Dietary Detective

Today, diet crazes turn over so frequently, it’s hard to keep track of their fashionable names, never mind what you’re actually supposed to be putting in your mouth. The plethora of popular diets that people swear by right now include Keto, Paleo, FODMAP, Intermittent Fasting, Anti-Inflammatory and Carb Cycling just to name a few. All make similar claims of weight loss, decreased inflammation, increased physical energy and mental clarity, so it’s enticing to try one or a succession of a few of these to see which one your body best responds to. While I highly encourage everyone to eat well, try new recipes and thoroughly enjoy their food, I have a growing concern.

In my nutrition practice, I’m seeing more and more clients with disabilities and chronic health conditions jumping onto these trendy food bandwagons without doing any homework about how excess or limitation of specific nutrients may affect them and in some cases, potentially make their condition worse. Here are a couple of examples to demonstrate.

Detoxifying diets are currently very much in vogue. An individual with a spinal cord injury, who was dealing with a pressure sore, put himself on a long term “Detox” eating plan that he’d read about on the internet. This diet involved only eating fruits, vegetables and a small selection and quantity of nuts and seeds. It is recommended that individuals with spinal cord injuries who have pressure wounds increase their calorie (30-35 calories per kg/body weight/per day) – Kirk 1996) and protein (1.2-1.5 grams of protein per kg/body weight/per day – Kirk 1996) consumption in order to support the healing process. Thus, this particular “Detox” diet was severely limiting the amount of critical macronutrients he needed to help heal his pressure sore.

The ketogenic diet, which is also all the rage right now, was actually developed in the 1920s to help reduce seizures in children who had resistance to epileptic medications. The “Keto” diet, which involves a high intake of healthy fats, with moderate protein and limited carbohydrate consumption, causes the body to burn fat instead of glucose. This process, known as ketosis, is what inhibits seizure activity. Studies have shown that the ketogenic diet can decrease seizure activity by as much as 50% in some individuals (Henderson et. al. 2006), though this diet has gained popularity most recently for its ability to help people lose weight quickly. While this diet has proven to be safe and effective in treating a serious medical condition, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come without risk. For example, an individual living with type 2 diabetes (who was using insulin to control her blood sugar levels) was eager to lose weight and put herself on “Keto”. While this low carbohydrate diet may seem like an ideal plan to lose weight and also manage blood sugar levels, for this person, when followed alongside her insulin regime, lead to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), which contributed to severe headaches (other symptoms of hypoglycemia include mental confusion and blurred vision).

Another individual living with epilepsy, as well as a serious kidney condition, also tried the ketogenic diet in the hopes of minimizing her seizures. For this woman, the “Keto” diet, in combination with her kidney dysfunction, triggered a dangerous condition called ketoacidosis (acids produced as a by-product of burning fat cause blood to become too acidic), which in turn can cause damage to the liver, kidneys and brain.

I too tried “Keto” (as I like to try all diets before recommending them to my clients) and I experienced what is known as Keto Flu. This is a collection of flu-like symptoms that occur as the body adapts to burn fat as its fuel source. While I was aware of this potential side effect, I must admit I was surprised at the intensity of the muscle cramps and lethargy. Luckily, because I was aware of what was causing my symptoms, I was able to take steps to alleviate them.

So, I write this as a caution that not all diets are for everyone, particularly if you are living with a chronic health condition. I strongly urge you to be your own dietary detective and research your own condition(s), specific nutritional needs and always consult with your physician or health care provider before starting any hot new diet plan.

Some of the fun in doing this kind of detective work is finding delicious new recipes – this is a fantastic summer dish I recently found and wanted to share!

No Tuna Salad Sandwich

1 large can      chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tsp                Dijon mustard
1 tbsp              pure maple syrup
¼ cup               red onion, diced
¼ cup               pickle, diced
3 tbsp              fresh dill, chopped
2 tbsp              mayonnaise
1 tsp                capers, drained
pinch               sea salt and pepper