Part 4: Why Give Foods Up, For Now
Grains: Gluten. It’s nearly impossible not to hear the G-word thrown around these days. An explosion of gluten research has shed light on this protein in wheat, rye, barley, and spelt—conservative estimates approximate that 1 in 20 Americans have gluten intolerance. Gluten is difficult to digest compared to the proteins in other grains, so its presence in the digestive tract can inflame the intestinal lining, loosening the tight junctions and contributing to leaky gut syndrome. When this happens, undigested food proteins such as gluten and bacterial endotoxins called lipopolysaccharides (LPS) can pass into the bloodstream, creating an inflammatory reaction outside the GI tract that could trigger an autoimmune response. Lectins. Lectins are proteins found most abundantly in grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes), and squash (mainly the skin and seeds). These plant defense mechanisms are indigestible, and like gluten, lectins can cause digestive problems and trigger inflammation in many people, compromising the intestinal barrier. Lectins can also bind to insulin and leptin receptor sites, fueling hormonal resistance patterns. Enzyme inhibitors. Your body makes enzymes to assist with digestion, but grains contain alpha-amylase inhibitors and protease inhibitors, which can inhibit these digestive enzymes, causing digestive difficulties for you if you are sensitive. Phytic acid and phytates. These compounds are anti-nutrients that bind to minerals like calcium and iron in your body, making them unusable to you. Mineral deficiencies like osteoporosis can be perpetuated by the presence of phytates. Saponins. Pseudo-grains like quinoa are particularly high in these anti-nutrients, which can contribute to inflammation and gut permeability in sensitive people. Sugars. Grains are high in sugars, which can cause blood sugar and insulin spikes and could lead to insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes in susceptible people. High omega-6 levels. Fats are essential for optimal health, but there are inflammatory fats and anti-inflammatory fats. Grains are high in polyunsaturated omega-6 fats, which are inflammatory when out of proportion to omega-3 fats. Since most people eat far more omega-6 fats, grains can contribute to this imbalance.
Dairy: There are all kinds of reasons people might react to dairy products like milk, ice cream, yogurt, cream, and cheese. Lactose. Those who are intolerant of lactose (milk sugar) lack the enzyme to digest dairy products containing lactose. In these people, eating dairy products can cause uncomfortable digestive problems, from bloating and gas to diarrhea. Casein and/or whey. Those who can digest lactose without a problem may have a different issue—they may be intolerant of or sensitive to the proteins in milk—specifically, casein and whey. The casein molecule can look a lot like the gluten molecule to an over reactive immune system, so bodies that are sensitive to one are often sensitive to the other, causing inflammation in the digestive tract. If casein proteins pass through the protective gut lining due to intestinal permeability, they could trigger more serious reactions, like autoimmunity. In people with casein or whey intolerance or sensitivity, dairy products can also cause severe digestive problems, like stomach cramps and diarrhea, as well as other seemingly unrelated effects, like breathing problems, vomiting, hives, joint pain, extreme fatigue, neurological symptoms, and behavioral changes (or even anaphylaxis in people who are allergic to the casein or whey protein in milk). Additives. Want growth hormone with your milk? Conventional milk available in supermarkets often comes from cows injected with bovine growth hormone, which dairy farmers administer to increase milk production. We don’t yet know what effect this could have on the people who drink it, immediately or in the long run. Also, dairy cows are often pumped full of antibiotics to prevent or treat mastitis, which develops as a result of irritation or infection from the milking machines. That means you could get an extra dose of residual antibiotics, and probably a little mastitis pus, in every glass of cow’s milk. Added sugar. Of course flavored milks like chocolate milk are loaded with added sweeteners.
Added Sugar: There are mountains of studies proving that refined sugars, such as white sugar, brown sugar, high-fructose corn syrup (or any corn syrup), and similar cheap sweeteners cause inflammation in almost everybody and can increase your risk of many chronic diseases, including diabetes, liver disease, and heart disease, (sugar increases your chance of dying from heart disease, even if you aren’t overweight). Artificial sweeteners can be even worse, toying with your gut bacteria and tipping your scales to make you weigh more, even though you may have thought your calorie-free beverage choice was doing the opposite. Even natural sweeteners keep you focused on that sweet taste, instead of refining your palate to appreciate the natural sweetness of foods. Sugar is addictive. The average American consumes about 3,550 pounds of sugar in a lifetime—the equivalent of 1.7 million Skittles, or an industrial-sized dumpster full of white sugar. We are going to ignore that dumpster and keep all added sweeteners out of your body for now. Later, you may find you can reintegrate some natural sweeteners, but you won’t know for sure if you tolerate them unless you give them up for a while.
Seed Oils: To extract these oils, the seeds are subjected to high temperatures. Then the oils are removed with petroleum solvents and further chemically treated to remove the by-products of the process. Next they are often colored and scented so they don’t smell like what they really are—the unnatural result of an aggressive chemical process. These oils also frequently contain artificial antioxidants like BHA and BHT to keep them shelf-stable for long periods of time. Mmm, old oil . . . Vegetable oils also contain more polyunsaturated fatty acids than oils from olives and coconuts (more naturally extracted through good old fashioned pressing). These polyunsaturated fats oxidize easily, so these oils are often major sources of inflammatory free radicals, especially when heated. We’ll be sticking with more natural, anti-inflammatory inflammatory oils like cold-pressed olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, and ghee (clarified butter with the dairy solids removed).
One of the unique features of this individualized plan is that you will be eliminating some inflammatory lifestyle habits. Food is key to an elimination diet, but there are also some potent nonfood factors that can contribute to systemic inflammation and health decline. If you have lifestyle habits that harm your body and brain as well as your emotions and spirit, then even if you do eat everything perfectly during your elimination journey, you are unintentionally sabotaging your healthy efforts. These lifestyle habits can be just as inflammatory as foods, if not more than, so let’s get them out of your life.
Inflammatory Habit 1: Prolonged Sitting Human bodies aren’t meant to sit all day. They are meant to walk, run, lift, carry, even swim. Squatting or even sitting on the ground is better for your body than sitting in a chair.
Inflammatory Habit 2: Screen surfing. Today, see if you can cut down your time a little bit: After you are done working, resist the urge to surf the Internet. Turn off the screen and do something else. Notice how often you check your emails. Can you reduce the time you spend on this, or do it in chunks a few times a day instead of immediately responding to every text or email alert? Challenge yourself and your family to find something different to do tonight, other than watching TV or playing video games—something that doesn’t involve a screen at all. Can you go out to a (screenless) restaurant? Play a game? Take a walk or a bike ride together? Invite people over? Can you all leave your phones at home? ACTIVITIES TO INCORPORATE: Fresh out of ideas that aren’t screen-centric? Try these: Spend time in nature. There is nothing more healing to the eyes, the brain, and the body than time passed in the natural world. Take a walk in a park, go on a hike, or take a day-trip to a natural area today. If you can’t leave your phone at home, at least stash it in the glove box or put it in your purse or pocket and resist the urge to keep taking it out and looking at it. Interact with those in front of you. Talk directly to your kids. Meet a friend for coffee and keep your phone put away. Walk over to people in your office and tell them what you need to tell them, without defaulting to text or email. Look others directly in the eyes and smile. Notice their reactions. It might feel weird, but the more you do it, the more natural it will be. Go to the theater or attend a live event or a concert. Watching a play or a concert, as opposed to watching a movie or a music video, feels completely different. At first you may even find it strenuous, but it is good for your brain. What can you see live tonight? Bonus points if it is outdoors and you don’t take a video of it with your phone or post anything about it on social media. Take a walk around your neighborhood, or even indoors somewhere, tuning in to all your senses.What do you see, hear, smell, feel? Notice if you have the impulse to look something up or post about something on social media and try to ride out the impulse. Eat an entire meal without looking at a screen—no TV, no phone. Pay attention to your food and the company instead. You will eat less and make better food choices when you pay attention to your food. but weighing yourself daily or even weekly can keep you too focused on that one goal at the expense of a broader view of your health and well-being.
Inflammatory Habit 3: Not getting enough sleep. Sleep is not a luxury. It is a mandate for your wellness. Sleep is essential for health. You heal and rejuvenate both body and mind when you sleep, yet many of us tend to make sleep a low priority. Next week we will finish out the rest of the Inflammatory Habits!
