Diet is something that is within our complete control. Except in infancy and very unusual circumstances, we determine every bite we put into our mouths and how much we eat. For many years, I was extremely overweight and felt that this was the one area of my life (at least until Steve developed dementia) that I was going to have to accept as my fate. I was somehow born to be fat—it was in my genes. When I came to accept that, in fact, I have complete control over my diet, I adopted a healthier way of eating and began to incorporate exercise into my hectic life. I was finally able to the lose weight that was holding me back.
In 2005, I was very overweight, on the verge of type 2 diabetes, my heart was enlarged, and I had osteoporosis. I was mystified in particular about the osteoporosis, since I consumed at least three to four servings of dairy every day and even took calcium supplements. I recently learned from Beverly Teter, Ph.D., a lipid biochemist at the University of Maryland, that short-chain fatty acids in dairy products optimize the absorption of calcium from the intestine into the circulation. Unless you consume whole-fat dairy, the calcium in these foods will not be fully absorbed. For decades, I thought I was doing myself a favor and saving calories by consuming fat-free dairy products. Use of fat-free milk didn’t keep me from gaining weight, in fact, quite the contrary.
The phrase “you are what you eat” may seem trite and overused, but it is a fact. We should think about this every time we eat.
Food is many other things to people, but when it comes right down to it, nearly everything we put into our mouths is broken down to be used immediately by our bodies or stored for future use. The cells of our bodies are extremely complex and dynamic. We are constantly making new cells to replace old cells. What we eat will affect the quality (how well they function) and the life span of the new cells we make.
Much of what we eat is used to fuel the cells in the body either now or later. This is true of the major components of food, which are carbohydrate, protein, and fat—all of which can be used for fuel. These macronutrients, along with thousands of other micronutrients, are needed to make new cells by providing the required energy and building blocks. These include the numerous vitamins and minerals that we are all familiar with, but also many we may not be so familiar with, such as the phytonutrients.
Phytonutrients are compounds found in plants that may affect our health. In recent years, hundreds of phytonutrients have been discovered, and we are learning new things every day about what they do for us. Many of these phytonutrients work in conjunction with vitamins and minerals to carry out various processes in the body. Some phytonutrients prevent damage to cells, while others help keep us healthy by reducing our chances of developing infections or certain cancers. One good reason to eat a variety of fresh, or freshly frozen, fruits and vegetables is to take in as many of these nutrients as possible every day, since they are often lost when food is canned or otherwise processed.
When we eat processed foods not only do our bodies miss out on the natural substances they need to function at their fullest potential, but we also end up consuming an abundance of chemicals that are used to enhance color and taste, inhibit the growth of bacteria, and increase the shelf life of these goods. The use of these methods of manufacturing food has come about as a result of the huge population growth in recent history. All these people must be fed, and advances in technology have made it possible to mass-produce food and deliver it wherever it is needed. The downside is that much of our food has become overly processed and laden with these additives and potentially harmful artifical ingredients.
Many of the substances in our foods are foreign to our bodies. They were not part of the fresh, unprocessed food eaten by humans for our entire history as a species until the past century. We are not programmed to use many of these chemicals, but they will be used, one way or the other, by our bodies. Some of these substances, such as partially hydrogenated fats, trans fats, and high-fructose corn syrup, may very well be used in ways that are harmful to us. For example, in the past, humans consumed milk that was fresh from the cow, without pasteurization and homogenization. Now, primarily to extend shelf life and feed the masses, most of the milk we drink has been seriously tinkered with. The fat is removed from the milk and homogenized to allow it to mix uniformly so the cream does not separate and rise to the top. Then this processed fat is placed back into the other components of the milk in various percentages to make fat-free, low-fat, or whole-fat milk. Do the fats in milk behave the same way once they are processed this way? According to Dr. Teter and others, they do not.
Fresh, unprocessed milk tastes quite different, in a good way, from the processed stuff. It is illegal to sell raw milk in many states due to the fear of infection, a realistic concern, since milk must be stored and transported to feed so many. In Florida, where we live, raw milk cannot be sold for human consumption and must be labeled “for pet consumption only!” (If you can get access to raw milk from a quality dairy farm, it may be well worth your efforts to do so. It is even possible in some areas to get raw goat milk, which contains a significant amount of medium-chain fatty acids.) This may seem radical but consider that less than a century ago, and for millennia before that, our ancestors drank raw milk. What has happened to our food is radical. Moreover, today, we have to worry about the pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics taken in by the animals and the products derived from them that we eat.
The easiest way to avoid consuming these substances is to stay away from packaged cookies, crackers, pastries, ready-to-eat foods and snacks, and other processed foods as much as possible and to embrace an organic, whole food diet. This type of diet includes a variety of different colored fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and legumes, whole grains, natural unprocessed oils, wild rather than farm-raised fish, and full-fat dairy or goat’s milk, eggs, poultry, and meat from free-range, grass-fed animals. In an ideal world we would all have access to these quality foods. If they are available, we will be better off making these choices whenever possible. If you have access to fruits and vegetables from local farmers, they may be smaller, but will probably taste better, and be better for you, than the larger, genetically engineered produce that has lost much of its nutrient content.
It is important to note that not all packaged foods are bad. Some food manufacturers are making the effort to provide products without an abundance of chemicals. Just look at the ingredients label to decide for yourself. If there is a list of chemicals that you don’t recognize, consider putting it back rather than taking it home. Look for products that contain whole grains, such as whole grain rice or whole-wheat flour, rather than “refined” or “enriched” flours. Refined flours, for example, have been overly processed and much of the micronutrient content that we need has been removed. They are then “enriched” with a few essential vitamins to try to make up for this.
Packaging, however, can also be deceptive. You may see “contains whole grains” on the package, but bleached, enriched flour will come first on the list of ingredients. Also, you will see “100 percent virgin olive oil” on the front label of some salad dressings, and it is indeed one of the ingredients, but the product actually contains more soybean oil (a primarily polyunsaturated oil) than olive oil (a primarily monounsaturated oil), according to the order on the ingredients label. I am also willing to bet that most people don’t know that the majority of peanut butters on grocery store shelves contain partially hydrogenated soybean oil. We have been eating these same brand-name products for decades without even thinking about it. Just look at the list of ingredients on the label! You will be very surprised to see how many foods contain unhealthy fats and foreign non-food substances.
It may not be possible to eliminate every type of processed food from your diet, depending on where you live and what you have access to, but any steps you can take in that direction will be beneficial to your health.
Steve and I are among the first generation to live most of our lives on the “convenience diet.” We were the first in our families to buy a microwave oven when I was in medical school in the 1970s so that we could take advantage of packaged foods and otherwise speed up cooking. I did not believe that I had the time to cook the way our mothers did and embraced any opportunity to reduce the time I spent in the kitchen. I am afraid that we are paying for this now. The biochemistry classes I took in medical school taught me how food is metabolized but not how to eat.
In researching Steve’s disease, I have learned more about nutrition in the last five years than in the previous thirty years of my medical training and practice. Since 2005, we have completely revamped our diet. If you had told me in 2004 that I would be frequenting whole food and natural food grocery stores, eating fresh fruits and vegetables, and cooking healthy meals every day, I would have looked at you cross-eyed. Do we ever eat packaged or processed foods? I would not be telling the truth if I said no to that question. However, these types of foods are now at the bottom of the list rather than the top of our food choices and probably make up less than 5 percent of what we eat. When I pick up a package in the store, I look at the ingredients list, and if I don’t like what I see, I put it back.
With the convenience diet, we are taking in too many things that we don’t need and we are not getting enough of important nutrients that we do need. Since we are what we eat, then it is very possible that something we are eating, or not eating, triggers and/or promotes the development of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. If you or a loved one are fighting a neurodegenerative disease, or want to avoid acquiring one, consider making the transition to a healthier whole food diet.
I know of many people who take a huge number of different supplements to try to undo the damage from Alzheimer’s and other diseases, yet continue to eat an overly processed diet, stripped of nutrients and laden with additives and partially hydrogenated fats. It makes good sense to try to provide ourselves with nutrients our bodies will recognize and use the way evolution has programmed us to use them. While certain supplements, such as omega-3 fatty acids, may help us in the fight against disease, supplements alone may not be able to overcome the ongoing damage that we may inflict upon ourselves by continuing to consume a convenience food diet. I have spoken with many caregivers who provide their loved ones with an abundance of different supplements, but pay very little attention to their diet. They cannot be convinced how important it is for them to stop drinking soda pop or binging on other sugary, highly processed foods that promote insulin resistance.
Many important nutrients are not absorbed into the body unless there is fat in the meal. For example, vitamins A, D, and E are fat-soluble vitamins, meaning that, unless they are in an oil-based substance or at least emulsified so they can mix with water, they will not be absorbed. It may be pointless to try to get your daily requirement of these vitamins in the form of a dry pill. It is more beneficial to get these vitamins in an oil-based product, and even better, in an actual food in which they naturally occur, such as cod liver oil, whole-fat dairy products, and eggs.
There is considerable evidence now that vitamins do not act alone. Hundreds of phytonutrients accompany the vitamin in natural foods and support the absorption and use of the vitamin in the body. So, in the best of all worlds, we will get our vitamins naturally. In the case of vitamin D, we can achieve this with relatively small doses of exposure to the sun, and for the other vitamins from consuming the foods in which they typically occur.
Remember, to derive the best level of nutrition, eat unprocessed food with nothing added or taken away. Eat beef, fish, and poultry and the other products derived from these animals, such as dairy and eggs, from animals that are allowed to eat their own natural diet, rather than an excess of grain that they would not normally consume if they were in the wild. Incorporate a variety of colors of fresh produce to ensure you take in a variety of antioxidants, vitamins, and other nutrients, and drink whole-fat milk, or better yet, raw milk if available.
There is clearly a role for dietary supplements in the fight against Alzheimer’s and other such diseases. However, there is no medication or supplement that can undo the ill effects of an unhealthy diet or take the place of a healthy diet. The primary role of dietary supplements should be literally to supplement the healthy diet as secondary insurance to make sure that certain important nutrients are provided.