Why Diet is Not One-Size-Fits-All
We’re all human, shouldn’t we all thrive on the same diet? While fueling our bodies seems like it should be simple, that’s not the case. In fact, what’s considered “healthy food” is not always “healthy” for everyone.
Here are a few common reasons why there’s no magic formula when it comes to eating healthy:
We have different nutrient needs.
It’s true that there are general recommendations about how much protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals we need. But in reality, these levels can vary widely on gender, weight, and health conditions. For instance, a high-protein diet may be a great choice for someone who is relatively fit and active. But high levels of protein will cause kidney damaged to someone with chronic kidney disease.
We have different metabolisms.
Metabolism is something that varies widely person-to-person. While one person can seemingly eat whatever they want and never gain weight, another person may struggle to manage their weight despite dieting rigorously.
For that reason, restriction diets like intermittent fasting aren’t meant for everyone. While some people swear by the benefits, others may experience some pretty negative side effects (like fainting, headaches, irritability, and nausea). Avoid intermittent fasting if you have a lack of appetite, weight loss, high cortisol levels, blood sugar imbalances, or if you have high caloric needs.
We have different lifestyles.
Eating a healthy diet is just as much about eating seasonally, locally, and according to our unique lifestyles as it is about getting the right balance of nutrients. For example, someone who is an active surfer in Sydney will have much different dietary needs than someone who is a relatively sedentary librarian in Oslo. We have to consider our energy, location, and health goals when planning our healthy meals.
One Response
The information here is what I have been hearing and reading for many years. Until recently I did not know that high levels of oxalates were causing many of my health problems, but now that I know I am reducing foods high in oxalates, many of which I never ate until I tried AIP, Ketogenic, green juices. I am, in fact, returning to eat the way I did when growing up. It was fairly low in oxalates. Apparently the gut microbe oxalobacter formigenes eats oxalates thus eliminating them from the system and preventing absorption into the blood. However, antibiotics destroy this bacteria which is not able to regenerate. The only solution is to remove high oxalate containing foods from the diet, such as spinach, kale, chard, sweet potatoes, most nuts especially almonds, cashews, peanuts, cocoa and chocolate, most legumes, and to eat the medium oxalate containing foods to a minimum. It turns out that oxalates are a major cause of inflammation and, therefore, of autoimmune diseases. In my case I wonder whether it contributed to breast cancer. It is certainly a hallmark of CFS.