Mission: Understanding & Optimizing Nutrition
July 11, 2022
The saying "what you eat is what you become" is a common phrase heard around the world. What exactly does this refer to, and what truth (if any) does this phrase portray? To break this down, let's first start with what exactly food is and why it is so important. Food is a substance containing nutrients that animals/plants absorb to support life. The food that we eat consists of different molecules at different concentrations, and these differences are what allow us to taste food. While gustation is a very complex sensory system involving all kinds of receptors and signaling cascades, it can be broken down into its fundamental components. Those are, that different foods have varying concentrations of chemicals that interact with receptors. Each individual interaction accounts for one cascade, for example, sodium can directly enter a taste cell through a sodium channel and since sodium is positively charged, this causes the cell to become more positive. At rest, this cell is negative, which means when a positive sodium ion enters the cell, it becomes closer to zero, otherwise known as depolarization. This depolarization is responsible for starting an entire cascade of events that eventually leads to the release of a neurotransmitter. In the case of gustation this neurotransmitter usually (not always) excites a neuron that sends an electrical pulse to specific parts of the brain. This electrical signal is oftentimes dose-dependent, such that more salt will cause more neurotransmitters to be released and this, in turn, will send lots of electrical signals to the brain thus you will perceive a saltier taste. Taste is only a small portion of eating, in fact, the experience we perceive while eating (or drinking) is called flavor. Perceiving flavor is a mix of gustation and olfaction, in which both of these systems interact with chemicals from the food we ingest and send signals to the brain. The combination of different firing rates and firing intensity is responsible for flavor. In summary, food is made of chemicals that interact with our sensory systems and allow for the perception of flavor.
These chemicals don't stop in the mouth, they travel down the esophagus and into the stomach. The stomach is our body's reservoir containing amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates, and various other nutrients. The stomach has a crucial role in killing microbes, denaturing proteins, and regulating digestion through its pH regulation system. Without going into much detail, hormones released from the intestines can interact with cells lining the stomach and stimulate contraction thus forcing the acidic contents of the stomach into the small intestine. This is where the magic happens. The small intestine is lined with various cell types and all of these cell types are crucial in regulating digestion, hunger, and metabolism. In short, the small intestine is responsible for further breaking down the contents of the stomach into their fundamental parts through the release of hormones that interact with the gallbladder and pancreas. Cells lining the small intestine can sense these nutrients and act as transporters that guide these nutrients into the cell and eventually into the bloodstream. Undigested food is then moved to the large intestine where bacteria can further break these molecules down, use them for fuel, and release byproducts. These byproducts can enter the bloodstream thus having vital roles throughout the body. The overall composition of the microbiome is highly individual-dependent based on nutrient intake, exercise, medications, and stress. More specifically, these factors can influence the number of species, ratio, and the total number of bacteria in your intestine. Certain species and ratios between species have been investigated and linked to metabolic disorders, inflammation, and in some cases neurological disorders.
The phrase "what you eat is what you become" holds both scientific and practical truth. The molecules you ingest influence the release of hormones, neurotransmitters, and the composition of your microbiome, all of which plays a central part in metabolic health, neurological health, and much more.
Everything stated up to this point has been to illustrate a very specific point which is that we can manipulate the intake of foods to optimize our bodies. This is due to the far-reaching interactions that food and its metabolites have on the entire body including the brain. We can also modify our lifestyles to optimize our emotional health, physical health, and cognition. Unfortunately, throughout our time in high school and university, many classes fail to include the importance of these modifications. If these classes do include information like "exercise three times per week" or "eat two servings of vegetables a day" we are often left confused. The simple mistake of presenting this information with blanket statements has impacted a whole generation and will continue to impact generations in the future. Information regarding health should be an essential component of education and it should be actively demonstrated in our pubescent years.
The western world has often faced heavy criticism in regards to both lifestyle and diet. In fact, the term "western diet" refers to a diet high in simple sugars and saturated fats. The combination of these macronutrients oftentimes leads to chronic overconsumption of calories. A calorie is simply a unit of energy, where one calorie is the amount of energy required to raise one gram of water one degree celsius. When we overconsume calories, just a fancy word for stored energy, our body wants to store this energy for easy access in the future. This is evolutionarily important because at one point not so long ago, food sources were scarce and there were often days when no food (calories) was consumed. Therefore, our bodies have adapted to take advantage of the overconsumption of food (calories) by storing its energy in the form of fat and glycogen. Back to the original point regarding the western diet, this chronic overconsumption of calories leads to excess storage which leads to chronic overexcretion of hormones, harms the gut microbiome, and can have an effect on the way you respond to food in the future.
Food shouldn't be binary in the sense that it is either healthy or not healthy. Foods all contain calories that can be used for fuel, however, it is the excessive, impulsive, and desirable consumption of these foods that has a devastating impact on our biological system.
It is often in academia that the quickest way to promote death in an animal model besides euthanasia is to overfeed and limit exercise. Does this sound familiar? The western lifestyle is exactly that. A world where people are encouraged to sit at a desk for 8 hours, with limited access to walking, and even more trouble obtaining something as simple as a standing desk. In conjunction, the information regarding nutrition and dieting is eclipsed by corporations pushing high-calorie, high-fat meals which lead to a vicious cycle of unknowing self-sabotage. This cycle is, directly and indirectly, the leading cause of death in the United States. Fortunately, the eclipse has been slightly displaced, albeit very insignificantly, with the surge in "health-promoting" corporations and the availability of low-calorie food items. Although the information regarding calorie consumption is somewhat relevant, it still occupies an insignificant portion when gazing at the broad horizon that is the western world. The western world deserves current research presented to them at a level of common understanding so that an educated decision can be made regarding their health.
If there exists a diet that promotes a pathogenic state, such as the high-fat diet to promote an atherosclerosis model in mice then theoretically there exists a diet that promotes neuro- and cardiovascular protection. In fact, such diet models do exist, for example, caloric restriction has been demonstrated to have positive effects on glucose metabolism, longevity, and cardiovascular parameters. The benefits of caloric restriction are not limited to subjects with a BMI >30 kg/m^2, in a trial conducted with nonobese subjects, a 25% calorie restriction resulted in significantly better mood regulation, general health, sex drive, and sleep quality. While a totally optimized diet model that promotes performance, as well as neuro- and cardioprotection, must not be said in absolutes nor is it universal. There are research methods that consist of making comparisons. Diets can only be compared amongst other diets, making this a relative measurement for finding an optimized diet model. Furthermore, as stated above, humans are not all identical, in fact, the small differences in our genetic sequence can cause drastic differences in how we think, feel, and appear. It is just as likely, that these differences affect our taste cells, olfactory cells, intestinal lining, and immune cells. The list goes on and on, which leads naturally to the conversation of genetic diversity and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). For sake of this post, everyone is different in how we respond to food and how our microbiome affects us, thus making the job of a perfect universal diet near impossible.
While a perfect diet may be near impossible, a personally optimized model for nutrition would be quite easy to create. Specific diet models have already been used to alleviate symptoms of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other diseases associated with chronic low-grade inflammation. The clinical research on this practice is scarce and requires an immense amount of future research to be conclusive, however, it should be noted that optimizing a diet model for your health does not necessarily align with the treatment of excruciating diseases. Over the next 16 weeks, the proposed diet model will promote longevity, physical performance, and cognition whilst not compromising other health markers. Along with this, information regarding supplementation and exercise will be provided. A specific diet model will not be provided, the readers shall take information as provided and with trial and error find out what is optimal for their individual needs.
Mission Statement:
This period's focus will not only include dietary models for practical use but also include the use of nutraceuticals for optimizing performance whilst not compromising health. Nutraceuticals are simply bioactive compounds that have been demonstrated to some compacity to have beneficial physiological effects. Nutraceuticals range from vitamin supplements to dietary fiber additives found in many proprietary "health" blends. This journey allows the reader to analyze and fully understand data from scientific research papers thus allowing the reader to make educated decisions regarding nutrition.
Highlights
- Food is made up of chemical components. These chemical components interact with our body and in turn, cause a cascade of events.
- Diet models are used to promote a pathogenic state, one such example is the Western diet.
- Optimizing a diet model for health is individual-dependent and requires knowledge of both the individual reaction to foods and their biochemical interactions in the body.
- Caloric restriction is a common model used to improve metabolic markers in obese patients.
Meet The Author
Hello everyone,
My name is Joshua Giblin. I am a post-bachelor researcher/research technician at USC. My interests range from nutrition to nanomedicine and also practical science to improve everyday life. Through this blog, I aim to communicate practical scientific research and present it to curious individuals so that an educated decision can be made. Thank you for reading the blog and showing your support.
Literature cited
- Purves, D., Augustine, G. J., Fitzpatrick, D., Katz, L. C., LaMantia, A.-S., McNamara, J. O., & Williams, S. M. (2001). Taste Receptors and the Transduction of Taste Signals. Neuroscience. 2nd Edition. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11148/
- Sender, R., Fuchs, S., & Milo, R. (2016). Revised Estimates for the Number of Human and Bacteria Cells in the Body. PLoS Biology, 14(8), e1002533. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002533
- Schirmer, M., Smeekens, S. P., Vlamakis, H., Jaeger, M., Oosting, M., Franzosa, E. A., ter Horst, R., Jansen, T., Jacobs, L., Bonder, M. J., Kurilshikov, A., Fu, J., Joosten, L. A. B., Zhernakova, A., Huttenhower, C., Wijmenga, C., Netea, M. G., & Xavier, R. J. (2016). Linking the Human Gut Microbiome to Inflammatory Cytokine Production Capacity. Cell, 167(4), 1125-1136.e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.10.020
- Cordain, L., Eaton, S. B., Sebastian, A., Mann, N., Lindeberg, S., Watkins, B. A., O’Keefe, J. H., & Brand-Miller, J. (2005). Origins and evolution of the Western diet: Health implications for the 21st century. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 81(2), 341–354. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn.81.2.341
- Lange, K. W., Nakamura, Y., Chen, N., Guo, J., Kanaya, S., Lange, K. M., & Li, S. (2019). Diet and medical foods in Parkinson’s disease. Food Science and Human Wellness, 8(2), 83–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fshw.2019.03.006
- Martin, C. K., Bhapkar, M., Pittas, A. G., Pieper, C. F., Das, S. K., Williamson, D. A., Scott, T., Redman, L. M., Stein, R., Gilhooly, C. H., Stewart, T., Robinson, L., Roberts, S. B., & for the Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE) Phase 2 Study Group. (2016). Effect of Calorie Restriction on Mood, Quality of Life, Sleep, and Sexual Function in Healthy Nonobese Adults: The CALERIE 2 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Internal Medicine, 176(6), 743–752. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.189
