It Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways (36 page)

Reducing the amount of omega-6 fatty acids in your diet; eating high-quality meat, seafood, and eggs to maximize omega-3 intake; and supplementing with a high-quality fish oil all help to reduce systemic inflammation and the wide range of downstream effects. However, remember that in the case of all polyunsaturated fats, some is good, but more is not better. We don’t want to overdo our fish oil intake, as too much PUFA in the diet (even the healthy kind) may promote oxidation and inflammation in the body.

If you’re eating lots of grass-finished meat and wild-caught, cold-water fish (like salmon or mackerel), you may not need to supplement with fish oil at all. However, if your meat quality isn’t perfect, or if you frequently dine out or travel (and are exposed to omega-6-rich seed oils in restaurant cooking), you may want to consider a daily dose of fish oil.

Look for a concentrated omega-3-rich fish oil with lots of EPA and DHA per pill or teaspoon. (Skip the omega-3-6-9 blends—most people get more than enough omega-6 from their diets as it is.) We like Stronger Faster Healthier’s liquid fish oil (see Appendix B) for a few reasons. First, it’s highly concentrated, with almost three grams of total EPA and DHA in just one teaspoon. Second, the ingredients are 100 percent natural—no sugar or unhealthy additives. Most important, it tastes pretty darn good for fish oil. See, the fish oil that sits in your fridge isn’t actually anti-inflammatory. You actually have to
take
it. So five flavors of fish oil that actually taste good (and not at all fishy) make it far more likely that the “taking” part will happen.

In addition, because EPA and DHA are rather unstable when exposed to air, heat, and light, don’t ever heat your fish oil! It’s OK to add the lemon-flavored one to a cold salad dressing, but don’t drizzle it over hot food or store it in warm places—in fact, we recommend storing it in the fridge, just to be safe.

This vitamin-that’s-really-a-hormone should be no stranger at this point—we’ve mentioned the benefits of
D
3
for everything from immune support to bone health. While vitamin D
3
is found in many foods (like meat and eggs), sun exposure is the biggest natural source of our vitamin D stores.

Skin cells are able to synthesize vitamin D
3
when the sun’s UV-B rays hit the skin. If you’re fair skinned, spending just ten minutes in the summertime sun (sunscreen-free, with arms and legs exposed) can produce about 10,000 IUs of the vitamin.

However, dark-skinned individuals and the elderly produce less vitamin D
3
, and those who live in the Northern Hemisphere may not be able to produce enough vitamin D in the winter, as the sun may not get high enough in the sky for its UV-B rays to penetrate the atmosphere. Which means that many of us are walking around chronically deficient in vitamin D
3
and at higher risk for conditions like osteoporosis, heart disease, and certain types of cancer.

Luckily, supplementation with vitamin D
3
is quite effective at replenishing and maintaining stores in the body. Of course, some is good, but more is not better. While you can’t overdose on D
3
if you’re getting it from the sun, some research suggests that supplementing with more than 10,000 IUs a day may be toxic.

Since D
3
is fat soluble, we recommend taking it first thing in the morning, with your fat-rich breakfast. Look for olive oil-based or “dry” D
3
, not the stuff in soybean or corn oil. Yes, even with supplements, you need to read your labels!

Magnesium
is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body (but we bet you didn’t know that, because its big brother, calcium, gets way more attention). About 50 percent of your body’s magnesium is found in bone, the other half predominantly in tissues and organs.

Magnesium is critical to bone health but also plays a major role in muscle and nerve function, heart rhythm, immunity, regulation of blood sugar, and blood pressure. And from our own experience, we have found magnesium to be of great help for those who are having trouble obtaining restful sleep. In fact, we often call magnesium the “magic white powder,” as it helps us fall asleep so easily!

Magnesium is found in many foods, including leafy greens (spinach, Swiss chard, mustard greens, and turnip greens), other vegetables and fruits, and several types of nuts and seeds. However, according to several studies and the World Health Organization, a substantial number of people in the United States are magnesium deficient. The processing of food and higher percentage of “junk food” in our diets have been contributing factors. Furthermore, many blame the depletion of our soil because of long-term industrial-farming practices, excessive use of fertilizers, changes in varieties of plants grown, and loss of microorganisms in the soil—if our soil doesn’t contain as much magnesium as it used to, the plants we grow in that soil won’t either.

Magnesium supplements come in many forms. A citrate form is generally well tolerated and easy for the body to absorb. Citrate can be taken in capsules, but we prefer a powder like unsweetened Natural Calm.

You can also get your mag the old-fashioned way—in an Epsom salt bath. Throw two cups of the salts in warm bath water and soak away—some of the magnesium in the salts will be absorbed by your skin.

Enzymes are proteins found in food (but mostly manufactured by your own body) that facilitate chemical reactions. These enzymes—and good mealtime habits, like the kind we describe in our meal-planning template—are critical for proper digestion.

Ideally, you’d all be eating whole, unprocessed foods, taking time to chew your food thoroughly to make it easier for your small intestine to absorb the nutrients. However, processing, cooking, gulping down meals, and drinking fluids while eating reduce the number of enzymes that make their way into the digestive tract—and may make it hard for your body to actually “use” (digest and absorb) the nutrients in the food you are eating.

Broad-spectrum digestive enzymes
containing HCl and pepsin help your body break down fats, carbohydrates, and protein and maximize the amount of nutrition you are able to absorb. We like NOW Foods Super Enzymes, but any brand that contains HC1 and pepsin (and, ideally, papain and bromelain as well) would work.

Take a bite of food, the digestive enzyme(s), then the rest of your food If you feel any sort of “heat” in your stomach after taking your enzymes, back off by one of more pills per meal, as necessary.

Remember way back in Chapter 6, when we talked about our “friendlies,” those health-promoting gut bacteria? Our alliance with them is largely what helps regulate our delicately balanced immune activity, digest our food, absorb micronutrients, manufacture vitamins, and generally take up space that would otherwise be snapped up by pathogenic bacteria.

Balanced gut bacteria is the key here—the right kinds, in the right amounts. But many factors can cause our gut’s bacterial population to become unbalanced—and that spells trouble.

Bacterial infections, the use of antibiotics, stress, alcohol, and specific dietary factors can disrupt the delicate balance of beneficial bacteria in our gut. If left unchecked,
gut dysbiosis
can contribute to a number of health conditions, including diabetes, obesity, cancers, and autoimmune disorders.

However, before you go running out to the store to stock up on (often expensive) probiotic supplements or buy out your local health-food market’s sauerkraut supply, a word of caution.

There are
about 500
different species of bacteria living in your gut.

Without knowing how much of which kind you have (and which ones you’re missing), how will you know what kind of supplement to buy, and how much to take?

We’re not big fans of willy-nilly supplementation with live bacteria. Remember,
balance
is key—and too many of
any
one kind could be problematic.

So, if you suspect that your bacterial allies aren’t so well organized, start by reaching out to your doctor or nutritionist for some testing. If you can’t do the lab work, then you can still take steps to restore a healthy balance of bacteria with naturally fermented foods and drinks—an excellent choice for regular consumption.

However,
start slow
with raw (unpasteurized) sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha beverages, or coconut-based kefirs. Overdoing
fermented foods
can also provoke some pretty ugly symptoms in people who have dysbiosis. This may mean as little as one tablespoon of “live cultures” from real food a day, working up to a higher “dose” as your gut adjusts to the infusion of new friends.

Another great helper for gut health and healing are bone broths—but you have to make your own, as the stuff in the store doesn’t have nearly the same nutrition as homemade broths. Slow-cooking the bones extracts vital nutrients that are seldom consumed in our regular diets, including gelatin, glucosamine, and important amino acids that form the building blocks of a healthy, balanced digestive system.

Use our recipe in Appendix A, choosing bones from pastured, organic animals whenever possible. Start with a cup of bone broth a day, but feel free to increase your intake to a cup with each meal.

In response to the question, “Should I take a multi-vitamin,” we generally answer with one word.

Meh.

We’re pretty agnostic on the subject of “multi-vitamins”—supplements that include a wide range and variety of vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients. On one hand, we know that the nutrients we get from real food interact in complex and beautiful ways in our bodies, providing us with a level of health that supplements simply cannot match. On the other hand, it’s idealistic to think that we can get perfect nutrition just from the foods we eat and our environment. After all, we don’t always eat perfectly, and our modern world (the soil, the water, the seeds themselves) may not provide us with as much nutrition from our foods as it used to.

However, the micronutrients found in multivitamins are nowhere near as bioavailable as those found in real food, and some of the synthesized forms of vitamins contained in multivitamin supplements may actually be harmful.

If taking a broad-spectrum multi-vitamin makes you feel good, go right ahead. But we certainly don’t think it’s a
necessary
addition to your already healthy diet and lifestyle.

While your initial introduction to our Good Food philosophy may be over, our journey together is just beginning! Improving your health and quality of life is a gradual, evolutionary process. Our Whole30 program is a great way to jump-start your healthy-eating transformation, but you will continue to develop your new, healthy-eating habits and relationships with food for the rest of your life. And we promise, working your new food selections and habits into a sustainable, satisfying lifestyle gets easier with practice.

Still, you’ll probably want a little help, support, and guidance along the way, and we are more than happy to oblige. Our Web site (
http://whole9life.com
) is a wealth of resources, including an active forum where readers can post questions, connect with others, and share their experiences with like-minded people at various stages of their healthy-eating journeys. We encourage you to visit, participate, and become a part of our growing community.

Of course, while we believe your journey to optimal health
starts
with food, there are other factors that also play important roles. Health and fitness is multifactorial, and while nutrition is always the foundation, we also believe that you cannot focus on just one aspect of health at the exclusion of others. Sleep, exercise habits, and stress also factor into your personal health equation.

If your health is still suboptimal after many months (or years) of healthy eating per our recommendations, consider looking deeper into non-nutritional factors. At our seminars we often say, “Don’t look for a nutrition solution to a lifestyle problem.” So at some point, we encourage you to expand your scope of focus beyond food and start making positive, sustainable changes in other areas of your life too.