003 - Which Diet Is Best For You?

Hey friends! Welcome to episode 3 of the HF podcast! Today we are going to be talking all about food! So, grab yourself a healthy snack, and let’s get into it!

Have you ever thought to yourself… “What am I supposed to eat?”, “ Which diet is best? Low carb, Paleo, Keto, Zone, Mediterranean, Vegan?”, “Why are there so many choices?” 

I think most of us have had those questions - I know I have! When I was first starting out in my health journey, I was constantly searching for the “best” this and that. This especially seems to be an issue for those of us who are a little more “type A” and need to know the exact list of dos and don’ts to achieve the perfect results!  I also think it’s natural to look at what other people are doing and assume that if it works for them, then surely it will work for me too! 

Well, today I want to talk to you about why I think that there isn’t a “perfect, one-size-fits-all” diet out there and why I actually believe that trying to have everyone eat the exact same way could do more harm than good. 

Now, having said that, let me be clear - there are general guidelines that are helpful for most people (find my free Kitchen Makeover Guide here). Things like eating leafy greens, drinking water, reducing inflammatory foods like sugar and processed junk foods - most everyone benefits from those types of things. What I’m really talking about today is the more specific kind of guidelines, like “everyone should eat this many grams of carbs, but only after 10 am” or “all women would feel better if they eat very low carbs and high protein”. 

Bio-individuality

We are all INDIVIDUALS! We have different blood types, different activity levels, different stress levels, different ethnic backgrounds, different levels of emotional health. We are all different and these differences have an effect on how our bodies function optimally! This is called Bio-individuality. 

There can’t be a healthy “perfect, one-size-fits-all” diet for everyone, because each individual person has a genetic makeup, specific to them and therefore will respond to a “diet” or way of eating differently than someone else. We are all far to individualistic to all thrive by eating the exact same foods! 

Let me give you an example: two women, about the same age and size, decide to try a raw food, vegan diet. They meet up after a few weeks to check in with each other and realize that they are responding to the exact same way of eating and the exact same kinds of foods completely differently! One of them is feeling great, with a clear mind and high energy, and losing weight, but the other is feeling awful, with a major case of brain fog, low energy, she has a continual dull headache, and hasn’t lost any weight at all! How could this be? Isn’t eating vegan healthy? Shouldn’t they both feel great? 

If we look a little closer at each of these women, we then see that while they may have a lot of similarities, they also have major differences! They have different blood types - one is A+ and the other O-. They also have different ethnic backgrounds - one has Indian ancestors and the other European.  These factors (plus many more) play a huge role in how their bodies are digesting and metabolizing food and as a result, how they feel after eating certain foods or going without certain foods, like meat and other animal products.

I’m sure a lot of you have had this same experience! You go on a new diet with a friend of yours and one of you does amazing, loses weight, feels awesome and the other… not so much! 

This concept of bio-individuality can actually provide us with a lot of freedom! I believe that our bodies were created with a God-given intelligence to know how to function optimally. Think about it - you don’t need to remind your heart to pump or your lungs to breathe, and you don’t have to guide your body through the process of digesting your lunch - it just does it! It was created to know how! I think the same can be true when it comes to knowing how we should be eating for our unique bodies. Unfortunately, I think this innate understanding often gets silenced and crowded out by things like marketing and let’s be honest… by the comparison game! How many times have you scrolled through Instagram or Facebook, seen that someone has lost weight or gotten really fit by using the latest trendy diet or weight loss product and thought, “that’s what I need!”? (By the way, those things aren’t all bad! Sometimes they provide the tools and motivation that a person needs to start to make changes in their health!). The issue is that without taking the time to educate yourself on what is actually healthy versus just trendy, and even more than that, what is healthy FOR YOU, you may be unknowingly sabotaging yourself!

TIPS 

So, now that I’ve burst your bubble and said that there is no “one-size-fits-all, perfect” way to eat, I want to leave you with a few simple tips for discovering what is best for your body!

• Start with the basics 

  Those general guidelines that I referred to earlier. Things like not eating artificial and processed junk foods, eating more whole fruits and vegetables, clean protein sources and drinking more water. As I mentioned, I have a fun little freebie download for you guys that outlines what kinds of foods we should have in our kitchen and the ones we need to just go ahead and get out of there! 

• Consider your unique circumstances

  • Blood Type and Ancestry

    Your blood type and ancestry can give you an idea of how your body can handle certain types of foods like meat. For example, Blood Type O has shorter intestines better designed to digest meat faster – they do better with red meat. Those with Blood Type B don't process chicken well and should choose other types of protein when possible. And then Blood Type A folks extract protein much better out of vegetarian sources than the other blood types. (If you want to know more about eating for your blood type, here is a cool 5-min video by Food As Medicine TV (What Our Blood Types Can Tell Us.)

  • Stress Levels

    The more stress we have, the less digestive work our bodies can do. So for example, eating well-cooked, balanced meals we need with clean animal protein and complex carbohydrates like root vegetables can be used stabilizing anchor. During times of extreme stress, raw food diets and juice cleanses can further exacerbate health issues and delay healing. Stress has a huge effect on our health and we need to do everything we can to reduce it but to also support our bodies during times that it’s unavoidable. 

  • Medical Issues 

    If you are struggling with a specific medical diagnosis or a complex health issue, for example diabetes, hormonal imbalance diseases, thyroid diseases,  you need to work with a professional that is experienced and trained in how different foods affect the body and are knowledgeable about how to safely do an elimination diet or change your way of eating (this is in addition to your PCP). You will save yourself a lot of time and effort by reaching out for support and not trying to just take a shot in the dark. 

• Keep a food journal for 30 days 

  Please hear me say this! I am not talking about a calorie tracking journal or tracking macros. Those things have their place, but that’s not where I want to focus for now. What I would like for you to do is to keep a journal/log of what you eat and how you feel - both while you were eating and how you feel in the hour after you ate. This practice will not only shed a lot of light on how specific foods make you feel but will also help you to get in the practice of listening to your body! Remember that everyone will respond differently, even to healthy foods!. You are the only one who can listen to your body and know how it makes you feel. 

Friends, there is no easy button or hack when it comes to our health. It is a process and it takes time and intentionality, but it is so worth it and you will feel so much better for it! 

Thank you so much for being here with me today and taking the time to listen. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or feel like you need some extra support in this area! I’d love to help!