Eating Healthier -- Part I

By G. Douglas Andersen, DC, DACBSP, CCN

By far the most important aspect of nutrition is the quality and quantity of foods consumed. Take a day and ask your patients about their diet. You will find that most will answer that they eat a healthy diet, but could improve a little bit. Then ask them what they had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the past two days. Most will quickly preface their answer by stating that what they consumed the last two days isn't normal, and that they usually don't eat bacon and eggs for breakfast, a cheeseburger and fries for lunch, and pot pies for dinner.

We clearly are a long way from fully understanding diet and all the ways it affects our physiology, psychology, and biochemistry. We do know that a low fat, moderate protein, high complex carbohydrate diet with minimal processing of the foods consumed seems to be the most healthy for the general population. We also know that the optimal diet for an individual will vary depending on many factors. In fact, we probably know more about what isn't the optimal diet than what is.

Chiropractic was the first Western health profession to stress a natural diet. In R.W. Stevenson's 1927 Chiropractic Textbook he quoted Palmer: "Foods, air and water, when they have been 'doctored' are poison."¹ Stevenson, himself, stated: "Sterilized air and water and artificially prepared foods are poisons, for they are not natural; innate evolutionary structures are unequated with them as foods."¹

When we counsel our patients on changing or improving their diets, we must remember that eating healthy is a lifestyle change. Like starting an exercise program, changing a person's food intake gradually increases the odds of lifetime compliance. One way to help the gradual change is to provide your patients some information in the form of handouts to post on their refrigerator to remind them of some healthier alternatives to the foods they normally consume. As doctors, we must remember that sometimes the first step in changing one's diet is just that, a first step. For example, low-fat milk is a healthier alternative to whole milk for the majority of the population. But for most people, it still contains too much milk fat, and thus is the first step in your long-term goal of non-fat milk consumption, or total abstinence from milk, depending on your patient's individual biochemical needs.

Below are some examples of food substitutions. These can be designed individually for each patient, or you can make a generic list. Either way, it keeps your name on their refrigerator and keeps them focused on the goal of improving their diet.

Food Substitution List

Food Consumed

Healthy Alternative

Whole dairy Low-fat dairy (milk, yogurt, cottage cheese)

Processed sugared cereals Processed unsugared cereals

Ice cream Frozen yogurt

Sweetened applesauce Unsweetened applesauce

Soft drinks Sparkling water lightly sweetened with fruit juice concentrate

White bread, rolls, buns Brown bread, rolls, buns

Iceberg lettuce Red leaf lettuce

Bologna slices Ham slices

Once your patients state that they are now eating off the "good list," you can then issue a new list that goes a step further:

Food Consumed

Health Alternative

Low-fat dairy Non-fat dairy

Processed, unsugared cereals Whole grain cereals

Frozen yogurt Non-fat frozen yogurt

Unsweetened applesauce Whole apples

Sparkling water with fruit Sparkling water with fruit essence juice concentrate

Brown bread, rolls, buns 100% wheat or whole grain breads

Another type of list for those patients who are into the numbers game:

Food Consumed Healthy Alternative Benefit

1 croissant 1 bagel 30-60 fewer calories

1 oz. oil-roasted 1 oz. dry roasted 90-100 fewer calories

peanuts peanuts 11-13 fewer grams of fat

2 oz. cooked white 2 oz. cooked oat 18 extra grams of fiber

pasta bran pasta

1 oz. pork bacon 1 oz. canadian bacon 100 fewer calories

10-12 fewer grams of fat

6-8 extra grams of protein

7-1/2 oz. serving 7-1/2 oz. serving 70-100 fewer calories

beef chili & beans turkey chili & beans 8-10 fewer grams of fat

1 regular order 1 baked potato 100-150 fewer calories

of french fries 10-12 fewer grams of fat

1 oz. cheddar cheese 1 oz. skim 30-40 fewer calories

mozzarella cheese 3-6 fewer grams of fat

Canned vegetables sugar free canned 10-30 fewer calories

vegetables per serving

3-5 oz. duck 3-5 oz. chicken 40-60 fewer calories

(skinless) (skinless) 5-8 fewer grams of fat

1 tbsp. avocado or 1 tbsp. salsa dip 15-25 fewer calories

sour cream dip 3-5 fewer grams of fat

References

Stevenson RW: Chiropractic Textbook. 1927
U.C. Berkeley Wellness Letter. 5(12): September 1989.

Douglas Andersen, D.C.
Brea, California

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