Functional nutrition views food at 4 different levels – energy, information, connection and medicine.
The level most often associated with food is energy, or calories. In case you missed it, the following blog expands your mind regarding “Food as Energy”. https://aknutrition.net/2022/11/28/food-as-energy/
Food is also information. Different foods contain different information. The information they contain will either support or challenge our natural ability to maintain health.
Every bite of food contains zillions of molecules of information, or instructions. The information determines how your body reacts to the specific food. The instructions provide the computer code driving the metabolic processes taking place.
Food = Information = Instructions
To illustrate, consider the information within a chocolate chip cookie vs. 1 cup of blueberries.
Within the chocolate chip cookie, the key information includes the 6.5 grams added sugars and 0.4 grams of fiber. The added sugars make up 35% of the calories and spikes the blood sugar abruptly. The low fiber content will not do much to mitigate the imbalanced blood sugar. The information within the cookie triggers the body to perform extra work to regain proper blood sugar levels. Specific metabolic processes are triggered. While we are designed to overcome the blood sugar imbalance, over time the extra work takes a toll on the body. Eventually we are unable to keep up. Chronic imbalances and dysfunction lead us further away from health and more and more towards disease.
Within the blueberries, the key information includes no added sugars and 3.6 grams of fiber. The blood sugars will spike less abruptly due to the lack of added sugars. The blueberries provide 9 times the amount of fiber than the cookie. The higher fiber content will help to mitigate the blood sugar spike from the natural sugars. The body will need to do less work to maintain proper blood sugar levels. Different, and fewer, metabolic processes are triggered.
Bottom Line
Do you suffer from fatigue and the strong urge to curl up for an afternoon nap? Are your medical lab values out of range? Are you unable to fully participate and perform in life? Do you find yourself sitting on the sidelines rather than playing an active role?
If so, your food choices may be challenging rather than supporting your health and vitality. It may be time to consider the type of information your food includes.
