Functional Medicine Revolutionizes Your Meal Planning By Prioritizing Nourishment

Published by Shannon Ford OT/L, IMP-2M | February 23, 2024

Functional Medicine Revolutionizes Your Meal Planning: Prioritize Nourishment and Energy for Optimal Health

One of the most significant things you can do while planning your menu for the week is to think of “nourishment” first. Functional Medicine Meal Planning with nourishment as the ultimate goal will help ensure that you have all the essential vitamins and minerals you need that are responsible for producing the thousands of chemical reactions inside of you each day. You must also consider “energy,” which will fuel your cells for all those reactions.

When choosing foods for your menu plan, it is helpful to keep in mind that foods contain not only carbohydrates, proteins, or minerals, but instead there is typically a mix of many different nutrients in each item. Yet since some foods have a higher amount of an element when compared to an other food, they are said to be a “good source” of that element and gain a reputation for containing it. For example, nuts have the reputation of being a good source of fats, yet they also fill the slot as a good source of protein.

When planning your meals, we recommend this general thought process:

1. NOURISHMENT: Select at least two fruits and vegetables. There can be many combinations (two vegetables or two fruits, or one fruit and one vegetable). You can always eat more vegetables, but we recommend two servings at a minimum. Have fun introducing new fruits and vegetables and rotate your selections so you are not always eating the same ones.
2. PROTEIN: 25-35% of a meal should be protein, which can be obtained from plant- and animal-based sources. Plant-based sources include quinoa, sprouts, seeds, beans, and nuts. Animal-based protein sources such as eggs, fish, and white meats like chicken and turkey are OK. In general, we don’t encourage red meat consumption often or for everyone; however, if OK’d by your nutritionist, 4-6 oz of red meat a week may be OK.
3. CARBOHYDRATES: For your body to get energy, you will need some carbohydrates. This is your primary source of energy. We typically recommend that 40-60% of your meal be carbohydrates. This is a broader range than our other ranges as the recommendation changes as you are more active – you will need more carbs. If you are diabetic or borderline diabetic, the recommendation would be less. You can consume carbohydrates from many foods, but I am talking about what most people think when they hear Carbohydrates… pasta,, potatoes, etc. We recommend consuming them as whole grains and unprocessed as a side dish.
4. FATS: Unfortunately, fat has gotten a bad reputation, and many people strive to omit it from their diet altogether. However, there must be always some fat in your meal. Fat is needed to absorb certain nutrients from your food (like CoQ10) and contains many nutrients (A, D, E, and K). We encourage 15-25% of your meals to contain good fats. Animal proteins contain fat, so you will be consuming some fat if your meal contains animal protein, but other sources of good fat include plant-based sources such as coconut butter, raw olive oil, seeds, nuts, and avocados.
5. CLEAN FOOD: the above steps are a great start. We recommend one last general guideline, and that is clean eating. Consume unprocessed, unboxed, unpackaged foods, ensuring they don’t have added chemicals. The more “back to nature” you can get, the better. Below is a partial list of ingredients we avoid.
   1. Artificial Sweeteners: sugar substitutes like aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose. 
   2. Processed Meats: meats that contain “nitrate” or “nitrite.” typically, these include pork products, bacon, bologna, wieners, and luncheon meats.
   3. MSG (monosodium glutamate): found in many items, including soups, sauces, and salad dressings
   4. Canned Foods and Drinks: metals and plastics from the containers can get into the foods. 
   5. Fried Foods: deep-fried food that is breaded
   6. Trans fat or Hydrogenated Fat is found in many pre-packaged foods and margarine. 
   7. Refined Carbohydrates: these are your processed foods such as white flour, white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and “enriched” foods. We believe that you shouldn’t need to add or enrich anything if it is a whole food.
   8. Artificial Anything: Read your labels, and if there is anything you can’t pronounce, then eliminate it. Anything with additives, preservatives, sulfites, FD&C, and artificial colors. 
   9. Commercial Meats: Select the cleanest meat you can find. Read the label and look for products labeled “no hormones,” “no antibiotics,” and “free range.”
   10. Shellfish and Bottom-Dwellers: These tend to be higher in toxic elements since they are more exposed to the toxic elements that sink to the bottom.
   11. Dairy Products: Except eggs, dairy should largely be avoided.
   12. Drinks: drink clean water (reverse osmosis) and clean herbal teas in moderation.
   13. Soy Products: limit your soy intake to no more than 3-4 servings a week. Eliminate food that contains isolated soy. Including soy protein, soy supplements, soy protein powder, tofu, etc. Tempeh, Miso, and whole soybeans are OK. 
   14. Chlorine and Fluoride sources: water from the tap, shower water, heavy chlorine exposure in swimming pools, fluoride toothpaste, fluoride supplements, fluoride mouthwash, etc. Chlorine and fluoride compete with iodine and can lead to thyroid imbalance.

Are you wondering about your health status?

Then, it’s time to get tested. Even if you ate a perfect diet, USDA data shows us that our food supply is not as nutritious as it was 30 years ago. Supplementing your diet can help correct these shortcomings. The only way to know if the supplements you are taking are working or to know exactly what vitamins/minerals and dosages you need to take is to get tested. 

Starting with a consultation, we will determine the testing that should be done. We do an in-depth analysis of your system using blood work and other diagnostic tools. The testing will tell us where the problem areas are occurring or just developing. During your report of findings, we will carefully note major and minor conditions that may lead to serious illness. This detailed report will explain your test findings and the nutrient and dietary recommendations based on YOUR test results. 

You can schedule your free consultation with our functional medicine team online or by texting or calling and speaking to one of our expert team members today at 773.878.7330.

 

Federal Law requires that we warn you of the following:

1. Your individual health status and any required healthcare treatments can only be adequately addressed by a professional healthcare provider of your choice.

2. The FDA has not evaluated the information in this post.