What’s In Food Matters

Hello, welcome. You’re listening to Dr. Martha Reid at Doctor’s Choice Integrative Medicine in Downtown Vancouver, a space where I bring passion, inspiration and nourishment to the conversation of your health.

So, one of the things I’d like to speak to today is what is in our food and why what’s in our food matters.

You may have heard one of the other episodes that I did, and it talked about there not being any one right diet. And I think that that is absolutely 100% true. You know, our food relationship is shaped by so many different factors. It’s shaped by family history. It’s shaped by celebrations. It’s shaped for some of us by religion, it’s definitely shaped by emotions. It’s shaped by our sense of autonomy, culture, marketing, texture, finances. So many things impact our relationship to food.

And so that’s why I truly believe that there is no one right diet. Obviously, as human beings, we are all the same animal, so to speak. So we have all the same basic foundational needs with respect to food. We all need protein, fats, carbohydrates. Those are our macros, as people call them. We also need our vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. These are what we call microbes. Well, how you get these various things can be quite different. So, for example, some people are vegan. They get their protein from plant foods, other people are carnivores and they get them from animal foods. Some people are pescatarian and they get their protein from seafoods, right? And other things. So there’s all sorts of different ways in which we can meet these building block needs, so to speak.

But our relationship to food is sacred and totally individual. So there’s no real right diet. But once you get the diet that is right for you, balancing your macronutrient need, so protein, carb, fat, balancing your micronutrients, your vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, making sure you’re getting enough fibre and good clean water, ensuring that you’re in a parasympathetic nervous system state to properly digest and absorb your food and all of those things happening, then you may have what’s called the “right diet for you”. But is there anything else to consider in that?

Well, what’s in our food is of great importance for many of us.

We don’t grow all our own food anymore in the patch outside the back kitchen door. We go to the grocery store that delivers our food to us. Well, what’s in that food? Where was that food grown? Is it local in terms of produce? Is it local produce? So was it picked close to the time of it being ripe if it’s local? It’s more likely to have been picked close to the time of being ripe. Or was it picked off the vine or pulled out of the Earth and then shipped from a plot of land to a warehouse to be inventoried to be sent, then to an airport to get through customs, to then get shipped across the globe, to get through our customs, to then get inventory, to then get shipped to a warehouse, to then get distributed to stores, to then get inventory, to then get unpacked and get stocked. And I don’t want a bruised kiwi or bruised tomato or mushy strawberries. So how early, potentially, were these foods picked before I’m eating them? And do those foods then have the same level of nutrient density, so to speak? Opposed to food that I just picked right out of the soil, dusted off with my thumb and popped into my mouth.

So, what is in our food is something to really think about – what level of nutrition is in that food, if it’s locally grown, it has a higher density, often of nutrients, than something that is shipped across the globe. Because often our produce doesn’t have a life on the vine for months and months and months. So you want that strawberry or that kiwi not bruised at the time of purchase? When was it picked off the vine? It has the bones, so to speak; the structure of that food, but it doesn’t have the nutrient density. It would be like (and this, listeners beware, can be a bit of a sharp analogy) but it would be like taking a babe out of the womb halfway through its gestational period. How healthy is that child at that point? It has the bones, it has all the structure, but it hasn’t had the time to get its fat, to develop, to strengthen. So, our food is kind of like that when we ship it across the world and we eat it without that level of nutrient density, we have the bones, so to speak, but we may not have the quality of nutrients.

So where food comes from matters, how food is grown matters. So I’m sure you’ve all heard of the organic food industry, and there’s a perception that organic is far better and far healthier. And I think in so many ways it is. And a lot of that has to do with the absence of pesticides and herbicides on those foods. It also has to do with the fact that often, but not always, the soils have more density of microflora within them in the soil. So the microorganisms in the soil that help those plants grow, that help the nutrients become distilled into those plants, right? A lot of that has to do with the microorganisms in the soil the same way the microorganisms in our gut support nutrient digestion and absorption to build US microorganisms in the soil where our crops are grown helped to build and strengthen those crops.

Well, when we spray. Pesticides and herbicides on our plants also affect the soil, which affects the level of microorganisms within that soil. So organic foods don’t have those pesticides and herbicides, right? So not only are we not ingesting the chemicals on the food, but the soil potentially has a greater concentration of microorganisms that support the health of our food. It can be really hard for many of us to buy exclusively organic, it can cost a lot. So thankfully, I have a couple of tips on that score. So the Environmental Working Group every year puts out a list of the most heavily sprayed foods and recommends eating these organic and then has the foods that are least spread, sprayed and so perhaps eating these conventionally. It’s called the Clean 15 and the Dirty Dozen. So if you follow that as a guide, that can help you to avoid the most pesticide, chemical laden food to support your health while at the same time supporting your pocketbook.

The other thing is that our animal products often, when they are conventional. have more chemicals within them, whether they be antibiotics or whether those animals were fed on grains or food sources, that is not their natural food. And those food sources were sprayed with chemicals. So, when you think about eating meat, if you had to make a choice, perhaps eat that organic because of the bioaccumulation from the animal, eating the plant and that accumulating in them and then you eating the animal, right? So that’s another place to consider having more organic food. And so perhaps eat just a little bit less of those types of foods because they cost so much more, if that’s a concern for you.

So, what goes into our food really does matter.

What are the chemicals that are on the food? What are the chemicals potentially in the food? This can have such a huge impact on gut health and gut integrity. So, for example, glyphosate, which is a very common chemical sprayed on conventional produce, acts like an antibacterial agent that erodes. The mortar between our gut cells, think of your intestinal cells, your small intestinal cells is kind of like a brick wall, so to speak, and there’s mortar cement between those two bricks, those two cells holding them tightly together. The glyphosate erodes the mortar. So now there’s gaps between those two cells that can lend to digestive concerns that can lend to underlying illness within the gut, so contribute to things like ciba or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or, you know, digestive candidiasis.

All sorts of things can occur when we erode the tight junctions of our gut because our gut in so many ways is a barrier to the internal aspects of our body. So what’s in food matters. Where was it grown? When was it picked? How much nutrients are in that food? Are there chemicals or things that might harm me or harm my gut lining? So considering this when you eat is important, what is in the boxed foods that we eat? What are all of those things on the label?

A quick tip If you don’t understand what the word means, it might not be the best thing for you. It might be bad. It might not. So check that out first. When you look at produce, an apple isn’t making health claims. It doesn’t need a label telling you what’s in it. It is a whole food. It is food. So lots to chew on there, no pun intended. And of course, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

If you would love to know more (I’m always curious to know more) then please hop on a discovery call with me. Simply go to doctorschoiceintegrative.com. Book a discovery call and let’s have a 15 minute chat about all things healthy, food wise.

Love that conversation. I hope to see you there. Take care.

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