I’m sure, if you are of a certain age, you’ve heard the saying that the key to man’s heart is through his stomach. And of course, back in the day, what it suggested was that if you wanted a man to fall in love with you and to have a happy marriage, you better be a good cook! Of course, that was back when women were housewives and men brought home the processed bacon. (You know, during in prehistoric times when gender rules were clearly defined.) Good luck with that now! So many women don’t cook for themselves, much less for a man, (or any other significant other) but we will save that for another day. (The benefits of cooking for yourself part, that is.)
The important thing to note here is that literally; the key to men and women’s hearts could actually be through their stomach! But, not just the key to our hearts; the key to our health. If you read my last post, it was about the benefits of fermented foods. If you didn’t read it, please do and tell like 3,000 of your friends. The true topic was really about gut health and how fermented foods can improve your microbiome, and as a result, your health! So, it was perfect timing that my newest collaborator and guest poster, John (Jay) Washington, mentioned that his next guest post would be about gut health and this new program he was trying out. Jay’s post is below, and I would like to thank him for sharing this valuable information and his experience with my readers!
Food as Medicine and Promoting a Healthy Gut
I just finished a lifestyle program that focused on healing my gut. The program, Betr Health, was recommended by my health insurer, Blue Shield, and as a member it was free of charge. The program came with a coach for one month (Phase I of the program) and a cool digital scale that was synched to the Betr Health app that I downloaded on my smart phone and desktop. The app provides a 4-day trend of key metrics – weight, food, water, sleep, activity, steps, bowel movements, blood pressure and mental health – to see what effect healing my gut and losing weight has on my body.
Although I live in southern California, my coach on Long Island in New York could see and comment on the meals that I ate after daily uploads of pictures of my meals to the app. She also rigorously reviewed the other data for any inconsistencies with weight loss and gains. Her tips and suggestions helped me to stay on track to lose about 20 lbs over the course of the month by limiting foods to those on the Phase I Food List. As a result, I am feeling better than ever and down to a weight on the scale that I haven’t seen in years.
The list of approved Level I foods seemed to me to be manageable for a month. Most of them are foods that I liked and some that I tried new and also liked. Plus the program was advertised as having the ability to improve blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugars. All of these benefits would come by sticking to the list of recommended foods that helped reset my gut biome and reduce inflammation. Weight loss came quickly and effortlessly for me during the month. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) suggests that even a modest weight loss of 5 to 10 percent of your total body weight produces these kinds of results. Losing 20 pounds, I brought my weight down to 185 pounds, a 10 percent weight loss.
The process wasn’t bad either. I ate as much as I wanted but kept my dinner plate to 75 percent veggies and 25 percent protein. I could go back for 2nds or even 3rds as long as I kept the ratios the same. I was coached to eat about 70% of my meals raw which I took care of by having a salad for lunch and a couple of pieces of fruit and/or nuts as snacks. Breakfast could be skipped altogether, but I usually had fruit and protein such as a hard-boiled egg. I began to notice more energy and a reduction of cravings of foods, in my case, such as sugar and bad fats.
It’s been amazing to learn what goes on in our stomachs when it is processing foods to heal and fuel our bodies. Whole unprocessed foods in the right combinations of carbohydrates, protein, and fats are best. This way of eating promotes an inflammation-free body. The foods we eat are significant contributors to the inflammatory process because our bodies haven’t evolved to process some of the foods we now consume.
According to the Department of Agriculture, processed foods are any raw agricultural commodities that have been washed, cleaned, milled, cut, chopped, heated, pasteurized, blanched, cooked, canned, frozen, dried, dehydrated, mixed or packaged — anything done to them that alters their natural state. This may include adding preservatives, flavors, nutrients and other food additives, or substances approved for use in food products, such as salt, sugars and fats. The processing of foods strips away the nutritional value. It renders little value to the body and causes inflammation.
Processed foods can cause inflammation because it alters the trillions of good and bad bacteria in our guts. That alteration has the ability interact with our immune system and eventually triggers it in a way that leads to chronic inflammation. Your immune system becomes activated when your body recognizes anything that is foreign and attacks it. In most cases, this is what protects our bodies from harmful foreign invaders. However, sometimes inflammation persists, day in and day out, even when you are not threatened by a foreign invader. That’s when inflammation becomes your enemy. Many major diseases have been linked to chronic inflammation.
In Phase II of the program, I gradually re-introduced foods a day at a time to see what affect it had on my body. If there was any distress like gas, bloating, bellyaches, headaches or the like, I omitted that food from my diet to ensure that I was maintaining a calm, balanced and healthy gut. After a few days of this exercise I became very in touch with my body and began to notice what was good for me to eat. My energy level went into high gear and my mental outlook became clearer and more focused.
Phase III of the program is maintenance. It’s been easy to maintain my new lifestyle now that I know how my body feels when it is in balance from eating whole nutritious foods, drinking plenty of water and exercising. I’m eagerly looking forward to getting an A1C test that will measure my blood sugar level over a 3-month period. Since my major goal in starting the program was to see if I could reverse my A1C test results from pre-diabetic to normal, I set up a blood test for May. I’m totally committed to staying on this path so that I can tell you that it’s been a success!