Nutrition Education, The first phase in the fight against Obesity

By Charles Barnard

Everyone knows that obesity has many contributing factors. Like many things if you want to understand the causes and therefore the solutions to obesity we need to keep everything simple. There really are three over-arching factors that are within people’s control that will enable them to understand both why they have become obese and what they can do about it. The source of both the causes and solutions can be found by looking in the mirror. Every individual struggling with weight issues must take responsibility for where they are at. You cannot solve the problem if you are blaming others. Get educated and take action!

The three principle factors causing obesity involve your diet, exercise, and psychological factors. If you want to lose weight you really need to address all three. In this article we will focus on the first of the three key factors, diet.

Nutrition, diet, and obesity

Our excessive weight has made Americans obsessed with diets and dieting. We spend billions of dollars annually on diet plans and diet products as well as nutritional supplements, herbal remedies, vegetarian products, and organically grown foods. Whether you are technically obese or simply over-weight the simple answer is to consume fewer calories than you burn in a given day if you want to lose weight and consume the same amount of calories as you burn if you want to maintain your weight. When done over time you will either lose weight or maintain your healthy weight. Of course it isn’t just about how much you eat, but it is also what and when you eat that matters. The good news is the principles for having a good, healthy diet are fairly straight forward. The challenge is following through with the plan and maintaining self-discipline.

Wrong Goals for Diet Researchers

Dr. Roy L. Walford, author of Maximum Life Span, in part blames current obesity problems on nutrition education, which has been greatly influenced by an inappropriate research focus from most nutritional scientists, such as members of the American Dietary Association, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Agriculture, and American Society of Nutrition. For some reason these scientists have focused for years on optimizing both maximum growth rate and ultimate body size. Both maximum growth rate and ultimate body size reduce life span potential and increase the frequency and number of diseases. It most certainly can be argued that the focus in research of those scientists has led to an understanding of nutrition that has unintentionally led to obesity problems. The nutrition education that comes from that research has done an injustice to generations of children.

There is plenty of research from America, Europe, and Asia that indicates the only known way to increase life span and improve health is through under-nutrition. To achieve the goal of increased life-span and improved health there are many nutritional approaches. Among all of them though there are some unifying principles that should be acknowledged.

Nutritional Principles for Longevity and Health

If you glean out all the details in the numerous diet and nutritional information you can discover some basic principles. It doesn’t matter if you are interested in Natural Hygiene, Ayurvedic, Atkins diet, or a host of other diets the basic principles are the same and you can apply them on your own.

There are a great deal of details you should educate yourself on, so you can adopt a practical nutritional approach to maximize your health and well-being. Nutrition education should give you the tools to maintain a healthy weight and allow your body to fight diseases, so you can live a long, active, and disease free life. Your eating habits are an important link to that goal.

The Principles

The diet programs we have researched have four foundational principles. The four nutrition education principles are: 1) what you consume 2) food combinations 3) time you eat 4) and moderation. They are all important to be in control of. When you understand the foundation and then become knowledgeable about specific nutritional details you will be in position to adopt a practical, life-changing, approach to your diet.

The food you actually eat makes a difference!

The human body is made up of minerals. To maintain health everyone needs to have vitamins and minerals in their diet. Nutrients that will fight free radicals are another necessity. Many people believe that the Western world’s current lifestyle and industrialization have caused an increase of free radicals in our bodies. While free radicals have increased, natural free radical destroying antioxidants have become more scarce in our diets and preventative medical care. Improving your personal nutrition education is one important factor to battling this particular health issue. Symptoms of aging like wrinkling skin, graying hair, hearing loss, eyesight degeneration, have all been connected to the presence of free radicals and or mineral deficiencies in your body. These same deficiencies in our diet have been connected to killers like heart disease and cancer. You need to consume over 90 nutrients to maintain you ideal health. These minerals, vitamins, amino acids, and fatty acids we need have traditionally come from plant sources.

We want to get these 90 nutrients as well as antioxidants into our system when we eat. If we aren’t getting those through our regular diet than we should take supplements to get them. You will find lots of information about “super” foods high in antioxidants. Antioxidants fight free radicals, which cause damage to our cells, so you will need antioxidants in your diet. You will need to become educated about what you eat and how you can get these nutrients.

It is important to get antioxidants and all the other nutrients into your diet preferably by eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. A good goal is to have 2/3 of your diet fruits and vegetables. Beyond those nutrients current research has discovered an amazing molecule in your body that allow antioxidants and other nutrients to do their job. These redox signaling molecules are naturally produced by our cells, but because our cells are under stress the production of these molecules can be negatively influenced. It is possible to supplement your natural production of these molecules and you will want to learn more about that life-changing breakthrough.

By having your diet about 2/3 fruits and vegetables you will be eating foods that are high in nutrient rich water. We need water; our bodies are about 2/3 water and we benefit by having plenty of water in the very foods we eat. It would be best if the fruits and vegetables were organically grown and eaten raw or lightly steamed. When we cook vegetables many important enzymes are destroyed. It is best to lightly steam them to maintain the best nutritional value.

The nutrient rich water found in the fruits and vegetables benefit us in ways we never knew previously. Scientists are discovering new benefits all the time. We can conclude that eating plants in their natural form will more likely enable us to get all the nutritional benefits from our food that God intended. Additionally, we observe that cultures with diets consisting mostly of fruits and vegetables typically do not have extensive obesity problems or even very many people who are regularly seeking help to lose weight.

Good nutrition education will educate you on the value of eating whole grains. Bread has been a staple of healthy eating in every culture throughout history. Jesus made numerous references relating the word of God to the bread for the soul. Ancient breads were made from whole grains. When buying bread buy whole grain bread or learn to make it yourself. Eating bread does come with a warning however. Many, if not most, commercially made breads, even whole wheat bread, is converted into sugar in our bodies. Sugar is not something we want lots of in our bodies. There are breads that are better than others. Learning which ones is important. Also, if you follow principle number 4 you will be in good shape.

Combining Foods

Proper food combining is a nutritional principle that has had its share of controversy. Our digestive system uses two types of digestive juices to digest its food. Acids and bases are used to digest proteins and starches. Many of our typical meals are a combination of starches and proteins. When they are both consumed our bodies must concentrate on digesting one before the other. The food not being immediately digested tends to rot in our stomachs and causes gas. Antacids are one of the highest selling pharmaceutical products in this country. If people would eat properly the need for these remedies would be drastically reduced.

Poor digestion contributes to disease. We should avoid meals that combine starches and proteins – meat and potato meals. Some people are affected to a greater extent than others are. Ayurevedic traditions tell us there are three basic body types. One of the descriptors for each type deals with their ability to digest food. Some people have a strong digestive system. They would be less susceptible to digestive problems associated with improper food combining.

Properly combining the four tastes, sweet, sour, bitter, and salt, is what Ayureveda teaches. According to that tradition if we are not properly balancing and combining foods with these tastes people can develop diseases or health problems. The principle of proper food combining then should include becoming more aware of what happens to your body when eating starches and proteins together as well as how you include balancing tastes amongst these food categories.

The proper consumption of fruit is a sub-category of proper food combining. Due to its high water content and important nutrients and antioxidants fruit is one of the great nutritional gifts we have. It quickly passes through the stomach and into the intestines where most of its digestion should occur. Indigestion after eating fruit is common for many people. One of the general causes for that symptom is that the fruit is probably not eaten on an empty stomach. The reason fruit should be eaten on an empty stomach is it breaks down quickly and wants to pass through the intestines. When other food is in the stomach the fruit can’t pass through quickly and tends to decay causing gas and indigestion. A history of rotting food in a person’s digestive system creates a condition for diseases to develop. Fruit is best eaten in the morning hours or as snack food not as an appetizer or dessert.

As an educated individual you do need to recognize that research is showing that we need to eat more often and have protein with every meal. Also, we are learning that carbohydrates are best consumed after physical activity not before and not with protein. Now, if we are to watch how we combine foods and have protein, fruits, and or vegetables with every meal some common sense needs to be applied.

Pay attention to what happens in your body when you combe carbohydrates and lean proteins. If you find it causes gas and indigestion do not eat protein with that meal. Instead get it later or possibly in a different form. We would also suggest you be sure you eat fruit on an empty stomach and in about 15 minutes have a more substantial meal. Pay attention to what your eating habits are and how you feel after eating. Experiment. Traditional nutrition education doesn’t teach this.

When to eat

When you eat does matter to your health and in managing your weight. Two potentially competing thoughts are evident here. The first is that we need to eat approximately every three hours we are awake including before bed time if you are hungry. The other thought is built on the knowledge that our bodies go through three cycles, digestion, elimination, and utilization. The concept is eating while our bodies are trying to eliminate wastes prevents our bodies from doing that efficiently, which can lead to a build up of waste in the body and the onset of disease and excess weight. If we look closely at these concepts be can certainly accommodate the principles behind them by not eating too late at night (generally after 8 pm) or too early in the morning (generally not before 8 am), unless it is fresh fruit.

As you continue to educate yourself with any one of the recommended courses at Physical Education Institute it is important to remember these general principles are guidelines. Some nutrition experts say you should expect to break the rules 10% of the time. We feel a more realistic expectation would be 20% of the time with 10% being the goal to shoot for. If you break the “rules” 20% of the time you will still have, in all probability, improved your health. This is nutrition education that should be taught to our school children.

Moderation

The principle of moderation is extremely important to nutrition education, as it is to many things in life. It certainly applies to our eating habits. It is very important to not over eat. Food can be so enjoyable it can be hard to eat in moderation for many people. If you can simply apply this one principle the results from this alone would be dramatic for most people who are challenged with managing their weight or fighting obesity. Moderation does mean watching what you eat and how much you eat. You can eat “junk” foods in moderation. You also need to watch the quantities you eat, especially if you begin to eat more often. The number of calories you consume does impact your weight so you do need to be wary of calories. Being wary of calories does not mean you necessarily have to weigh out all the foods you eat and measure your caloric intake. You should become aware of the calories you consume.

These principles are been gleaned from numerous books on diet and nutrition. They are guidelines rather than hard and fast rules. Adopting these guidelines and furthering your nutrition education will ensure you are doing what is necessary to take control of your own health. Develop the mindset of a scientist and experiment with these principles. Learn to take good notes on what happens with your body as you apply them, so you can make adjustments to maintain your well-being!

Get more resources on obesity.. Free reprint available from: Nutrition Education, The first phase in the fight against Obesity.

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