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As a fitness trainer, I often get asked questions about nutrition for people and/ or dogs. We used to run a nutrition online group but last year we switched it to a Healthy Habits on line group because there is much more to health than just nutrition.
Nutrition is a very personal subject for people AND pets. We all have that Aunt Martha that drinks sodas and or alcohol, smokes and doesn’t exercise and lives until she is 98 years old. Similarly, we all know someone that eats organic, is at a healthy weight and gets breast cancer! It is very frustrating and confusing. Every year there is a new food that you MUST eat. I remember when it was chia seeds, acai fruit, alkaline water and now coconut oil.
Recently, I think nutrition has gotten more confusing especially for someone like me who studies it and tries to keep up with all of the latest fads and trends. Should you go Vegan? Keto? Paleo? Should you try Intermittent Fasting? Giving up gluten? Dairy? Soy? Depending on who you ask, you will usually get an opinion on what you “should” do. The Vegan group thinks eating meat is crazy and the Paleo group thinks that eating grain is crazy. The nutritionist will lead you to the food pyramid and recommend you eat 6 – 11 servings of carbs and hardly any fat.
What about organic? Should you only eat organic vegetables? If you can afford it, then why not? If you can’t, then there are certain fruits and vegetables that are on the clean list and it is not as big a deal if you eat them organic. There are also fruits and vegetables on the dirty list that you may want to spend the extra money on organic. But even organic is questionable, especially if the farm is next to a conventional farm and the wind is blowing the insecticides over. Plus, many organic farms are using natural pesticides on their produce and nobody is for certain what those “natural” pesticides are doing to humans.
What about the studies? What do they say? Well, that depends on who is funding the study. If Monsanto is funding it, then of course they are going to say that wheat and corn are good for you. If the pharmaceutical company is funding it, then they will say whatever it takes for you to get high cholesterol and to use their drug. And don’t be fooled by the American Heart Association, American Cancer Association, FDA, etc because they are all government agencies getting funded by big corporations AND the pharmaceutical companies. And unfortunately doctors are not schooled in nutrition which is the basis of most health issues.
Recently there was a big article in the USA today about how bad coconut oil is for you. What I found interesting is that the guy who wrote it is involved with the pharmaceutical companies, see the article HERE that may explain the reasoning for his interest in getting people off of coconut oil. I think JJ Virgin did a good job of explaining the benefit of Coconut Oil. I am honestly not sure how people get their opinions published in these major news outlets but always be curious what their motives really are.
I believe that you should follow a diet that works for you and your personal health issues. I don’t believe you should ONLY eat Coconut oil. It is saturated and just a few years ago everyone was making a big deal about the movie theaters using it and now it is all the rage! It does have many health benefits but Olive, Avocado and other oils are good for you as well and have different health benefits. If you are diabetic maybe you should concentrate on eating low glycemic fruits like berries and green apples but I would not recommend that you not eat fruit as it has many vital nutrients that your body needs. If you have a heart condition, maybe you want to concentrate on your sodium levels.
Personally, I am gluten free because of an auto-immune issue that I have. When I took gluten out of my diet, it helped my stomach and also my thyroid. I do not eat dairy because of how most of it is processed. I try very hard to only eat grass fed meat and free range chickens because they are treated more humanely and not fed soy and corn that are the 2 highest GMO crops. Many people may argue or disagree with me but that is what is working for me. Am I perfect, heck no! I sometimes eat ice cream. If I eat out, obviously I may eat farm raised fish or mass produced meat.
I believe in eating a balanced diet and stick to the 80/ 20 principle. You can not be perfect all of the time and at times you will eat “junk food”. But for the most part, even when you eat “junk food” make sure you look at the ingredients and get the chips with the least amount of ingredients. I have said it before (see blog post HERE) , don’t look at the marketing on the front of packages, look at the ingredients on the back! Companies put addicting ingredients in their food for a reason, to get you to buy more and these ingredients can cause major health issues!
I try to make all of my own sweets with real ingredients like: honey, coconut sugar, cocoa, gluten free oats, wheat free flour and soy free chips. I have shared some easy recipes HERE.
What about your dog?
These same principles go for our dogs. We all know the 17 year old lab that has been eating kibbles and bits and the 6 year old dog with cancer that is on a clean diet and getting plenty of exercise. Again, it is frustrating and confusing. I recommend feeding your dog a healthy diet. If you are feeding kibble, look at the ingredients on the back of the bag. If he / she is itching a lot, the first thing you may want to check is the food that he / she is eating and switch it to a different meat source and / or take out the unnecessary ingredients like wheat, corn and soy.
I am not here to tell you what to eat and everyone is going to have an opinion. Your vet was probably taught by the people from Hills Science Diet so they will recommend that. Your friend may only believe in raw food. The pet store may recommend something else from what they learn from their vendors.
Just like I try to eat natural, Jack does the same so he eats raw food from Soul’y Raw, bone broth, goats milk and only meat treats or roasted vegetables. He does get the occasional processed treats from other people but I try to keep him on a pretty strict diet.
What to do?
Nutrition is very confusing so you have to experiment and see what works for you and your dog. I do believe in REAL FOOD which means, one ingredient foods. If you or your dog is suffering from any health issues: depression, auto immune, stomach, migraines, inflammation, allergies, etc. the FIRST place I would look would be the food. Food is powerful and people do not think enough about it. Instead, they cover their symptoms up with drugs when simply taking something out of your diets may do the trick!
If you need help with your diet, let us know. We can help you or you can join our healthy habits group and get on track to a healthier you one step at a time!
