I read that by the time of the American Revolution the average colonist was three inches taller than the average British soldier. The difference was attributed to diet. The colonists were eating more bison and getting more protein.
That difference was discovered by anthropologists. Typically medical research looks for causes of loss of function. We are concerned with the causes of diseases, not optimal function.
A blood test showed that my mother was low on sodium. I said, “We’ll give her more salt.” The doctor and nurse laughed. They believed giving her more salt would make her blood pressure go up. Their solution was to reduce her fluid intake. The idea was that reducing the volume of fluid would increase the concentraton of sodium in her blood. It didn’t work.
I asked the nurse at her assisted living center. He said, “She’s not getting any salt here.” I began giving her potato chips and salty drinks. Even that wasn’t enough.
Eventually, sodium tablets were prescribed. So, we went from being laughed at for eating salt to taking salt tablets. Be careful not to go to extremes with health research.
A university statistics teacher and I had a discussion about what could be proven by statistics. My position was that it is difficult to prove causation on anything involving healthcare. He disagreed. Years later, he had symptoms that wouldn’t improve. He saw a naturopath who looked at his diet. He had eliminated fat from his diet. In an effort to be healthy based on research, he made himself sick.
We often overlook the role of absorption. When I was in high school, I tried to gain weight by eating more. Instead of gaining weight, I got diarrhea. I told my father that I could barely make it through a class. He said, “Stop eating so much.” That worked. My body wasn’t absorbing my food. Some part of me was deciding that my weight was fine.
Another example of absorption is the regulation of calcium. The concentration of calcium in the blood in sensed by cells in the parathyroid glands. When the level of calcium is too low, the parathyroid glands release parathyroid hormone (PTH). The kidneys respond to PTH by reabsorbing more calcium and secreting more Vitamin D3, which stimulated more calcium absorption in the gut. PTH also acts on bones to stimulate osteoclasts to break down bone and release calcium into the blood stream.
Certainly your diet is important. You can’t make sodium out of nothing. You can take calcium out of your bones, but you don’t want weak bones. Good idea to have calcium in your diet. Those are just two examples.
Key is to have a good balanced diet. I take some supplements. I believe supplements give my body a chance to absorb what it needs. I don’t go crazy following the latest “health” research.
If you enjoyed this post, I’d appreciate it if you share it. It is a way you can support me. Free subscribers get access to most posts. Paid subscribers also get access to my two books: A Doctor’s Guide to Real Estate Investing and How Politics Increased the Cost of Healthcare in America plus a discount on my Udemy Courses.