8th Annual Nutrition and Health Conference

A number of topics are fresh on my mind after recently attending the 8th Annual Nutrition and Health conference in San Francisco - sponsored by the University of Arizona College of Medicine, presented by the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. Prominent speakers and researchers in the field of nutrition dominated the conference - such as Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Dean Ornish, and Michael Pollan.

Dr. Weil opened the conference with a presentation on the macronutrients and the anti-inflammatory way of eating. The macronutrients are those which our bodies need in large quantities - that is, carbohydrate, fat, and protein. We need all these nutrients. Some forms of carbohydrate are better than others. The same goes for fat and protein. Avoiding foods that are "refined, processed, or manufactured" is a good rule of thumb when deciding which foods are better than others. Specifically, concentrating on whole grains (not in pulverized forms such as flour - even whole wheat flour) in their whole grain form is the way to go. Fish and seafood (especially wild Alaskan salmon and sardines) are excellent sources of both protein and 'good fat.' Eating an abundance of vegetables and aiming for variety are other key features of a healthy diet.

Dr. Weil discussed evidence supporting the concept that "diseases of aging" in large part stem from inflammatory processes in the body. These diseases include cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neuro-degenerative diseases. He believes we can use dietary change as one way to prevent and change the impact of these diseases. The object is to reduce the pro-inflammatory elements of our diet and increase the anti-inflammatory ones. An example of a pro-inflammatory substance is omega 6 oil in excess. Granted, omega 6 is a key nutrient. But our food supply tends to be flooded with this oil in its cheapest and least valuable form - processed oils found in chips and other manufactured foods. On the other hand, an example of an anti-inflammatory food is an omega 3 food source such as wild sockeye salmon. Other key nutrients (soy, mushrooms, nuts/seeds to name a few) are illustrated in Dr. Weil's food pyramid. (Refer to his website: www.drweil.com.)

Many other speakers caught my attention and interest. Dr. Marion Neste, PhD, MPH from New York University was one. She discussed the "toxic environment" created by food industry's advertising. I tried to come away from the lectures with one-liners. From hers, I came away with, "Eat food, not products." From Dr. Dean Ornish's lecture, I came away with .. "Eat mostly a plant-based diet - eat food in its natural form... What's good for you is good for the planet." Dr. Ornish is the founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, CA, and an author of a number of books. His most recent, The Spectrum, is one I am interested in reading. His premise is that changes in lifestyle and diet can be difficult, but when approached from the perspective of how and what someone wants to change, the result is positive - rather than an approach from the perspective of do-nots and should-nots.

The second morning of the conference focused on cancer prevention. The area of nutrigenomics and a personalized diet is unfolding rapidly. This is an area of much research right now and deals with how a "person's genetic makeup" can "tailor strategies for the detection, treatment, or prevention of disease." In general, however, one could benefit greatly by following the American Cancer Society's and the World Cancer Research Fund's Guidelines such as these: Maintain a healthy weight/be as lean as possible without becoming overweight ... Avoid sugary drinks and processed foods high in added sugar, low in fiber, or high in fat .. Limit consumption of processed and red meats .. Consume a healthy diet, with an emphasis on plant sources/chose whole grains in preference to refined grains.

I cannot help but also mention the dynamic presentation by Dr. Michael Holick, Professor of Medicine, Physiology, and Biophysics, Boston University of Medicine. Dr. Holick is devoted to the study of Vitamin D (the 'sunshine vitamin') and its relation not only to bone health (Vitamin D is needed for the absorption of calcium), but also, its deficiency relation to many other disease processes - such as MS, cancer, and heart disease. Refer to this website for more about this very important vitamin, our current deficiencies and its implications for health: www.vitamindhealth.org.

A truly amazing evening event kicked off with a photographic journey presented by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio - authors of Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. Both this and their most recent book, What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets, are visually impactful photographic depictions of diet and culture. [see www.menzelphoto.com.] I continued to be engrossed during the next part of the evening during a public forum hosting Dr. Andrew Weil, Michael Pollan (author and journalist), and Dr. Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics University of California. One of the questions posed to the participants: Is a calorie a calorie? The answer was a resounding "NO!" - in that consumption of sugary beverages , consumption of high fructose corn syrup (a "marker of a low quality food" [Dr. Weil]), results in deleterious effects to our health ... leading to a variety of consequences such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver... The take-home message: The farther we move away from the natural food, the farther away from the food as nature provides it, the worse it is for our health. This message (almost a mantra!) was delivered often during the conference.

Much can be summed up by the Michael Pollan quote: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Read more about this conference at: www.nutritionandhealthconf.org.