The Holy Grail of nutrition is undoubtedly an answer to the question, what is the best food for humans to eat. The debate over this is both endless and filled with as many experts as there are answers. It's so central and so contended that we've weighed in ourselves on it several times, on a general level. The real problem is that it's likely the wrong question altogether, all because of that extra s at the end. What do I mean?
Finding the perfect diet for humans.
Think back over the years to the conversations about diet, and the general wisdom about what we should best be eating. I bet you can at least name a few, ranging from the broad, like carnivore, raw, low-carb, vegan or vegetarian, to the specific, like the Scarsdale, Hollywood, Mediterranean, Atkins, Weight Watchers, rainbow -- there was even a cigarette diet in the 20s! It's a funny old dance that should sound familiar: we believe this food is good to eat; then in the next moment, the same food is unhealthy. Or it's the other way around. Eat margarine, it's healthier than butter; wait, no, avoid margarine, it's terrible for you. Avoid eggs, no eat eggs; avoid protein, eat protein; eat carbs, avoid carbs; eat fats, avoid fats. It's a cycle of comings and goings. Nothing sticks, and after a while it seems like everything is having its fifteen minutes of fame and there's no more to it than that. If you pay enough attention it can seem an endless babble of noise filled with ideas of every kind. It's almost maddening and hardly helpful.
So where does this leave us when trying to figure out the ideal diet? Can we, and how do we, sift through the chaff to get at what's best for us?
First, this isn't a post about lifestyle habits. We start with the baseline that you should be making your own meals out of whole foods straight from nature. Nobody should be eating processed or refined foods, sugary foods, fast foods, or packaged foods. That's a given. Looking past these, we want to focus on the physiology of a proper diet. It's also not about targeted diets, where the diet is applied for a specific purpose: i.e. to lose weight, to flush toxins, to battle a disease, etc. This is about the ambient general advice that constantly pushes us this way and that.
So which foods are right for the best diet?
The problem, and what makes this such a critical conversation, is that diet is arguably the most important predictor of long-term health and well-being. According says to James O’Keefe, MD, a cardiologist at Saint Luke’s Mid-America Heart Institute, "most of the major health problems we deal with in America are connected to the ways we eat." Figuring out what to eat for optimal health is literally the most important thing we can do for healthy wellbeing. Estimates are that one in five deaths is directly attributable to diet. It will govern all your healthcare issues down the line.
Using spectroscopy to uncover the molecular profiles of nutrition has allowed us to scientifically identify how food affects people differently. Research at the Murdoch’s Centre for Computational and Systems Medicine led to the conclusion: "while broad healthy eating guidelines are a great start to addressing disease risk, the fact we all respond differently to the food we eat suggests there is significant further benefit to be gained from applying precision nutrition.”
Which brings us back to the problem of that s.
There's no such thing as one right diet for all humans. There is only the right diet for you, human, singular. We can talk about the best general diet for humans, but it may not apply to you. Precision nutrition means food specifically right for you.
Human genetics and biochemistry is far too complex and individualized to allow for a single dietary solution for all. Plus, we are in constant interaction with the world around -- more unique inputs to the equation. The reality is, you are making an individualized calculation based solely on your own set of singular physiological and environmental variables. Sure, there are generalizations that can be made, but these are only so useful, and in some cases, may even be wrong for you in particular (even if right for others.) People react differently to the same foods and amounts for a host of reasons. For example, some people respond very positively to nightshade foods, while others will find them toxic. You find wide reactions to broccoli, nuts, dairy, or spices, to name a few. There are cases where a protein-only diet is ideal for people (usually who may have an underlying condition,) while it would be a catastrophe for others. (Restrictive diets are usually only beneficial for a limited time.) The same food that will lower blood sugar in some, will elevate it in others. There are even doctors and scientists who believe that we should eat foods based on our blood type. If nothing else, think about how some people can eat an amount of food and not put on weight, while others will. There are endless examples of how diet affects us differently.
Take the most widely-applied type, the weight loss diet, and you will see the same process in action. There are so many individual reasons why someone is overweight that a single approach to losing weight will likely fail. Without a full understanding of whether the issue is glandular, or metabolic, or genetic, or simply habit and lifestyle, one is throwing noodles at the wall to see what sticks. You can't just apply a blanket solution to your problem and expect it to work. This is one of the major reasons why diets fail.
Our systems are all unique and you should stop listening to the noise.
There's so much going on in your body. It's a massively complex series of chemical interactions and processes that simultaneously operate both independently and in concert with other systems. It's a crazy, dervish-like dance of bodily mechanisms. Just the microbiome alone, which governs so much of what food will do, is completely different in each person. Then there's genetics, and metabolic flexibility, and so on. This is without even considering the external or environmental factors. So isolating the ideal diet is metaphorically similar to herding cats. It can be done, but is very difficult and takes a lot of really dedicated work. And in the end, what you learn will only apply to you. That's why you should only pay so much attention to prevailing wisdom. Any conversation about what you should eat that doesn't come from your personal healthcare team should be taken with a grain of salt.
Don't get me wrong, there are valuable general guidelines we can derive from science and experience. Recent studies add even more evidence that for broad benefits, a combination of the Mediterranean diet and a form of limited fasting is ideal. This means that eating mostly vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, olive oil, and fatty fish will provide most health benefit for the most amount of people. Furthermore, by limiting your eating window to an 8-10 hour period you allow your body time to metabolize and utilize the calories properly. We don't need to store energy for later use (our food supply is mostly stable,) so it becomes important to consume the right amount of calories and allow sufficient time such that glucose stores are used up each day. This actually may be a big part of why we suffer so many dietary health issues. Excessive caloric consumption and under-utilization leads to a host of health problems.
But beyond these broad rules, how do you determine what is best for you? The question then becomes:
What is the right diet for you, right now?
(because it will change over time.)
If you thought we were going to magically give you the answer, you'd be missing the point. This is obviously a discussion you will have with your doctor or healthcare team. They are critical to guiding you through this. It will take effort and lots of testing to map out the right food choices. Researchers talk about discovering your metabolic group, or suite, and using precision nutrition. Essentially, what is needed first is a full gamut of information on your current health status: blood panels, nutrient levels, excesses and deficiencies, gut health status, metabolic status, and full profiles and screenings. That means before you can make decisions, you need to know as much as possible about your complete physiological state. Think of you and your doctor as running a study of one. More data in means better results out. Test, test, test.
Use the information you glean about your own state (how you feel, any symptoms of problems, the color of skin, eye whites, nails, urine, your energy levels, mood, sleep quality, etc.,) and the results of the medical investigations, to help you and your doctor reach concordance on the best strategies. Once you know your medical issues, nutritional issues, unique environmental or situational factors (like stress, proximity to toxins, etc.), and your lifestyle issues, THEN you can make a plan for the ideal diet.
It bears saying that no matter how good your doctor is, or how involved they are, you will have to put in a lot of effort yourself. Not only in learning about proper nutrition, but also in maintaining discipline to keep to a plan. In addition, you might turn to a professional nutritionist for assistance. This will be a complex endeavor with lots to know, and there may well be hiccups, so having expert guidance is smart. Especially since a number of doctors are, shall we say, less experienced when it comes to nutrition. Don't be afraid to get more help if you need it. Good information is key.
As I said earlier, you are a biological system in constant flux, and in constant mediation with the world around you. Like much practice in medicine, there is an art, as well as a science, to finding the best diet. It takes a serious collaborative effort between you and your medical caretakers. And you may need to light a fire to get it all done. The reward, however, is the possibility of infinite health and wellbeing, freedom from illnesses and allergies, greater vitality and longevity, better sleep, a fitter, trimmer body, and who knows what else? Eat well and be healthy, friends.
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The opinions expressed in this article are of the author. Content and other information presented on the site are not meant to be medical advice or any substitute for professional advice, counseling, diagnosis, or treatment. Never delay or disregard professional medical or mental health advice from your physician or other qualified health provider.
