THE HEALING PROPERTIES OF FOOD

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THE HEALING PROPERTIES OF FOOD

• EcoCare 2009
• Facilitator Ashley Smyth, RHN, NNCP, HBSc
• 19 October 2009

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FACILITATOR

• ASHLEY SMYTH, RHN, NNCP, HBSc
• Registered Holistic Nutritionist and
  professional member of the Canadian Association
  of Natural Nutritional Practitioners
• Graduate of the Canadian School of Natural
  Nutrition
• Honours Bachelor of Science (University of
  Waterloo)
• Owner of Pure Vitality in Chatham, ON, offering
• Nutritional consulting
• Wellness plans and detoxification support
• Meal planning and grocery store tours
• Allergy testing

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SEMINAR OVERVIEW

• Today we will
• Discuss the history of the human diet
• Identify the leading causes of death in Canada
  diet
• Scientific literature review versus improving
  diet for cardiovascular disease, cancer, and
  Type-2 diabetes
• Discuss how we should be eating
• Discuss eating locally and creating mindfulness
• How do we get our patients on board with a
  healthier lifestyle?

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THE HUMAN DIET AN OVERVIEW

• In the beginning
• 4 million years ago Australopithecus (bipeds)
• diet mainly consisting of plant foods
• possibly also small animals
• 2 million years ago Homo habilis
• changes in tooth characteristics as well as
  introduction of tools indicates a shift towards
  an omnivorous diet
• majority of meat was most likely carrion left by
  predators
• 1.5 million years ago Homo erectus (upright
  man)
• stature and brain volume more like humans than
  apes
• increasingly sophisticated hunting tools and
  first use of fire circa 500,000 years ago
  increased digestibility and nutritional value of
  meat ? brain development

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THE HUMAN DIET AN OVERVIEW

• In the middle
• 200,000 years ago Homo sapiens
• diet largely composed of gathered plants,
  supplemented with meat hunted by increasingly
  sophisticated hunting strategies
• covered approximately 10 km per day in search of
  food
• analyses on preserved skeletons indicate similar
  height to modern day man with no signs of serious
  nutritional deficiencies
• isolated communities, such as the Kung San of
  the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa, still
  follow this lifestyle, resulting in a consumption
  of over 100 different plant species, several
  different animal proteins, and sometimes insects
  ? virtually no cardiovascular disease, Type-2
  diabetes, or cancer is present

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THE HUMAN DIET AN OVERVIEW

• Present day
• 10,000 to 12,000 years ago the dawn of
  agriculture
• it is believed that climate change and
  subsequent temperature increase caused decline of
  available food sources, mainly game
• wheat, corn, rice, and potato (in this order)
  were the first cultivated crops at 4 completely
  disparate regions of the world
• milk was introduced as a food source as sheep,
  goats, and cows were domesticated 9,000 years ago
  ? 50 of worlds population are unable to digest
  milk due to loss of lactase upon adulthood
• first time in history when food could be stored
  for future use and there was a steady supply of
  calories

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DIETARY HABITS THROUGHOUT EVOLUTION
Adapted from Béliveau, R., and Gingras, D.
Eating Well, Living Well An Everyday Guide for
Optimum Health. McClelland Stewart Ltd.,
Toronto, 2009.
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CHANGES IN THE HUMAN DIET
Source Eaton, S.B., et al. 1997. Paleolithic
nutrition revisited A twelve-year retrospective
on its nature and implications. European Journal
of Clinical Nutrition, 51 207-216.
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LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH
Source Statistics Canada Online
www.statcan.gc.ca Statistics are for all ages,
both sexes in all of Canada
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CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

• What does this include?
• Myocardial infarction
• Cerebrovascular accident
• Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism
• Rheumatic heart disease
• Congenital heart defects
• Peripheral artery disease

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CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

• A DISEASE OF INFLAMMATION
• Damage to heart and blood vessels
• Fatty plaque High blood pressure
• Reduces blood flow Plaque rupture
• Thrombosis
• Heart attack Stroke

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CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

• THE ROLE OF CHOLESTEROL
• precursor of bile acids and sex hormones
• required for manufacture of cellular membranes
  and nerve sheaths
• BUT cannot be transported easily in the blood
• Tagged by lipoproteins
• HDL LDL

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CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

• THE ROLE OF CHOLESTEROL
• HDL cholesterol ? transports excessive
  cholesterol from blood and tissues to liver to be
  metabolized and removed from body
• possibly reduces inflammation in body
• LDL cholesterol ? causes damage when excess is
  stored in the lining of blood vessels ? attacked
  by free radicals and oxidizes ? damages artery
  activates immune system to repair damage ?
  inflammation

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HEART DISEASE PREVENTION

• A Dietary Approach
• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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HEART DISEASE PREVENTION

• Relation between cholesterol and carbohydrate
  source

Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Source Winitz, M., et al. 1964. Effect of
dietary carbohydrate on serum cholesterol levels.
Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 108
576-579.
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HEART DISEASE PREVENTION

• Fruits, Vegetables, and Whole Grains
• Significant reduction of heart disease with
  intake of
• green vegetables
• cruciferous vegetables
• estimated that each daily portion of fruits and
  vegetables reduces risk of coronary diseases by
  4 and that by replacing white bread with whole
  grains can reduce the risk of heart disease by
  40!
• provides protection with phytochemical compounds
  and antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals
  (specifically folic acid and vitamins B12 and C)

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HEART DISEASE PREVENTION

• Fats and Cholesterol
• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Adapted from Béliveau, R., and Gingras, D.
Eating Well, Living Well An Everyday Guide for
Optimum Health. McClelland Stewart Ltd.,
Toronto, 2009.
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HEART DISEASE PREVENTION

• How much fat?
• many studies have demonstrated that incidence of
  heart disease and cholesterol levels isnt
  related to the amount of total fat, but the kind
  of fat consumed
• examples include traditional diets of the
  populations of the Inuit and the island of Crete
• Lyon Diet heart study (began in 1988)
• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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HEART DISEASE PREVENTION
You can live to be a hundred if you give up all
the things that make you want to live to be a
hundred Woody Allen



















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HEART DISEASE PREVENTION

• Its not all that bad!
• 70 dark chocolate ? cacao polyphenols have been
  proven to dilate arteries (by releasing NO) and
  decrease platelet aggregation. Milk prevents the
  absorption of the polyphenols
• Green tea ? studies have shown that green tea
  reduces mortality rates by 25 for coronary
  disease and 60 with stroke
• Red Wine ? contains the powerful antioxidant
  resveratrol has been shown to restrict the
  formation of blood clots

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CANCER
The most feared of all diseases Cell
division Initial mutation Pre-cancerous
cells Healthy body Unhealthy body Unfavourable
conditions Favourable Conditions Cells
destroyed Cancer
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CANCER
What creates an unfavourable environment?
Source Béliveau, R., and Gingras, D. Eating
Well, Living Well An Everyday Guide for Optimum
Health. McClelland Stewart Ltd., Toronto, 2009.
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CANCER

• What creates an favourable environment?
• Largest study ever conducted on the link between
  lifestyle choices and cancer American Institute
  for Cancer Research and Fonds Mondial de
  Recherche contre le Cancer (FMRC) Report on
  Foods, Nutrition, Physical Exercise and the
  Prevention of Cancer A Global Perspective
• published in fall 2007
• 500,000 studies evaluated
• Evaluation of risk factors for 17 types of cancer

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10 RECOMMENDATIONS BY FMRC

• Stay as slim as possible, with a BMI between 21
  and 23
• Be physically active for at least 30 minutes a
  day
• Avoid soft drinks and keep consumption of
  calorie-rich foods to a minimum
• Eat generous amounts of a variety of fruits,
  vegetables, legumes, and whole grains
• Reduce consumption of red meat to 500 grams per
  week
• Limit daily consumption of alcohol to 2 glasses
  for men, 1 for women
• Limit consumption of salty pickled foods
• Dont use cancer preventing supplements
• Mothers should breast-feed their children for 6
  months
• Cancer survivors should follow the
  recommendations given above

Adapted from Béliveau, R., and Gingras, D.
Eating Well, Living Well An Everyday Guide for
Optimum Health. McClelland Stewart Ltd.,
Toronto, 2009.
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CANCER PREVENTION
Source Béliveau, R., and Gingras, D. Eating
Well, Living Well An Everyday Guide for Optimum
Health. McClelland Stewart Ltd., Toronto, 2009.
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CANCER PREVENTION
Phytochemical plant compounds Pharmacological M
etabolic effects effects Anticancer
Cell Increased
Reduced cytotoxicity environment bioavailability
calorie intake Immuno- Anti-
Anti- Decrease modulator inflammatory angioge
nic in obesity
Source Béliveau, R., and Gingras, D. Eating
Well, Living Well An Everyday Guide for Optimum
Health. McClelland Stewart Ltd., Toronto, 2009.
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CANCER PREVENTION

• A dietary approach
• Cruciferous vegetables ? high content of
  glucosinolates that act to increase our immune
  system reaction, as well as increasing free
  radicals that kill cancer cells
• boiling causes a 75 loss of glucosinolate
  content
• best steamed, microwaved, or stir-fried (al
  dente) ? no loss
• Allium ? garlic, onions, chives, leeks
• linked to sulphur compounds (eliminate toxic
  substances)
• particularly helpful for stomach and colon
  cancer garlic also prevents cancer cell growth
• Green tea ? rich source of catechins (1/3 of
  leaves weight) prevents microtumours from
  developing new blood vessels

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CANCER PREVENTION

• Citrus fruits ? anticancer effect probably
  linked to
• monoterpenes ? block protein activity involved in
  tumour growth, as well as reducing tumours
  ability to invade adjacent tissue
• Flavanones ? preserves blood vessel structure,
  preventing inflammation and depriving tumour of
  food
• grapefruit compounds block the systems in the
  liver from eliminating anticancer molecules,
  increasing overall levels
• Tomatoes ? anticancer effect probably due to
  lycopene
• eat tomatoes cooked with some olive oil for max
  absorption

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CANCER PREVENTION

• Super fruits ? berries ? contain the polyphenols
  ellagic acid and delphinidin ? block angiogenesis
  
• pomegranate ? high content of punicalin,
  punicalagin, and ellagic acid
• antioxidant activity 3 times that of red wine or
  green tea
• very helpful with prostate and lung cancer
• Soy ? rich in phytoestrogens, specifically
  isoflavones
• reduces risk of breast cancer only if consumed
  before puberty
• not necessarily beneficial, could even increase
  cancer risk, in women who have already had or
  have breast cancer

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CANCER PREVENTION

• The role of inflammation
• helps pre-cancerous cells develop into mature
  cancer cells by increasing DNA mutations caused
  by free radicals
• Anti-inflammatory foods
• Red wine ? resveratrol
• Turmeric ? curcuma ? highest anticancer
  properties of all!
• Ginger ? gingerol
• Omega-3s ? produces DHA and EPA

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CANCER PREVENTION

• Immunomodulators
• increase the ability of the immune system to
  identify and destroy any potentially harmful
  cells, including cancer cells
• Foods as immunomodulators
• Probiotics ? yogurt, fermented foods ?
  beneficial bacteria in the gut, specifically
  bifidobacteria, and lactobacillus acidophilus
• increases immune function against foreign
  invaders
• Mushrooms ? contain polysaccharides
• lentinan in shiitake mushrooms increases
  leukocytic activity
• blocks aromatase action ? beneficial for breast
  cancer

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CANCER PREVENTION

• Seaweed ? specifically kombu and wakame ? high
  content of
• Fucoxanthin ? carotenoid family ? extremely high
  anticancer activity, specifically seen for
  prostate cancer (even higher than lycopene in
  tomatoes)
• Fucoidan ? prevents growth of cancer cells
• Cytotoxic activity as well
• Reduces inflammation
• Increases beneficial immune activity

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TYPE-2 DIABETES
Global Incidence of Type-2 Diabetes
Source Lieberman, L.S. 2003. Dietary,
evolutionary, and modernizing influences on the
prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Annual Review of
Nutrition, 23 345-377.
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PREVENTING TYPE-2 DIABETES

• Adopting a healthy lifestyle can prevent up to
  90 of Type-2 diabetes cases!!!
• Reduce simple sugars ? learn how to read food
  labels to find hidden sugar
• In 2001, Canadians ate an average of 60 grams of
  sugar per day 12 teaspoons!
• Look for the names sugar, sucrose, dextrose,
  fructose, corn
• syrup, malt sugar, cane sugar/juice
• 5 g 1 teaspoon
• Use stevia, agave nectar, or xylitol as a
  sweetener

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PREVENTING TYPE-2 DIABETES

• Eat lower glycemic load foods ? calculated by
  multiplying the glycemic index (a measure of how
  a food increases blood sugar in comparison to
  pure glucose) by the amount of carbohydrates in a
  serving of food
• Focuses on whole grains, vegetables, fruit, and
  legumes
• In 2 major studies following health professionals
  over a span of 30 years (Nurses health study and
  Health professionals follow-up study) found that
  participants who ate the equivalent of a bowl of
  oatmeal and 2 pieces of whole wheat bread (7.5 g
  of whole grains) were 30 less likely to develop
  Type-2 diabetes than those who ate less than 2.5
  g per day

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Source Foster-Powell, K., et al. 2002.
International table of glycemic index and
glycemic load values 2002. American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition, 76 5-56
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PREVENTING TYPE-2 DIABETES

• Make healthier fat choices ? certain saturated
  fats have been shown to indirectly cause insulin
  resistance (inflammation)
• Omega-3 fats improve the insulin response of our
  organs, and oleic acid (olive oil) reduces
  inflammation, improving insulin response
• Spices!
• Cinnamon ? improves glucose tolerance, interferes
  with glycation products that harm blood vessels
• Jamaican allspice, black pepper, and thyme ?
  block glycation
• Turmeric ? reduce blood glucose, anti-inflammatory

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HOW TO EAT
Source Marieb, E.N. Essentials of human anatomy
physiology, eighth edition. Pearson Education,
Inc., San Francisco, 2006.
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HOW TO EAT

• Do not eat big, heavy meals when you are stressed
• Do not eat meals too late at night
• Eat 5 smaller meals throughout the day
• Eat with your family (unless they stress you out)
• Eat at the dinner table
• Take your time ? chew, chew, chew!
• Eat food with a minimal ingredient list, or none
  at all
• Eat food prepared with love!

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WHY USE NUTRITION FOR HEALING?

• Chimpanzee Example
• Chimpanzees are able to choose specific foods,
  some that they would not normally eat, as
  effective treatments for parasites and injuries
  sustained from fighting
• If chimps can do it, why cant we?
• Cheap
• Low incidence of side effects
• Offers variety
• Completely able to be personalized

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FACING OPPOSITION
1 excuse for a patient not changing diet or
lifestyle IT RUNS IN MY FAMILY Genes load the
gun, but environment pulls the trigger. Dr.
David Heber (Director, UCLA Center for Human
Nutrition)
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FACING OPPOSITION

• studies on identical twins show that the risk of
  developing the same cancer is less than 15
• adopted children whose adopted parents died of
  cancer ? 5 times cancer risk
• if biological parents died of cancer ? no
  increased risk
• Inuit in Canada eating the traditional diet high
  in fat had virtually no heart disease or
  atherosclerosis, but now have the highest rates
  of diabetes and heart disease when eating
  traditional western food
• Japan has a very low incidence of breast and
  prostate cancer, but when Japanese people move to
  the US, their incidence becomes equal to that of
  an American

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FACING OPPOSITION

• 2 excuse for a patient not changing diet or
  lifestyle
• I CAN JUST TAKE SUPPLEMENTS
• supplements have been shown to have a decreased
  risk of certain cancers, CVD, and diabetes
• have also been shown to increase risk in certain
  cases (breast cancer)
• have none of the benefits of fiber
• does not include social aspect of eating
• to date, over 20,000 phytochemicals in food have
  been identified

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FACING OPPOSITION
What your patients put in their mouth is one of
the things that they DO have control over
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EATING LOCALLY CREATING MINDFULNESS

• food is the one thing that every human being has
  in common
• pay attention to what you are putting in your
  body ? if you cant pronounce it, dont eat it!
• go to the local farmers market to see what is
  in season, whats fresh, and who is growing your
  food ? usually cheaper
• what is in season usually indicates what your
  body needs for the climactic conditions around
  you ? light foods in summer, etc
• fostering an attitude of appreciation for
  yourself and your children
• take a minute before meals to appreciate how
  much work went into making this food ? easier
  when you know the farmer by name

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WALKING INSTEAD OF RUNNING

• start by increasing fruit and vegetable intake
  by 1 per day, increasing the total intake each
  week
• drink more water by slowly diluting juice until
  entirely water
• try green tea
• start by making one entire meal from scratch ?
  Sunday dinners!
• start a dinner time routine ? turn off the TV,
  stop reading a book, and just focus on the food
  in front of you
• try one new food/fruit/vegetable per week
• educate themselves ? take accountability and
  control for at least some portion of the state of
  their health
• have patience? didnt get there overnight

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Ashley Smyth, RHN, NNCPRegistered Holistic
Nutritionist85 Murray StChatham,
ON519.784.4731www.purevitality.ca