Nutritional Science We Can Agree On

I’ve been out of action most of this week as I recover from a final wisdom tooth extraction. I’m glad to be on the other side but it’s been a long slow walk back to being able to chew and eat normally.

I did manage to attend the Nutritional Therapists of Ireland Annual Conference yesterday. I couldn’t miss an opportunity to geek out on cardiometabolic health, it’s a subject that affects the vast majority of people but because it is so prevalent, it often doesn’t get the interest it deserves. I’ll cover more of the ideas from the conference over the next few clinic notes posts, starting with explaining what cardiometabolic health and start with some of the nutrition basics science can agree on.

What is cardiometabolic health?

It is simply your gut, your sleep and your heart health and how they interact with each other.

It covers your digestion, your gallbladder, your liver, your thyroid, your heart, your lungs, your skin, your energy and your brain function. It’s reflux, blood sugar balance, body weight, sleep, energy, concentration, your ability to absorb nutrients, hormones levels, cholesterol, blood pressure, fatty liver disease, skin health. It impacts your longevity and life span.

How we feel when we are alive and how long we will be alive.

What scientists (nutritional scientists and others) can agree on

There is a lot of nutrition information out in the world. Like any industry there are fads in food too. Add in tik tok, instagram, and AI and it becomes even more confusing and conflicting. Putting together a presentation for MTU’s World Home Economics forum on the power of real food, I found that there are some things we can agree on!

This is what we can definitely say has a positive impact on our cardiometabolic health and longevity:

1. Having strong social ties (friends, communities, covens, teams and more)

2. Daily exercise - approx. 40 minutes of walking x 4-5 days per week + 3 strength training days or 150 of vigorous exercise per week

3. Eating minimally processed foods

4. A generally optimistic outlook

5. Sufficient sleep for your lifestyle - 7+ hours of sleep per night

6. Plenty of sunshine + fresh air

That’s it, the secret to a long and healthy life.

It almost seems too boring.

It’s very unlikely to be the basis of a bestseller. It definitely won’t get a lot of views.

However, these are all well researched, proven approaches to good health in all cases.

Showing marked reduction in blood pressure issues, cholesterol, energy, mental health, insulin sensitivity, hormonal health and more.

Add to that a few more boring but brilliant strategies around food to really improve your digestion, get rid of reflux and bloating as well soothing your nervous system:

• making slow cooked food (no toxins from high heat cooking)

• smelling your food and looking forward to eating it (signalling your gut and brain that good nutrients are coming)

• taking a moment to pause and breathe before eating (getting into rest and digest mode)

• eating slowly and chewing thoroughly (reducing indigestion, improving nutrient absorption, improving motility and reducing bloating)

• eating fun foods after meals like dessert (less likely to spike blood sugars, evidence shows scheduling fun foods reduces the restriction/binge cycle)

• short movement 5-10 minutes of cleaning up or going for a walk will do (gravity helps digestion and movement improves blood sugar)

Personalised nutrition and intervention

We might find that this does not resolve our bloating, our reflux, our gallbladder issues or our constipation fully but it’s a great place to start. This is where true personalised nutrition and interventions start. We can look at nutritional therapy interventions, supplements and medications once these lifestyle supports are embeded.

Then we can get fancy with probiotics, taurine, magnesium, b vitamins, phosphatidylcholine, antimicrobrials and more.

It also gives us space for strategies and interventions around what is getting in our way when it comes to giving ourselves this space and what lifestyle changes would be the most beneficial. Maybe it’s relaxation support, may be you want to build social ties, maybe you desperately need more sleep. We can take it week by week, prioritising what’s important to you. Moving at your pace.

Let me know what you think

Are you ready for some brilliant but boring basics? Are you acing everything on the list already? Or do you fundamentally disagree that this approach would help?