How can I make this crazy terminology used to
complicate what REALLY needs to be a simple explanation on what we need to eat
to nourish our bodies and minds simple?
How can I make this simpler so that you can
easily understand what you need to eat to be vibrant, have energy, and live the
life of HEALTH?
It starts with the question of WHY is food
terminology obscure and muddled with science? Oh…that’s right – because someone
can make a damn buck off of it.
You need to understand that packaging is about
sales and lining someone's pockets each and every time you purchase food.
Because of marketing laws you CANNOT trust what the label is telling you, you
need to go off what you KNOW as hard, cold facts.
The first two terms - right out of the gate -
are befuddling. Micronutrients and Macronutrients.
Nutrients, nutrients, nutrients. We all know
we NEED nutrients – but very few of us know WHAT nutrients REALLY are or why
they are so important.
Macronutrients are defined as providing
calories – protein, carbohydrates and fat - but alcohol isn’t included….but
provides calories. Hmmmm……
Fat has 9 calories per gram. Carbohydrates and
protein have 4 calories per gram. Alcohol also has 4 calories per gram.
All calories are not created equal – what is a
calorie? To simplify this I am going to tell you to ignore calories. I know, I
know….this goes against a lot of what you have been taught and you DO need to
pay attention to “calories” in the sense of you don’t need to over consume
food. But calories don’t matter – the amount of food you consume for the amount
of energy you need to live a healthy and vibrant life matters.
And everyone’s dietary needs are different –
the USDA telling the public to consume 2200 calories a day in a one size fits
all diet approach isn’t going to work.
Try and stay with me….I know I am
convoluted….but I WILL (eventually) make a point.
Protein is defined in science as a
group of molecules that contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and usually
sulfur and are have at least one chain of amino acids.
Proteins are fundamental
components of all living cells and include many substances, such as enzymes,
hormones, and antibodies that are necessary for the proper functioning of all
of our cells.
If we say protein is molecules that contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and usually sulfur
and are have at least one chain of amino acids and a McDonald’s burger contains
this definition do we define a McDonald’s burger as protein? I sure hope not. A
McDonald’s hamburger is manufactured junk. Yes, it does have calories which
provide energy, yes it does contain the definition that science has determined
is protein….but it is ultimately a science experiment. Merchants and vendors
got together and figured out the cheapest way to produce a product with a
extended and sustainable shelf life to increase their profit margin. There is
no interest in nourishment, life or health. Just profit margins.
The macronutrient named carbohydrate is carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. What is
not common knowledge is that a carbohydrate molecule is glucose, whose formula
is C6H12O6. Simple or complex came along to try and separate carbohydrates –
but why do they need separated? Carbohydrates are glucose – plain and simple.
Renaming them complex and simple was a marketing term. But whether they are
complex or simple doesn’t change the fact that they are glucose and what you
REALLY need to know is how YOU are affected by glucose.
Our bodies do not need dietary glucose (meaning you don’t
need to eat carbs). Our liver can make the glucose our brain and liver needs
from glycerol (fat) and amino acids (proteins) through a process called gluconeogenesis.
You don’t need dietary carbohydrates….they are just tasty and we prefer them
because they are easy energy. Our body doesn’t need to work hard to convert
them into glucose (because they are already glucose) to use for energy.
Only problem is they spike the hormone insulin
and shuttle any excess glucose that your muscles can’t use into those adipose
tissues (fat cells) and the process of needing energy starts over…or hunger
pains and cravings.
All carbohydrates from the snickers in the vending machine, to a coca-colam to an orange to
carrots are turned into glucose in the body. Simple stuff really. Some
carbohydrates have other molecules in them, like carrots have beta-carotene and
Vitamin A and a snickers lover will argue that it has protein from the peanuts.
The carrots will spike your blood sugar levels less than the snickers because
of the “other stuff” in the carrots. But in the end they are all glucose and
impact your blood sugar levels. How much carbohydrates YOU can consume is
determined by your activity level, how much muscle mass you have, genetics,
metabolic damage, stress, and even sleep. How do you KNOW how many
carbohydrates your personal diet can tolerate? A glucometer of course! A
glucometer is THE tool to sleep better, train better, feel better, and look
better. It will tell you exactly how that meal impacts your body from the
inside. No guessing. All the guesswork is taken out. Want to learn MORE about
using a glucometer to tailor a personal diet for you?
Fat…which seems
to be the most difficult to pinpoint on WHAT it actually is. Fat can be
described as adipose that resides on our bodies, lipids, glycerol, fatty acids,
triglycerides, saturated, unsaturated, hydrogenated, and trans fat.
No friggin wonder we are confused as to WHAT
exactly fat IS and the name is associated with everyone’s nightmare word “FAT”.
No one wants to be FAT….and if there is FAT in a food….and we eat that
food……that will lead to us BEING fat….right? Made sense when someone said don’t
EAT fat or you’ll GET fat.
But that’s wrong. Not only because not all
energy is created equal in the sense that you need to break them down into
these macronutrient categories but also because not all fat, protein and
carbohydrates are created to provide you the best nourishment, energy, health
and life.
Fat….oh man, this one drives me
crazy. We call animal fat, olive oil, vegetable oil, wings, butter, Crisco,
coconut oil, nuts, eggs, steaks, sausage, bacon, grease, corn oil, avocados,
ice cream, cream, French fries, and our stomachs FAT. How in the heck are you
supposed to know anything about dietary fat that will cushion your organs,
repair cells, buffers us from disease, provides the most efficient source of
energy, provides the sheath for myelin in the brain making you smarter, help
organ functions at top notch and hormone production stay humming healthily? We
NEED fat.
But what kind of fat?
Simple…pasture raised, grass fed meats and animal fats, pasture raised butters
and creams, avocado, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and nuts. How you
translate those foods into fats in your diet is up to you. If that means
guacamole on your salad….awesome. If it means rutabaga fried in coconut oil or
bacon and eggs…so be it…you need these items in your diet. When we start
talking about trans saturated fats and hydrogenated fats we complicate it too
much. When we say ice cream is a fat we leave out the fact that most of it is
glucose and THAT is what plumps up our adipose tissues from the ice cream. Not
the fat content that the nutrition label boasts.
Calories……another horrible term.
Don’t concern yourself with calories. How can we concern ourselves with 3500
calories is one pound of body fat unless we are breaking down that “x” of those
calories were carbohydrates that impacted your glucose over normal thresholds
for “X” amount of time causing the body to produce “x” amount of insulin and
storing “x” amount of excess energy/calories into adipose tissues…which in turn
those fat cells accumulated and made your belly puffy, gooey and roll….confused
much?
There is so much more to food than
protein, fat and carbohydrates, it is the direct impact these macronutrients
have on organ functions, hormone production and a direct relation to how your
mental perspective. Sometimes moving your body more and sitting less isn’t a
lack of physical prowess but mental status.
Keep
it simple. Eat REAL food. Food that wasn’t manufactured to be “fun, easy,
convenient, enjoyable, indulgent and cheap”. Quit worrying about saturated fats
and your cholesterol levels. Blood tests doctors run only predict plasma
cholesterol, which has nothing to do with the small particle Low Density
Lipoproteins that find their way into your arteries and build up or break passing
by red blood cells which clot. That stuff is too complicated. If you want to
know what YOUR personal diet should be get a glucometer. Keep your blood sugar
levels between 80-90mg/dl, 90 minutes after you eat (post-prandial). Want to
know more? Read my book =)
