What's on the Menu? Quick meal ideas & content planning for better health.
Better health by Leap Day - that's our goal!
A content planning course set me to planning ahead - almost four months of mixed media style if I follow through. How-To’s for Health is the general theme grouped in five areas — Menu, Mood, Movement, Mitochondria and Microbiome.
(November) (December) (January) (February) *February is partially planned.
Let me know in the comments if you are interested in this series and any other topics you might like to see included.
The five topics all impact each other - interconnected for promoting health or causing disruption in health of the overall person or their mitochondria and microbiome residents.
We are a multiplicity made up of our Mitochondria and our Microbiome.
Emotional or physical stress from work or infection or unidentified food sensitivities all adds to an oxidative stress burden and uses up nutrients. Stress causes gut dysbiosis which then reduces B vitamin absorption and production by beneficial species. Lack of B vitamins disrupts methylation cycles leading to less energy and gene changes that might lead to cancer or other conditions. Antioxidants also get used up or production of glutathione can’t keep up and lack adds to the harm of mitochondria. Oxidative waste causes fibrotic scarring, eventually which can lead to cell death. Neuropsychiatric symptoms can progress from milder anxiety or depression to more severe forms or Bipolar disorder or schizophrenia and accumulate to Alzheimer’s dementia or other neurocognitive conditions.
“In summary, accumulating evidence implicates free radical-mediated pathology, altered antioxidant capacity, neurotoxicity and inflammation in neuropsychiatric disorders.” (Salim, 2014)
Menu - menu plans, food lists for nutrients or things that might need to be avoided. Or tips for basic or special needs and the ratios of macronutrients that may help health. My initial draft list included Prenatal, Child, Aging, Puree/Dysphagia, and those didn’t get worked in to the flow of topics. I realized they aren’t general interest and are stand alone page material that is needed at any time a reader wants it - or it is the focus of a blog.
Mood - what we eat and our daily habits and surroundings can affect our mood positively or negatively, and our attitude - how we react or worry or accept and let go - can impact our health. Sleep quality has ripple effects on our circadian cycle epigenetics and stress coping.
Movement - Self-care includes bathing, skin care, food prep, positive attitude and regular movement. Detoxification requires hydration, water or non-diuretic beverages, and full range of motion exercise at a reasonable exertion level for fitness capability. Our lymphatic and glymphatic systems need our motion or relaxation at night for clean-up to occur.
Mitochondria - We are symbionts with our energy providing mitochondria. We need them to live with energy and health. They are bacteria like and numerous within our cells. They can also travel along nerve axons between glia and neuron brain cells. They need to be functioning well for our cells to not develop cancerous gene changes.
Microbiome - We are also symbionts with the microbes that live in our gut and in and on other parts of our body. Having a healthy balance protects us from negative species taking over and causing an infection from overgrowth. Terrain vs germ theory - a healthy terrain can prevent germs from being able to get a foothold making the question a moot point or putting me on the side of a healthy terrain.
As I was jotting down initial ideas I was reminded of the Inflammation mastery books by Dr. Vasquez. Fighting inflammation - treatment or prevention - is a focus of this blog, and content plan. My topics did mesh nicely with his categories for modifying systemic inflammation, allergy and autoimmunity.
Dr. Vasquez’s Seven Modifiable Factors in Systemic Inflammation, Allergy and Autoimmunity. Page 303, Textbook of Clinical Nutrition and Functional Medicine, Vol 1. (Vasquez, 2016)
Food Intake and Nutritional Status - pro/anti inflammatory effects of diet including food allergies and intolerance, nutrient deficiencies and dependencies. Menus
Infections & Dysbiosis - chronic exposure to microbial effectors/effects. Microbiome & Mood
Nutritional Modulation of the Immune System - Nutrigenomic modulation of immunocyte phenotype. Menus, Microbiome, Mitochondria
Dysmetabolism & Dysfunctional Organelles, most notably Mitochondria, also endoplasmic reticulum stress/dysfunction (ERS) and resultant unfolded protein response (UPR). Mitochondria & Mood
Stress, sleep deprivation vs sleep sufficiency, social & psychological considerations. Change of routine, foreign travel might help stimulate excitement and drive. Spinal health - chiropractic model, somatic dysfunction - osteopathic model. Mood & Movement
Endocrine imbalance: hormones can add to or reduce inflammation. Menus & Mood
Xenobiotic immunotoxicity - exposure to and accumulation of toxic chemicals and/or toxic metals can alter immune responses toward allergy and autoimmunity and away from immunosurveillance against infections and cancer. (Vasquez, 2016) Menus, Microbiome, Mitochondria, and it impacts Mood, and would be helped by Movement plus water/hydration - detox.
Menu - overview - foods first to provide macro & micro nutrients.
Macronutrients: Moderately low carb, but high fiber and resistant starch. To make up the calorie difference, I recommend and use olive oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, nuts, seeds, avocado, for healthier fats plus additional nutrients. Meats and dairy also add fats to the diet. Some people go with more protein in the total ratio, but that can become hard on the kidneys eventually. High quality protein at each meal becomes more critical as we get older. Vegan diets are low in essential fatty acids and can be difficult to get enough protein and some micronutrients.
Omega 3 fatty acids - EPA/DHA and not too much seed oils (any standardly used/fried foods). Avoid trans fats - hydrogenated margarine.
Methyl folate and B12 and other B vitamins - daily.
Iodine and selenium.
Magnesium and potassium and adequate but not excessive sodium to balance with the potassium. Calcium is needed but too much can be a problem with modern meal planning and high milligram calcium supplements in common use.
Other trace minerals - zinc and copper in balance, manganese, molybdenum, boron, others.
Mitochondrial support can be a need - CoQ10, alpha lipoic acid, NAC or whey protein for cysteine, glycine, methionine.
Other lifestyle needs:
Good sleep habits for circadian cycle health - black out curtains or eye cover, and full spectrum light in the morning or day.
Exercise with a full range of movement to help with lymphatic and energy flow, and some weight bearing to promote muscle retention and strong bones.
Water!
We don’t flow well when dehydrated or think well if more severely dehydrated, and low sodium can also be a cause in sweaty weather. Rehydrate with water and sodium/potassium/magnesium - a salty tortilla chip and salsa snack, or salty peanuts or pumpkin seeds and juice, or potato chips and lemonade (made with some real lemon juice for potassium), or popcorn and an apple, veggie sticks and a chunk of cheese. Higher fat snacks like cheese might be more unsettling to the stomach if very dehydrated.
These snack and water tips are also important if drinking much alcohol - prevent a hangover by replenishing the minerals and water that are lost in the increased urination. Or, better, don’t drink too much alcohol. One to two servings is considered within the moderate range, a petite person needs less for beneficial effects and may reach negative effects sooner than a tall, large person.
Clean, fresh air - a negative ionizer to help remove volatile chemicals and positively charged infectious material is more important than people realize.
Reduce EMF exposure, especially while sleeping. Don’t use WiFi or turn off the router, or use a Faraday cage, and turn off your phone at night, or keep it in an EMF reducing pouch.
Reduce stress and practice stress coping techniques or enjoyable hobbies.
Quick Meal Ideas
a tuna salad sandwich on whole wheat or rye bread - omega 3 fatty acids, protein, iodine, zinc, methyl B12, and other B vitamins and trace nutrients and some phospholipids and fiber. Canned or leftover salmon in salad can also work.
a green salad, celery, cucumber slices, garbanzo or black beans, pumpkin or sesame seeds, - phospholipids, zinc, fiber, potassium, magnesium.
tapioca pudding - resistant starch, butyrate, and a healthy microbiome.
green tea or coffee - EGCG/catechins, or other polyphenols.
orange juice with pulp - vitamin C, methyl folate, other polyphenols and phospholipids.
cottage cheese and peaches - calcium, protein, vit D and A, polyphenols.
a burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, no sauce, and maybe leave half the whole wheat bun uneaten - protein, trace minerals - iron, zinc, potassium, magnesium, fiber, B vitamins, vitamin C, carotenoids (vit A) and polyphenols including quercetin.
an egg salad sandwich on whole grain bread (or no bread, larger salad) and raw veggies - choline, cholesterol (we need some), protein, fiber, B vitamins, polyphenols and other phytonutrients.
or 2 Brazil nuts - selenium.
or Nori rolls wrapped in seaweed with eel, ginger and horseradish, carrot, cucumber - iodine, phospholipids, protein, trace minerals, many potent polyphenols, carotenoids, fiber.
Sardines with sprouted grain crackers and an apple. Protein, omega 3, trace minerals and calcium, glycine, B vitamins, potassium, polyphenols.
Refried beans with extra oregano, coriander and cumin, sliced cauliflower, raw or a green salad. Protein, phytonutrients, potassium, vitamin C, K and folate.
Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health care guidance.
Reference List
(Salim, 2014) Salim S. Oxidative stress and psychological disorders. Curr Neuropharmacol. 2014 Mar;12(2):140-7. doi: 10.2174/1570159X11666131120230309. PMID: 24669208; PMCID: PMC3964745. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3964745/
(Vasquez, 2016) Textbook of Clinical Nutrition and Functional Medicine, Vol 1., https://www.inflammationmastery.com/book-nutrition-functional-medicine
JD's Healthy Bistro menu does it again.
I’m very interested in everything you mentioned today!