The Anti Diet
by Dr. Robert Kienitz, D.Ac., DTCM
The theory of the Anti-Diet has one simple axiom that guides the rest of the theory, “eat a little bit of everything and not too much of anything”. The theory holds that if one eats from a wide variety of foods, not over consuming any one thing, the full range of dietary therapy is made available and there is little or no need for remedial supplementation like vitamins and minerals.
Foreign visitors I have known coming to America for the first time are startled and amazed by our grocery stores, it is mind boggling to them that in out produce sections one can purchases any fruit or vegetable, locally in season or not. You can get a pineapple 365 days a year, and at a reasonable price. The problem most of us have is that we do not make use of the vast richness our local groceries provide, we tend to eat very few of the same fruits and vegetables year in, year out and, that mundane diet makes for an unhealthy body.
The most frequently asked question by patients in my clinical practice is, “what diet I should follow?” My answer depends a lot on what your diet is like now. One of the main things to consider are the ratios of foods you are eating. This is also the simplest way to modify your diet because it may only require you to change the quantity of foods you are eating as opposed to the types of foods you are eating.
In your mouth there are four basic types of dentition, or teeth, that perform three basic functions, half the teeth in your mouth are of the pre molar, incisor and molar variety. These teeth are most useful in masticating or chewing fibrous foods that are of the fruit and vegetable variety. The canines and incisors make up about one fourth of your dentition and are useful for ripping and tearing meat. The third group of teeth are the premolar and molar variety that are useful for grinding grains, seeds and nuts. The three types of tooth overlap in function and make it possible for us to be what we are: omnivorous, that is, we can eat just about anything we can fit in our face.
Simple logic implies that if our dentition is structured so that half our teeth are for fruit and vegetable matter, one fourth for seeds, nuts and grain and one fourth for meat, then we should be following that as our basic dietary pattern.
My advice is simple and straight forward, let half of your daily caloric intake come from fruits and vegetables, fresh is best as is wide variety. Let one fourth of your daily caloric intake come from whole grains, seeds and nuts (whole grain breads and pastas are included in this category), and let one fourth of your daily caloric intake come from protein sources (which include meat, poultry, dairy and legumes).
The next question you have should be, “what is my optimum daily caloric intake?” The answer is “who are you and what do you do?” If you are a large person, 180 – 220 pounds for instance, and you have a sedentary job and home life you may only really need 1200 – 1500 calories per day for simple maintenance. If you have the same body type but you work high steel all day and train for triathlons at night you may need upward of 3000 calories per day just for maintenance. The Food and Drug Administration has touted a 2000 calorie a day diet across the board for everyone the last twenty years and we are a nation of obese people as a result of it. The FDA has also promoted that two thirds of your 2000 calorie a day diet come from grain products and we are a nation of hypoglycemics as a result of it.
I advise you to ignore the food pyramid in favor of the food circle, and as your mother used to say “eat your vegetables!”