For those who would like to avoid diet-induced trips to the doctor's office, Dr. Christi Childers, a family medicine practitioner at The Medical Center of Spearfish has a relatively simple answer.
"A dinner plate that consists of animal protein, carbohydrate/starch, 2/4 vegetables. Beverages that are calorie free (coffee, tea, water). Fish at least 3 - 5x a week. Low or no sugar daily," Childers said.
Flip side.
For those who want to end up in the doctor's office, make a habit of eating what?
"Processed food, fast food, sugar beverages and snacks," Childers said. "Our bodies are made to convert what we eat into fuel and building blocks for every part of our body including our muscles, organ systems as well as immune system function. Simply put, if we make poor food choices (processed food, high fat / high sugar foods, foods with minimal nutritional value, etc.) our body does not have the proper materials to make what it needs to keep us healthy. The result is the inability to function at our highest level leaving us open to both acute and chronic diseases."
Childers said not a day goes by that she doesn't see someone with a health problem that can be attributed to poor dietary choices.
"Overeating and consuming foods with low nutritional value have been linked to stroke, diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension and multiple different types of cancer," Childers said. "There is a patient that comes to mind that I diagnosed with diabetes and sleep apnea that was scared to take medications including insulin. She drastically changed her lifestyle by increasing her activity, increasing the fruits and vegetables in her diet and focusing on stress reduction and within one year she was able to stop her insulin, had a normal weight and no longer needed her CPAP. By choosing to take charge of her life and her health it became unnecessary to rely on medical treatments for problems that could have been prevented."
While sugar is the best food to sabotage a healthy diet, processed foods are a close second.
"Processed foods replace fats with sugar to make it taste better and this, in my opinion, has caused a multitude of health problems," Childers said. "I often tell patients that if it can sit on a counter for 48 hours and taste the same as when you first opened it, dont eat it."
Childers said in order to be successful with a healthy diet, plan ahead and keep it real.
"Put a healthy dinner in the crock pot as opposed to picking up a pizza on the way home," she said. "Eat real food, eat often (4 5x/day) and dont overeat. Eat a moderate amount of meat and carbohydrate and a large amount of fruits and vegetables. Diets will come and go but we need to remember that we need all three macronutrients: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates."
With questions or concerns, call Dr. Childers at 559-3201 or schedule an appointment online at http://www.MedicalCenterofSpearfish.com.
The Medical Center of Spearfish is located on the second floor of 120 Michigan St.
Originally posted here:
Healthy diet a key player in preventative medicine - Black Hills Pioneer
