‘Think of Nutrition as a Prescription:’ Vail Health Experts Share Secrets Behind Healthy Eating
On Thursday, April 3, Vail Health hosted a panel of three healthcare experts who use their knowledge of nutrition and healthy eating habits to support the health of their patients. “I like to think of nutrition as a prescription,” said Dr. Susie Vickerman, a family medicine physician at Colorado Mountain Medical. While medication can treat diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart conditions, proper nutrition can prevent these conditions from ever developing for many patients.
What is Healthy Eating
The foundations of a healthy diet come from protein, vegetables and carbohydrates, as minimally processed as possible. Lilia Brown, a functional medicine nurse practitioner at Vail Health with a specialty in healthspan, broke down the nutritional value of each part of a healthy diet. “What we eat can either fuel or fight inflammation. Protein is literally used in every part of our body,” Brown said.
As people age, they start to lose muscle, and eating enough protein can help battle that loss. Protein can come from animal sources, like lean meat, or plant sources, including legumes and soy products. Most people should aim to eat one gram of protein per kilogram of their body weight, which comes out to about 20-30 grams of protein per meal.
Though rumors have surrounded soy for years that the vegetarian protein source, derived from soybeans, has estrogen-like properties, the food is not only safe but recommended for consumption. “The evidence is strong that soy is very healthy,” said Melanie Hendershott, a registered dietitian at the Shaw Cancer Center. “It has been shown that including whole soy foods in your diet reduces the risk of recurrence (of breast cancer), and so the current recommendation for breast cancer survivors is to have one to two servings of soy per day. For the rest of us, certainly including soy in your diet in a whole food form is shown to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, combat prostate cancer, it’s just fine.”
Fats are essential for hormone regulation and brain function. The problem, Brown said, is that a lot of the fats Americans eat are unhealthy. People should aim to consume monounsaturated fat from nuts, seeds, olive oil, and omega-3 fatty acids from chia seeds, flax seeds, and salmon. Saturated fats, which come from meat and dairy products, should be limited. Trans fats, which are used to extend the life of food, cause a lot of inflammation, can lead to heart problems, and should be avoided.
Brown also often recommends that her patients take three supplements: omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D3, and vitamin K2. But “not every supplement was created equal,” she said. People should check the label for “Current Good Manufacturing Practice,” or CGMP, which means the supplements have been deemed safe by third-party testing.
To learn more, written transcripts from the panel discussion can be found on Vail Health’s website:
