Happy Healthy Gut (22 page)

—Michael Pollan,
In Defense of Food

H
ere are the top five worst foods for digestive health, and the top five best. None of these should come as a surprise by now, but sometimes repetition can help to hit the lesson home. Y’know?

1. Fried anything. Frying food at crazy high temperatures changes the properties of that food. You damage anything nutritious and instead, add some trans-fats and carcinogens to your plate. Hungry?
   
2. Red meat. Although you know by now that I advocate for the cessation of meat-eating when it comes to healthy digestion for a huge variety of reasons, red meat takes the cake here. It is simply too heavy and acidic to be digested properly. Period. We were not designed to consume it, and it will definitely make digestion so much harder if you try. If you’re still not sure about this, I have a challenge for you.
   Go strictly vegetarian for two weeks. On day fifteen, eat a six ounce steak. You’ll wish you hadn’t, but at least you’ll know for sure.
   
3. Dairy. Again, this is a food that we are not supposed to consume. It is too high in fat, and we are intolerant to its proteins and sugars. It causes gas, bloating, and nausea. Not a good idea, amigos.
   
4. Alcohol. Once you stop crying for your loss just like I did, drink this up: alcohol slows digestion and overworks our liver and pancreas. There is nothing healthy about it. However, if you immensely enjoy a glass of red wine from time to time, then do it. The stress relief obtained by having a relaxing glass of wine a couple of times a week is worth it for me, and might be worth it for you too. Just don’t go crazy. One glass—just make it a good one!
   
5. Anything genetically modified. For reasons outlined in the chapter seven, genetically modified food is dangerous and is quite possibly a primary contributor of crazy gut distress. Avoid these foods completely, and buy organic to be sure.
   

1. Raw vegetables and fruit. Eating these foods in their whole, raw form will provide your body with all the necessary antioxidants, enzymes, soluble fiber, and other nutrients it could ever ask for. These foods are a complete must for improved digestion.
   
2. Whole grains. Whole grains, such as brown rice, barley, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, and oats, are a huge source of insoluble fiber, meaning that they help sweep your digestive tract clean of sticky, inflammation-causing debris. They are essential for maintaining a clean, healthy colon. It is not the same if you consume the processed versions, such as breads and pastas. Eat the whole grain.
   
3. Healthy fats.
   Foods high in healthy fats, such as coconut, avocados, raw nuts, and olives are definitely crucial to digestive health. Don’t cut these because of their caloric content – they possess a wealth of nutrition that is good for the heart, as well as lubrication for your digestive tract. Very important.
   
4. Sprouts. Teeming with live enzymes, these wee wonders are incredibly good for intestinal health. There are several different varieties available, or make your own.
   
5. Water. Seems obvious, doesn’t it? Well, it can’t be overlooked. Let’s face it: without proper hydration, we would not be able to function, and we would cease to live. We absolutely require water for a number of things, including proper digestion. One of the most common digestive complaints is constipation, and just by doubling your daily water intake, you can easily begin to rid yourself of that unpleasant situation. (As well as ward off any emerging BFFs . . . )
   

“Many studies have shown that vegetarians seem to have a lower risk of obesity, coronary heart disease (which causes heart attack), high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus and some forms of cancer.”
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—The American Heart and Stroke Association

There are many misconceptions about what a plant-based diet can provide in terms of essential nutrients that are deemed necessary in order to be healthy. The following nutritional intake items (protein, carbohydrates, fat, micronutrients, iron, vitamin B12, and fiber), seem to be of particular concern to people when approached with the concept of a vegetarian diet (particularly a vegan one). In response to this, let me address these items one at a time:

Macronutrients

Protein

Protein is required by the body for proper growth, maintenance and repair of all your body’s cellular components. It is needed for the creation of antibodies, which are the key to fighting against infection and illness. It keeps our nails strong, our bones healthy, our hair shiny, and our skin young and resilient. Protein is also a major contributor to all muscles, tissues and organs, and plays an invaluable role in regards to metabolism, digestion and nutrient transportation via oxygen within the circulatory system.

On a global scale, plant-based protein sources make up about 60% of human protein intake. In the United States and Canada, approximately 70% of our protein comes from animal sources.
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Proteins are made up of long chains of amino acids. There are twenty-two different types of amino acids and the body needs all of them to function properly. There are divided into two groups: essential and non-essential. The body cannot produce essential amino acids itself, and therefore they must be sourced from the food that we eat. Contrary to this, non-essential amino acids can be manufactured by the body and do not have to be derived from food.
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There are some foods that contain all of the essential amino acids required to form the new proteins together with the non-essential amino acids. These foods are called “complete” proteins and are strongly associated with animal products. They are found in meat, fish, shellfish, poultry and dairy products. The proteins that are termed “incomplete” proteins are usually lacking in one or more of the essential amino acids. They are generally found in plant sources, like fruits, vegetables, beans, grains and nuts. However, by combining two or more of the incomplete proteins, a complete supply of essential amino acids becomes available. For example, brown rice and beans will form a complete protein and give the body all the essential amino acids.

Since you are on a path to not eating animal products anymore in an effort to make peace with your digestive system (wave that white flag!), products such as tofu and quinoa are both excellent sources of readily available complete proteins.

It is important to understand that you do not need to create complete proteins in the same meal. Your body will store nutrients and pair them when they are made available.
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See? Easier than you thought, right? It’s also worth acknowledging that we are often told that we need way more protein than we actually do—as in, three or four times as much. In fact, protein deficiency is highly unheard of in developed countries. In contrast to the popular fear of not ingesting enough protein, too
much
protein can actually hurt us, so feel confident knowing that your protein intake, while adopting a plant-based diet, will be just fine.
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Myth: you won’t get enough protein if you don’t eat meat. Fact: if you are eating a plant-based diet, with a lot of variety and attention to good foods, you are definitely getting enough protein.

Percentage of Calories from Protein
(Value Per 100 Grams Edible Portion)

From the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, 2009:

Fruits

Grains

Legumes, Raw

Nuts and Seeds

Vegetables, Raw

Carbohydrates

Oh Atkins, how you’ve messed with our heads. Nowadays, if you ask someone how they plan on shedding a few pounds, most people would reply by cutting back on carbs. Being overweight, or even obese, has been blamed on carbohydrates for far too long. We need to start educating ourselves properly and becoming accountable for our own food choices.

Here’s the truth: we need carbohydrates in order to live. Without them, we would die. Period. I’m not talking about jelly doughnuts or pasta primavera; I’m talking about good ole’ whole grains and fresh fruit. You know—the food that provides us with long-lasting energy and bulk for our stool. Carbohydrates provide us with our energy and fiber, and all carbohydrate sources originate from plants.

There are two types of carbohydrates: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates, when eaten, absorb quickly throughout your blood stream, and cause your pancreas to panic. When it freaks out, it creates a lot of insulin, which is an attempt to bring your glucose levels back to normal. The sugar high comes fast and hard, but once our glucose levels are straightened out by our stressed-out pancreas, we crash. We store the metabolised sugar, and it turns to fat. In short, we go up, we go down, our body wears itself out, and then we put on weight. Simple carbohydrates include anything with refined added sugars, white breads and pastas, confectionaries, candy, alcohol,
etc.
These foods will screw with you.

In his book
In Defense of Food
, Michael Pollan writes, “Deficiency diseases are much easier to trace and treat . . . than chronic diseases, and it turns out that the practice of refining carbohydrates is implicated in several of these chronic diseases as well-diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.”
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In other words, an overabundance of simple sugars can cause health issues so great that they are totally connected to three of the worst chronic diseases that we see far too often in the west.

The reaction to complex carbohydrates is much different. When consumed, they slowly get dispersed throughout our blood stream. This gives us smaller, but steadier amounts of energy to work with. Our pancreas creates less insulin because it does not panic, and that way there is no crash. We metabolize the sugar, and we don’t need to store it. We don’t gain weight. Complex carbohydrates include all sprouted whole grains, and all fruit and vegetables, especially sweeter ones, such as beets, carrots and yams. Eat these; they are not the enemy. The two types of carbohydrates are not created equal. Complex is good, and simple is bad.

Myth: you’ll consume far too many carbohydrates on a plant-based diet. Fact: while carbohydrates do become much more of a focus on this plan, you will be way more educated on what types of carbohydrates are necessary (complex), and which ones are trouble makers (simple). Carbohydrates are completely necessary to pair with other nutritious foods, such as beans and vegetables, in order to create complete proteins. They are also needed for their insoluble fiber to aid in proper elimination.

Finally, we can call carbs our friend. Go on, dance in the street! Shout it to the rooftops!

Fat

Ah, the lubricant of life! This nutrient is really an important one that is very often overlooked or underestimated because of today’s misconceptions of it. Fat is a key component to our diet; you just have to be sure that you are eating the right kind, and of course, the right amount.

There are two different categories of fats: good fats, which are composed of essential fatty acids, such as omega 3, 6, and 9, and bad fats, which include saturated fats and trans-fatty acids. The good fats are what keep our skin glowing, contribute to bowel regularity, and make our hair shiny. Bad fats contribute to clogged arteries, heart disease, and raised cholesterol levels.

Good fats are in foods such as olives, avocados, raw seeds, raw nuts, and coconut. These fats play a vital role in brain function. The term “essential fatty acids” literally means that these fats are essential. We need them. The less refined a fat, the better it is for you.

The trick with fats is to eat a relatively low-fat diet, but that doesn’t mean you should buy products that are advertised as being low in fat, or no-fat. These products are highly processed and in order to make the product edible, a ton of sugar is injected into the product to make up for the fat that was taken out. This goes back to the whole food being better than the sum of its parts. Eat foods that contain good fats in moderation, and eat them in their whole form. Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids should be consumed in a 1:1 ratio, ideally.
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This ratio is achieved easily and naturally when you’re consuming a healthy, varied diet.