What We Eat Affects Everything

An article by James Hamblin just came out in yesterday's Atlantic Monthly entitled What We Eat Affects Everything. In it, Hamblin interviews Robynne Chutkan M.D. Chutkan doesn't seem to espouse any particular diet, but she does recommend an 80/20 principal (that I've also seen mentioned by the Conscious Cleanse gals) in which 80% of the food you eat should be unprocessed and healthy. The other 20% can be splurge food.

Chutkan claims that for many people 80% of what they eat is highly processed, sugary foods that are low in nutritional value and the other 20% are meats, vegetables, whole grains, etc. By flipping that percentage around, we'll spend less time toxifying our bodies and more time detoxing.

One of the most interesting parts of the article, in my opinion, is Chutkan's answer to Hamblin's question, "What are some differences in the way you approach female patients as opposed to men? In my mind, at least, the digestive tract isn’t something commonly thought of as a gendered part of the body." The answers all make a lot of sense once you read them, though you might not have thought of them before now. I'd encourage you to read the article for yourself. If you're only interested in hearing the answer to the gender differences question, scroll down to just past the image of the virtual colonoscopy. (Woot! Now doesn't that get you excited to click through and read?!!)  ;-)