living Okinawans in Japan.
Precision nutrition is a work in progress. With greater access to data, a personalized dietary plan is in our future.
Till then, listen to your body without judgment of food groups and ignore dietary trends.
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