Why You might want to try a rotation Diet
There are many benefits to a rotation diet. Whether you are looking to lose weight, increase lean muscle mass, strengthen your immune system, detox, eliminate joint pain or increase your performance and recovery, a rotation diet might be right for you. Discover the basics of a rotation diet, why you might want to consider one and how to successfully implement a rotation diet for personal or family use.
WHAT IS IT? As you might have guessed, a rotation diet involves rotating the foods you eat, usually on a four day cycle. For example the foods you eat on day 1 (Monday) you would not eat again until day 5 (Friday). You need not start day 1 for breakfast and that day for dinner, it can often be helpful to start your rotation diet with dinner so that you have leftovers for the next day. So Day one would start with dinner on Sunday night and continue with breakfast and lunch on Monday. Day two would start with dinner on Monday Night, etc.
For instance, chicken, duck, ostrich, quail, turkey are all part of the same family and if you ate them on day 1 you would not be able to eat them again until day 5. These taxonomical groupings are also done for fruits, vegetables, fats and even spices. You are probably thinking that this can be quite difficult to implement in your already busy schedule. Yes and no. Often people don’t know what to eat and doing a rotation diet makes picking food and shopping quite easy-you know exactly what you can eat on each day of the week. That being said, since it can be a challenge to incorporate this more traditional rotation diet, I will give a few suggestions to different versions you can choose from depending on your goal and commitments. I should note that for optimal results, i.e. for professional athletes or those with compromised immune systems a full on rotation diet is the way to go. For those exercising for general health and wellness or just starting out, the modified versions below can be just as effective.This will start the implementation of more food variety, providing more nutrients and excitement to your diet. It’s amazing how a variety of colors and tastes can add a new found energy to our being!
WHY?
More and more people are beginning to notice the obvious solution to fantastic health and to healing food intolerances is of course a holistic approach. I have spoken in previous blogs about stress and its effect on the body, these come in various forms such as negative emotions which we call stinkinthinkin, drugs, lack of sleep, or living an unfulfilling life, as well as eating the 'wrong foods' for your body. The digestive system becomes weakened, reducing all types of stress is crucial to every health program; when the body is relaxed and open it will work better in every area. So why consider a rotation diet of any kind?Considering you are working to reduce stress in other areas of your life, using a rotation diet will begin to reduce the physical stress load on your immune system. Not only will you lose weight, but you will gain more energy by freeing up the body of the physical burden of constantly “fighting” your food and instead digesting it for your health.
As a health practitioner I get to review a lot of food logs from my clients. One of the common themes running throughout is that people eat only a handful of foods i.e. chicken breast, broccoli, eggs, tuna, potatoes, bread, cheese, kale, blueberries and almonds are some of the common culprits.
There is nothing wrong with any of those foods, but if those are the same foods that show up day in and day out you are doing a few things that can actually cause you to be less vital than you should be. One, you are exposing yourself to only a small percentage of the micronutrients (vitamins, minerals)) and fatty acids available in the plant and animal kingdom. Two, you are exposing yourself to the same toxins over and over again. Yes, every single thing you eat, even if it is organic, will have some toxins that your body (immune system, digestive system) will need to deal with. If you eat the same piece of broccoli every day for a month, your immune system will never get a break from having to fight whatever toxin is associated with that piece of broccoli, your pancreas will never get a break from having to produce the enzymes necessary to break down the food itself and you liver will never get a break from having to support your detox pathways.
We live in a world where one could decide to consume a diet composed of any kind of processed food and only processed food, we can use rotation dieting to help us relearn variety. It is this type of isolated eating pattern that contributes to a lot of our food intolerances. When we start adding a variety of healthy foods into our diet and eat less of the same one or two foods we correct food intolerances and also the issues that are associated with them:
Digestive Issues
Unnatural Weight Gain
Toxicity
Skin Problems
Fatigue and Lethargy
Depression, Anxiety, Brain Fog, and Stress
Overall Weakened Immune Function
So in effect your immune system and digestive system (including the pancreas and liver) will be stressed more than they need to be which will divert energy from other bodily functions ( i.e. recovery and/or performance). In the long run you can severely weaken your immune system and digestive system by eating the same foods over and over again. Three, if you are always eating the same foods you will have a hard time getting to the bottom of any food intollerance and you may actually be supporting a food sensitivity.
Yes, most people have food intollerances that they are entirely unaware of. It is not uncommon for people to wind up with 30 or more markers. Even more interesting is that the food you are most addicted to is most likely the one you are most sensitive to. Imagine hearing you have a food sensitivity to everything you normally eat (this is not uncommon). So, by rotating foods on a four day cycle you can get in touch with any possible food intolerances and make the necessary adjustments. For instance, you might notice that you have a recurring sinus issue that occurs each day 1 but goes away by day 4. You can further deduce that something you are eating on day 1 is behind that sinus mucous (often times this can be related to dairy products). Shellfish, soy, corn, and wheat are other such intolleranceas. Wheat and gluten intolerance is a popular example of what goes wrong when the body becomes intolerant to a food. The list of health concerns connected to wheat intolerance is large: depression, anxiety, skin problems, weight gain, toxicity, and more.
WHAT CAUSES FOOD INTOLLERANCE?
Of course there are many factors that contribute to a food intolerance, I have touched on stress being one, others are poor eating habits, poor quality food, metabolic dysfunction, digestive disorders, adrenal fatigue, and others.
Metabolic dysfunction is corrected by assessing a clients metabolic and primal pattern type and will work out how much proteins, fats or carbohydrates you as an individual require. However, one of the major components of this issue is overexposure to the proteins found in particular foods. Using wheat as an example, the proteins gluten and gliadin are typically what people are reacting negatively to. The reason we’re being overexposed is we have wheat in nearly every food today; even a lot of our skin care and hair care products are using wheat fillers. The reason is of course a matter of financial gain. Wheat, like corn and soy, has been produced to be incredibly cost affective and versatile for thousands of uses. Though a genius business model, mass production of certain foods has not worked the same type of wonders for our health.
When the body is stressed from toxic relationships and a food is consumed and left undigested, the immune system has to create antibodies to bind to the antigen created by the undigested protein, working to protect the body from what it thinks is possibly a pathogen or some foreign invader. Mix this with an overexposure to a particular protein such as gluten, and the body becomes so familiarized with that protein that it begins to create antigens on a regular basis to “keep the body healthy.” The problem is that over time the body becomes fatigued and exhausted from the overstimulated immune response. Your immune system begins to recognize this protein as a danger!
WHY FOUR DAYS? For most people it takes about three days to fully digest, absorb and eliminate a particular food item. Some things digest quicker than others but basically you are giving your body three days to process what you ate on day 1 and then the fourth day is a complete rest day. This may not sound like a lot but the ramifications can be astounding. I have seen problems such as persistent runny noses, joint pain, skin problems, and stomach discomfort disappear after only a few weeks following a rotation diet.
HOW? There are a few different approaches depending on your level of commitment.
Beginner approach – A beginner approach can be as simple as adding 2-3 new foods each time you go shopping. For instance, if you normally buy beef, try herring or lamb, if you normally buy carrots, try tomato or parsley, if you normally buy bananas try kiwi or papaya. By doing this you will naturally start eating different foods which will expose you to a wider variety of vitamins, minerals and fatty acids. At the same time you will be reducing the overall load on the various systems in the body. And of course pay attention to how this makes you feel after eating, if you feel bloated, lethargic or low mental clarity you know that one or all of those foods you ate you most likely have an intollerance to.
Intermediate approach – Write down everything you ate and drank on day 1 (excluding water) and don’t consume those items until day 5 and continue so that everything you ate on day 2 you don’t eat again until day 6, etc. This is can be extremely beneficial and quite a bit easier to implement. For many people I have them go no further than this and the results are great. For others it can be a simple step in preparing for a more advanced rotation diet.
Advanced Approach – This would be a full rotation diet and would involve grouping foods based on taxonomy or genetic groupings and adhering to the 4 day rotation of foods. I can provide my clients with a rotation diet. You can ease into it by focusing mostly on proteins since those tend to be the most problematic and over time you can begin incorporating vegetables, fruits, fats and spices. Eventually you will have some nice go-to meals for each day of the cycle and shopping/preparing foods will become part of your regular schedule.
A sample grouping of proteins below.
Proteins: Day 1 – beef, herring, lamb, codfish Day 2 – chicken, duck, turkey, eggs, tuna, Day 3 – pork, venison, rabbit, sole, different types of beans (for example kidney beans) Day 4 – salmon, trout, shrimp, lobster, mackerel, mussels, oysters, scallops
TIPS:
A slow cooker (crock pot) can be a great way to cook large meals in bulk. Pork loin roast, lamb shoulder roast, bottom round roast, chicken thighs/legs and turkey legs are some great cuts to slow cook.
Get the family involved, it can be easier if others in the household are eating the same meals as you and can be easier to prepare.
A rotation diet is great to couple after a gentle detox program as it can help support and open your detoxification pathways. One program is the 10 day cleanse that I offer.
Once you become comfortable with finding variety in food each day you can start educating yourself more on food-classes by genetic grouping.
I talked before on blogs about protein powders. A good example would be to invest in two different types of protein powders, again, I sell these on my site. I personally use a blend of cranberry, hemp, and pea protein, as well as a classic protein, which is bio-fermented brown rice. This gives me two unique options of easy to digest and great tasting protein sources that I can nourish myself with on a holistic level.
We all know a higher plant-based diet is ideal, so investing in a variety of plant-based protein powders gives you expanded creativity, taste, and nutrition. In my experience it’s easy to become bored with slow cooking different grains and legumes and making a stir-fry out of every meal. Having versatility in cooking techniques makes food fun again. Experiment with different shakes, smoothies, juices, (I can send you recipes if needed) and don’t be afraid to pick up a cooking course or book! The take home message here is to rotate your foods, not only for the sake of your immune system and mental and physical health but to nourish your soul with variety that is found in the abundance of nature’s food.
These are just a few recommendations that have worked successfully for me and my clients, feel free to structure in a way that works best for you. The goal is to make small changes that will help you feel and perform better both in the gym, on the golf course or in the office. For more information on rotation dieting feel free to contact me.