Sleep & Calories

A new Columbia University study investigated the link between sleep deprivation & overeating. It's a small study (26 participants) but resulted in an average caloric intake increase of about 300 calories. (Approximately an 11-15% increase over an average daily caloric intake!)

"Sleep-deprived People eat 300 more calories a day."

Food Rules (an old-fashioned book review!)

I just read Michael Pollan's Food Rules, a fun little book that was created as a companion to his In Defense of Food.

The book approaches the basic (important, yet also an object of obsession) issue of food & eating habits. Mr. Pollan analyzes our (modern Western) culture's relationship to nutrition and diagnoses it as ailing.

("Populations that eat a so-called Western diet -- generally defined as a diet consisting of lots of processed foods and meat, lots of added fat and sugar, lots of refined grains, lots of everything except vegetables, fruits and whole grains -- invariably suffer from high rates of the so-called Western diseases: obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.")

In response to the simple questions What do we eat? How should we eat? Mr. Pollan proposes some simple "rules" -- many of them culled from generations of human experience. The very, very abridged version of these rules is "Eat Food. Mostly Plants. Not too much."

One aspect that I found striking in this book is Pollan's assessment of the modern world's widespread weight gain -- we tend to consider being overweight or obese a personal problem, and certainly those of us who are are acutely aware of our own avoirdupois, but actually this is a cultural -- not individual -- trend: the percentage of overweight and obese Americans is growing at an alarming rate. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) calls it an "epidemic" -- the U.S. overall obesity rate is now 26.7%, with variations by region and ethnic group, and as the pounds accumulate, the other health issues pile on.

Michael Pollan's little book is a reminder that the "solution"to this health crisis is completely (almost, of course there are some endocrinological exceptions) in our own hands; we can have self-control and we can reinforce it by making specific decisions.

These are a few of the Rules which especially tickled my fancy:

• #7: Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.
• #13: Eat only foods that will eventually rot.
• #19: If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't.
• #21: It's not food if it's called by the same name in every language. (Think Big Mac, Cheetos or Pringles.)
• #25: Eat your colors.
• #30: Eat well-grown food from healthy soil.
• #34: Sweeten and salt your food yourself.
• #37: "The whiter the bread, the sooner you'll be dead."
• #46: Stop eating before you are full.
• #57: Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does.
• # 60: Treat treats as treats.
• #64: Break the rules once in a while.

The Importance of Water

As a clinician, I spend a fair amount of time talking with my patients about their lifestyle habits, sometimes we work together in ways to move them towards a healthier life, and yes, often this includes looking at their drinking & eating habits. Most Americans don't drink water -- we drink everything else (coffee, soda, adult beverages, juice, lemonade, pina coladas, Red Bulls, milkshakes) -- which of course means that we're getting some water, plus a lot of other ingredients. There's some thought that most Americans are living with a certain chronic level of dehydration (75%, according to this blog entry), and that we get a lot of our fluids from our foods. (And, don't we have a national weight problem?????)

Of course, in this country we (most of us) have access to clean water -- we just don't choose to drink it. In many parts of the world, the supply of clean, drinkable water is drying up -- due to pollution, global warming, insufficient or destroyed infrastructures (an example of the latter being in post-quake Haiti). It's been speculated for several years that the next large international war may be over access to potable water supplies.

A major cause of the pollution of the global water supply is the lack of basic sanitation -- not too much of an issue in the countryside because rural environments can absorb (no pun intended!) and even put to use human excreta (it's called "nightsoil"). In the cities, and most particularly in the growing slums of the heavily-populated urban world, it's a serious issue -- according to the Charity Water website:

90% of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are to children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable. The UN predicts that one tenth of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply and sanitation. An interesting and innovative approach to working to minimize the impact of the lack of world sanitation is a cute little invention called the "peepoo." The peepoo is small biodegradeable plastic bag, intended for use as an instant latrine. One uses it, ties a knot in the neck of the bag & then buries or tosses it away. The inside of the bag is coated with a thin layer of urea, which helps to sanitize the natural "products" and convert them into natural fertilizer.

I think this is a brilliant little idea -- what my father likes to call "a simple solution to a complex problem." The inventors describe it as personal, as in personal computer; ... mobile, as in mobile phone; and micro, as in Microsoft.Please take a look at the peepoo website for more information. (The site is full of pictures from its test site at an informal settlement in Nairobi, including the one above. (This image is borrowed from the peepoople website -- check in with info@peepoople.com for more.)

Diet Therapy Advice

“Let your foods be your medicine, not your medicine be your food”

Maimonides/Rambam (1135-1204)

Here are some general guidelines of diet therapy & eating habits that we should all follow:

“No disease that can be treated by diet should be treated with any other means.”

Eating & Drinking Habits:

• Eat only when you are hungry, and not when 'it's time to eat' or when everybody else is eating around you. How do you know when you are hungry? your tummy makes gggrrrrrrr noises...
• Stop eating when you are not hungry.
• Eating slow = eating less! So eat slowly -- it takes at least 20 minutes to the hunger center in your brain to know that you are full. So if you eat fast, you eat more.
• Give your stomach a rest, and don't eat in between meals. Let your stomach get empty before filling it with more food. So, no snacking if you're bored, instead go for a walk, move your body.
• When you are eating, avoid other activities such as watching TV, reading and driving etc. Just sit down and eat. It's that simple.
• Avoid eating when you are moody. When you are upset, sad, angry etc., walk it off, don't eat it off.
• Don't overeat. Portions are getting bigger and bigger and so are people in this country. How to eat less? Eat 3/4 of your meal, stop, and put the plate aside, far away from you. After 10 minutes, ask yourself if you are still hungry. Often the answer will be no. Stop eating before you are completely full.
• Drink more water. A lot more. At least 12 cups of room temperature water is highly recommended for an adult.
• Avoid eating or drinking cold food & drinks. What a waste of energy! – warming your ice-cold water to reach your body temperature?! Ask for a room temperature water in restaurants. Say no to ice.
• Avoid eating and drinking at the same time. Water dilutes the stomach acid, which makes the digestion slower and harder. Drink half an hour before and/or after the meal. Your digestive system will thank you.

“A man's health can be judged by which he takes two at a time - pills or stairs.” ~ Joan Welsh

“Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.”

Maimonides

What and When to Eat?

• Eat a big breakfast with protein, you need the energy to start your day; medium size lunch, not too much; and a small dinner, because you are soon going to sleep. It's like putting gas in your car before you go on a journey, and not at the end.
• Eat a variety of foods, not only few types of food that you have gotten used to. You can get a lot more from Mother Nature if you eat different fruits & vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, etc.
• Avoid eating too much cow-based dairy products. Switch to goat and sheep. They are easier to digest and cause less digestive system symptoms.
• Eat more veggies! mostly steamed, some raw; small amount of stir-fried (too much oil...eek).
• Take a short easy walk after the meal, move your Qi.
• Spice up your food with ginger, black paper, fennel seeds, cumin, sweet paprika, etc.

Exercise:

Move your body!

There are two types of exercise, and they complete each other. Please do both, at least 2-3 types of different exercise regimens.

• YIN types such as Tai Qi Chuan, Qi Gong and Yoga are very relaxing and also strengthen your body.
• YANG types such as swimming, walking quickly, bicycling and running move your Qi faster and make you big and strong.

The easiest exercise is to walk quickly. How do you know that you are walking fast enough? Your are all sweaty, your heart beats rapidly, and you are still alive!

After exercising, it is very important to eat well. Your body needs the energy to build up the muscles. It is harmful not to eat when you are hungry after exercising.

The best time to exercise is when the sun is up. At night, it is better to read a book, or take a slow walk, thus directing your Qi inward, and prepare for sleep.

what we eat is who we are

Diet therapy can treat many diseases:

• Insomnia – eating a big dinner is the most common reason for sleepless night.
• Diarrhea & constipation, abdominal pain & discomfort – attributed to bad eating habits such as overeating, eating when not hungry, eating junk food, eating late at night, eating when upset or have nothing to do, etc.