Feb 26, 2014

Scot: Sometimes when you starting time eating healthier, you feel worse at first. Today, mutual negative reactions, which are curt-term, to eating healthier. Is it normal when someone goes from non eating to eating healthy to feel some negative side furnishings?

Staci McIntosh: It depends on where you're coming from and where you lot're going. What did yous eat before and how much did you change that? The more than y'all change your nutrition, the more aligning time will be necessary

Scot: How about from not too healthy to really salubrious?

Staci McIntosh: Expect a couple of weeks. It's going to take some aligning for certain.

Scot: What about some specific symptoms?

Staci McIntosh: And so a lot of times our gut is populated with leaner . . . Well, it'south e'er populated with bacteria, and information technology gets specific to the types of foods that nosotros're eating. When y'all change that and you're eating more fruits or vegetables and then the type of bacteria that populates your gut is going to change with information technology, and that takes an adjustment period, and that will result in gas, and bloating, and a alter of the population of that bacteria.

Scot: If y'all already said this, I'thou lamentable, simply so the bacteria probably helps you digest, and you lot need to get the right kind for the food.

Staci McIntosh: Exactly, we all take bacteria in our gut, and information technology's part of our happy gut flora, and there's a healthy population of a diverseness of bacteria, and then in that location'due south not and then much of a healthy population.

Scot: And so you've got to become rid of the fast food leaner and go some fresh fruit bacteria in there?

Staci McIntosh: You're introducing the proficient leaner equally y'all eat more fruits and vegetables, and and so that's going to start changing the whole flora.

Scot: What about constipation and diarrhea is that the same thing going on in that location?

Staci McIntosh: Some of it will exist. Some of it may be that you've gone from a depression fiber diet to a pretty high cobweb diet without a transition period, and without plenty water during that fourth dimension. Then I always recommend that if someone's going from a pretty low fiber diet, and then the average American eats 13 grams of fiber a day, and the average recommendation is betwixt 25 and 38 grams a solar day.

Scot: Wow and then near half.

Staci McIntosh: And then we're a pretty low fiber community in general so if we're going from a low fiber diet to a high fiber diet, we need a petty transition menstruation, and we need to increase the corporeality of water and activity that nosotros're doing so that it helps get things good for you and not issue in constipation.

Scot: Is that another enzyme issue?

Staci McIntosh: It's not an enzyme result. Because we don't digest fiber so there'southward no enzyme to assimilate fiber, but it'southward just a matter of the fiber sucks in water and that'southward what helps make an easier stool to laissez passer, but if y'all don't have the extra water for information technology to suck in then it becomes constipation.

Scot: All right, what about like brain fog? I feel similar when I start my new diet sometimes I get encephalon fog. I'g non as sharp as I used to be. What could be going on there?

Staci McIntosh: You know I would have to discover out more well-nigh what you were eating before and then what yous inverse to. I would expect, I expect to hear those kind of questions sometimes when I take a patient who's going to a low carbohydrate nutrition, or going to a paleo diet, or going to some farthermost diet where they don't take plenty carbohydrates intake, and and so information technology will make you feel like a brain fog considering you don't have enough basic glucose in the brain.

Scot: So you can eliminate as well many carbohydrates?

Staci McIntosh: Absolutely.

Scot: What almost fatigue and low energy is that a carbohydrate issue again?

Staci McIntosh: Yeah your bones, your chief source of fuel for every cell in the body is glucose.

Scot: Could it be just more calories could be the solution for something like that or does information technology need to be carbs?

Staci McIntosh: It needs to be glucose, you lot're going to use glucose for your brain, yous're going to employ glucose for energy for every cell in the trunk, and you can get that glucose from breaking down glycerol from fatty acids, or from turning amino acids into glucose, just that's just another step that your body has to become through.

Scot: Got you lot.

Staci McIntosh: Then if it has available glucose then you take available energy for the cells.

Scot: What about headaches what could cause that if you're changing from 1 philosophy of eating to another?

Staci McIntosh: A lot of different things. So sometimes if people are going into using a lot of non-nutritive sugar replacements, so saccharin, aspartame, all those type things. If y'all would normally drink soda and then you become to a diet soda that tin can requite people headaches a lot of times, and also if you're going to a really low carbohydrate nutrition your brain uses glucose, and every cell in your brain uses glucose, and information technology wants glucose, and if you don't have enough glucose available if you lot're on either a very low calorie nutrition, you're not getting enough fluids, or yous're not getting enough glucose regardless of the calorie amount that would exist a typical recipe for a headache.

Scot: Okay, how nearly extreme cravings? Now of a sudden I want everything that's not good for me anymore.

Staci McIntosh: That'southward homo nature.

Scot: Is that what that is?

Staci McIntosh: Yes that's human nature. As soon as y'all say you tin can never have chocolate once more that'due south all y'all're going to retrieve most.

Scot: Yeah, then that's why it's probably skillful to maybe allow yourself a little.

Staci McIntosh: That's why everything in moderation.

Scot: A little taste, all right. What nearly going through withdrawals of things similar caffeine, or sugar, are there withdrawal symptoms to those types of things?

Staci McIntosh: Absolutely, when you wait at someone'south MRI scan, for example, and you look at the result that it has on the brain for saccharide versus nicotine information technology's the aforementioned area of the encephalon that gets stimulated so it does trigger, certainly not an addiction like nicotine would, but it'southward triggering the aforementioned areas of the brain so yous can experience those withdrawals.

Scot: All correct and some headaches might exist caused by getting rid of the bad stuff and you lot're really going through withdrawals, like . . . wow.

Staci McIntosh: Sure.

Scot: When somebody goes on a new diet what words of advice practise yous have for them to get through this process, because I imagine some of these things actually cease people from eating improve?

Staci McIntosh: Absolutely, I say one stride at a time, don't change everything overnight, if you lot have gained excess weight you gained it 1 gram at a time permit's think about losing it one gram at time not changing everything all at once, and keeping in listen that eating is a basic enjoyment of life. If you're changing to a diet that is actually not that enjoyable then why practice that? Why non just beginning on something that you programme to do the rest of your life because it's salubrious, and it'south enjoyable, and y'all and your entire family unit tin do it?

Announcer: We're your daily dose of science, chat, medicine. This is The Scope, University of Utah Wellness Scientific discipline Radio.

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