Attention--The Other Vitamin A

Have you ever grabbed a package of potato chips or cookies and plopped down in front of the television only to find that a few minutes later, the package is empty and you don’t even remember eating mostof it? Or even worse, that you still feel unsatisfied? This is caused by a severe deficiency in what I term the “other” vitamin A—not the kind found in carrots, but the one called attention. Although it’s not commonly seen as a necessary nutrient, it should be! Without paying attention during meals, our health suffers.

When people are asked what they enjoy in life, eating will always be somewhere near the top of the list. Talk to the right person and even a fast-food cheeseburger is a little slice of heaven! The question then is, if we love our food so much, why do we give it so little attention? If we were on a date with someone we loved deeply, we would never ignore them for the television or read a book in their presence, completely avoiding eye contact. Why do we hurry through meals doing anything but looking at and loving the food in front of us?

Stress is reason number one. When our bodies are under the influence of stress hormones, our brains become convinced that we are running out of time. We begin to hurry through our days and seek ways to multitask. Mealtimes are often sacrificed. In addition, many of us have mixed emotions about the foods we eat. Perhaps there is guilt surrounding indulgent choices, or maybe we eat tasteless diet foods because we believe we “should”,but in our hearts we hate them. With either mindset, we distance ourselves from the act of eating.

Because each of us is different, attention related to eating is a complex and often confusing subject. What is clear, however, is the detrimental effect of ignoring our meals. Ingestion of food is only a part of nourishment. According to nutritional psychologist Marc David, scientists who tested individuals based on attention found stunning results. They exposed their subjects to “dichotomous listening”, meaning they heard different conversations through each ear while drinking a mineral beverage. Simply being an audience to two conversations caused a 50% drop in mineral absorption from the drink! Multitasking during meals doesn’t work.

Lack of attention doesn’t just rob us of nutrition. When we come to the table without awareness, we don’t listen to our natural hunger signals. We may choose foods we aren’t even interested in, which lowers our pleasure during the meal (vitamin P, a subject for another day). We don’t watch our bodies’ fullness signals, so we overeat. And worst of all, because our brain wasn’t paying attention during the meal, it is literally unaware that we’ve eaten and continues to beg for food!

So, next time you eat, turn off the television. Put down the paper. Make mealtime your special “date” with your beloved food. Give it your undivided attention by taking a moment to breathe deeply and inhale the scent of your meal. Look at the colors on your plate. Chew slowly, noticing every flavor, every texture as it comes to you. Continue this practice and you may find that you become fuller, faster. Your interest in some foods may diminish, while you begin enjoying others more. Even better, your stress levels will drop and digestion can improve. Fill up on the “other” vitamin A and you’ll see everything about your relationship with food changing for the better.

Does Fat in the Diet Create Cholesterol Buildup in the Arteries?

The short answer to that question is “no”. Here’s the long answer. In  the 1950s, researchers found that a major ingredient of the plaque in arteries was cholesterol, and assumed it was settling there because it was part of our diet. Now it seems that cholesterol only builds up inside blood vessels if they are damaged. Believe it or not, your body is using cholesterol as a bandage to repair broken areas in the cardiovascular system!

So, what damages our vessels? High blood pressure plays a large part. Imagine the plumbing inside your home. What if water pressure was extremely high in the system? Pipes would begin to burst, especially at junction points. That’s exactly what happens in our bodies. When pressure is high, our arteries become strained, particularly in high-stress areas such as right around the heart and in places where vessels bend.

Another major cause of arterial injury is smoking. The chemicals in tobacco smoke cause blood vessels to constrict, inducing pressure increases. They also produce inflammation in every part of the body.  This includes our arterial linings.

Diabetes plays a role as well. Excess sugar builds up in the bloodstream with this condition because it can’t be deposited into cells. This free-roaming sugar wreaks havoc in the body, causing irritation, contributing to blood vessel damage, and encouraging blood clots.

No matter the cause, when a weak arterial spot is detected, the body creates a patch for that area. Cholesterol is used most often for this and it works well, too…until it begins to break down. Just like any fat, cholesterol may eventually go rancid—what the scientific community calls oxidation. This rancid cholesterol stiffens and becomes brittle. Then the body works to repair these stiffened areas, leading to more inflammation, further cholesterol deposition, blood clotting, and narrowed arteries. Blood pressure rises. Ultimately, a stroke or heart attack may occur.

Now, let’s return to dietary fat. Although the fat we eat isn’t directly deposited into our arteries, it contributes mightily to the health of our blood vessels and bodies. Just as rancid fat in arteries is dangerous, poor quality fats in our diet are also unhealthy. Deep-fried or barbecued foods, greasy chips and other shelf-stable snacks are rich in fats which have been exposed to high temperatures or chemical manipulation. These are damaged fats! When they come into our bodies, they create inflammation and irritation, the true building blocks of blood vessel damage.

For your best cardiovascular health, don’t smoke. Keep an eye on blood pressure and sugar levels. Move your body often. Finally, choose food wisely. Your best bets are fats in their natural state, such as fresh avocado or coconut, nuts and seeds, and dressings made with unheated oils.

In order to make things even better, eat plenty of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, especially red berries and greens. Antioxidant foods help to keep body compounds from going rancid--they stop oxidation. This is just what we need for cholesterol inside our arteries as well as the by-products of irritation due to smoking, diabetes or low-quality food intake. An apple a day keeps the doctor away in more ways than one!

Bariatric Surgery--"Cure" for Diabetes?

It was recently reported that The New England Journal of Medicine completed a study showing bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery) to be an effective "cure" for Type II Diabetes. In fact, those who have the surgery are often relieved of their diabetic medications within days of the procedure.

However, much went unreported by the media. 1 in 1,000 patients die as a result of this surgery! Those who survive may find that immediately afterward, blood clots, pneumonia, or infections at the incision site are common. Long term issues include ulceration or narrowing of the stomach-intestine connection(http://www.mayoclinic.org/bariatric-surgery/complications.html. It is very important to note that since those who undergo surgery can only eat approximately 1/2 cup per meal, lifelong nutrient deficiencies are rampant. Vitamin and mineral supplements are a necessity and even with these, the skin and hair may become very dry due to a lack of appropriate nutrition. Dehydration is also common because of the stomach's limited capacity.

Finally, the surgery can actually create a problem with LOW blood sugar, called non-insulinoma pancreatogenous hypoglycemia syndrome (NIPHS). Although rare, this condition can be life-threatening (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16195867) and may require surgery reversal.

If those who recommend these surgeries have their way, what will be our future? Will all Type II diabetics go under the knife regardless of weight? Will we be sending our teenagers into the operating room as a preventive measure?

I certainly hope not. The truth is, Type II Diabetes can be prevented by a combination of sensible nutrition and daily activity. Once the condition is in place, as little as a 10 minute walk can make a huge difference. When it comes to health, although pills and surgery seem to be the "easy" way out, sometimes taking the long way home--investing the time to learn what our bodies actually need--can be much more rewarding.