CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT “good nutrition” is? You shouldn’t be — we know what works and what doesn’t. In a moment, I will share 5 simple tips to help you optimize your nutrition and achieve vibrant health, but first let me clear up a few misconceptions.
Despite the “conflicting” scientific studies and media reports designed to confound rather than enlighten, there is no confusion about what constitutes good nutrition. If we were to gather the world’s top nutrition scientists and experts — free from food industry influence — there would be very little debate about the essential properties of good nutrition.
Unfortunately, most doctors are nutritionally illiterate. Worse, they don’t know how to use the most powerful medicine available to them: food.
Common sense and scientific research both lead us to the conclusion that if we want healthy bodies, we must put the right raw materials into our bodies: real, whole, local, fresh, unadulterated, unprocessed, and chemical, hormone, and antibiotic-free food.
There is NO role in our diets for foreign molecules such as trans fats and high-fructose corn syrup, which interfere with our biology at every level.
If you want junk out, put junk in. Enough said.
If you want a whole, healthy body, put in whole real food.
I want to explain how you can do that …
This is the first in a 7-part series where I will give detailed explanations about each of the 7 Keys to UltraWellness. Key #1 is Optimize Nutrition, and in this blog I will explain what constitutes a healthy diet, give you some tips to help you optimize your nutrition, and clarify whether or not supplements are truly a waste of money.
The Basics of a Healthy Diet
What I am about to share might be shocking …
Carbohydrates are the single most important food for long-term health and well-being.
This may be surprising given the low-carb movement, and “carbophobia” in our country, but it’s true.
Of course, I don’t mean the over-processed, refined, sugary, white foods we commonly think of as carbohydrates, such as donuts, bread, bagels, muffins, colas, juices, and most junk food.
And I don’t mean the cheap, super-sweet, government-subsidized high-fructose corn syrup that is driving our epidemic of obesity and chronic disease.
The carbohydrates I am talking about are the real, whole, nourishing plant foods that the human species has thrived on since from the dawn of evolution.
Food can heal or harm. You make that choice every day by what you put on your fork.
Most of the food consumed by humans since the beginning of time has been carbohydrates. In fact, plant foods are comprised mostly of carbohydrates: vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices.
These foods contain slowly released sources of sugar that prevent surges of blood sugar and insulin. Too much insulin causes heart disease, diabetes, cancer, depression, and even dementia.
Carbohydrates contain almost all the vitamins and minerals our bodies need to operate normally and optimally.
They also contain fiber, which helps normalize our digestive function and slows the absorption of sugar and fats into the body, keeping us balanced.
The bonuses in plant foods are phytonutrients — colorful healing compounds made by plants to protect themselves, but that also protect us against aging, obesity, brain damage, and more.
For example, broccoli, cabbage, collards, kale, Brussels sprouts, and other vegetables from the cruciferous family contain powerful detoxifying compounds that protect us against environmental toxins.
Green tea contains anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and detoxifying properties.
Resveratrol from red grapes boosts our energy production and protects our cells.
These are just a few examples of the thousands of phytonutrients in the plant foods that should be the foundation of our diet.
Michael Pollan, the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, summed up all nutritional research in 3 simple principles:
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
In fact, you need know nothing else to be vibrantly healthy.
That’s it. Eat real whole food as it comes from the earth: fresh vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices, eggs, and lean animal protein like fish and chicken.
Imagine what your great-grandmother would recognize as food, or what might have been on her dinner table. Just food. There is really no such thing as junk food — there is just food, and then there is junk.
Whole foods that contain phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fats, and fiber all directly, immediately, and specifically interact with our genes, controlling moment-to-moment changes in our physiology and biochemistry.
Food literally talks to our genes. Food is not just a source of calories, it is also a source of INFORMATION.
The key is to send the right information to your genes by eating whole, real, food — mostly plants. Specific nutrients or plant compounds bind to receptors in cells, translating messages from the foods we eat or vitamins we take in into instructions that are carried out by our cells through their effect on our DNA.
That is why food can heal or harm. You make that choice every day by what you put on your fork.
That means if you eat whole, real, fresh food, you don’t need vitamins. Right?
Well, maybe …
Do We Need Vitamins or Not?
I agree that you don’t need vitamins and that they are a waste of money.
But that is true ONLY if you eat wild, fresh, whole, organic, local, non-genetically modified food grown in virgin mineral and nutrient rich soils, and not transported across vast distances and stored for months before eaten.
It is true ONLY if you work and live outside, breathe only fresh unpolluted air, drink only pure, clean water, sleep nine hours a night, move your body every day, and are free from chronic stressors and exposures to environmental toxins.
Then you don’t need vitamins.
But, of course, this describes absolutely no one on the planet! Therefore, in reality, we ALL need vitamins.
Most people don’t understand the role of vitamins and minerals in our bodies. I certainly didn’t when I finished my medical training.
I thought if we just got enough of a nutrient to prevent some horrible deficiency state like scurvy (vitamin C deficiency), then we didn’t have to worry about getting more than that.
I also believed that if you ate “enriched food” like white flour with a few vitamins added back in, or milk with vitamin D added in, additional vitamin supplementation was a waste.
In today’s world, everyone needs a basic multivitamin and mineral supplement. The research is overwhelming on this point.
What most people don’t realize is the same thing that I didn’t realize when I first started practicing medicine: The real reason our food supply must be “enriched” is because it has been so processed that it is “impoverished” to start with.
So why can’t you just eat “nutrient-rich” food, instead of eating “nutrient-poor” food?
Today, even with our “enriched food,” more than 92 percent of Americans are deficient in one or more vitamins. That doesn’t mean they are receiving less than the amount they need to get for optimal health. That means they receive less than the MINIMUM amount necessary to prevent deficiency diseases.
In a study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, researchers found that 6 percent of those tested had serious vitamin C deficiency and 30 percent were borderline low.
A report in the journal Pediatrics found that obesity and malnutrition can coexist. Obese, overfed, and undernourished children with cognitive disorders were found to have scurvy and severe vitamin D deficiency or rickets. These deficiencies damaged their brains. You never think of an overweight person as malnourished, but they are!
A USDA survey showed that 37 percent of Americans don’t get enough vitamin C, 70 percent not enough vitamin E, almost 75 percent don’t get enough zinc, and 40 percent don’t get enough iron.
I would say that 100 percent of us don’t have enough of the basic nutrients to create optimal health or give ourselves a metabolic tune up.
There are many reasons why the foods we eat no longer contain the nutrient levels we require for optimal health. Crops are raised in soil where nutrients have been depleted. Plants are treated with pesticides and other chemicals so they no longer have to fight to live, which further diminishes their nutrient levels and their phytonutrient content — not to mention the toxic exposure we receive from such chemicals.
Animals are cooped up in pens or giant feedlots instead of roaming free and eating the nutrient-rich wild grains and grasses they once consumed. Since cows’ stomachs are adapted to grass instead of corn, they must take antibiotics to prevent them from exploding.
To complicate this further, all of us are exposed to hazardous toxins and chemicals that poison our bodies; we live with too much stress; we don’t sleep enough; we don’t exercise enough; and we are inflamed — making the nutritional demands on our bodies even greater.
The question is not how much of a certain nutrient or vitamin we need to not get sick, but how much we need to be optimally healthy! In fact, lower amounts recommended by the government may NOT be enough.
Most people can get what they need by taking the following essential supplements every day:
- A high-quality multivitamin
- Calcium-magnesium supplement
- Fish oil
- Special B vitamins (folate and vitamins B6 and B12).
I have tested thousands of patients for vitamin and nutrient deficiencies and found that by correcting them, people feel better, their mood, mental sharpness, memory, and ability to focus improve, they have more energy, and they even lose weight. It also helps prevent disease.
In my 20+ years of practicing medicine with thousands of patients, I have seen depression, anxiety, bipolar disease, autism, ADHD, mood swings, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia go away or dramatically improve when people get the right nutrients.
In today’s world, everyone needs a basic multivitamin and mineral supplement. The research is overwhelming on this point.
So what are the takeaways here? What do you need to do to optimize your nutrition?
Here are some simple steps you can begin taking immediately:
- Eat whole, real, fresh, organic, unprocessed food. If it comes in a box, a package, or a can, avoid it. If you do choose to buy prepackaged foods, read the labels carefully and avoid foods that contain long lists of ingredients you don’t understand.
- Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables full of colorful phytonutrients. That means eating five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Choose a wide variety and you will do much to support your health.
- Eat foods with plenty of fiber. Think whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, and millet and vegetables like celery, asparagus, and leeks. Fiber is essential for balancing blood sugar and maintaining a healthy bowel. (Scan my Recipes archive for some delicious suggestions using these ingredients).
- Eat foods containing omega-3 fats. I recommend eating protein at every meal, and some of the best sources of protein have an abundance of these healthy fats, which are essential for building every cell membrane in your body. Try cold-water river fish like salmon, sardines, and halibut; eat omega-3 eggs; and eat plenty of nuts like almonds, macadamias, and walnuts.
- Take the essential supplements outlined above every day. They are the basic workhorse team needed to support every biochemical reaction in your body.
Now I’d like to hear from you …
What do you think about the quality of our food supply?
Do you think supplements are effective?
Do you have any tips for others on how to more easily eat real, whole foods?
Please let me know your thoughts by posting a comment below.
To your good health,
Mark Hyman, MD
I like Dr. Hyman’s lifestyle recommendations, and we try to follow that in our daily lives, although sometimes we slip. I do believe that you don’t get much if any benefit from vitamins unless you are taking a balanced mineral supplement! That’s proven. I think Dr. Hyman should recommend the minerals first, followed by good vitamin supplements – not the ones you buy in the bargain stores
I think you have outline the basics of good health. That’s an understatement!
It’s the masterplan for healthy living and done in only a few pages. Well done!
One cannot go wrong with advice like this. Continue giving it and sharing it.
Hi Dr. Hyman,
I am very concern about our food supply. This is why I focus on season, local foods as much as possible. I also encourage my clients to do the same. I have seen significant results with my clients when they change their diet to a diet of local, fresh, seasonal, and whole foods. As you have said for years, they see an improvement in their moods, better concentration, better moods, more energy, weight loss, and improved skin.
One way that my clients and I have been able to increase our consumption of real whole foods, especially greens is to make daily green smoothies. It takes 5 minutes and you can make enough to have more than one each day. It is a good first step to adding in the good stuff and to start experiencing the benefits of a whole real foods diet. We also purchase a majority of our food from our local providers and farmers markets. I live in Charlottesville, VA, we are very fortunate to have a variety of local providers.
.
Thanks, Dr, Hyman–for such beneficial, enightening information. I think the quality of our food supply and the eating trends of this nation are deplorable, for all the reasons you mentioned. Easily understandable information such as this needs to reach as many people as possible, particularly our law-makers.
I was raised on a Southern Italian diet, rich in greens, fruits, legumes, tomato-based stocks/sauces, seafoods, and occasional meat dishes. I know taking the time to make a large pot of lentil stew with swiss chard, for instance, is a great way to have something in the fridge for several days that is not only delicious re-heated, but actually develops a better flavor after two or three days of just macerating in the fridge.
Of course, there are many other dishes from this most food-healthy region that one can make in ‘bulk’ that keep for several days and develop a richer flavor after some storage time. You can find them in most Sicilian cookbooks.
I think cooking dishes like this that provide enjoyment (and convenience) for several days after would surely help a bit to improve peoples’ diet.
Mark you are making more sense than many in the “natural” field we used to milk 65 or so cows and we always found that even near the ocean our cows were deficient in selenium somewhere I have seen a map of the USA showing the areas considered deficient and my recall is that the only place with too much was in the Flint Hills in Kansas not much produce comes from there and not all the cattle pastured there could make a difference in our diets
keep up the good work
Hi, Dr Hyman,
What do you do about the winter time? Local produce is scarce or non-existent and the grocery store has produce that has been in cold storage for who knows how long. I can (and do) eat locally grown, farmer’s market produce during the harvest season like a madman. But when the late fall and winter hit, all that goes away. Any advice?
Hi Yogibish, you should eat what is in season. Frozen foods are also a good substitute when fresh is not available. Buying from a reputable source is the best bet.
Wishing You the Best of Health!
Hi, me again. There are a lot of people before who have worked this way. It s only that the system doesn t talk much about it. In 1907Jetho Klos and his wife opened a health and medical center in Minesota using food herbs, water and other natural ways. There are many true cancer cures that are named as quacks, James Duke has recorded many herbal and food benefits, George orwell and Michio Kushi healed people with the macrobiotic diet for years, in the 30′ s in Chile, Manuel Lezaeta healed thousands of people with food, herbs and natural practices. His son still runs a place there.
And there are all the thousands of “curanderos” which constantly and still heal all those who cannot pay the doctor, and who have been called ‘charlatans”. Of course, other facts like lack of money for food or higienic conditions and other still plays havoc among populations.
It s always about money. Take Haiti. You’ ve been there. After all the money raised all over the world, people are still getting few real services and help, yet the UN is spending thousands in troops there, which are bringing more trouble than help. I know. I m involved.
Take Monsanto. Who is going to deal with them. Stealing the seeds from indians and forcing them to buy their genetically altered ones, which don t sprout..
I hope this is a really free and democratic post and I not censored, because otherwise this information is only for those who can pay the expense of organic food and do nothing for everybody else to have access.
We are involved in taking this kind of information to the street and organize against people against those who are killing us and at the same time building our natural, organic, local food treasure.
Yogibish- Carrots, and other root veggies that keep well in the celler as well as time honored glass jar “canned” veggies and fruits are always appropriate in winter, as are prior season fruits and veggies properly frozen and promptly used. Not as good as fresh, but better than aluminum canned or highly processed, high sugar, high fat. low nutritional value convenience foods.
Dr. Hyman – LOVE the site.
…And there’s always winter Kale!
you say don’t drink “liquid calories” but you promote juicing and smoothies?
Is the problem here that it tricks the body into not feeling full thus putting on weight?
Where is the happy medium?
juicing gets so many phytonutrients, even more than the fruit and veggies.
Also, where does one decide when too many supplements are too much.
I abhore the medical field particularly psychiatry. Do you know they still electroshock people to get them “well?” I was one of them.
Too bad the net was in its infancy along with rational thinking, even just a few years ago.
The juices, namely the green juices support detoxification and provide hydration. The smoothies, if made according to the recipes provided by Dr. Hyman, use high quality protein, nutrient-rich fruit and seeds high in lignans, healthy fats and fiber. Both of these are low glycemic options which differ from soda, lattes, fruit juice etc. all of which tend to have excessive amounts of refined sugars which raise blood sugar to unhealthy levels.
Lately I’ve been taking “whole food” supplements made from organically grown plants and animals, by Standard Process. My chiropractor uses the Nutritional Response muscle testing to see what I need, and adjusts various supplements accordingly. It’s making a huge difference–and I used to take very good quality multi-paks. I’ve come back from chemo for ovarian cancer thanks to following the kind of diet you recommend, and getting regular acupunture. I buy bulk organic nuts from Nutsonline, roast them myself, and keep them in the frig.
I can prepare the brown rice, veggies, and proteins, but can you please suggest any light sauces to moisten the mix and make it delicious?
Thank you!
I could not agree more. I am a Holistic Nutritonal Counselor and I educate my clients on how to eat and food shop. It amazes me how much people do not know about what foods to eat. Personally I eat a whole foods diet (mostly organic) consisting of vegetables, fruits, nuts, eggs, beans and fish. I do not consume dairy, sugar or wheat. Some think this is too strict a way of eating but what I have gained is energy (I have more energy now at 48 than I did at 28), good health and I feel the best I ever have. I do not look at my way of eating as restictrive but just the opposite. It has given me the freedom to live. I do beleive in supplements but not as a replacement for good nutrition. Hippocrates said it right, “Let food by your medicine and medicine by your food”.
Many of my clients have health issues such as ADHD, diabetes, IBS, thyroid to name a few. Through whole nutrition and supplelments they now realize that their condition does not have to define who they are and how they live. Their condition no longer runs their life but rather they dun their condition. They have gained a new freedom and feel fabulous and did not realize how poorly they felt until they started to feel good. I really think that people are so used to feeing bad that they think this is the way it should be. How wrong they are.
Thank you.
OOps, I forgot , I also eat whole grains such as oatmeal, and quiona.
Yogibish: I live in South Central Arizona, and good quality vegetables, nuts and fruits grow here in abundance year around in nutrient-rich soils of volcanic origin. Many people from other parts of the country mistakenly believe that the desert is a place where life doesn’t flourish, but the largest populations of Native Mericans lived here for many centuries. In short, there are places to live where the availability of fresh, wholesome, locally-produced food abounds.
Hello Dr Hyman! I so appreciate all of your advice. The one thing I would add, is that isolated vitamins aren’t getting very good press lately, as I’m sure you know. That’s because isolated vitamins lack the thousands of phytonutrients that accompany them in food. These phytonutrients act synergistically with the few isolated vitamins found in vitamin pills. That’s why I recommend Juice Plus – it’s a whole food supplement, made from the juice of 17 fruits and vegetables. If you want to supplement, that’s the way to do it. It’s ten thousand steps ahead of any vitamin. Would love to hear your thoughts! – Lisa Mair
this article is written in plain language easy for everyone to understand! Exactly the information everyone has to read and learn from! I grew up in Germany, my parents had a vegetable garden which supplied us year round with what we needed! Thinking back of all the hours we spent processing the veggies gave us time together and we thoroughly enjoyed the flavor of the either canned in glass jars or frozen vegetables during the winter months.
In regards to food supply in this country? How scary is it to know that food processing plants are owned by pharmaceutical companies? Conflict of interest or just making sure that the crappy food they supply will bring in Billions in medication sales down the road?
I was literally saved by a Kinesiologist, plaqued by bone and body aches, sinus infections every other month, sciatica, skin break outs, dizziness upon standing, constipation, weight gain, etc. It was horrible! After 6 years of never knowing what the day wouldbring I finally listened to my friend and made an appointment. I was diagnosed with wheat and dairy intolerance, adrenal deficiency, etc. strted to take supplements and avoided the foods with wheat and dairy ingredients figuring 6-8 weeks are not a long time considering how long a life time is supposed to be. I lost over 30 pounds in one year without changing anything other than the food I was eating. I didn’t exercise or work out. I didn’t have to tell everyone how much better I felt! It was noticed by everyone! No more sick days! No more unexpected doctors office visits with antibiotic prescriptions! I got my life back! : )
Two years ago I bought organic wheat flour and organic dairy milk powder while in Germany, the Kinesiologist tested me for it and I did not react negatively to it! My body would be able to tolerate it! Of course I can’t afford to have it shipped to me and so I continue to live wheat and mostly dairy free.
So to make a long story short….the food supply in this country will eventually kill us all if we allow it to! Take charge of your own health as well as your families health! Spread the word, forward these type of emails to all of your family and friends! Even if they only read one of them and take something away from it you did a good deed!
Thank you Dr. Hyman for sharing such good information with anyone who wants to read it! This country needs individuals such as yourself! We have to secure our supplements as the FDA is threatening to take them away from us! Without them we are doomed! So everyone stand up for your rights! And if you are “allowed” to have a small patch of a garden in your back yard why don’t you start thinking about what you would like to grow in it this spring! Put your children on the right path so they too will be able to live healthy lives and continue to spread good health and know where food comes from!
Happy Day and Thank you for a most interesting and informative article.You are right “on target”..and its so nice to know that there are “physicians” that are sincerely interested in “good health”..and know where it comes from..We look forward to more of “the same”. Keep up your wonderful “guidance”…It is greatly appreciated…Happy Health…Bill
I start my day with a green smoothie…..lots of leafy greens mixed with local apple cider and fresh or frozen berries, cherries or fruit…..then I know I’ve done at least one good thing for my body for the day! Trying to go all raw, but that is a bit challenging sometimes.
I’m a nutritional consultant with numerous certifications, and I agree that your recommendations work for many people. Where you and I part company is in making the assumption that all humans need exactly the same foods and metabolize and digest their foods in exactly the same way. There is overwhelming research to suggest that this is just not so. Gluten intolerance/lactose intolerance are only the tip of the iceberg.
I went into nutritional consulting (from teaching high school biology) when I finally discovered, after 15 years on a gluten free, dairy free, sugar free diet and very little relief from my health challenges, that the poison that was killing me was the staple of almost every “healthy diet” – organic brown rice. After finally giving up all grains, I began to hurt less. It took an 89 year old chiropractor to suss it out for me. My next dietary change, two years later, was adding small amounts of 100% organic, 100% grass fed large mammal foods. (Conventionally raised beef is virtually poisonous.) I hadn’t eaten beef in twenty years. Voila – my nails started to get stronger, my hair stopped falling out, and I have energy to spare after a long day of working. Somehow, adding in the large mammal food resulted in better metabolism of minerals.
We need to keep our minds open.
It’s been my experience in my practice that by removing all grains, focusing on getting a variety of leafy greens and adding in small amounts of wild-raised large mammal foods, clients will often increase their caloric intake yet drop weight, reduce pain and kick depression, among other things.
But yes, there are clients for whom it doesn’t work that way.
Even “colorful vegetables” are not a constant. I had one 25 year old client who, after many months of testing of all kinds, finally stopped eating most fruits and vegetables. He’s gone from years of being almost bed ridden (on a life-long “healthy” plant based diet with no gluten, sugar or dairy and plenty of veggies and whole grains, and lean chicken) to thriving, on a diet of only leaves and stems from the vegetable side, and healthy amounts of animal fat and animal protein, including wild large mammal foods. All those colorful veggies and the lack of large mammal foods were slowly killing him.
There is no one size fits all. Until all of our nutrition gurus accept that, the rest of us will continue to go trustingly from one set of nutrition rules to another, never finding what works, instead of learning to listen to our own bodies. My wish is that you will all stop telling us what to eat, and instead focus on teaching us how to listen to our own bodies, so that we can each tell ourselves what to eat.
Thank you so much for all of your great info! I am working toward a healthier lifestyle for myself and my family, but I have one big question…my husband and children are allergic to seafood, peanuts, and tree nuts, and one of my sons is also allergic to soy. What are some good ways of getting the omega 3′s they need? Thanks!
hippcroates said best, let food be your meds, and meds be y our food, period.
Hi Mark:
I always pick up new information from your reports; thank you so much for sharing your advice with us. What are your thoughts about raw veggies vs cooked veggies? Are nutritive benefits lost in the cooking process?
Diana B
Indoors, I grow sprouts to supplement available vegetables and I grow lettuce hydroponically during the very hot summer, but, there are fruits that ripen during the fall/winter, too. Apples and citrus are my winter picks. I cheat and get the apples shipped to me to ensure the quality I want(Texas just can’t do apples very well but I’ll keep looking). Can, freeze or dehydrate during the season to save money and preserve the harvest.
As for sauces for brown rice, veggies and meat, I think the best thing to do is think ethnically. Change things up with a Chinese type stir-fry or a Mexican salsa or even Italian–spaghetti squash and a nice marinara. Cabbage or peppers stuffed with rice, tomato sauce and grassfed meat is amazing. Be creative and eat well.
As always, I like what I hear from you, and agree totally with your suggestions. I try to do them, but like someone in another comment said, I would really like some good sauces to use with them. Thank you, and here’s to more people learning about their diet. There is so much about diet out there, and most of it is wrong. When I suggest some of your ideas, they say you can find anything in diets, so why bother. best to you Sharon
Hi Dr. Hyman,
(I ‘m pretty well read on nutrition and the healing powers of food (you have definitely added to my knowledge). The thing about supplements: There are supplements and there are “supplements”. IE., you can get them mail order, online, at Costco, at health food stores, etc. Some are dated, some are not. A lot of vitamins and minerals extracted out of their natural environment do not work, or have side effects. Sometimes, they’ve reached their half life and there’s no way of knowing. (I take Klamath Falls algae–which feeds on the minerals from old volcanic ash and dirt–I don’t know if I get every single vitamin and mineral I need from this, but I will say, I can tell the difference!!) Can you address this please in one of your blogs?
Thank you for all of this information. I’m having fibromyalgia type issues currently and have had very little help from MDs. I’m using your Ultramind book to work on fixing myself. I’m in my first week of a gluten free diet. I want to thank you for opening many minds to the dangers of our current food supply. It seems like a daunting task but every life effected by correct information makes a difference! It disgusts me so what the food supply in this country has come to and that companies can get away with putting bad things in our food.
I understand that our foods are not nutrient rich because our soils are depleted. So how do you explain vitamin supplementation,either ones chemically made which people have been advised not to take cos our bodies dont recognize’ fake’ vitamins or raw foods vitamins-where do the manufacturers get their raw foods materials from to make whole foods vitamins? I am so confused!
No mention on lean meat in proteins? What’s going on?
I greatly apprecite your articles, your books, all of which I own and read over and over again, and receiving your emails with new information. It is easy for me to slip and go on a sugar binge..I tend to need “comfort foods” as I am a caretake of two disabled relatives,and this creates a high stress environment. Yet, I know that I am still healthy because, even though I binge, most of the time I incorporate juicing, large salads, vitamins, and exercise into my day. Not every day, but often. Reading your books and articles gets me back on track when I’ve derailed. I really feel that you have a heart for keeping us all healthy, and your sincerity is what keeps me coming back to you, rather than looking at other websites..You have it all, and I know I can trust what you say. Thank you!
I’ve lived according to your suggestions for the last 7 years (I’m 67). I’d like your advise on 2 issues: I’m pre-diabetes and managed to reduce my fasting blood glucose from 155 to under 100 with diet and exercise only. I eat lots of salds daily and am on a mediteraenen diet, mostly home made. Carbs cause my blood sugar to spike, even whole carbs. I believe it’s the cell’s insulin resistance that is the problem. I constantly have to exercise to reduce my readings, which leaves me tired and energy-less. I read many books about diabetes, but they mostly cater to obese people. I’m very skinny, so losing weight is not an option.
Neither are pills. Any suggestions?
As to multi-vitamins: I’ve tried them before and haven’t felt anything different in energy level or otherwise. (I used Super nutrition brand). It’s quite difficult to tell the good products from the bad ones. Any suggestion? If you can recommend a manufacturer that is reliable, that would help too.
Thank you and keep those articles coming. Dan
Hello!
I generally love Dr Hyman’s blogs and find them full of good practice tips, one of several sources which has ignited a strong personal interest in nutritional medicine.
However, there are a few things presented here that I am a little confused about.
In an evolutionary sense, I don’t think it makes sense to say that we are designed to eat mostly plants. Most of our time on this planet has in fact been during Ice Ages when very little plant food was available, and our digestive tract seems to have far more in common with carnivores than herbivores (including gut bacteria balance, especially in the large bowel). Certainly phytonutrients etc. are extremely useful, but not at the cost of ESSENTIAL nutrients like high-quality amino acids and good fats, both saturated and unsaturated (including good cholesterol – which plays a vital role in heavy metal detox, for example).
Furthermore, it seems we are designed to burn fat (known as ketosis) rather than carbs as our primary source of energy, and thus controlling our intake of carbs is crucial to helping us function at our peak…. and steering us away from the growing epidemic of pre-diabetes.
I should mention that clinicians I work with have found that protein and healthy fat deficiencies (which can be inferred from an individual’s blood biochemistry) tend to be the greatest contributers to chronic disease states. Almost all patients show remarkable improvement after about 6 months of optimal nutrition tailored to their unique biochemistry… in addition to a few key supplements.
If your clinical experience is different, or you have any other comments, I would love to hear back from you!
Sincerely,
Adrian
(Brisbane Australia)
I am very concerned about our food suuply. The FDA is now allowing certain GMO’s, new pesticides and things the average person isn’t even aware of that is harming our health behind the scenes. Instead of trying to remove natural vitamins and herbs off the shelves they should be putting their effort where it is needed.
hi Dr, thanks for the article. I was diagnosed with MS and was able to concur and remain in remission from following the advice you offer above. I think you would find the below attached link from another MD extremely informative as well. I just hope other MD’s could learn about how nutrition cure’s this disease. I wish that every multiple sclerosis patient would learn about this when they are diagnosed, it would save them from fear, heartache and a painful toxic daily shot that causes more harm then good:
http://co121w.col121.mail.live.com/default.aspx#!/mail/InboxLight.aspx?n=948975040!n=293515134&fid=3&mid=c2847bf3-0763-4308-b54d-96e4e7c4dfc0&fv=1
To Joan :Sprinkle toasted sesame oil, liquid aminos or umeboshi vinegar (or a combination of them) onto any whole raw or cooked foods to add sparkle and taste, instead of “sauces.”
Thank you for a great summary. As a farmer and an engineer, I see the mechanisms of our food system. The truth be told, we are getting food from dying systems; murderous systems that kill a dairy cow in 2 years of milking, soil that is sterilized and dead. All of our nutrition comes from the microorganisms in the soil and the energy from our sun. No amount of prayer or imagination can change that, yet we constantly hear people praying for cheap food and high profits, fantasizing about “recovering” jobs for people to do things that suck the life out of our planet and pollute the soil and air and water. It doesn’t matter if we do things efficiently: we are doing them in the wrong direction. We are taking from the soil and land instead of giving to it with our labors and intelligence. This wrong-direction thinking is also why our health care system is so messed up. The system is taking money from patients but not giving them the actual care they need: better food and less transportation. (Automobiles are by far the biggest killer of people, but you can’t GET to any of the new hospitals without a car.) Everything about humanity is busy stealing as much as it can from the future (debts, nationalism, religious antagonism, homogenized education, anti-biotics: who thinks something that kills life is the answer to food production?) Beliefs don’t matter, actions do: and our actions are backward: taking instead of giving. As Raj Patel said, “The opposite of consumption is not frugality: it’s generosity.” We need to be generous to our own future, and our future is below us in the soil, not above us in magical puppetmaster land or technology laboratories.
Hi, this article was passed on to me from a friend who knows of my passion for food and ‘nourishment’. And I am thrilled to see how blatantly and wholehearted you, as a physician from within the medical community, promote these basic truths about the power of food. I write a blog that celebrates making nourishing (plant based) meals and finding nourishment in the day to day of life. I share the process of ‘making’ as a creative adventure in preparing simple foods and how even the act of preparing a simple bowl of whole grain porridge can be nourishment in itself. What I can offer here as a tip for others is to find a way to make a ritual, however simple and small and personal, out of gathering, preparing, preserving, and eating as much locally grown organic food as possible, and how in the process, changes in lifesytle and awareness will follow! Thanks again for all you do! Kathy Ford (spontaneousaccomplishment.wordpress.com)
I absolutely have to have magnesium, B vitamins and Omega 3 fatty acids, so it’s great to see these listed in this article. Calcium is more problematic, as it causes migraine-like headaches. Perhaps in a future article, you could discuss the best ways to supplement calcium and magnesium for those of us who can’t just pick any supplement and take it successfully.
One way I have been inspired to eat whole foods is to read my friend’s blog, Spontaneous Accomplishment. Almost daily, she offers wonderful ideas for shopping and preparing an array of beautiful vegetables, some of which I have never heard of. I was not raised on vegetables, don’t like them so much really, but she will suggest a soup, or a way of roasting, or a lasagna loaded with eggplant and greens and I will be persuaded. One of the best was a stew-type creation based on soaked porcini mushrooms — you use the broth to make this amazing flavor, perfect for a cold January day like today. Check it out!
I absolutely agree with your statement that most doctors do not have a clue about nutrition.
What are you referring to when you recommend a “high quality” multivitamin. There has been a lot of research from numerous places around the world that multivitamins are doing nothing to improve health and in some cases, they are harming people. Wouldn’t it be far better to recommend a Whole Food supplement? They do not isolate specific vitamins; they use the entire food to maintain synergy. Many people do not know the difference between the two. I’d like to know your thoughts on this.
Having Dr. Hyman as an instructor at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition was a great balance for complex dietary theory. As you can see here, everyone CAN follow the advice. In my Holistic practice, I have seen TIME as one of the biggest enemies of completing Dr Hyman’s recommendations. Americans have come to depend on quick packaged foods NOW instead of taking the time necessary to prepare or cook whole foods. I have found that eating right does NOT cost more in dollars, just more in time. Be kind to your family – allow time to eat right. Not only will you love the taste and the way you feel, you will be healthy far longer in life!
I am pretty sure a doctor older than Dr Hyman stated that food is medicine and medicine is food a few thousand years ago – what has changed???
My only comment is that every one talks about eating whole grains, but I just can’t stomach most grains ( I eat rice occasionally). If I don’t eat them, what am I missing as far as nutrients go?
I have been so affected by Dr. Hyman’s great work that I often recommed his books and quizes to new clients (I’m a psychotherapist) with the first e-mail communication. (I work with a lot of “body/mind” issues.) It has really changed my life and my marriage. To address Mary’s comments about binging, I recommend learning EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), it’s on U-Tube. It’s what helped me break through some “mom stuff” and take wheat, dairy and sugar out of my diet. The truth is that we have to learn how to stop eating the way we are used to and really put time, love and intelligence into our food and bodies. We are creating an organic garden greenhouse this year to avoid the pitfalls of petro-food and monsantafied soil and water. It’s worth it to feel great!
Taking synthetic vitamins is a waste. 100% organic greens powders are the way to go instead. Look for brands packed in glass with a metal lid.