I am pleased to bring you an interview that I conducted with Functional Diagnostic Nutritionist, Metabolic Typing Advisor, Holistic Lifestyle Coach, and health blogger Vin Miller. Vin runs his blog, Natural Bias, which contains a ton of great articles pertaining to health, exercise, lifestyle, and more.
1. Could you provide a little background about yourself?
I'm very determined to get as much out of life as I can and I've come to recognize optimal health as being a critical factor in being able to do so. I'm a big advocate of natural and holistic health and strongly believe that one of the most important things we can do to support a high level of wellbeing is to obey the laws of nature.
Through a variety of training courses, a lot of reading, and my own personal experiences with overcoming poor health, I've gained a lot of valuable information that I enjoy sharing with others through my website, Natural Bias. I'm also an avid tennis player and love to exercise.
2. What made you decide to live a healthy lifestyle?
I've always been conscientious about my health, but didn't always have the knowledge of how to live a truly healthy lifestyle. My struggle with chronic fatigue syndrome inspired me to find a better way and gave me the opportunity to learn what healthy living is really about.
It's now very obvious to me that optimal health is a major factor in being able to live a vibrant and fulfilling life. It provides the energy and mental sharpness that you need to aggressively pursue your ambitions and it promotes the longevity you need to enjoy your accomplishments. This is why I've fully committed myself to living a healthy lifestyle.
Many people develop life threatening diseases such as heart disease or cancer as early as their 40s, and in some cases, they develop diseases such as diabetes and autoimmune disease even earlier. Many of these cases are directly related to lifestyle and could have been avoided. I'm determined to give myself the best chance possible of avoiding disease and being active and vibrantly healthy well into my old age.
3. What does your current diet consist of? Do you use any supplements?
About 90% to 95% of the foods I eat are the natural whole foods that we evolved on. This is basically meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables which may sound very limited, but once you learn to appreciate these foods, you realize that they actually offer a lot of variety and are quite delicious. In addition to avoiding processed foods, I also choose to avoid grain and dairy because I believe that many of us are not well suited to thrive on them. For the most part, I guess you can say that I follow a paleo or primitive type of diet, but I like to refer to it as a common sense diet.
All of the produce I buy is organic, all of the meat I buy is pasture raised, and all of the seafood I buy is from clean and remote waters. This is important to me because most of the meat and produce found in grocery stores is a product of industrial farming, is typically less nutritious, and often contains residues of toxic chemicals. In addition, industrial farming is unsustainable, bad for the environment, and often promotes animal cruelty. I encourage everyone to see the new documentary Food, Inc. to learn more about these issues.
The remaining 5% to 10% percent of my diet, which amounts to 1 or 2 meals per week, is when I allow myself to eat whatever I want except for foods that I react negatively to. I especially have to avoid gluten which typically leaves me exhausted and susceptible to depression for as long as an entire week.
I do use supplements, but I'm not the biggest fan of them. I try to support my nutritional needs as much as possible by eating whole food.
4. Some people feel that putting labels on food such as "clean" or "dirty" creates a moral attachment and generates guilt when they stray from healthy food. What is your opinion on this?
My first thought is that this is too subjective. Vegetables are about the only food that have a nearly unanimous acceptance as a healthy choice, and yet some of the vegetables that are higher in starch, such as potatoes, are regarded by some as being less than ideal. Furthermore, I feel that it would be extremely difficult to implement a system like this without it being influenced by the bias and greed of the food industry.
I think what's more important is for the average person to recognize the need to educate themselves on healthy nutrition so that they can make informed choices on their own. Besides, the healthiest foods available to us don't have a package to put a label on anyway.
5. What do you feel is the biggest obstacle as to why most people find it difficult to eat healthier?
For many people, I think they simply don't understand the value of optimal health. Compromised health has become so common that it represents what is normal, and as a result, most people don't fully realize what they're missing and don't have a lot of motivation to pursue better health. I also think that most people are too quick to blame their problems on aging or genetics, and as such, don't see the point in making changes. I encourage anyone who doesn't fully believe that nutrition has a significant influence on health to watch the documentary Food Matters.
The root of the problem is a lack of awareness. The food industry obviously doesn't want us to know that many of the modern foods we eat are unhealthy. This has a significant influence on the mainstream dietary information that we're exposed to, and even on the food pyramid recommended by the government and the advice given by dietitians. As such, it's difficult for the average person to understand what healthy eating is really about unless they're motivated to dig for reliable information.
There's also the issue of taste and addiction. Many of the foods that aren't good for us are very tasty. They also tend to be high in sugar and refined carbohydrates which are highly addictive. In fact, some experts say that sugar is more addictive than cocaine! For these reasons, it can be very challenging to avoid processed foods, and there will always be people who embrace the shortsighted mentality that life is too short to do so.
6. When it comes to water, the common thing we hear is to drink 8 glasses per day. Do you think that is too much or not enough?
There is an excellent book called The Body's Many Cries for Water which explains some amazing correlations between dehydration and many of today's common health problems. The human body is roughly two thirds water, and we can only survive for a limited number of days without it. Needless to say, it's important!
Based on the various recommendations that I've read, I think the best one is to drink as many ounces of water each day as half of your body weight in pounds. However, I also think it's important to not force yourself to drink more water than what feels comfortable.
7. Besides eating well, what do you feel also helps us to maintain good health?
Although nutrition is one of the most important factors in promoting and maintaining health, there are a number of other important factors as well such as perspective, rest, sun exposure, and obviously, exercise.
The connection between your mind and your health is an important one that many people fail to appreciate. Both stress and happiness have physiological effects on our bodies, and in turn, can have a direct impact on our health. People who are in control of their emotions understand that both stress and happiness are a result of how they choose to perceive their surroundings, and as such, are able to promote a better state of wellbeing through their thoughts.
Modern life can be so busy and hectic that many of us sacrifice sleep to gain time, and it often backfires in a major way. The body needs sufficient rest to recover from the psychological and physiological burden of daily thoughts and activities. Without it, the body will gradually break down and you'll no longer have the energy and mental clarity necessary to get the most out of your wakeful hours. Getting more sleep and following good sleep habits is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to improve your health and wellbeing.
Despite fears of skin cancer, sun exposure is the most natural and effective way for us to get vitamin D. Ironically, vitamin D plays a critical role in the body's natural ability to prevent cancer, and those who are deficient have an increased risk for a number of cancers as well as other health problems. The expression of more than 10% of our entire genome is directly influenced by vitamin D which makes it extremely important. As such, I think it would be in most people's best interest to do more research on sun exposure and reconsider the claims of it being so dangerous. The Vitamin D Council is an excellent place to start.
Everyone knows that exercise is an important part of good health, but most people either don't do it at all or do too much of it in an effort to lose weight. I think it's important to follow a balanced exercise program that addresses strength, flexibility, and conditioning which will help to improve mood, physiological function, physical ability, and also increase resistance to injury and pain. However, excessive exercise is a significant burden to the body that can harm your health, and as such, should not be used as a weight loss strategy to compensate for poor eating habits.
8. Many people turn to herbal supplements to help with their ailments. Do you think herbs can be helpful or are there dangers in using them?
Yes on both counts. Particular herbs can prove to be invaluable for some people while provoking adverse reactions in others. However, I think many people make the same mistake with herbs and other supplements as they do with prescription medications. In many cases, herbal supplements are used to treat a particular symptom. There's certainly nothing wrong with pursuing relief of an undesirable symptom, but it's important to also determine what's causing it. This is something that most people neglect, including doctors. As a result, the root cause of many problems are left to persist and potentially become worse.
9. Do you think that detoxing and fasting are necessary for good health?
I definitely consider detoxification to be an important aspect of good health, but I think it's much more important to support your body's natural ability to detoxify than to rely on supplements or protocols to force it. However, accelerating the natural detoxification process is sometimes necessary, and there are some protocols that I think are safe enough to be part of a periodic maintenance routine.
I have yet to form a solid opinion on fasting, mostly because I haven't done a lot of research on it. I understand that our primitive ancestors were likely forced into fasting on many occasions, but I have yet to find any stronger reasoning that persuades me to believe that it's beneficial. Furthermore, it is known that many primitive cultures had ways of preserving food, and as such, had the means to eat whenever hungry. I do occasionally skip meals if a lack of appetite encourages me to do so, but I never plan it intentionally.
10. Are there any health myths you would like to debunk?
Yes, the idea that saturated fat and high cholesterol cause heart disease. Although awareness is spreading, this is still a shocker to many people. Both saturated fat and cholesterol have important roles in the body and are therefore essential to our health. They are also abundant in many of the natural whole foods that we've evolved on.
Contrary to mainstream wisdom, saturated fat and cholesterol don't accumulate in artery walls just because they're circulating in the bloodstream. Both of these substances are needed for cell repair, especially cholesterol. The unhealthy foods and lifestyle habits that are so characteristic of modern life tend to damage arteries, cause inflammation, and in turn, create a need for cholesterol. It's the continual repetition of such damage that typically causes heart disease, not the mere existence of cholesterol in the bloodstream.
This myth started in the 1950s when Ancel Keys published research showing a strong correlation between saturated fat intake, cholesterol, and the incidence of heart disease. However, a closer look at the research reveals that there's very little correlation. Some nations have very high average levels of cholesterol while having low rates of heart disease while other nations have low average cholesterol levels with high rates of heart disease. Keys conveniently disregarded this data. Despite this, his misconceived theory is still alive and well today.
11. Is there anything else you would like to add?
I think we've already covered a lot! Thank you for the opporunity to share my thoughts with your readers!
For anyone who would like a more in depth explanation of the topics I discussed above, please visit my website, Natural Bias.
