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eat this, not that: preventing nutrition whiplash
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Friend, every week, it seems like a new nutritional study contradicts a previous one, doesn't it?
Earlier in October, a group of 14 researchers published five systematic reviews in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, suggesting there's no health-related reason to eat less processed meat and red meat.
Those findings contrast starkly with decades of recommendations from the American Heart Association and the U.S. government, which say to limit consumption of those meats because of increased health risks.
Such debates and others, for those who follow news headlines and social media, can give readers nutritional whiplash.
Who should we believe?
Good question.
I find nutrition studies interesting, but I cast a wary eye toward them. Science methodology continues to improve overall, yet not all studies are completed with rigor. Large, observational studies have limits on what they can reveal about a particular food's benefits, and sometimes a study's authors have a vested interest in its outcome.
In addition, we're surrounded by commercial claims touting fad diets and all sorts of nutritional products and services. Who can we trust?
The Mayo Clinic offers this advice on how to tell fact from fiction in nutrition claims.
Can we also determine which diet is best for our health?
That's a resounding NO, Dr. David Katz, MD, MPH, says in this review, if we're talking about diets with very specific sets of rigid principles.
But if we're talking about a more general dietary pattern, a less rigid set of guiding principles, we DO know which is best, says Katz, the founding director of the Yale University Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center:
- Eating minimally processed foods direct from nature,
- Following a diet comprising mostly plants, and
- Adopting a diet in which animal foods are themselves the products, directly or ultimately, of pure plant foods, such as grass-fed beef.
Also, I would add, YOU matter in this discussion.
What dietary patterns work best for you? And if you haven't explored that, how can you?
In coaching, we create a safe space for you to tune into yourself and for you to create a health plan that honors your values and goals.
I partner with clients to help them discover what works for them and encourage them to implement their plan. Maybe someone wants to reduce their stress eating or learn to eat mindfully. We start with what's important to the client and examine what health and life goals he or she has.
So should you eat red meat? Should you eat a plant-based diet, avoid gluten, or plan your meals based on something else you read about online? I don't know, because your plan is as unique as you are, and our first step together begins with scheduling a complimentary consultation with me.
You can schedule that today, if you'd like, or let me know how else I might help. No matter what, we'd all like to avoid nutritional whiplash. What can help you do that?
With grace and space for a healthier you,
amy
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