Thrive MD Nutrition Blog

The medical field has only recently begun to acknowledge the connection between mood, foodand the digestive tract (the organs that food and liquids travel through when they are swallowed, digested, absorbed, and leave the body as feces). If your brain is deprived of good-quality nutrition, or if free radicals or damaging inflammatory cells that can damage brain tissue are circulating within the brain’s space, consequences are to be expected.  Serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate sleep and appetite, mediate moods, and inhibit pain is primarily produced in your digestive tract. Your gastrointestinal tract is lined with a hundred million nerve cells which communicate with your brain. This connection allows your diet and the neurotransmitters created in your GI tract to guide your emotions.

Research has found that tweaking the balance between beneficial and disease-causing bacteria in an animal’s gut can alter its brain chemistry and lead it to become either more bold or more anxious. The brain can also exert a powerful influence on gut bacteria; as many studies have shown, even mild stress can tip the microbial balance in the gut, making the host more vulnerable to infectious disease and triggering a cascade of molecular reactions that feed back to the central nervous system. The human gut, often referred to as the “second brain,” is the only organ to boast its own independent nervous system, an intricate network of 100 million neurons embedded in the gut wall.  How can be best balance the beneficial and disease-causing bacteria in our gut?  Through a diet of whole foods which are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and phytonutrient.

Eating from the farm, really means striving for a whole foods diet- one that is minimally processed.  It’s important to know that most foods you’re eating are processed to some degree. Cooked, canned, frozen, packaged, or nutritionally altered foods are all considered “processed”. Nutritionally altered foods include those that are fortified or preserved. That said, any time a food is prepared or cooked, it’s processed to some degree. You can easily identify these foods because they come prepackaged and have a long list of ingredients you’ve never heard of that are often difficult to pronounce. Food from the farm typically is simply packaged to help with transport to a store and includes items such as fruits, vegetables, poultry, seafood, eggs, nuts and seeds, and legumes.  Whole foods retain their nutrients, phytochemicals, and fiber, which are often removed in processed foods.  Those nutrients, are medicine to your body and mind

Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician stated: “All disease begins in the gut” as well as “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.” More than 2,000 years later, his statement rings truer than ever. Research has shown that up to 80% of cases of coronary heart disease, 90% of Type 2 diabetes, and one-third of all cancers can be prevented through lifestyle changesincluding daily exercise, restful sleep and a healthy diet. Changing what we eat is the single most effective measure we as consumers can take to improve our own health.  In today’s world we have lost that understanding of what is truly healthy as we look for labels on food such as “high in fiber”, “100% fruit”, or “low calorie”.  Our goal, should be buying food with no labels. Eating from the farm…. not the factory.

Every day, our bodies are exposed to toxins in the air and the environment.  Chronic exposure to toxins and heavy metals has been linked to allergies, autoimmune illness, cancer, and respiratory illness.  We can minimize exposure through lifestyle changes.  Modifying your diet, using herbs and spices when cooking that support detoxification, and adding fruits and vegetables to your diet that are high in antioxidants.  Improving your water intake, to help flush toxins from your body. Choosing cosmetic and cleaning products that are free of known toxins helps to minimize exposure. A good resource for environmental toxins is the Environmental Working Group. They have a great app – EWG Healthy Living.

Processed sugar is a primary energy source for many people. High sugar intake can lead to alterations in your metabolism, can trigger inflammation, and lead to insulin resistance (meaning your blood sugar levels don’t lower as they should, when insulin is present).  Sugar will disrupt the healthy bacteria in your gut and can increase harmful bacteria or fungi.  Ultimately, a diet higher in sugar has been linked to increased weight, increased cancer risks and increased inflammation in the body.  Reading labels, you can often find the hidden sugar in many products.  I recommend the app Sugar Rush by Fooducate.  This app allows you to scan barcodes and see how much sugar is in the packaged item.