One of the major changes in diet over the last few decades has been the slow increase in calories that the average person eats. We can find it everywhere. Increases in fats and sugars in the diet have resulted in not only an increase in the average weight, but also an increase in cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Think of all of the empty calories that many consume in a day. Drinks like soda contain flavorings, chemicals and sugars. They contain no vitamins, minerals or proteins.

Calorie restriction will lead to increased health and prolonging of life. One of the current theories on aging involves the relationship between insulin and glucose. As we age, improper insulin handling of glucose, or sugar, causes some of the changes seen in aging. Reducing calories in your diet reduces the amount of circulating insulin. When this occurs, the cells of your body can more efficiently use glucose. Not only does calorie restriction reduce your need for insulin, but it also reduces your circulating levels of glucose. The positive effects of this also include the reduction of blood fats.

You don’t have to starve yourself to attain calorie restriction. The first step is to cut out those empty calories in your diet. Start with the liquids you drink. Reduce dramatically the intake of sugared liquids and alcohol. These are empty calories with little to no redeeming value.

The next step is to look at empty calorie starches. Most breads are made from grains that have been stripped of their nutrient value. Then, the company adds back in a few vitamins and calls it enriched. The end product has less nutrient value than the original raw ingredient and it is labeled as enriched. In general, try and limit your intake of white flour products. For example, a slice of bread has the same calories as four teaspoons of sugar. Two slices of bread are the calories that are needed to walk or run one mile. It’s amazing how efficient we are.

Look closely at the fats in your diet. There are good fats and bad fats. The fats that you want to reduce are the adulterated fats like partially hydrogenated oils and animal fats. Most of the fast food baked goods and store bought salad dressings are made from partially hydrogenated fats. Margarine is another example of partially hydrogenated fat. These cause imbalances in hormone type substances called prostaglandins.

The final area to look at is your intake of animal fats. Make sure that any meat that you eat has been thoroughly trimmed of all fat and all skin has been removed.

Basically, if you restrict your intake of empty calorie drinks, reduce or eliminate empty calorie breads, pastas and baked goods and reduce or eliminate bad fats, you will have a reduced calorie diet that will make you thinner and healthier.

“Calorie restriction will lead
to increased health and
prolonging of life.”

The usual question is “what do I eat?” The answer is a diet filled with fruits, grains and vegetables supplemented with low fat proteins. To this should be added an adequate intake of the essential fatty acids.

If you feel like you need a snack, first think about what you ate at your last meal. Meals high in empty calories will cause a release of insulin and a rebound later that makes you hungry. Provided that you don’t skip meals, you should be able to eat three meals a day without snacking.

Currently, the US ranks 35th in health care. In male mortality, we rank around 18th in the world, and 17th in female mortality. One of the common factors of all of the countries that rank above the US is that they all have healthier diets than we have.

If you have any doubts about your diet, write down everything you eat and drink for a week. Please record the time you consume the food and, if you are snacking, why you ate what you did. Bring this to the office and lets talk about your diet. Moderate changes can have amazing effects in your health.

Healthy Notes

A recent report in the Journal of Immunotherapy has shown that vitamin D increases the effectiveness of our immune systems. One of the problems in the winter months is that we do not get enough sunshine on our skin to produce our own vitamin D. If you have a weak immune system or want to make sure yours is able to function at its best, one of the factors that can influence it is your intake of vitamin D.

The journal Thorax has reported a direct relationship between increased lung function in the middle aged due to intake of vitamin E and apples. Those subjects who supplemented their diets with vitamin E had a moderate increase in lung capacity. The subjects that ate five or more apples a week had marked increase in their lung capacity. There must be something to “an apple a day.”

Free Radical Research has reported that adding vitamin E to refined olive oil helps to prevent it from becoming rancid. This paper shows that you should open a capsule of vitamin E and add it to your olive oil when you first open the container. This will help preserve your oil and stop it from going bad.

The Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology has confirmed that red wine extract is a powerful antioxidant protecting heart tissue. Not only does it act as an antioxidant; it also reduces the damage the heart sustains in a heart attack.

Make sure you have omega 3 oils or foods that supply these factors in your diet. Colon cancer rates are rising in this country, and a recent paper shows that diets high in fish oils are more effective in slowing inflammation in the colon than diets using other oils such as corn oil.

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