By Mark Sherman

In the last article in this health series, we explored the role of diet in disease and health, and the importance of bringing the sanctity of eating back into our lives. The article discussed how our eating habits (ie. what and how we eat) are affected by a variety of influences, often quite independent from any questions of health. In this article, I would like to delve into a trickier subject... that of what we eat, and what is a healthy diet – ie. A diet that prevents dis-ease and promotes a sense of health and wellbeing.

Certainly, there is no shortage of recommendations on diets out there for us to access. Should we eat high protein or low fat? What about the Okinawa diet, the Atkins diet, South Beach diet, the Meditaranean diet, or the Hunza diet? How about vitamin supplements? It seems that each author and every book purports a different theory and claims all sorts of research to back it up. Yet, surprisingly, the medical and nutritional research behind a healthy diet (ie. one that promotes health and prevents disease) is quite consistent on the subject.

Firstly, there are no 'bad' or 'good' foods. There are foods that tend to promote health and others that tend to promote disease. There are healthy carbohydrates, healthy proteins, and, yes, even healthy fats. We tend to be so bombarded with sensationalist misinformation on foods, that confusion and guilt can often play deep seeded roles in our eating patterns. But remember, guilt should have no place within the realm of nourishment, for they simply contradict each other. Eating well is about making a decision to be healthy, and then making informed choices of what foods will help you towards this. But how? Well, let's start with the basics...

All food is composed of the basic building blocks of protein, carbohydrate and fat. These are the so-called macro-nutrients which our bodies use for energy and to build the cells and tissues that make up our physiology. Each particular food may have different fractions of these three components, yet protein, carbohydrate and fats are all necessary parts of our diet, any one of which we could not live without. Together with these macronutrients, foods contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals within their substance. Although present in much smaller proportions, these micronutrients serve no less an essential role. Vitamins often act as co-factors in many enzymatic and hormonal reactions, as well as serving as antioxidants to eliminate the free radicals that can promote disease. Minerals tend to be used by the body to form the structure of our chemical molecules such as enzymes, red blood cells, neurotransmitters, bones, cartilage, and hormones. Again, while certain foods are high in vitamins and minerals and others low, they are present in all foods.

A third integral component of food, and of a proper diet, is water. Our bodies are 70% water. Water makes up the plasma that carries our red and white blood cells, and transports nutrients to our cells and wastes away from them. Water makes up the cerebrospinal fluid that bathes our brain and spinal cord, and is the medium that carries the cells, antibodies, and chemicals that make up our immune systems. There is no system of the body that is not intimately affected by the water which we take in in the foods and fluids of our diets. It is therefore no minor health issue that the majority of our population is mildly dehydrated much of the time. Because of its central role in so many functions of the body, ensure that the water you consume is of a high quality, and that you try to take in 4-6 glasses of fluid per day.

We begin with our approach to food and nutrition as a major foundation of physical, emotional, and spiritual health. From here we expand to explore what determines nutrition and the health giving properties of what we eat. This is where we will remain for now. Next month, we will broaden our circle to include the specifics of a wholesome, health promoting diet, and discuss some practical guidelines of how to incorporate such a diet into your own life. For now, begin by looking at how you eat, and what importance food has in your life and in the care of your body and mind. You are welcome to contact me with any questions relating to these articles at askdrmark@gmail.com