I know this seems crazy, after all, a large percentage of the population needs to lose weight.  However, between my corporate practice and my private practice I am working with almost 70 people right now.  One of the most prevalent health issues I’m finding may shock you.

  People are malnourished. 

It doesn’t matter whether they are thin or have 70 pounds to lose, I’m finding that people are starving themselves. 

There are four types of people who seem to have this problem.

The Weight Watchers:  For those desperate to lose weight, it makes sense.  They tend to still believe the old adage of calories in calories out, and are restricting them selves so much that they are micro and macro nutrient deprived.  Cellular function is compromised, and most of the time, the weight doesn’t even come off.  If it does, you’re still left with a body ripe for disease. 

The SAD (Standard American Diet) People:  Other times, it’s people who have no idea that the food they are eating is so devoid of nutrition, that their bodies are being starved of the nutrients it needs to survive.  Unfortunately, what goes hand-in-hand with this type of lifestyle, is that their gut is compromised, and whatever nutrient rich food they possibly do eat cannot even be absorbed.  With mal-absorbtion, the basic nutrients are not there for healthy cellular function.  Again, leaving the person open to disease. 

The Good Intention People:  These are the people who mean well, and they may even be eating clean healthy food, but they are cheating themselves out of much needed protein.  This leads to sarcopenia, which is a loss of muscle mass as we age and subsequent weakness of the body.  Other symptoms include poor balance, loss of appetite, and an inability to convert nutrients which has a domino effect on how well our organs, hormones, and immune system work.  Related to this is not eating enough good fat which leaves brain function impaired, and the body crying out for the cholesterol it needs to create healthy hormones.

Too Busy to Pay Attention People:  This last category is rampant.  They are in a rush to leave the house in the morning, so no breakfast for them.  Lunch?  There was some reason why they were too busy.  Dinner?  Yes, I’m starving by then!   When self care goes out the window, health goes downhill.  And eating is self care.  We need it for our bodies to function properly.  We need nutrition to thrive.  We need nutrition to keep us out of the hospitals and nursing homes down the road.  So for those barely eating at all, you can add up all of the issues listed under the other types listed above.

From all the reports I’ve been hearing lately, based on the latest research, we should be aiming for around 30g of protein per meal.  Another rule of thumb is similar to water…1/2 your body weight in ounces. I weigh 125, so that would be about 63 ounces, but since I’m over 50, and age affects muscle wasting, I’m shooting for 90. It’s tough, I won’t kid you! But it’s worth shooting for.

My brother Jim had a great idea. He uses the free version of the My Fitness Pal app to log his meals. After doing this for a couple weeks, you get a very good idea of how much or how little protein you are getting. It also gives you a very good idea of how much protein is in certain foods.  If you don’t want to continue to log your meals, at least you will have some numbers memorized and can get a pretty good ballpark on what you’re getting.

This leads me to another aspect of malnourishment and blood sugar imbalance.

Blood sugar imbalance also has serious health ramifications. 

Discomfort, anxiety, jitteriness, nausea, irritability, cloudiness, and fatigue are some of the symptoms.  As Dr. Kelly Brogan has found out, the majority of patients who have come to her on depression medication simply had blood sugar issues.  By getting them to eat, and eat the right things, the depression went away along with the medications.  This may be due in part to the fact that low blood sugar causes hormonal imbalance beginning with cortisol spikes which also cause adrenal stress and dysfunction.

I hope you see how incredibly important it is to eat, and to eat the right things.  Eat plenty of plants, plenty of protein, and plenty of healthy fats with every meal.  How God made them…clean and nourishing.  Start paying attention to this, and I think you’ll be amazed at how much brighter your days will be!