Health from the Bottom Up!
Recently I asked friends and family what they thought were the most important foundations of nutritional health? They reflected and pretty much everyone came up with diet and hydration. Basically they felt if you are eating healthy foods and drinking water you are all set. Those foundations are a good start but not the whole picture. There are six individual foundations of nutritional health, however they must be present together for optimal health and function at both the cellular and whole body level.
6 Foundations of Health
Eating properly prepared, nutrient dense whole foods is one of the most important steps you can take to establish a solid nutritional foundation
Digestion is fundamental to nutritional therapy. Every cell in the body depends on the digestive system to provide nutrients to support structure and function.
Maintaining stable blood sugar is important to provide a steady source of energy, reduce stress on our body and keep hormonal balance in digestion, sexual function and stress response.
Healthy fats are needed for optimal health. Fats are like the slow burning logs on the fire that is our metabolism.
Hydration - Water transports nutrients and delivers oxygen to cells, regulates body temperature, lubricates joints, maintains electrical properties of cells, enables digestion, removes wastes, flushes toxins and enables cellular hydration.
There is no one-sized all diet that is perfect for everyone, and it is essential to tailor nutrition to the unique bio-individual needs of every client.
(NUTRITIONAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION [NTA] 2020
Digestion and Blood Sugar
Eating whole high quality foods from a variety of sources is important. These foods contain vitamins and minerals our cells need to perform all metabolic processes without which we would suffer from deficiencies. Not only must we ingest these nutrients but we need to absorb them. You really are not what you eat but what you absorb. The absorption of these nutrients happens in the digestion system. Digestion is a north to south process starting in the brain so if something is off at the beginning of digestion it will affect the whole system leading to heartburn, gas, bloating and lack of nutrient absorption. The digestive system needs a balance of the macro nutrients fat, protein and carbs to properly function. A diet low in protein can affect stomach acid quantity, a diet low in fat can hinder bile production and a diet low in fiber can slow gut motility and not feed the microbiome needed for optimal health.
Our body’s main goal is to keep homeostasis or balance within all systems and processes. Blood sugar regulation is a nutritional foundation because balanced blood sugar is required for us to maintain health. Ideally our blood sugar is kept constant, best done by eating frequent balanced meals. We will have a steady source of energy, feel awake, mentally clear and have lots of energy. If we do not do this but instead eat intermittently and then choose highly processed carbs or greasy foods blood sugar spikes. Since our body likes homeostasis it will react to immediately bring down that sugar spike. If we develop a pattern of eating like this our body becomes stressed and inefficient at sugar handling leading to cravings, irritability, lack of energy, sleepiness and shakiness. This is not to say that carbs are bad! Remember we need all 3 macros (carbs, fat and proteins) in balance and carbs should be whole food mostly fruits and vegetables.
Why Healthy Fats?
Eating high quality fats is a basic fundamental of nutrition. Fats keep us feeling satisfied, keep our digestive process moving by keeping our bile from getting stuck and sludgy, are necessary to absorb fat soluble vitamins like A and D, and make up cell membranes and hormones. Healthy cell membranes keep out toxins and prevent oxidation causing aging and inflammation. If we eat the right balance of healthy fats we can keep ourselves fuller longer and slow digestion curbing blood sugar spikes. Have you ever tried snacking on low fat foods and just never feel satisfied? Your body is telling you it needs more fats. Unfortunately years of diet culture have led many to fear fats and avoid them. Try adding small amounts of healthy fats like avocado, coconut oil or nut butters to your meals.
Two fatty acids are essential to our health as our body cannot produce them - Omega 6 and Omega 3 - both needed to produce hormone like substances needed to fight inflammation at the cellular level. Diets are often deficient in Omega 3 derived from cold water fish, chia and flaxseed.
Hydration and Mineral Balance
The last two foundations are hydration and minerals. Water is important to every tissue and process in our body. If we do not drink enough water we cannot make enough stomach acid leading to poor digestion, but we also need to be hydrated with the right balance of electrolytes. Electrolytes are the minerals in water that allow water to enter in and out of our bodies cells. If we are dehydrated even a bit we can’t get necessary nutrients into cells and waste out. This also leads to inflammation and aging. Adding a pinch of sea salt to your H20 is a great electrolyte boost!
Mineral balance affects all aspects of our overall health. They act as cofactors or helpers in almost every metabolic process. We cannot make them so we have to eat them from you guessed it a varied, nutrient dense diet of whole foods. And yes we must absorb them in the digestive process. Minerals like Zinc produce stomach acid, Iodine is necessary for thyroid function, Iron forms hemoglobin and magnesium relaxes muscles and helps cells transfer nutrients. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in human body responsible for bone, teeth, muscle contraction and neurotransmitters across cells. Calcium is only absorbed in a high acid environment - so a healthy digestive process with enough stomach acid is critical and proper hydration needed to have enough fluid in the blood to transfer calcium to our tissues.
Did you know? Most of us get more Calcium than we need in our diet. Calcium deficiency is caused by lack of absorption not lack of ingestion. Absorption is decreased by dehydration, digestive dysfunction, vitamin and other mineral deficiencies, fatty acids and hormone function.
5 Things You Can Do to Build a Strong Nutritional Foundation
Whew… information overload!
Bottom line here is what you can do to provide a solid nutritional foundation for you body:
1 - Eat the rainbow - lots of veggies and fruits
2 - Eat a variety of different foods - some raw and some cooked
3 - Eat a balance of all macronutrients - fat/carbs/protein at each meal - contact me at info@kristindepalma.com for a helpful macro balancing quiz sent to your inbox
4 - Eat healthy fats - for more info visit
https://nutritionaltherapy.com/difference-between-saturated-and-unsaturated-fats-are-fats-good-or-bad/
5 - Drink water at the right times - visit my instagram for hydration and lots of other tips!
References:
Nutritional Therapy Association. (2020) Basics of Nutrition Student Guide [PDF document].
Retrieved from:https://nutritionaltherapy.instructure.com/courses/148/pages/4-dot-3-%7C-core-reading-bon?module_item_id=2761
