Eat right for health

BOULDER — With doctors nationally estimating that 75 percent of all diseases are related to diet and exercise, it’s no surprise that they recommend healthy lifestyles — lots of fruits and vegetables and moderate exercise.

Locally, several doctors and nutritionists are focused specifically on wellness through nutrition.

Boulderite Shira Souvignier went to her doctor, Jill Carnahan, for help in figuring out a way to deal with acid reflux, or gastroesophageal reflux disease, in which a patient commonly gets heartburn and other symptoms.

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Souvignier said that because her father for years had been taking Prilosec, a drug to combat acid reflux, she was worried that she might be susceptible to the disease as well as she got older.

Carnahan did a blood test work-up for Souvignier that did not indicate anything about acid reflux. What the blood tests found is that Souvignier had a high level of candida in her body, which — among other effects — causes yeast infections in women.

Candida feeds off of sugar, so Carnahan recommended that Souvignier cut sugar from her diet – a prospect at which the 5-foot-8, 120-pound patient balked. Souvignier said she already was following a restrictive no-meat diet related to dealing with a variety of other wellness issues, including getting rid of the asthma symptoms of her childhood.

Souvignier finally decided to try to cut any food out of her diet that contained sugar — even fruit and its natural sugar. Her body responded with withdrawal symptoms similar to ones an alcoholic would experience, Souvignier said. She lost eight pounds in three days.

“Pretty much all I could eat was vegetables. It was very difficult,” Souvignier said. “I felt sick and had flu-like symptoms. The cravings were overwhelming.”

About five months into the diet, Souvignier has added small bits of fruit back into what she eats as well as a few foods made of grain and some dairy. She said she became vegan (no meat or dairy) 38 years ago and saw her asthma symptoms disappear overnight, but trusted Carnahan enough to return some dairy into her diet and has suffered no ill effects.

Carnahan says she focuses on “functional medicine,” or how to find the underlying chemical imbalances in the body, rather than just treating illness. She practices at Flatiron Functional Medicine with Dr. Robert Roundtree.

“I’m trained conventionally as an M.D., but I have a passion for nutrition and wellness,” Carnahan said. “How do we treat disease, but prevent it from happening? I’m your personal detective in health.”

Many patients may complain that they’re feeling chronically tired or not feeling well, Carnahan said. In response, she tells them that people in their 20s and 30s often can get away with not eating properly, but later in life bad habits start to catch up.

“Our Standard American Diet is SAD for short. We’re so far from where we should be eating, healthwise,” Carnahan said. “You might say you only eat fast food twice a week, but you probably should never touch it.”

Carnahan also tests many patients for deficiencies in minerals such as magnesium and zinc. She weighs treatment options, saying that she thinks carefully about what she prescribes in terms of natural supplements and vitamins just as she would a traditional medication.

For example, Carnahan said she may prescribe a particular herb for stress and anxiety, sleepiness and general fatigue. Aptogenic herbs — those that have unique properties, such as Ashwagandha, ginseng and Holy Basil, among others — can be used to treat conditions such as anxiety, she said.

“It’s maintaining your own physiology rather than suppressing a symptom,” Carnahan said. “I use all of the tools. Instead of just drugs and surgery, I can use nutrition and supplements and lifestyle changes for treating the patient.”

Carnahan estimates that probably 40 percent to 50 percent of all people in the United States suffering from some sort of disease could benefit from a more healthy diet. Carnahan refers to the “Mediterranean diet” — one that is virtually meat and vegetables and a little bit of dairy — as one that will help most people.

“If it’s in a box or a package or has a label, get rid of it,” Carnahan said. “It’s going back to things your grandmother would recognize as food.”

More tricky can be conditions such as high blood pressure or heart disease, Carnahan said, which show inflammation of the heart, low-grade infection and stress from poor diet and lack of exercise.

Many patients already have done exercise before they come to her, Carnahan said, adding that better diet and exercise together often can help.

“People seeking me out are ready for a change,” she said. “I see a complex crowd. Diet is huge, it’s the foundation, but if they need more, I can give that to them.”

Carnahan was a vegetarian for 15 years but felt that it was hard to get adequate protein in her diet. She now tells patients that it’s fine to eat beef, fish, chicken and wild game. Lots of vegetables are good, she says, as are “good oils,” nuts, seeds and fruit for dessert. She advocates eliminating refined carbohydrates, sugars and all processed foods.

Dr. Roy Steinbock, a holistic pediatrician at Mindful Pediatrics PC in Boulder, works much the same way as Carnahan, but with children. Steinbock believes that everyone lives under chronic stress, which is one reason why some children get allergies or chronic illnesses.

While each child is different, often children with asthma or eczema can benefit greatly from changes to what they eat, Steinbock said.

“With kids, you’re not getting enough of a good thing or too much of a bad thing,” Steinbock said. “I’m looking for a cause and treating deficiencies — all of those things at one time.”

Medications also have a place in Steinbock’s practice, but only after careful consideration, he said.

“Many kids are on medications that are used sometimes inappropriately and sometimes overly aggressively, (but) medications certainly have a place,” Steinbock said.

Marc Tanenbaum at Stuart Street Preventative Health Care Center in Longmont says he uses a specialized blood test to predict if a patient will get diabetes and other diseases five to 10 years before they happen.

Tanenbaum preaches the same diet-and-exercise mantra to his patients to stay healthy as do Steinbock and Carnahan.

Nutritionists such as Megan Forbes, owner of Forbes Nutritional Consulting in Boulder, tout the value of foods containing nitric oxide for athletes or anyone looking to be fit. Foods such as beet juice have higher levels of nitric oxide, she said

Forbes often recommends various supplements to her clients to help them enhance their athletic performances. She also recommends healthy eating, just like her counterparts.

Former competitive college runner Elizabeth Carey has been taking Forbes’ advice and said she is feeling much better.

Carey said she generally is eating more vegetables and fruit as well as beans, seeds and nuts, following advice from Forbes. Instead of having a Zone nutrition bar as a snack, for example, she might have hummus and vegetables. A cereal bar for breakfast is replaced by fruit with nut butter that she grinds herself.

“I really started taking more a whole-foods approach and that was huge,” Carey said. “I spend a lot more time to prepare my own food, and I feel so much better for it.”