Paleo Diet at Your Doctor's Office?

Courtesy of iStockphoto.comHas anyone experienced this when going to the doctor?  I personally asked my dermatologist a year ago about the connection between what I’m eating and acne, and I was literally laughed at by the doctor. They told me that what I eat doesn’t impact my skin and acne at all... I beg to differ.

As a follower of the Paleo diet, one of the things that I’ve noticed and heard anecdotally from many people is that after going Paleo they have noticed health improvements, in a variety of things – headaches, allergies, GI distress, etc.  The concept of ancestral health based on the Paleo diet is starting to catch on.  After all, our ancestors weren’t faced with the modern day diseases of obesity, diabetes, and multiple types of cancer – maybe it had something to do with what they ate.  In a blog post on Shots, NPR’s health blog The Paleo Diet Moves from the Gym to the Doctor’s Office it talks about how Paleo is starting to move from a fringe movement supported primarily by Crossfitters to a clinical setting- your Doctor’s office.

Today’s doctors aren’t taught much about nutrition at all in their schooling, and as someone that has been experimenting with how what I eat affects me, I can tell you that there is a HUGE link between what you eat, how you feel, and ultimately your health.  While the NPR blog post is skeptical about applying the ancestral health movement in a clinical setting, because it’s trying to practically apply an uproved theory of ancestral health, I think that it’s encouraging that we are taking a step in the direction that acknowledges that food is directly linked to our health.

The blog post comments that “the paleo diet will seem extremely restrictive to most modern humans”, which is something that I hear from many people when they are considering trying Paleo out.  I completely understand this point of view.  As a former carbo-holic, when I first heard about the Paleo diet I thought it was crazy and that it was something I could never do.  Over three years later, I’m still an avid Paleo diet follower.  Basing my food choices around fresh, unprocessed foods, meats/seafood/eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds and playing around to see what combination of those things work for me.  Plus, I'm learning what additions that aren’t on that list can be apart of my life and diet – like dark chocolate, wine, occasional paleo treats, vinegar, grass-fed butter, etc.  It’s important to remember that we are all individuals and that what works perfectly for me will not work for everyone.  You have to work on yourself to find what is optimal for you, what makes you look, feel, and perform your best.

I agree with the statement that “Humans have lived in all kinds of places and we have adapted to all kinds of diets” and that is where the art of Paleo comes in.  Focusing your diet on Paleo principles and then finding what works best for you is key to finding a sustainable version of a Paleo or Primal diet that makes you look and feel your best and be your healthiest.  For some it’s including high quality dairy, dark chocolate, more fruit, less fruit, no nuts, etc.

The next time you’re experiencing some sort of illness or are not feeling well, I challenge you to think about how what you are eating could be impacting how you are feeling.  Have you been drinking enough water, eating enough vegetables, adding something new into your diet recently, etc.  If you’re at the doctor’s, start asking about how what you’re eating could be impacting how you’re feeling.  We are never going to start to change the system until we start pushing and encouraging our health care providers to take a look at how what we eat affects our health.

About the Author:

Laura Pappas is a Crossfit Trainer at Crossfit King of Prussia, avid athlete, and Health and Nutrition enthusiast.  She writes for her own blog Against the Grain sharing her perspective on health and fitness and has recently started a Health Coaching business.

Comments

[Patrick Edmonds]

I do find it interesting that my doctor rarely asks me about my diet. Granted, I'm not obese and I don't have high blood pressure, but I could afford to lose 15-20 lbs. It's that much more interesting that the very first thing done at most doctor's offices is weigh you, but they rarely seem to do anything with the results. I think now that the science has established almost irrefutably that weight is connected to diet, and that being overweight or obese contributes to more health problems than anything else, it seems only logical the nutrition and diet should be a cornerstone of every doctor's visit. Thanks for the link to the NPR story and good personal connection to your own diet.

[James Dugan]

I enjoyed your post. Food is such a sensitive subject and until recently, a very private matter. In the past twenty years, the place of food has elevated above exercise and even genetics in how we feel and behave in our daily lives. It is in our schools, homes, and lunch tables and what you eat says so much about your values.

I have noticed this change in my working life. In the beginning, many of us ate the same thing. Sandwiches were the norm and maybe some left overs from last night's dinner to spice things up. It would not be uncommon for a person to eat the same sandwich all week.

Today, the different lunches are as unique as the people of the table. One of the main conversations is what you are eating and why. It is often the first. Soda has almost disappeared all together. Chips and pretzels are less seen than carrots and humus. And salads have become the norm on most days. Bread is still there, but less and less, and very little white.

The message you are presenting is getting our there and it is causing a big change. I think lunch is the place we can improve to limit starch and sugars in our diet. We can have a sensible salad and sandwich, some vegetables and fruit and be on our way. It is a great place to start, but I am seeing it done everyday.

Thanks for the lunch.