The N=1 Experiment
I'm on a journey to improve my health. I think that's the most important thing to state first. So if you would look at what I'm doing, understand that the outcome in which I am striving toward is to feel better overall and focus on the prevention of chronic illness.
As a physical therapist, I see people walk in daily with injuries or chronic pain issues that are multifactorial, the likes of which likely began years ago, perhaps decades ago due to lifestyle choices, almost wholly unknown or misunderstood until the period of time in which the disease began to fully manifest itself. That pain you started having in your knee in high school or your early 20's, the symptoms of a dysfunctional immune system and high inflammation (which is nearly limitless), and the weight gain or arthritis which you contribute to getting older. I am not convinced that this is simply the result of getting older.
Another disclaimer - the science is still emerging. I don't recommend reading the headlines of health studies...the headlines are simply misleading. You need to read and evaluate the quality of the study yourself and to do this you need to understand how research is conducted. It takes months and years to develop excellent review skills. Let's be honest, you can't simply watch "Dr. Oz" or "The Doctors" and expect to get accurate health information. You can't so don't. It's like trusting food companies to be honest and forthcoming about exactly what is in their processed food. Also, most doctors know nothing of nutrition. That's just my opinion, but I work with them every day and nutrition is not their job or main focus. For example, when you take your ill pet to the veterinarian, one of the first things the vet will ask you is "what are you feeding your pet?" This makes sense does it not? What the animal eats is going to have a dramatic effect on the problems that develop down the road. And yet this is not what human doctors are trained to do. Most doctors are trained to treat symptoms with drugs. If you've been to the doctor recently and actually reviewed your nutrition and lifestyle habits with the doctor and were given feedback- then you should give that doctor the biggest hug and keep that person on your healthcare team. Even if that doctor's nutrition training was about 60 minutes of medical school and perhaps he or she has not kept up on the research over the past 10-20 years...even if they are WRONG to some extent about what you should be eating...this is still better in many ways than what we have now, which is 10-15minutes at most with your doctor to determine which medications, if any, you need to treat your symptoms.
The more you emerge yourself in the realities of our healthcare system, the more you realize just how inadequate it is. Essentially we have a system designed to put out fires. We rarely get to the cause. I have many family members taking medications to manage symptoms with no real understanding of how or why they have the disease in the first place. If you have vitamin D insufficiency and developed rickets or bone fractures...you wouldn't simply cast the broken or bent bones and expect that person to be okay. You would supplement vitamin D. You would get their body what it needs. Yet how often is that the case? As diet has changed over the past 40 years to include more processed food and high-carbohydrate diets, there has been an increase in diabetes, autoimmune diseases, heart disease, Alzheimer's, autism, etc. Many say that one reason we've increased that food consumption is due to our desire to feed the poor. Processed food, lots of wheat and corn and soy, are able to feed a lot of people at a lower cost. That's a noble thing to do but at what cost...big food industries and pharmaceutical companies get rich and the people get sicker.
I did not make a New Year's Resolution this year because the fact is I am always working towards changing and bettering myself. This is just my mindset. Don't leave your house unless you are inspired. We all need inspiration because change is going to happen in our lives (and frankly it's a good thing), but to be prepared to change in a good way, we need to have our mind right. So what am I doing with my diet? Well, after reading a ton of research this is the basic plan. Understand that this is an n=1 (in research, n=1 means that there is one subject undergoing the experiment). I am measuring my success by several parameters including but not limited to things I can easily observe; energy levels, joint/muscle pain, acne, nail, skin, & hair quality, mental acuity, teeth/mouth health, body composition, gastrointestinal function, and sleep quality just to name a few.
*Eat only real, whole foods - this one is vital. No processed food. For example, I make my own bone broth instead of buying it from the store.
*Increase fat intake (fat is actually where I get most of my calories). Fat comes from unprocessed (or very minimally processed) sources like meat, eggs, real butter, cheese, coconut oil/milk, olive oil, flaxseed/chia seeds, avocado. NO lunch meats or highly processed meats (for example, look for uncured bacon, real cuts of meat without nitrates). Because I am eating no processed foods, I am not eating high levels of poly-unsaturated fats which are found in vegetable oils in processed food. I do eat some nuts for their high fat content as well, nuts such as macadamia, pecans, almonds.
*No sugar or grains. This may seem extreme but consider it a form of an "elimination diet" which is the gold standard in medical research to determine what sensitivities you might have to certain grains. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need grains in your diet to be healthy. If I feel a great deal better without them and my health improves, I have no use for them.
*Lots of non-starchy vegetables (kale, spinach, all kinds of greens, peppers, cucumbers, celery, carrots, mushrooms, etc) - caveat is not everything I listed is technically a vegetable, but you get the point I think.
*Supplements: Fish oil, Vitamin D, Curcumin, Iron, Multi-Vitamin
I have moved toward eating this way over the past 2 weeks with a few exceptions and have found it VERY EASY to transition. My energy levels are very good, I have a very steady mood, and I have ceased craving sugar or feeling like I have to eat every few hours. My acne is also beginning to show some improvement. I think this is probably the high fat in my diet and maybe the improvement in nutrient absorption. As my body adapts I suspect there will be further changes but it takes time for your body to build a new system.
There are a great number of books and podcasts/youtube lectures out there that will talk more about the science of why I'm doing what I am doing. When it comes to diet, people can be very offended by someone suggesting that they make changes. The truth is, no one can say exactly what will work for you, although all nutritionists will tell you to get away from processed food. I don't agree with the ones who say that "sometimes it's okay to eat fast food or processed food." I think less is better, but none is best. So that's my philosophy on this subject right now. That said, I am completely an n=1 and wanting to share my journey for anyone who might be struggling or seeing changes in their health that they don't like.
Of course when you put yourself out there, you open yourself up to criticism. That's fine (and healthy), just don't be the person who complains about your health but does no research and changes nothing in your life. That my friend is the definition of insanity.
More to come...
As a physical therapist, I see people walk in daily with injuries or chronic pain issues that are multifactorial, the likes of which likely began years ago, perhaps decades ago due to lifestyle choices, almost wholly unknown or misunderstood until the period of time in which the disease began to fully manifest itself. That pain you started having in your knee in high school or your early 20's, the symptoms of a dysfunctional immune system and high inflammation (which is nearly limitless), and the weight gain or arthritis which you contribute to getting older. I am not convinced that this is simply the result of getting older.
Another disclaimer - the science is still emerging. I don't recommend reading the headlines of health studies...the headlines are simply misleading. You need to read and evaluate the quality of the study yourself and to do this you need to understand how research is conducted. It takes months and years to develop excellent review skills. Let's be honest, you can't simply watch "Dr. Oz" or "The Doctors" and expect to get accurate health information. You can't so don't. It's like trusting food companies to be honest and forthcoming about exactly what is in their processed food. Also, most doctors know nothing of nutrition. That's just my opinion, but I work with them every day and nutrition is not their job or main focus. For example, when you take your ill pet to the veterinarian, one of the first things the vet will ask you is "what are you feeding your pet?" This makes sense does it not? What the animal eats is going to have a dramatic effect on the problems that develop down the road. And yet this is not what human doctors are trained to do. Most doctors are trained to treat symptoms with drugs. If you've been to the doctor recently and actually reviewed your nutrition and lifestyle habits with the doctor and were given feedback- then you should give that doctor the biggest hug and keep that person on your healthcare team. Even if that doctor's nutrition training was about 60 minutes of medical school and perhaps he or she has not kept up on the research over the past 10-20 years...even if they are WRONG to some extent about what you should be eating...this is still better in many ways than what we have now, which is 10-15minutes at most with your doctor to determine which medications, if any, you need to treat your symptoms.
The more you emerge yourself in the realities of our healthcare system, the more you realize just how inadequate it is. Essentially we have a system designed to put out fires. We rarely get to the cause. I have many family members taking medications to manage symptoms with no real understanding of how or why they have the disease in the first place. If you have vitamin D insufficiency and developed rickets or bone fractures...you wouldn't simply cast the broken or bent bones and expect that person to be okay. You would supplement vitamin D. You would get their body what it needs. Yet how often is that the case? As diet has changed over the past 40 years to include more processed food and high-carbohydrate diets, there has been an increase in diabetes, autoimmune diseases, heart disease, Alzheimer's, autism, etc. Many say that one reason we've increased that food consumption is due to our desire to feed the poor. Processed food, lots of wheat and corn and soy, are able to feed a lot of people at a lower cost. That's a noble thing to do but at what cost...big food industries and pharmaceutical companies get rich and the people get sicker.
I did not make a New Year's Resolution this year because the fact is I am always working towards changing and bettering myself. This is just my mindset. Don't leave your house unless you are inspired. We all need inspiration because change is going to happen in our lives (and frankly it's a good thing), but to be prepared to change in a good way, we need to have our mind right. So what am I doing with my diet? Well, after reading a ton of research this is the basic plan. Understand that this is an n=1 (in research, n=1 means that there is one subject undergoing the experiment). I am measuring my success by several parameters including but not limited to things I can easily observe; energy levels, joint/muscle pain, acne, nail, skin, & hair quality, mental acuity, teeth/mouth health, body composition, gastrointestinal function, and sleep quality just to name a few.
*Eat only real, whole foods - this one is vital. No processed food. For example, I make my own bone broth instead of buying it from the store.
*Increase fat intake (fat is actually where I get most of my calories). Fat comes from unprocessed (or very minimally processed) sources like meat, eggs, real butter, cheese, coconut oil/milk, olive oil, flaxseed/chia seeds, avocado. NO lunch meats or highly processed meats (for example, look for uncured bacon, real cuts of meat without nitrates). Because I am eating no processed foods, I am not eating high levels of poly-unsaturated fats which are found in vegetable oils in processed food. I do eat some nuts for their high fat content as well, nuts such as macadamia, pecans, almonds.
*No sugar or grains. This may seem extreme but consider it a form of an "elimination diet" which is the gold standard in medical research to determine what sensitivities you might have to certain grains. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need grains in your diet to be healthy. If I feel a great deal better without them and my health improves, I have no use for them.
*Lots of non-starchy vegetables (kale, spinach, all kinds of greens, peppers, cucumbers, celery, carrots, mushrooms, etc) - caveat is not everything I listed is technically a vegetable, but you get the point I think.
*Supplements: Fish oil, Vitamin D, Curcumin, Iron, Multi-Vitamin
I have moved toward eating this way over the past 2 weeks with a few exceptions and have found it VERY EASY to transition. My energy levels are very good, I have a very steady mood, and I have ceased craving sugar or feeling like I have to eat every few hours. My acne is also beginning to show some improvement. I think this is probably the high fat in my diet and maybe the improvement in nutrient absorption. As my body adapts I suspect there will be further changes but it takes time for your body to build a new system.
There are a great number of books and podcasts/youtube lectures out there that will talk more about the science of why I'm doing what I am doing. When it comes to diet, people can be very offended by someone suggesting that they make changes. The truth is, no one can say exactly what will work for you, although all nutritionists will tell you to get away from processed food. I don't agree with the ones who say that "sometimes it's okay to eat fast food or processed food." I think less is better, but none is best. So that's my philosophy on this subject right now. That said, I am completely an n=1 and wanting to share my journey for anyone who might be struggling or seeing changes in their health that they don't like.
Of course when you put yourself out there, you open yourself up to criticism. That's fine (and healthy), just don't be the person who complains about your health but does no research and changes nothing in your life. That my friend is the definition of insanity.
More to come...
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