In the natural health world there is a current trend to focus on eating superfoods, taking tonic herbs or supplements, special smoothies and avoiding one food category such as:  grains, gluten, sugar, or meat. These ideas are commercialized as the most important steps to take for maintaining and restoring health.

There can be a benefit from including various super foods, supplements and tonic herbs in your daily routine. The effectiveness of these in improving your health is limited by not doing the most important things in your diet choices. In my over 40 years’ experience counseling and teaching, I came to realize that it is the big things in your daily diet and life that make the smaller things such as tonic herbs, supplements, and super foods effective in supporting your health.

What are the big things of health? In diet the first element that is crucial to supporting well being is energy from food. The energy that we get from food is not some mystical substance. It is the energy that runs the body and mind. The biggest thing that we can do in diet is to take in enough calories to fuel the body.

Most health practioners, doctors, and nutritionists focus on having people eat less calories. Scientific studies of healthy people at different ages reveal that most people underreport their calorie intake. Government recommendations are based on these self-reported calorie intake surveys as are the labels that say people need 2000 calories per day.

When healthy people who are a stable weight are tested for the actual calories they consume in a controlled setting, women over 25 eat 2500 calories and men over 25 eat 3000 calories per day without exercising. These are the requirements for those between 5 to 6 feet in height. Under 5 feet in height, people need slightly less and over 6 feet, slightly more.  Pregnant women need much more.

If one eats alot less calories than these amounts, it has been shown that numerous health issues can occur at all ages including psychological problems and especially being irritable. This is often jokingly referred to as being hangry (hunger and anger). Depression, anxiety, unclear thinking, a lack of libido, impotence, and digestive issues, PCOS, insomnia and many more health problems can result. Over time a lack of energy/calories can lead to serious disorders such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

Both regular and holistic doctors do not recognize overly restrictive eating that results in a lack of calories when either done unintentionally or because of so called healthier food choices. The resulting problems from a lack of calories are treated by regular medical doctors with synthetic thyroid hormones, anti-depressants, testosterone or estrogen hormones and a host of other drugs. Holistic doctors use supplements, herbs and other natural substances.  These medicines or natural supplements will have limited benefits because the real source of the problem is not being addressed.

Restrictive eating resulting in not enough calories to fuel the body and mind is more common than one would think. Many people in the U.S believe that they can’t trust their hunger to guide their appetites. They are not aware of a natural way of eating that is not restrictive. 90% of Americans try to limit their calories.

After calories, the most important nutrients are the maxi nutrients. The nutrients that we need in larger amounts which include carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

Our body is designed to run on carbohydrates. Starches in the form of both unrefined grains and organic refined grains such as white rice and unbleached flour are the fist choices as they are digested a bit slower than sugars. Sugars from fruit, fruit juices and natural sweeteners such as maple syrup, unrefined cane juice, organic sugar and others are important as smaller parts of the daily diet. Both are crucial for providing the energy for the body. Natural sugars make it easier to get enough calories and provide quick energy for glands such as the thyroid. Natural sugars are easier to digest that starches. Low carb diets put the body under stress which eventually lowers the metabolism weakening all the organ functions.

Adequate proteins are necessary for numerous structures such as the bones, white blood cells, digestive enzymes, brain chemicals and more. Complete proteins are only available from animal products. Vegetarians can get enough protein from having daily amounts of dairy products and eggs from naturally raised animals. Others require daily amounts of naturally raised meats, fish, poultry and other animal products. Vegans may be able to boost their amounts of proteins with rice or pea protein powders as long as their calorie intake is high.

The last important nutrient that we need in bulk is fats. The best fats are saturated from natural butter, coconut oil, dairy products and mono-unsaturated fats such as olive oil. Fats are important for many structures in the body and mind. Eating enough fats also make it easier to get adequate calories.

These are the big things to get right in diet. The big things in diet are really the big things that affect health. After diet, the next big things that affect health are in our daily lifestyle choices and practices.

Herbs, vitamins and minerals in foods such as vegetables and other natural foods, super foods and supplements help to move energy in the body to various organs and systems. In order for these natural nutrients and substances to be beneficial, there has to be enough energy in the body to utilize them and we need strong body structures. It can take time to build this inherent strength and energy in the body to utilize food effectively when one is healing. Patience and diligence is needed.

Getting the big things: calories, carbohydrates, proteins and fats ensure that the small things that we take in work to improve one’s health.  If you only focus on the small things such as a superfoods, avoiding one kind of food or a special supplement, you’ll have limited improvements in your health. Focusing on the small things is like re-arraigning the deck chairs on the Titanic. 

Over the decades as a researcher and teacher, I’ve come to realize that all-natural foods have benefits. With this said, I demonized all the white foods for several decades including white rice, white flour and white sugar.

I indulged in these white substances from time to time, but used to feel they had no healthful properties. As we come to the holiday season where at least two of these foods can be on your relative’s tables, I thought I would talk about their merits that I discovered in recent years.

I now often surprise people in classes when I speak about how important it is to get enough calories. I explain how the requirements for the number of calories needed for good health are under estimated by even government organizations.

When people are studied who maintain a healthy steady weight, it is estimated that women after 25 eat 2500 calories and men eat at least 3000 calories.  Those under 25 as well as pregnant and nursing women need much more. If physical activity is added even more is needed.

Many health problems arise from not getting enough calories. These range from digestive to sexual  reproductive issues, to brain and emotional imbalances and other serious health issues.  Due to our national obsession with thinness people can’t believe that we need to eat as much as we should.

This is where the white stuff has a great benefit. White flour, white rice and white sugar (as well as healthier versions such as organic cane juice and organic cane sugar) are very easy to digest sources of energy and calories. These are excellent for people who have compromised digestion such as the elderly, those who are sick and going through medical treatment, people who have been restricting their diet excessively and people who require more calories.

As beneficial sources of easy to digest energy; white flour, white rice and sugar are best as part of a nutritious overall diet including a balance of natural vegetable and animal products or in general what I call a Full Spectrum Macrobiotic Diet Approach. 

A balanced diet includes whole grains, cooked and some raw vegetables, adequate concentrated proteins from animal sources or protein supplements, natural vegetable and animal fats, and an array of vitamins and minerals from a variety of vegetable and animal food sources.

One caution that I recommend in incorporating these foods is that most of the time I suggest one eat organic unbleached and non-fortified white flour, organic white rice and a variety of natural sugars such as raw honey, maple syrup, and unrefined cane juice.  Commercial white flour is bleached with bromate and fortified with iron. I don’t think it is a problem to eat it occasionally at restaurants, but the regular use of bromated flour can hurt the thyroid, a gland very important for your metabolism. Excessive iron from fortified wheat can cause multiple problems if you have too much.

White sugar has been blamed for a host of problems. Many of them have been exaggerated. It has been blamed for cancer, diabetes, addictions, immune disorders and more. I believe that any link to these problems is related to a diet extremely high in sugar and lacking essential nutritious foods. These are eating patterns with high sugar amounts that displace the desire for other necessary nutritious foods.

It is best to use natural sources of sugars for the most part because of how refined sugar is processed with chemicals. The occasional addition of refined sugar to one’s wholesome diet will not create the catastrophic problems some profess that unnecessarily frighten people. 

White flour, white rice and natural sugars can be a great addition to a healthy diet in order to supply adequate energy. You might decide to eat these more regularly if you have been undereating calories or occasionally.  You might say that this article is just in time for the holidays.  

The science:
https://edinstitute.org/paper/2012/11/23/phases-of-recovery-from-an-eating-disorder-part-4?rq=phases%20of%20recovery%204