Which Diet is Best for You?

Dear Friends and Patients,

The food we eat has tremendous impact on our health.  Hippocarates once said, “Let food by thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”  In my practice, I have seen people transform their health and reverse disease through diet!  People have been able to lose weight, reverse diabetes and fatty liver disease, lower blood pressure and cholesterol.  I have seen autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus, and Crohn’s disease go into remission.  Digestive issues such as heartburn, constipation, loose stools, bloating, and irritable bowel syndrome have resolved within weeks!  And I’ve seen mood symptoms, mental sharpness and sleep quality improve significantly!  This is all possible through simple changes in the diet.  Diet can be a root cause of many symptoms and diseases.  By correcting the diet, we are helping the body heal on its own.

Diet is so very powerful, and yet very little on diet and nutrition is covered in standard medical training.  I am fortunate to have learned the intricacies of diet and nutrition through my training in Integrative and Functional medicine as well as years of experience in practice.

Each person is unique in their physiology, body chemistry, allergies, and sensitivities.  No single diet is ideal for everyone.  In my practice, I like to evaluate each patient as a unique individual.  After a thorough evaluation of symptoms, labs, and IgE allergy tests, I’m able to provide guidance on how best to modify the diet.

For example, those with insulin-resistance, diabetes or fatty liver, see improvement with a paleo diet (limiting grains helps to reduce insulin levels, and breaks the cycle of hunger).

Those with irritable bowel syndrome, often feel better on a lectin-free diet (lectins are the outer coatings of whole grains and legumes that can be irritating to the gut).

Those with autoimmune diseases do better on an gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free diet; and some require the autoimmune paleo diet (AIP).

I like to modify all diet recommendations based on IgE results, since each person has unique allergies.  Do you know your food allergies?  Remember, “One man’s food is another man’s poison.”  We offer IgE antibody testing for an extensive list of foods.  This test gives us the qualitative severity of each of your allergies so we can determine how best to modify your diet.  It helps us rule out significant food allergies and then sensitivities can be determined through trials of elimination.  Depending on the severity of the results, I can guide you on whether the food needs to be eliminated or if it can be reintroduced, after a period of elimination.

There are some principles on diet that are universal that I recommend across the board to everyone.  First, is to eat clean, whole foods (avoid processed foods), and choose organic whenever possible.  Second, make vegetables the largest part of each meal.  Vegetables have fiber to feed the good bacteria in your microbiome and have tremendous anti-inflammatory benefits on the body.  They also make your body more alkaline.  Third, eat protein, fat, and fiber at each meal to keep your blood sugar stable.  Fourth, avoid vegetable oils (corn, soybean, and Canola) and refined sugars which are inflammatory to the body.  Finally, don’t be afraid of healthy fats like olive oil, nuts, and avocados.

What diet is my personal favorite?  I enjoy a Mediterranean/ paleo diet since I have found that my energy and mental sharpness are highest on this type of diet.  Here are some of my favorites:  arugula salads dressed in EVOO and lemon juice/zest, organic honey crisp apples with nut butters, macadamia nuts, wild salmon, and hearty soups.  My favorite dessert is 90% dark chocolate or a homemade paleo muffin.

I’m happy to discuss your diet in more detail with you at your next visit.  Remember — FOOD IS MEDICINE.    Please follow me on Facebook or Instagram to get more inspiration and ideas on food.

Warmest regards,

Rajsree Nambudripad, MD