Modern Life in America is fascinating. We have access to knowledge like never before. The internet gives us vast amounts of information in an instant on virtually any topic we can think of. We have conveniences that save time and effort and we have technologies which allow most Americans to live lifestyles that only kings and queens could enjoy in the past. Despite all of these advantages, Americans in general are less healthy, less happy and more confused about health than ever before. There are endless amounts of news, programs, and expert advice on how to lose weight. Often the advice is contradictory to other experts. The science can seem bewildering: one study shows something is healthy, another shows it is unhealthy. We are constantly bombarded with seemingly conflicting information from various health philosophies. This is made worse by misinformation from industries that profit from our unhealthy choices. This misinformation might come from multinational food or pharmaceutical conglomerates who have obvious profit motives or may come from seemingly less suspicious institutions like our government or healthcare industry. With all of the conflicting information, many frustrated Americans just give up on the idea of healthy living, or are bamboozled into following misinformed unhealthy advice. Many other Americans seem to be constantly changing tactics as they follow the endless fad diets or trend of the season. Many Americans are simply confused about healthy choices, and despite their best efforts continue to make choices that will cause disease and suffering...as well as weight gain. Lastly there are so many of us who understand a great deal about healthy choices, but struggle with execution. So many people are unable to follow through with good intentions to make lifestyle changes over time. Ultimately, this all leads to our current situation where we spend more on healthcare than any other country, but rank near the bottom of healthcare outcomes in the developed world. Fortunately, all is not lost.
There are some basic facts and tactics that can help us navigate this difficult situation. I first want to offer some advice on how to interpret scientific studies and reports that are popularized in the media. It is important to understand that foods are often like people in that they may have good and bad qualities. We need to get beyond the “black and white” thinking that categorizes foods as good or bad. Some foods might be beneficial for one person but problematic for another. Take, for example, olive oil. The only known diet that reverses the arterial blockages prohibits all oils. So if someone has known atherosclerotic blockages in their arteries, it is likely an unhealthy choice, where for others it may be allowable in moderation. It is dense in calories, so maybe a poor choice for losing weight, but for another it may be a source of healthy polyunsaturated fats. We need to consider our own challenges and goals with our diet and lifestyle when we consider dietary choices. It often isn’t as simple as “eat this, not that.”
Another common pitfall is getting lost in the details. The human body and it’s interaction with nutrition is extremely complex. There are so many things going on all at the same time it is very easy to get confused. We can miss the big picture by getting confused by incorrect interpretation of the details. This is the inability to see the forest through all the trees. For this reason, I advise patients to take a 10,000 foot view of the situation. For example, a popular book today is advising you to avoid beans due to toxins called lectins. But if we ask “what happens to people who eat beans?” we learn that the theory doesn’t hold true. The truth is that people who eat beans live longer, despite beans containing toxic lectins. It turns out that lectins are destroyed in the process of cooking beans. Thus the advice to avoid beans may seem to make sense based on an isolated detail, however it doesn’t hold true in the big picture. This type of error is very common in the world of nutritional advice. We must consider our nutrition in the context of whole foods interacting with our complex biology, not isolated facts about one nutrient or another.
So if we start with the 10,000 foot view of nutrition and health things become clearer. Let’s ask for example, “Is there a dietary and lifestyle pattern that leads to a longer and healthier life”? It turns out scientists have studied this and found multiple cultures that enjoy longer life expectancies and better quality of life in old age. These cultures are described in the book “The Blue Zones” by Dan Buettner. These healthy cultures share many common features related to activity, diet and societal structure. In terms of diet, these cultures eat primarily plant based foods in their whole state. There is little to no processed foods and meat is served as a condiment on average once or twice weekly. There is a lot of other evidence to support this “Whole Food Plant Based Diet” in the medical literature, however the message gets lost in the noise for many reasons. As we covered previously, overly simplistic views based on isolated nutrients or facts can lead to confusion if they don’t take into account the big picture. Secondly, there are powerful industry forces that stand to lose a great deal as the Whole Food Plant Based Diet continues to become more popular. These industries continue to put out misinformation and inject enough contradictory pseudoscience so as to muddy the waters and keep people from seeing clearly the simple truth. Nevertheless, we are approaching a tipping point where so many people are benefiting from this way of life that it is no longer a secret. People will migrate to what works. Unfortunately, they may not always stick with the program.
I have many patients who understand the best dietary pattern for health, but may opt for another diet for weight loss. The Whole Food Plant Based Diet will cause most people to lose significant weight, however it is not the only way to accomplish this goal. This is where I want to emphasize that skinny doesn’t always equal healthy. There are many ways to lose weight, not all are health promoting. Cancer treatment, drug addiction, starvation, or poisoning will all cause weight loss but aren’t likely to produce health and vitality. There is significant evidence that a meat based ketogenic diet can cause weight loss, however it is associated with poorer health outcomes. I therefore categorize it with the other unhealthy ways to lose weight.
When I ask people why they opt for this diet over a Whole Foods Plant Based diet, a common reply is that they feel it is more palatable. They aren’t deterred by higher rates of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Taste wins out. This behavior can be difficult to understand unless we understand the basic drivers for human behavior. This was discussed in my previous blog, The Pleasure Trap, which reviews the book of the same name by Alan Goldhamer, D.C. and Doug Lisle, Ph.D. These authors describe the basic drive for human behavior (choices included) as “seek pleasure, avoid pain, and do this with as little energy expenditure as possible.” Food gives us pleasure, especially foods that are fattening (calorically dense). We seek out fat, sugar and salt because it gives us pleasure, but they also indicate foods that are high in calories. In times gone by, high calorie meals gave us a survival advantage because that meant we wouldn’t starve to death. However, in our current environment, calories are overly abundant and are causing a great deal of sickness and premature death. This is made worse because modern processed food, while rich in calories, is devoid of nutrients, vitamins and minerals that we need for optimal function. So we are fish out of water. We are hardwired to seek out calories, but we live in a society where calories are too easy to obtain, but nutrients are hard to come by. We are trapped by our own biology.
When we understand the Pleasure Trap, we can navigate our cravings in a toxic, obesogenic environment more safely. When we apply the wisdom gleaned from The Blue Zones, we can filter out the noise and discern what is hype, confusion or manipulation and what is truly healthy advice. My hope is that these two concepts will help you to clarify some common obstacles to a healthy lifestyle. This is important to reach your health goals, but even more importantly I want you to see the value in this discussion: the valuable commodity is you, and you are worth taking care of!
It is my goal to see us all set free from the traps we find ourselves ensnared in our modern society. If you’d like to take the next step in getting out of the Pleasure Trap, adopting a Blue Zones lifestyle and reaching your weight or any health goals connect with us at connect@HeadwatersJax.com or visit us at HeadwatersJax.com We offer many resources including powerful intensive therapeutic lifestyle courses that can set you up for success for the upcoming holiday season.
May you live in abundance to fulfill your purpose!
Will Nields, M.D.