Western culture is so focused on calories. If you consume a low number of calories, you are healthy, and if you consume a high number, you are unhealthy. This is a frustratingly reductionist view of a healthy diet.
- Where are those calories coming from?
- What effect does that have on your body?
- What about the nutrition your body needs to function?
Nutrients are building blocks of healthy living used to repair tissues, fight illness, make enzymes and all the other processes your body takes care of. So, instead of focusing on calorie counting, I suggest focusing on nutrient density if you want to be healthy.
What is nutrient density?
Nutrient-dense food is full of what the body needs to function optimally. It doesn’t just fill your stomach, it supports bodily processes. Your body can’t do what it needs to do without protein, fat, fibre, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and more.
Food can seem good but be nothing of the sort—or may even be the complete opposite. For example, a lot of my patients find that gluten triggers their autoimmune disease symptoms. So they cut it out. However, that doesn’t mean they should shop in the supermarket’s ‘Free-From’ aisle. Commercial gluten-free bread is hyper-processed and full of chemicals and sugar, which will mess with blood sugar and energy levels throughout the day. It’s just empty calories that satiate hunger for a couple of hours but don’t contribute towards health and wellbeing.
They would be much better off doing what I do – making their own bread. Mine is full of 6 or 7 different seeds and nuts, giving me the variety and quality of nutrients my body needs without any of the harmful stuff. As a blanket rule, processed food isn’t nutrient-dense (even if labelled as low calorie, low fat, low sugar or some other health-related term), so learn to cook your favourite foods at home.
Cutting things out, calories or gluten doesn’t automatically make you healthy. Choosing healthy and unprocessed alternatives takes practice and can take a while to get used to.
What function does it have in health?
That’s what I want you to ask yourself when deciding what to eat. From a Functional Medicine perspective, we don’t look at calories when creating a food plan. We look at the functions of different foods and how they will support a patient’s health according to their health history and health status defined by nutritional testing.
So how do we decide what to put in and what to take out? We identify the root cause of problems (such as inflammation due to a food sensitivity) and tailor a diet to resolve inflammation, heal the gut and support the immune system to function normally. In that way, we use food as medicine. By choosing the right foods for the person, we can support their body to function in a natural, sustainable way.
What does a healthy diet include?
- Healthy fats – Fat is an essential building block in the body. It’s involved in hormone production, formation of new cells and also contains many of the essential vitamins we need for health.
- Protein – As well as building muscles and other cells, protein is also essential for the creation of enzymes. These are key players in all the chemical reactions in the body, such as metabolism and detoxification.
- Fibre – This feeds the healthy bacteria of the microbiome and helps to keep the gut moving.
- Carbohydrates – While low-calorie diets may avoid them, carbohydrates are a great source of energy. Focus on a wide variety of fruits alongside starchy and non-starchy vegetables. If choosing grains, choose gluten-free wholegrains such as rice and oats.
- Colour – Naturally brightly-coloured foods like blueberries and peppers contain polyphenols, which are part of your defence mechanism against serious health conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases.
As you can see, your body needs a wide variety of foods to fuel the various processes that keep you alive, healthy and feeling good. If you get enough of the right foods, the body and avoid food that disrupts bodily processes (such as processed foods full of refined sugar), it will help the body work better and stay well.
What about vegan and vegetarian diets?
Committing to a vegan or vegetarian diet is the best way to get nutrients because it’s full of fruits and vegetables, right? Well, it’s not perfect. There are still a lot of empty calories that are vegan and vegetarian and ultra-processed vegan diets can still cause health problems. You can’t rely on pasta and toast for all the nourishment you need!
The biggest problems are the reduced options for protein and lack of other key nutrients. Vegans need to work hard to get a good mix of pulses, nuts and seeds to get enough complete protein for vibrant health. Also, if you are eating a fully plant-based diet with no eggs or dairy, it’s impossible to get enough vitamin B12. A good quality supplement will fill the gap or, if you feel up for it, eat a mostly plant-based diet with a bit of animal protein from good quality meat, fish, eggs and dairy (if you can tolerate it). Even if it’s just re-introducing eggs sourced from your neighbour’s happy chickens, it can make a real difference to your overall nutritional sufficiency.
How we approach nutrient density for patients on plant-based diets depends on their motivation, whether it’s animal protection, environmental protection or health reasons. We work with our patients’ beliefs and what feels right to them.
By focusing on nutrient density, my patients have achieved astounding transformations. Some of our patients were really unwell with chronic conditions that traditional treatments hadn’t been able to improve. They have made significant progress by looking at their diet, focusing on foods that nourish them and restricting food that triggers symptoms. Whether you are dealing with an autoimmune disease or want to feel healthier and more energised, think nutrient-density, not calories.
That being said, the Functional Nexus team can’t give you a perfect diet plan of precisely what you should be eating because that is unique to you. It is reliant on your beliefs, preferences, health status, health history and nutritional testing. To formulate your bespoke nutrient-dense diet, join our Functional Health Clinic or sign up for our group programme, the Functional Foundation.
Join the wait list HERE for the next Functional Foundation Programme to rebalance your health and lifestyle.
If you feel you need more in-depth support, book a conversation with our team HERE to discuss your needs, and we can help with your next steps.
