Ever since my mom foresaw my love of nutrition and desire to be a dietitian, she would collect all sorts of health related articles and newspaper clips to insure I was on-top of the “latest” wellness talk. And since I just moved from Chicago to Columbus, Ohio, I came across one of these articles pulled from a 2008 Columbus Dispatch newspaper, “Doctor recommends simper eat.”
Yes, it’s slightly bizarre I am sharing a dated write-up but the included Q&A addresses topics that are taking place today, for example gluten free eating. I’ve typed the article below AND included my thoughts as a registered dietitian beneath Dr. Glen Aukerman’s comments.
Enjoy and please share your thoughts!
Q&A
Doctor recommends simpler eating
August 11, 2008
Dr. Glen Aukerman, medical director of the Ohio State University Center for Integrative Medicine, sees patients from throughout the world who are seeking alternative approaches to health care.
“Someday, this probably won’t be called integrative medicine,” said Laura Kunze, program coordinator. “It will just be called medicine — good medicine.”
Aukerman recently answered some questions about nutrition.
Q: You say that eating the wrong types of fruits and vegetables ranks among the biggest mistakes that people make. What should they eat?
A: You need to have fruits and vegetables that are grown locally and harvested locally.
Kelly A: I fully believe in locally grown and harvested fruits and vegetables, but I would ALWAYS recommend consumers to eat any fruits and vegetables rather than not eating any at all.
Q: You say that consuming too much gluten might cause symptoms such as fatigue, dry skin, abdominal pain and difficulties with concentration, among other things.
A: We eat foods with gluten in high levels (which sometimes cause malabsorption and autoimmune diseases). Our ancestors were not able to eat at that level, and we can’t. Because our ancestors did not eat high levels of gluten, most of us do not have the enzymes to break it down. We need to be limiting our wheat, barley, rye and spelt.
Kelly A: I couldn’t agree more. Our society is so caught up in “whole grain” everything that people are eating far too many grains and not enough produce. I have been gluten free for over 6 months and have never felt better. I will also add that I am not replacing whole grain breads and sweets with gluten free products, but I am choosing to eat far more vegetables and fruit in-place of grains.
Q: One of your biggest nutritional concerns involves omega-6 oil. Recent research shows that humans are getting too much of it. In what is it found?
A: The most common example is poultry — because those (animals) are fed corn and they accumulate the corn oil. (It is) also in granola products, tortillas, hummus, chips, all nuts, peanut butter.
Kelly A: The average consumer today is eating a much higher ratio of omega 6 fatty acids to omega 3 fatty acids and this is not consistent with our ancestors. For an explanation of an omega 6 to omega 3 ratio click here. Omega 6 fatty acids are commonly found in snack foods, crackers, and sweets. To improve your omega 3 to omega 6 ratio include more fruits and vegetables in your diet daily.
Q: Why are artificial sweeteners bad?
A: We can’t burn them, so they have to be detoxed like a chemical by our liver. Rat experiments show that, if we put rats on artificial sweeteners, they can gain more weight than if they’re eating real sugar.
Kelly A: I am not the biggest fan of man made food and I recommend that if you are not diabetic, you should make room in your calorie budget for regular sugar instead of sugar substitutes. And that is only if you choose to eat sweets at all.
Q: What should people start eating that they don’t eat — and why?
A: They should be eating lamb, pork or beef; omega-3 eggs; wild salmon; fruits and vegetables in season, frozen or canned; and rice products. Limit the corn products because of the corn oil. We advocate a diet that’s fairly simple.
Kelly A: I agree with the above mentioned foods yet I would add nuts and seeds. A few favorites are almonds, pecans and pumpkin seeds. I want to highlight that peanuts are a legume and legumes were introduced the human diet much after nuts.
Q: What are some of the most intriguing results that your patients have had?
A: We have had (older) couples go on it (a simpler diet). In six months, they’re not getting up to go to the bathroom. And in another three months, they claim their sexual appetites are what they were at 17.
Q: Walk me through a typical day of eating for you.
A: Rice (cereal) or a non-instant oatmeal; or a cornflake breakfast with either yogurt or milk on it; or some fruit that’s regional, seasonal, canned or frozen.
My lunch will sometimes be a baked potato with some broccoli and real sour cream, and an apple or a peach or a pear or some canned or frozen fruit.
And then my dinner will usually be similar, whether it’s lamb, beef, pork or beans. I may go rice and beans with some fruits and vegetables.
Kelly A: I’ve blogged a 5 day food log about a month ago. Click here to begin viewing with day 1.
Q: You noted a study showing that people who eat cornflakes or rice cereals for two meals a day are healthier by about 50 percent.
A: Yes, the Spanish School Nutrition study indicates we eat way too complex.We think variety is more important than it is for health.
Q: What Web sites do you recommend checking when creating a personalized nutrition plan?
A: efaeducation.nih.gov, www.nutritiondata.com and www.mypyramid.gov.
Kelly A: I love reading articles from whfoods.com and I love using the diet tools on fitday.com.
Dr. Glen Aukerman is the doctor I see for my cancer. I never had the surgery and radiation recommended by my “surgeon” (who is kind enough to follow me with ultrasound and physical exams). Dr. Aukerman would never say to ignore the advice of your other doctors, by the way. He sees his program as what you should do as you follow the advice of the oncologist, etc.
Anyway, it’s been two years since my original diagnosis. My PET scan in March was “clean,” but I do think the cancer is still present. My biopsy identified invasive lobular carcinoma, which is notoriously difficult to see regardless of imaging method, but still, we have been able to see the original tumor disappear and the blackened lymph nodes become “fatty replaced,” and it’s clear that the cancer is at least retreating.
While I take more supplements in addition to the ones Dr. Aukerman prescribes (calcium carbonate, magnesium oxide, cinnamomum cassia, D3, multivitamin, fish oil), I do credit his regimen with the majority of my success.