Yes, your mom was right and deep down on the inside we all knew it. However, Americans love the latest and greatest thing and this has translated into a love of fad diets. In the 70’s Dr. Atkins wrote his now famous book “Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution” and in the 90’s the low fat craze translated into high carbohydrate diets. What we have been learning since the beginning of the new millennium is a radical change from what has been taught.

Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health once stated that 80% of heart disease and 70% of most cancers can be prevented by diet and exercise alone. Dr. Alger-Mayer of Albany Medical College stated this past year that 72% of deaths from heart disease are due to lifestyle and diet. Multiple studies have been done on nutrient and vitamin supplementation (i.e. - Vitamins A/E/C) but results have never shown a definite link between supplements and health. To date there only two supplements that I can say from a medical perspective will make you live longer and healthier: Vitamin D and Fish Oil. So why is that?

What we have been learning is that we need the nutrients found in whole foods, not processed foods which have their nutrition removed then resupplemented. For example, white breads and white rice have the most nutritional part removed. The wheat germ and husk of the kernel are processesed, and then the remainder is ground into flour. The processed flour is bleached and then has a few essential nutrients (e.g., folic acid and vitamin B12) added back in. Pasteurization of milk destroys its vitamin D and A so these are later added back in (of note in Europe vitamin D isn’t added back and currently they are having an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency and osteoporosis much greater than ours).

A recent study was done with two groups: one received 210g a week of refined carbs and the other 210g of unprocessed carbs. Both groups had the same caloric intake and vitamin counts but the refined carb group showed a increase in the expression of 62 genes fount in fat tissues that are associated with stress responses; increased insulin, increased cortisol and an increased in fat build up in the abdominal area. We have also recently learned about Rho-iso-acids (e.g., Acai Berries) and polyphenols (e.g., Resveratrol), two non-nutrient metabolic regulators that have been associated with cancer fighting, gene preservation and antioxidant effects. These only exist in whole, unprocessed foods, working in concert with vitamins and minerals to decrease cell inflammation, improve immune response and help in cell repair at the level of DNA expression.

So what should you do? You should eat whole, unprocessed foods. The good news is that these can be bought at almost any local farmers market or even at the grocery store Whole Foods. This includes fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, roots, organic whole milk, free range chicken and grass fed beef to list a few.