YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT, MINDFUL DIET FOR A MINDFUL BODY

Are you feeling fat, weak, like a marshmallow with 0 muscles maybe?... It's time to prepare your body for summer. So you start thinking ... SHOULD I DIET, SHOULD I STOP EATING ALTOGETHER, SHOULD I EAT JUST VEGETABLES AND THEN EAT ANYTHING I WANT ON WEEKENDS, WHAT KIND OF DIET SHOULD I DO, MAYBE I PAY A PROFESSIONAL?.... STOP, please stop …

ARE ENJOYING LIFE AND BEING HEALTHY INCOMPATIBLE? HELL NO, PLEASE, read below

First of all, you need to take a hard look at yourself, your behaviour around food and your relationship to it, and ask the right questions. Why do I want to diet? Do I feel bad physically (Weak? Tired? Brain fog?), or is it more because of how I look or maybe because someone else has said something about my appearance? If the answer is someone else, F*** them, and live your best life. The place to start from is if you don't feel at ease in your body, & you feel like making a lifestyle change and going on a diet. You go on a diet not because everyone else is, but because you feel you need to make a change, because your body and mind need a diet.

So now, ok a diet, but which one? There are more diets around than there are tourists on the Ramblas. How do I know which diet is for me? It's true, not all diets are suitable for your body and your individual physiology. So before starting one, you should hone your lifestyle, and other factors, which aren't compatible with the body, energy levels or well-being you want to obtain from your new diet, some examples could be the time of day and number of meals you’re eating, amount of sleep, is there a lack? stress levels, no matter what you eat if you are stressed youre gonna feel bad, amount of physical activity etc.

Maybe the food you eat is good but the amount of calories is too high, so you just have to slow down on the amount or increase your exercise. A sedentary lifestyle with any kind of diet is not optimal, you should do regular exercise to help your body assimilate the nutrients and grow muscle or make the unnecessary fat disappear. There is nothing like eating after being ravenously hungry after a hard training session, it's what we are designed for!

There are a lot of factors that are important to take into account when going on a diet, not only the lifestyle factors we have mentioned, you should also be aware of the different kind of diets, not just ''Ok, she does this one and she's perfect, so let's do it", NOPE. Do some research, and choose the one that suits you the best, you may also not know until after having tried a diet for a while. Don't restrict yourself too hard or you won't have any long term results. Be kind to yourself and set yourself up for success with reasonable goals.

In this article, we are not going to tell you what diet you should choose, because we don't know your needs, so we will just outline different diets and the pros and cons of each one, in order to help you to be more wise.

Lactose Free, Diary Free Diet; no more cheesy meal

Cow's milk is quickly falling out of fashion and for good reason, many people don't drink milk or dairy because of allergies, food sensitivities, skin and mucus problems, etc, or because of the incredible cruelty behind this industry being brought to light. Milk is well known to be the first source of nutrients for babies, but unfortunately this has become the myth of needing it for strong bones. When one grows up, milk is NOT a first need, especially not the heavily processed milk of ANOTHER animal, until at a certain age our body doesn't tolerate a large amount of lactose[1]. Our body slows down the synthesizes of enzymes to digest lactose, you will still have enough enzymes for a small portion of dairy every day, but have you ever felt sick drinking milk? Maybe you are crossing that thresh hold, hard to say, we are all different, we don't all react the same to the same product and also we don't have the same bacteria proportion in our gut.

Some people love dairy and feel ok eating it both physically and morally, the only danger now then can be the large amounts of calories, calcium, protein, and fat; too much of anything is not good for anyone. Diary is not necessary for a healthy diet but can definitely form part of one if you really love it, everything in moderation. Also choose raw milk and dairy products with the least amount of processing possible, go the farm and get your products directly if you want to continue consuming diary.

If you are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk this is an obvious lifestyle choice to make, just be careful when you choose to be dairy-free, cut the dairy little by little rather than an immediate cut, otherwise, you might have cravings. Also when going on a lactose/dairy-free diet you should know that pre-prepared, packaged or any food you didn’t prepare yourself can contain dairy traces. You should cook everything yourself to be sure, or read the small print on that packet of waffles you love so much, food companies are here to make money, not do what's best for your health. With that said, food companies are being forced to shift due to the change in social consciousness regarding animals. There are more dairy free options all the time, even in Spain! So many nut milks now and cheese alternatives (cashew cheese namnam) out there which will make it easy for you to give this diet a try and see if it optimizes you!

Gluten Free Diet, bye bye Beers and French Toast

A gluten-free diet is a diet that excludes the protein gluten, found in grains such as wheat, barley and others. Gluten can be an issue as it is not completely broken down by your body and can remain in your small intestine post-digestion. This diet is essential for managing signs and symptoms of celiac disease. What is that? Celiac disease is a condition in which gluten triggers immune system activity that damages the lining of the small intestine [3]. A gluten intolerant individual eating bread will experience pain in the gut that can last for hours.

Be careful when going on a gluten-free diet if you don't suffer from celiac disease. This is a mistake that a lot of people make; gluten intolerant parents preparing gluten free meals for their children even if they are not intolerant, eventually actually causing them to be so: "Sorry, no more cookies son".

Also, people going on gluten-free diets because they think thet are overweight and that "eating bread makes me fat"; eeerp... not true! No scientific studies have ever shown that eating gluten makes you gain weight; calories make you fat not gluten. The problem with weight gain is not a slice of bread, it's what you put on it and how many you are having a day. If you want to lose weight, you need to reduce calories not restrict what you like eating. A problem in a gluten-free diet is that the alternative gluten free products often have a high content of saturated fat and sugar.

The secret with diets is being happy with what you eat, the more you restrict yourself, the less you will have long term results as it is not sustainable. Not many studies have been carried out on people going on a gluten-free diet without suffering any kind of disease in relation with the protein gluten. So, if you are not feeling bloating, diarrea, or cramping then our advise would to not change the gluten content of your diet, just try not to eat all the bread grandma just made, as mentioned, everything with moderation.

Veganism, welcome to a veggie world

Thanks to increased information on the practices of intensive farming and the resulting higher consciousness in the general public; a new trend is upon us, people choosing a vegan lifestyle. No animal products whatsoever!

Being vegan is morally righteous, if everyone was as compassionate we would live in a totally different and much more healthy world with a better climate. However being moral alone isn't enough to have a great diet, you need applied knowledge. The most important problem for vegan people is the lack of B12 vitamin which is only found in animal products [5]. So be careful, when doing this kind of diet, the most difficult part when doing a new diet is to find balance, to have enough protein, iron, vitamins, etc. To be honest, with correct planning and knowledge, you can find most of what you need just by eating vegetables, fruits and nuts.

Veganism is seen as a healthy diet because, vegan people tend to be thinner, have lower cholesterol, less type 2 diabetes and certain cancers, lower case of stroke and heart disease [6]. A vegan diet provides lots of advantages when it comes to health; but vegans can have bone problems, the lack in protein and calcium is very real in this diet if you are not careful with what you eat. I would say to add some organic free range eggs into your diet, preferably have your own chicken (that way you know how he/she is treated. Also go see your doctor get some bloodwork done every three months to check your levels.

Carnivore Diet, you are what you eat: MEEEEEEEHEAT

For a meat lover, this diet is paradise. Mmmmmmm, I will have ribs for lunch, roast chicken for dinner, a juicy steak tomorrow, and the day after, and the da… Wait, lets find out more...

The Carnivore diet is gaining more and more followers, one of the most popular advocates is Dr. Paul Saladino who has followed the carnivore diet for 7months straight [7], he’s providing great advice for anyone who wants to try the diet as there is more to it than just eating chicken legs to reach optimization.

The Carnivore diet means eating ONLY animal products, like meat, fish, milk, etc… It seems easy, only eating meat. But we have to think about it, what does our body need? You need to be aware what kind of animal products will provide you with the right amount of calcium, protein, vitamins etc.

The main problem with people going on a carnivore diet is that they are eating red meat and eggs exclusively, it's tasty, it's easy to cook and the carnivorous love it. But there animals are made up of more than just ribs, there is liver, kidney, bone marrow, brains. They may not be the most attractive parts but are neceassry to feel good long term on this diet as they are, full of nutrients and can also be super yummy.

When you follow Saladino it becomes clearer, he explains what different nutrients we need when following the carnivore diet, such as; methionine glycine ratio, collagen, tallow, marrow; stuff you didn't even think about when cbeing a meat eater, but which are important when only eating animals. So it's really important to know that our body needs a sufficient amount of calcium, combined with a good amount of vitamins for strong bones, and also a good ratio of protein and fat, omega 3 etc. As with the vegan diet, we must know what we are doing for the best results.

You may feel better from this diet, thinner and with less fogginess and more mental clarity and energy. Lots of other advantages being witnessed from this diet; anecdotally autoimmune diseases are being helped or cured from this diet, most famously in Jordan Peterson's daughter. Mainy of the benefits found in the ketogenic diet will be also be found here.

Check your blood often with your doctor, and try transitioning slowly into more protein/fat from animals to slowly go towards a carnivore diet. Some of you will feel better, while other will be exasperated only eating animal products, milk, cheese and meat all the time. Maybe it is not for you or maybe it is... like everything, try it and use this diet when necessary.

Keto Diet, Low Carb and Sugar Free, when Fat is your best friend

A ketogenic diet is a very low-carb diet, which can help you burn fat more efficiently. Many people have documented its proven benefits for weight loss, health and performance. The word keto comes from the fact that it allows the body to produce small fuel molecules called "ketones". It is an alternative fuel source when glucose is in short supply, normally we burn glucose for energy. When you eat very few carbs, there is no glucose to burn so the body produces ketones from the fat you've eaten. When you are on a keto diet and do exercise or just think, because yes, your brain needs fuel; you burn fat and you enter in ketosis. That's also why you lose body fat when you go on a long-term keto diet.

The typical foods on a ketogenic diet are fats like olive oil, avocado, butter; etc meat, fish and eggs as they have zero carbohydrates and certain vegetables also low in carbs. [9]. The only thing to think about when you want to enter in ketosis is to avoid eating carbs. Try to avoid fruits, you can eat some berries but most other fruits contain carbohydrates; also no processed foods, fizzy drinks, rice or bread; they are obviously high in carbohydrates.

Who should go on a ketogenic diet? The ketogenic diet is like every diet, you need to be careful and do your research. If you have a health problem connected to inflammation or need to lose weight this diet could work wonders, ask your doctor if this is for you. It is better to begin with a short-term keto diet than starting with a long-term plan [10], it may be too big a change for your body. A diet is like everything, if you restrict yourself or have too much of one thing at one time it will be too much, and have adverse effects.

At Everest we recommend the Ketogenic diet, because it seems to be the healthiest diet for your body (fat loss and reduced inflammation) and mind (more energy and clarity), considering that the consumption of sugar can hurt you, and you still eat a little bit of everything. But don't get it wrong we are not saying to be fully ketogenic all the time, just doing some periods of eating this way can refresh you in a really nice way.

The best advice we can give you, is to enjoy your life to the fullest. If you want to eat that fatty donut, go for it, you deserve it, don't just eat it every day or a dozen of them. If you are exercising as you should we can all be afforded a treat now and then. The most important thing is a balanced diet, enough carbs, protein, calcium, everything... not too much, not too little. Also if you want to lose some weight, the most important issue is to reduce your calorie consumption.

Be happy, drink, eat, smile, practise regular exercise and love yourself; these are the most important ingredients only you can provide.

References

[1] https://www.gicare.com/gi-health-resources/lactose-free/

[2] https://www.rd.com/health/healthy-eating/dairy-free-diet/

[3] https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/gluten-free-diet/art-20048530

[4] https://cellucor.com/blogs/nutrition/the-pros-and-cons-of-the-gluten-free-diet

[5] https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/vegetarian-diet/art-20046446

[6] https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/89/5/1627S/4596952

[7] https://www.reddit.com/r/carnivore/comments/avcdop/dr_paul_saladino_the_ultimate_guide_to_the/

[8] http://knationmovement.libsyn.com/carnivore-diet-fiber-and-health-18-dr-paul-saladino

[9] https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto

[10] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-20933-w