What is the best diet? Is a Mediterranean Diet ideal? What about intermittent fasting or a keto diet? I thought it was better to eat several snacks throughout the day to balance blood sugar? What are the best supplements for me to take?
Science has I can make general recommendations about what we know to be generally beneficial to maintain health, prevent inflammation and disease processed. As a Naturopathic Doctor, I can very confidently tell you that I have no idea about the ideal the diet, nor does anyone. Everyone is different genetically, physiologically and have different lifestyle and nutritional factors that will impact them.
Don’t fall for the Cookie Cutter Approach
The good news is that we have the ability to test comprehensive vitamin and nutrient and other physiological markers in your body to assess what’s going on in your system. This can direct the types of foods or nutrient supplements you should be having. It allows us to figure the specifics such as the how much vitamin D we need to take. We can do blood testing to see what foods your body is having a negative response to. We can even analyze the genetic factors that impact your diet. We can identify what types of eating patterns may be best suited for you and what foods you should be avoiding. I cringe when someone asks me if they should “Eat right for their blood type”. We have much better science to rely upon.
Invest in Yourself
We are all aging, some people faster than others. Our lifestyle, diet, supplement and drug choices all have a tremendous impact not only upon our weight but also on longevity and overall quality of life. Taking the time to set yourself up for success may be the single most important investment you ever make. It will determine how you feel in a day, how you show up at work, how you feel interacting with your family and friends and how happily you may show up in the world on any given day.
I recently had a patient who came to me having tried all the diets under the sun. They felt chronically tired and we quickly determined several vitamin deficiencies and food issues. We did injections and supplement therapies and the patient felt better initially while taking things but they were having trouble keeping up with the diet. It wasn’t until we did a genetic profile that they understood “Why”. Why did they have issues with carbohydrate? Why did they have trouble staying motivated on diets? Why was their vitamin D &B12 chronically low? This provided more insight that helped the patient to really understand what was going on and to tease out what were the most important things to focus on to attain their best health.
I’m not telling you that you need to run out and get complete nutritional evaluation or genetic testing. I am however letting you know that when you are not feeling your best, you need to look deeper. A one size fits all approach doesn’t cut it. You need to determine what’s the right plan for you. And, should you ever need help, our team of amazing Naturopathic Doctors are here to hold your hand and help to guide you to find your ideal plan.