Why Does Diet Matter?

Why Does Diet Matter with Scleroderma?

To put it simply, we are what we eat. When we eat food, our bodies break down complex compounds into simpler ones to be absorbed and transformed into our living tissues. Many people may believe the foods we eat have no impact on the composition or function of our bodies, when in fact, it has a profound impact. It is well established in the field of Nutrition that the types of fats in a diet will determine whether pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory metabolites are produced, ultimately leading to inflammation or its reduction. This is just one example of how food intake directly changes the function of our bodies. Prolonged inflammation of our body tissues will eventually result in the onset of a chronic disease. Diet and lifestyle always contribute to the development, prevention, management, and treatment of chronic diseases. Many people suffer from inflammation that is below a noticeable threshold. Just because the inflammation cannot be seen does not mean it is not causing damage. In fact, this type of inflammation is contributing to chronic disease worldwide. It is also worth noting the chronic diseases I am referring to are modern diseases. This provides another significant example of how changes to modern diet and lifestyle have caused massive declines in global human health.

The inflammation afflicting much of the modern world is, in large part, caused by the things we are ingesting and coming into contact with in our daily lives. By eliminating and changing these harmful exposures, we can significantly reduce the inflammatory load of our bodies. Diet is essential for preventing and subduing inflammation. With a disease such as Scleroderma, inflammation prevention is even more important for maintaining health and preventing further harm to body tissues. A main feature of scleroderma is the damage done to body tissues through inflammatory processes and oxidative stress, which cause overproduction of collagen and hardening of the damaged tissues.

 

Two general ways of reducing the oxidative stress and inflammation in your daily life include:

1)    Change your diet to one that supports healthy cell functioning and reduction of inflammation and oxidative damage by eating the foods humans are meant to eat.

2)    Identify and remove harmful exposures in your overall lifestyle that contribute to the chronic inflammation contributing to disease progression.

 

What Should I Eat to Truly Nourish My Body?

So many foods are nourishing to the human body, which is why there is not just one magic food capable of solving all health issues. Many different foods need to be eaten in order to get a variety of vitamins and minerals. There is, however, one type of food that should not be consumed because it does not contribute to health: highly processed foods. Please see the list below of common processed/junk foods.

Some common processed foods to avoid:

1.     Candy

2.     Fried snacks Ex: Chips, Cheetos, etc.

3.     Sodas or pop

4.     Sugary and/or artificially colored juices Ex: Fruit Punch, SunnyD, Gatorade, fruit  juice cocktail, etc.

5.     Processed meats Ex: Luncheon meat, meat sticks, hot dogs, etc.

6.     Processed cheese (American style cheese)

7.     Packaged Ramen noodle soup

8.     Microwave meals

9.     Box meals with dry flavor packs

10.  White bread made with bleached flour

11.  Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils

12.  Pre-made desserts, pastries, baked goods, and frozen pies

 

Highly processed foods/junk foods are not health promoting foods for many reasons:

1)     Processing practices can introduce many chemicals to foods, which are not listed on food labels. An example of this being phthalates, an endocrine disrupting molecule found in high-fat products from leaching of plastics used in processing.

2)    Cheap ingredients are often used in processed food production.

3)    They contain high amounts of sodium, sugar, harmful fats, and chemical additives  such as flavor enhancers, colorants, and preservatives.

4)    Processed foods often contain few micronutrients while providing an excess of calories.

5)    Processed foods are the main contributor to increasing chronic health problems worldwide.

While processed foods are not recommended to consume when trying to manage disease such as Scleroderma, there is an entire world of nourishing foods that can be eaten. As has been stated previously, Sclerodermadefiance does not promote a restrictive and limited diet. Many with scleroderma suffer from malnourishment whether they know it or not –this makes diet even more important in health maintenance.  Below is a short list of health promoting foods to consider incorporating into your diet. Do not expect to be able to incorporate all these foods into your diet immediately, start off with simple changes. If you currently eat mostly processed foods, it will take some time to change your taste preferences, but it will happen. You may be opposed to some of the foods in the list but I encourage you to have an open mind and continue exploring Sclerodermadefiance to find out more information on many of these foods and how to incorporate them in to your diet. (link to other sections)

 

Health Promoting Foods:

• Whole foods such as unprocessed fruits, vegetables, and grains
• Sulfur rich vegetables such as garlic, onion, cabbage (link to using fruit, vegg, herbs section)
• Beans
•  Nuts and seeds
•  Probiotic rich foods (link to fermented food sections)
• Foods naturally rich in iodine, DHA, EPA, and Omega-3 fatty acids Ex: seafood  and seaweed
•  Herbs and spices (link to section on herbs/spices)·
• Pasture raised/grass-fed and or organic milk, eggs, dairy products, and organ meats (link to section on grass-fed/pasture meats)

The most basic health tip to incorporate into your daily life TODAY is to start reading ingredient labels of the foods and products around you. This does not mean to simply read the front label—this means you must read the back of the packaging. The ingredients in products are great indicators of product quality. You easily build awareness of what you are consuming by doing this. It’s hard to eat something if you know the ingredients it’s composed of are synthetic or harmful to health. When you read ingredient labels there are a few things you want to look for and some principles to follow:

1)    Real ingredients that are easily identifiable – a few examples being apple puree, tomatoes, salt, unbleached whole wheat flour, etc. You want the ingredients in your food to actually be food.

2)    Be on the lookout for additives and strange ingredients you have never heard of. It’s likely that if you haven’t heard of it before or don’t know what it is, you probably should not eat it. However, this does not mean that if you have never had kale that you should not eat a product containing kale. (link to ingredients to avoid document) Check out the ingredients to avoid list to find out the names of many ingredients to avoid and limit when purchasing products.

3)    Don’t be fooled by false advertising. Many companies try to mislead consumers into thinking a product is healthier than it actually is. Claims on the front of product labels usually mean nothing unless they indicate organic or Non-GMO certification. Many labels will say “All Natural” or other similar phrases, but please know these phrases do not hold any value because they are unregulated. The best way to assess a product for being “natural” is to read the ingredient label and assess it based on ingredient quality.

 

References:

Mahan, L. K., & Raymond, J. L. (2017). Krause’s food & the nutrition care process(14th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.