Dr Libby "What am I supposed to eat" recap

The drive behind writing the blog is YOU. Because I often hear people say they LOVED the Dr Libby talk, but felt overwhelmed with information. While you get motivated and implement all of her points after you hear her speak, Saturday night rolls around, and the new habits die hard. Which leaves you feeling guilty and thinking about how you will get “back on the wagon” on Monday. By Monday you have forgotten the key points and keep rumbling around in your old habits. And so the cycle continues.

Below I have outlined some of the key topics Dr Libby spoke about in her current tour “what am I supposed to eat”. I am not a nutritionist; I am a holistic chiropractor who is focused on getting humans well and keeping them well. My aim is to empower YOU to have the confidence that food is neither good nor bad, but nutritious and not nutritious. This blog will not prescribe or diagnose anything.

Remember health is a multifaceted domain that unfortunately gets lost and forgotten about until sickness comes along. My mission is to empower and educate as many humans as possible. Allowing humans to have the knowledge and tools to be proactive, rather than reactive with health.

If you are reading this and you still have an opportunity to hear her speak book it now, she communicates incredibly: here is the link https://www.drlibby.com/event/food-frustrations/
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Here are some key points I loved from Dr Libby’s talk:

• Think of your body as an “earth suit”, the better you look after this suit the more enabled you are to enjoy good health and get the most out of life.
• NZ is the 3rd most obese population in the world (I did not love hearing this point, but it is worth reminding everyone of).
• Food is not healthy, humans are healthy. Food is nutritious or it is not nutritious.
• What you do every day impacts your health more than what you do now and again. You know this already!
• Don’t beat yourself up for choosing to eat chocolate and having a glass of wine when you are celebrating a friend’s birthday.

SUGAR.
It is not the devil. It is needed for functions in our brain, red blood cells and parts of the kidneys. But you most likely are getting enough natural sugars from whole foods you are already eating. What you probably are not aware of is that most processed foods contain A LOT of sugar and other nasties.
Sugar cane is refined 14 times before it gets onto your plate. Think about that. How natural is something that has been refined 14 times?
How does our body break something down that genetically it does not recognise? Remember in the game of life sugar is new to us. Processed foods need sugar and all sorts of other agents in them, but why?

To improve shelf life, and how do they improve shelf life?

By decreasing bacterial growth that would break food down naturally if you left it in the fridge too long.

SO do you think processed food helps us with our natural bacterial balance? Our tummy has 2-3kg of natural bacteria to help us break down food. You put two and two together, let’s be logical about it. Eating excessive amounts of processed food may be damaging our gut health.

GENETICS
Your genetics make up who you are and if you happen to be of Irish decent your ancestors used to eat A LOT of potatoes. Until the potato famine. At which point they switched to growing and eating grains in much larger quantities than ever before.
Studies are suggesting that people with this heritage have higher incidences of gut related disorders like celiac disease.
Other parts of the world have quirky genetic traits like this too. If particular foods don’t make you feel good after eating them, LISTEN to your body.

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY + IMPROVE YOUR NUTRIENT INTAKE
What food makes you feel good? What food makes you feel bloated or get other symptoms like reflux? When we consume too much sugar we shut off our ability to be able to listen to our body because our brains addictive desire for sugar takes over our natural instincts. Food for thought.

3 meals + 2 snacks a day mean 35 opportunites to nourish your body. If you eat 7 whole food meals a week and you improve 1 meal a week for 2 months you literally DOUBLE the nutrients you are feeding yourself. That sounds easy and achievable. Great logical thinking Dr Libby.

FADS + BLOGGERS:
Diet fads come and go, bottom line is you need to do what works for your body, so learn to get in tune and see what works for you!
Bloggers – Usually bloggers are people writing information to share with people based on their own experiences. It is nice to read and support blogs (thanks for reading guys). Just be mindful that some bloggers have larger opinions than they do medical education or clinical experience. Just because the coolest blogger rates the latest fad does not mean this is the right for you. How do you know what’s right for you? Listen to your body, and if you can’t hear it. Learn to listen and get some professional help from a registered nutritionist who specialises in real food.

FAT + PROTEIN
These things are naturally occurring in nature because we need them in our lives, enjoy them in their natural form.

WAGON
Guys, there is no wagon, there is just life. The idea of getting on the wagon allows you to “fall off the wagon” which may not be healthy for your mindset. Ponder that.

EAT LOCAL + SPRAY FREE ORGANIC
Eating local supports your local growers. We want them to keep growing nutritious food for us in nutrient dense soil! Locally grown food usually has less plastic wrapping (save the environment), less chemicals on it to improve its shelf life (and therefore less chemicals to harm your gut) and less miles spent on fuel (carbon footprint decreased = winning). 
If you can’t eat organic then fill up the sink and soak veges in 3 parts water and 1 part vinegar to break down sprays. FYI: This only breaks down some toxins.

WRAPPING IT UP
I hope this has helped break it down for you. Food is simple if you keep it natural and simple. We need to remember to be logical about food. Let’s not be so rigid we cannot go out for dinner with friends. But let’s not be naïve and think that our earth suits are getting the nutrient’s they need to sustain us from eating processed foods daily.
Bottom line is you need vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, carbs and natural sugars to survive. Our bodies are clever. You can nourish or ignore these needs. Over time you will notice the effect it has on your earth suit. The choice is yours (said like captain planet).   

This information was designed by Dr Libby for those people who were getting confused about what to eat on a day to day basis. Hopefully it gives you some confidence to choose right for you. But if you still have requirements or a question regarding specific information or symptoms then a Registered Degree Qualified Nutritionist is a great place go. Here are some of my favourite recommendations for AWESOME degree qualified Holistic REAL whole food Nutritionists:

Chantal Cuthers Nutrionist:
Brilliant at what she does and specialises in woman’s hormones. What a hero for wanting to help us complicated ladies!)
​http://www.thefitfoodie.co.nz/

Kirsten Beynon Nutrtionist:
Amazing at what she does and specialises in supporting medical conditions and medications. Kirsten’s background in medical research means she is well versed in the nitty gritty parts of complicated medical conditions.
https://kirstenbeynon.co.nz/
 
I LOVE recipe books, and below is a photo of my current favourites. I would say every 2 weeks I make at least 1 recipe out of every one of these books, the rest of the time I free-ball and improvise. I must be honest, while I love to cook, it needs to be simple and easy and not have a MILLION ingredients. If you feel the same, then the petite kitchen and Chantal Cuthers cook books are a great place to start, you can grow your collection and inspiration from there.  It goes without saying that Dr Libby cook books could go in this photo too, but I currently don’t have any in the house as they are all leant out (and I can’t quite remember who to…)

Now, human, get your diary out and schedule a reminder to re-read this in 4 weeks. Someone has to hold you accountable, and that someone is YOU.

Hop to it.
 
With love,
Dr A xo