Obesity is the root cause of several diseases, yet medical schools don’t train doctors on nutrition and weight loss.
Doctors are especially skilled at a few things. Prescribing medications? Absolutely. Performing surgery? For sure. Nutrition and weight loss? No, definitely not.
But whether a physician has expertise regarding diet often comes down to their training and what they view as their circle of competence.
Generally speaking, during the four years of medical school, the total amount of time spent on nutrition is about 10 to 20 hours.
Medical training extends more than a decade, and yet there is barely any attention paid to nutrition or the equally thorny question of how a person should approach weight loss. In medical school, a standard curriculum may include a mandated number of hours for nutrition, which can vary greatly depending on where a physician is trained. Generally speaking, during the four years of medical school, the total amount of time spent on nutrition is about 10 to 20 hours.
Nutrition’s Simplest Rule: Maximize Your “Plant to Animal Ratio” for Health
Should I eat more “healthy fats” or less? More protein at every meal or less? Our grass-fed beef, chicken, and lamb really healthier? Do I add butter, coconut oil, and uncured bacon to nourish my body? Eat high carb? Low fat? Paleo? Vegan? The Mediterranean? Isn’t it enough to drive you mad?
To figure how out to eat for, it’s instructive to turn to the Blue Zones of the world. These are communities around the world (including Okinawa, Japan, and Loma Linda, California) with the highest concentration of centenarians (people living over 100 years of age). Although the dietary patterns of Blue Zones vary, what they have in common is a high percentage of plant-based, whole foods that provide optimal nutrition.
In Okinawa, Japan, for example, on average, only 6% of the Okinawa diet was from fat. About 9% of calories were from protein and 85% of calories were from complex plant carbohydrates like grains and legumes with a strong preference for sweet potatoes. The results? Okinawans enjoyed rates of heart disease that were 80% lower compared to those in the US. Rates of breast and prostate cancer were 75% lower, and dementia 67% lower.
So what can we learn from this? Increase your calories from plants and decrease calories from animals — or increase your P/A ratio (“plant to animal”). You can never go wrong and it is a simple strategy that has not a title to incite an argument or confusion.
Medicine that provides direct information for our genes for health and longevity or disease and sickness. It is a decision based mainly on your P/A ratio in your diet and the quality of the whole plant foods you choose (sorry, potato chips do not cut it). Live longer and better with the highest P/A ratio diet you can muster. If you travel through the Detroit area, and you should, visit GreenSpace Cafe and sample the highest P/A ratio in town, putting the cleanest fuel into bodies in the Motor City.
Stay Healthy💚 Stay Happy✨
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