WASHINGTON 鈥� The road to better health is paved聽with chicken wings and butter.聽
OK, it鈥檚 not that simple 鈥� but physician and Los Angeles Lakers nutrition program director Dr. Catherine Shanahan says they’re a great place to start.
Shanahan is the author of 鈥�,鈥� a book that calls for the return of 鈥渢raditional foods鈥� in place of the processed sugars and oils that are all too common on grocery store shelves.
鈥淲e abandoned what had essentially been an extremely healthy diet that most of the world was following, and we went to something completely different,鈥� Shanahan said about modern eating habits.
In 鈥淒eep Nutrition,鈥� Shanahan outlines the four pillars of the human diet 鈥� foods that are the backbone of diets that healthy communities around the world have been eating for generations:聽fresh foods (fruits and vegetables), fermented and sprouted foods, meats cooked on the bone, and organ meats.
If a few of the pillars sound a bit archaic for your palate, think of it in terms of chicken wings (or thighs), pickles and p芒t茅.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a fad diet. It鈥檚 returning us back to what kept us healthy for thousands of years before we all started getting sick,鈥� Shanahan said.
So, how exactly do chicken wings improve your health? Shanahan says the four food groups interact with the very building blocks of human wellness: DNA. 聽
鈥淎ntioxidants [found in fresh fruits and vegetables] help protect your body against some of the processes that cause cellular aging and that actually can damage DNA,鈥� Shanahan said.
Eating meat on the bone, and then stock made from those bones, helps joint health.
鈥淚t acts as an anti-inflammatory for our joints and interacts with the cells of our body that produce collagen, and collagen is what keeps us young,鈥� she added.
Getting rid of vegetable oils and replacing them with natural fats helps to sharpen the mind and improve energy levels, and eating organ meat, such as liverwurst, floods the body with nutrients.
鈥淲e鈥檝e heard about 鈥榚at your rainbow鈥� when it comes to vegetables, because the different-colored vegetables have different vitamins. Well, the same applies to the different organs of an animal. They all have a different nutritional profile that can benefit us in different ways, but very powerfully,鈥� Shanahan said.
If you鈥檙e looking to ease into Shanahan鈥檚 food philosophy, choosing thigh meat over breast meat 鈥� which is popular among dieters for containing lots of protein and few calories 鈥� for your next meal is a simple swap.
鈥淵eah, everybody wants to get the maximum amount of protein, but with the Lakers, we help them understand that a truly complete protein builds more than just your muscle,鈥� Shanahan said.聽鈥淚t鈥檚 important to do something for the connective tissue, which holds the muscle to the bone and lubricates the joints.鈥�
The next time you鈥檙e at the grocery store, read the labels of your favorite foods.
鈥淕rab what you鈥檝e been buying and turn it around and look and see if it has one of the six vegetable oils, for example soy and canola 鈥� you鈥檒l see those in a lot of foods,鈥� said Shanahan, who added that avoiding foods that contain these oils will help with brain function.
鈥淲hen your brain wants energy, it makes you hungry. But if your brain is not being poisoned with these toxic fats and too much sugar, and it鈥檚 getting the healthy fats that are part of a traditional diet and lots of antioxidants, it will work better,鈥� Shanahan said.
Limiting vegetable oils may even help to improve your mood and optimize your immune system.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e in a better mood, you鈥檙e more likely to take better care of everything else in your life, whether we鈥檙e talking about your own diet or exercising or organizing your file cabinet or being in a better mood at work or around your kids,鈥� Shanahan said.
Finally, if you can only grab one thing on your next trip to the store, Shanahan recommends throwing some grass-fed butter into the cart. Its flavor is different from traditional butters, and so is its nutritional value 鈥� it contains vitamins and omega-3s.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to make all of your vegetables taste better and you鈥檙e going to get the natural fats from it,鈥� she added.
That鈥檚 a change we can all get behind.
