"It Starts With Food" - M.&D. Hartwig: And, Doing the Whole 30
As most of you know, I have long been an advocate of healthy eating and finding ways to use food as the basis for wellness. I’ve recently come across some information that I find very exciting after nearly 30 years of study and counseling in the area of nutrition. I’ve heard a lot over the last couple of years about the ‘Paleo’ diet but many likened it to the Adkin’s diet, which I felt was an extreme and unhealthy way of eating so I didn’t pay much attention.
Several months ago a patient who had struggled with weight loss, in spite of regular exercise and healthy eating, was on a trip to New York where she was introduced to the Paleo diet. She suggested I take a look at it and see what I thought. For the first time, using only diet, she was starting to lose weight! As I searched the internet for information I came across a book called “It Starts With Food” written by Melissa and Dan Hartwig that was a common sense, well written explanation of why this method of eating was a good way to regain health and lose weight. I bought the book and read it in one day and have not looked back.
Monty and I have done the Whole 30, the transitional diet to clean all of the yuck out of our system and both are feel better than we have in years, energetically. There are a lot of little things and one really big thing that we’ve noticed since switching to this new way of eating. The big thing? Monty has always struggled with high blood lipids, cholesterol and triglycerides have been off the charts for as long as we can remember. Much to the dismay of his family doc back in Ludington he refused the typical protocol of medication. We changed our diet and they came down, a little, but never in the normal range or even close. They remained that way even two years ago when he had them tested as part of his physical. In February he was tested again after 3 weeks on the Whole 30 and every one of them were NORMAL!! We called the doctor’s office to make sure that he got the correct results!
Aside from the blood studies Monty has lost nearly 25 pounds that he wanted to lose, however my weight has remained stable. We are both eating the same diet so it appears that it is self-regulating as is reported in the book. I have to admit that this is the first eating plan that I’ve been this excited about in all the years I’ve been in nutrition.
If you are interested in the weight loss aspect of this eating plan or just want to improve your diet I would be happy to discuss it further with you and see how we can incorporate it into your eating plan.
I hope this finds each of you healthy and enjoying life to it’s fullest. As always, we are here to be of service in any of your health care needs.
Yours in good health,
Dr. Ashton
