- The DASH diet, which stands for ‘low-sodium Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension,’ is designed to help people lower their blood pressure and support weight-loss.
Low Risk Blood Pressure is now 120/80 or less. Hypertension affects almost 1 in 4 Canadian adults and the lifetime incidence of developing high blood pressure is estimated to be 90% - DASH has been shown to lower BP in as little as two weeks. And the bonus is that is lowers LDL- bad cholesterol.
We need salt but not as much as we think. DASH allows only 1500 mg of sodium per day – that’s 2/3 teasp – compared to the average of at least 3000 mg in most NA diets.
1/2C of tomato sauce contains 650 mg of sodium, a bag of chips around 200 mg. - DASH emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat or non-fat dairy and limits saturated fat and dietary cholesterol – a list that sounds like music to my ears.
- Intermittent fasting is cycling between periods of fasting and eating to improve health or lose weight. This cycling allows the body to use up its stored energy by burning off excess body fat. Many people eat and snack all day long. Over time, this can cause gain weight, because the body needs time to burn through its stored fuel.
- We can lose weight by increasing the amount of time spent burning food energy. That’s intermittent fasting.
- Most people eat during an 8-hour window daily and fast for 16 hours. So for example, you could eat breakfast lunch and dinner between 10am and 6pm daily. Other people opt to have an even smaller time window, or to fast for a full 24 hours once a week. Apart from weight loss, other benefits seen are a decrease in cholesterol, improved blood sugar levels, and possible longevity. We now know that our bodies function best when we align our eating patterns with our circadian rhythms. Studies show that we should only be eating during daylight hours. This is a good place to begin with intermittent fasting – only eat when it’s light outside if you want to lose weight.
- I have concerns when someone follows the KETO diet to the letter.
Any diet that has a significant list of what’s not allowed is going to be unhealthy and very hard to maintain.
A true keto diet is comprised of 80% fat, 15% protein, and only 5% of calories from carbohydrates. That translates to less than 100 calories from carbs—including healthy ones like fruits and vegetables. - When you eat this way, it triggers ketosis, which means your body has burned through all its carbs and needs to begin burning fat for energy.
- Side effects are often called the Keto Flu: headaches, fatigue, muscle aches, nausea, and diarrhea then constipation, keto breath – which smells like acetone – nail polish remover
- Too much fat especially saturated fats – increases all the factors leading to coronary artery disease and inflammation
Rather, I’d recommend that you do a common-sense thing – eat more lean protein and less empty calories the white carbs – pasta, bread, rice potatoes. - Let’s talk about going vegan. I love the philosophy behind why most vegans I see in practice become vegan and out of regard for animals and the planet. What Elaine and I notice on blood tests is that vegans can become deficient in key nutrients over time if they are not deliberate about their diet. Here are the top 3 things to watch out for: #1. Vitamin B12 which you can only get in the diet from animal products, nutritional yeast, or supplements, #2. Iron which can be hard to get on a vegan diet since only animal products contain the heme form which is the most absorbable and #3. Protein intake and combining.
- When you are a vegan you have to be mindful of getting enough protein – 50-60g a day for the average person who is not an athlete – and you need to be mindful of combining proteins like legumes with rice to ensure that you get a full amino acid profile. The heathiest vegans I know eat a lot of legumes and vegetables and very little processed and refined food.