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We seem to be obsessed with fears of dietary deficiency.  Worried that we are not getting enough.  Enough calcium, enough protein, enough vitamins, minerals, this nutrient or that supplement.  We may not be sure what it is, but we're fairly certain that we are not getting enough of it.  Walk in to any health food store and their knowledgeable staff will surely help you identify your deficiencies (and all of the supplements needed to restore you to perfect health).  With neurotic zeal many search for the missing factor or co-factor, that mysterious element that results in so many miraculous testimonials.  These heartfelt testimonials are almost always of the short-term variety.  “I tried ‘product x' and after only two days, my pain of 20 years is completely gone”. 

I have long told my patients that there is no vitamin, mineral, herb, remedy or supplement that will make up for a bad diet.  I submit to you that most of the health problems experienced today are not the result of deficiency, but excess.  When was the last time you heard of someone coming down with a case of beri beri, pellagra or kwashiorkor?  These are all diseases that result from a deficiency of protein.  It is extremely rare to see anyone in our country suffering from not eating enough protein.  And if someone is deficient in protein, it is usually a digestion/assimilation problem rather than “not getting enough”.  The old notion of getting a balanced or complete protein (amino acid) is based on old research that turned out to be faulty.  If you are consuming enough calories from whole foods in your diet, you are eating enough protein.

The real danger as it relates to protein is getting too much.  Our bodies are designed to utilize the exact amount of protein that we eat each day.  If we happen to eat too much, then the body will not store it but release it.  This is why high protein diets are so effective in weight loss. 

Your body only uses what it needs and excretes the rest.  [Please note that while a high protein diet can help you lose weight, it is a very unhealthy way to do it and has an incredible rebound effect – I had a patient lose 30 pounds in 3 months only to regain 40 pounds in one month once she stopped the diet].  Proteins are composed of amino acids.  When we consume excess protein, the body must first neutralize these acids before they can be dumped as waste.  It turns out that the body uses calcium to neutralize these amino acids.  And guess where the body finds abundant stores of calcium:  That's right – the bones.  As a result of eating too much protein, the bones lose calcium.

One of the main culprits of osteoporosis is a diet too high in protein (namely too much animal products).  The phosphoric acid is soda pop also leaches calcium from the bones.  Exercise is the other important factor in maintaining strong bones.  Don't be fooled into thinking osteoporosis is simply a matter of hormones.  Adequate estrogen is a minor factor (and a very profitable one for the pharmaceutical giants).

Other diseases that are directly related to dietary excess are heart disease, stroke, diabetes and obesity .  America loves three tastes – sweet, salty and fat.  Look at your choices in fast foods and snack foods.  Those that are popular are made of one or a combination of these tastes.    Americans consume massive quantities of chips, soda, candy, burgers, fries, cheese and ice cream.  While there is concern and mountains of medical research pointing the finger at excess fat, few seem to take it very seriously.  A major medical journal recently suggested that the best way to deal with high cholesterol was with medication rather than dietary change.  They reasoned that to expect people to change what they ate was too much to ask.  Insanity can be defined as doing the same thing and expecting different results.  We can choose our actions, but not the consequences of those actions.  You may take a drug to modify the consequences, but the end result will not be health.  A diet too high in fat (both animal fat [meat and dairy] and vegetable fat [cooking and salad oils] will damage your arteries and veins.

Some oils seem to be exceptions, such as olive, coconut and flaxseed oils, but these oils are produced very naturally and do not need to be altered, produced or refined in a laboratory.

America (and most of the modernized world) has a sweet tooth.  Many children and adults keep a constant supply of sugar [candy] in their mouths or pockets.  Unlike protein, the body doesn't excrete unused sugar [wouldn't that be nice if it did?].  Sugar is the fuel the body runs on.  Sugar that is not used or burned for energy immediately can be stored.  And of course sugar is stored as fat.  Too much sugar not only leads to obesity, (over 50% of Americans are overweight), but is also the major contributor to diabetes (high blood sugar).  Type II, or adult onset diabetes, is now being seen in children.  This disease is totally preventable and in the early stages reversible.  A pill will not do it.  Unfortunately, most physicians when they encounter lab results with borderline high blood sugar will respond with the statement; “let's just keep an eye on it and check you again in 6 months”.  What your doctor is really telling you is; “you are not quite sick enough to justify prescribing diabetic drugs for the rest of your life, but if we wait for six months, then your health will continue to deteriorate.”

Remember medical doctors are trained to prescribe drugs and perform surgery.  Their training does not include prevention or reversal of disease.  The time to cure illness is in the early stages.  Don't wait until your health falls into the realm of emergency crisis medicine and you really need medical services.

~ Dr. Kyle D. Christensen D.C. ~