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On Thursday, April 3, BailHealth held a panel of three healthcare professionals who use their nutritional knowledge to support patients’ health.
“I like to think of nutrition as a prescription,” he said. Dr. Susie Vickermana family doctor at Colorado Mountain Medical.
While medications can treat diabetes, hypertension, or heart conditions, for many patients, proper nutrition can prevent the condition from developing.
“Nutrition is the foundation of our overall health well-being,” Wickerman said.
Conditions such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and dementia are all affected by diet. “Changing nutrition can affect your destiny,” Vickerman said.
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But for more than 25 years at Colorado Mountain Medical, Vickermann said he found it difficult for patients to get nutrition as seriously as they would take the medication.
“If society as a whole has the same importance of nutrition as it does with drug therapy, there will be far fewer chronic illnesses,” Wickerman said.
When she discusses nutrition with her patients, Vickermann encourages them to think of it as a lifestyle rather than a diet. She recommends that people develop nutrition visions to support their decisions, work for their families and make small and realistic changes that follow.
What to eat
The basis of a healthy diet comes from proteins, vegetables and carbohydrates that have been processed to the minimum possible.
Lilia BrownHealthSpan’s specialist Vail Health’s functional medical nurse practitioners have destroyed the nutritional value of each part of a healthy diet.
“What we eat can burn fuel or fight inflammation,” she said.
Protein is “literally used in every part of our body,” Brown said.
As they age, they begin to lose muscle and, if they eat enough protein, they can fight that loss. Proteins can come from animal sources such as lean meat, as well as plant sources such as legumes and soy products. Most people aim to eat 1 gram of protein per kilogram of their body weight. This will result in approximately 20-30 grams of protein per meal.
However, not all protein sources are equally nutritious. Processed and factory farmed meat such as sausages, hot dogs, and deli meats contain many hormones and salts that promote inflammation in the body, but some of the plant sources of protein lack several amino acids, which hinder protein use.
People should eat a combination of raw plants and animal protein sources, and when eating vegetarians, they should aim to combine grains or beans with lush greenery to maximize plant protein.
“Carbohydrates are your body’s main source of energy,” Brown said. “But not all carbohydrates are created equally.”
Carbohydrates consumed in excess can be stored as fat, causing a spike in blood pressure and leading to insulin resistance.
Healthy carbohydrates include whole grains, legumes, beans, quinoa, wild rice, oats, flax, fruits and vegetables of all colors.
But Rumors surround the soybeans For several years, when vegetarian protein sources derived from soybeans have estrogen-like properties, food is not only safe, but has been recommended for consumption.
“There’s strong evidence that soybeans are very healthy.” Melanie Hendershota registered dietitian at Show Cancer Center. “The current recommendation for breast cancer survivors is to have one or two glasses of soybeans a day, as it has been shown that inclusion of whole soy foods in their diet reduces the risk of recurrence (of breast cancer).
Fat is essential for hormone regulation and brain function. According to Brown, the problem is that much of the fat that Americans eat is unhealthy. People should aim to consume monosaturated fats from omega-3 fatty acids from nuts, seeds, olive oil, chia seeds, flax seeds and salmon.
Saturated fats from meat and dairy products should be limited. Trans fats used to extend the lifespan of food can cause many inflammations and can cause heart problems and should be avoided.
Brown also recommends patients take three supplements. But “not all supplements were created equally,” she said. People say, “You should check the current excellent manufacturing practice, or CGMP labels. This means that supplements are considered safe by third-party testing.
Omega-3 fatty acids, which are often taken in fish oil supplement form, help with inflammation and joint pain.
Vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 are essential for the fight against bone health and inflammation.
Humans can produce vitamin D by absorbing sunlight through their skin, but the latitude, altitude and seasons in Eagle County limit the amount of vitamin D people in their local population. Some people can get enough of it through their diet – Vitamin D is found in egg yolks, mushrooms and fatty fish, but “usually, most people don’t get enough vitamin D with their diet,” Brown said.
“It’s good to test it with a doctor,” Brown said.
Brown also recommends that people take probiotics and prebiotic supplements – the combined version is called symbiotics and supports gut health.
How to cook a meal
Vickerman urged those feeding families to be realistic about what would be useful for their families and to avoid making another meal for themselves.
“It’s hard enough to make a quality meal, let alone multiple quality meals,” Wickerman said.
Grocery shopping is an easy way to control what’s inside your home.
“We’re in charge of the food we give our kids. If we don’t serve pasta and don’t serve mac or cheese, they don’t eat it,” Vickermann said. If the family already offers those items, it takes weeks of tantrums to turn the tide.
Hendershot encouraged people to write meal plans each week and create meals by putting together grocery lists.
Vickermann suggested that people think about their nutrition for a week. If the day is nutritionally unsatisfied, they can make up for it on other days.
The panel filled up questions from the audience on topics such as food addiction and fasting windows.
The super positive foods are “made to taste extra tasty. Extra salty, extra crunchy,” Brown said. When people eat these foods, “Our brains don’t hear… hurt our bodies.”
Wickerman said today’s witra processing foods are designed for addiction. By replacing processed foods with healthier foods, it takes two to three weeks to break that addiction.
However, there is a difference between being attracted to foods designed to taste delicious and being addicted to actual foods.
“Food addiction is real. It’s no different from alcoholism or drug addiction. It comes from a place of your emotions,” Vickerman said. “Working with treatment experts and psychiatrists, it’s very important and just as important as if you have an alcohol or drug problem.”
The panel suggested avoiding eating late at night, which is associated with increased inflammation. But morning meals are especially important for women, Brown cites a new study from Stanford University.
