A User’s Guide

Better Health Through

Good Nutrition

Anthony Ortiz, RPH, CCN

- Owner, Pharmacist & Certified Clinical Nutritionist -

- Atlas Drug and Nutrition -

(201) 869-5990Atlasdrugandnutrition.com

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

1

We Get It.

You’ve tried it all – popular diets, brutal exercise regimes, weight-

loss pills, cleanses, skipping meals, and nothing works. You suffer

for weeks or months, only to find you’re heavier and unhealthier

than before.

At some point, you think about just giving up – maybe you were

“meant to be”:

• Overweight

• Sluggish

• Plagued with diabetes

• High blood pressure and high cholesterol

And there’s nothing you can do about it.

Please don’t give up! So much of good health comes down to

education. Without it, we’re all doomed to repeat the same cycle

of overindulgence, desperate attempts to lose weight and get

healthy, followed by failure and increased weight.

There will be battles you will lose (not having access to healthy

foods, the holidays etc.) but the goal is to win the war.

CHAPTER

2

The war will not be won by counting calories. You may have

short-term success, but it will not be sustainable, and the

choices you make may not in fact promote good health.

There, isn’t that a relief?

It comes down to science and physics. A calories is a unit of

energy. The more calories you consume, the more energy

you will have to move, exercise, and think because the brain

uses a great deal of calories.

Not counting calories doesn’t give you a license to eat

anything and everything, but it does give you permission to

choose healthy foods even when they are high in calories.

For example, you could have a “100 calorie pack” of a

processed food, or you could choose the 140 calories in two

eggs. With the first you get little nutritional value, little

satisfaction, and all kinds of chemicals.

The only way to lose weight is to deprive yourself

The war will not be won by counting calories.

Choose eggs instead and you get a healthful amount of good fats and proteins, keeping you fuller longer and fueling your body and brain for activity. Other high calorie foods to include in your diet are lean meats, butter from grass-fed cows, and unsweetened coconut milk.

There will be times during the day, and even entire days during a week, that you will be hungrier than normal. If you are counting calories you will be robbing yourself of the ability to feel satisfied. Feeling satiated, full, stuffed, not needing to eat are part of a successful plan to eat whole, dense nutritious food without worrying about calories. By eating moderate amounts of good fat and protein, limiting your intake of carbs, and exercising regularly, you will lose weight.

In fact, when you concentrate on getting enough healthy vegetables, lean proteins, and fruit, you may find you just don’t have room for the unhealthy foods you used to crave.

Many attempt to lose weight by eating low fat foods, but this

practice in fact increases hunger. These foods contain higher

than normal percentages of carbohydrates, and have

undoubtedly contributed to the modern diabetes and obesity

epidemic.

The lemonade and chili “cleanse” and other similar plans can

cause major blood sugar issues as well as fatigue, irritability,

and intestinal upset. A cleanse should only be carried out

with medical supervision.

Low-Fat is Healthy

Diet pills and the like are quick and temporary additions that

are unlikely to keep you at your desired target weight. Some

have uncomfortable and even dangerous side effects as well.

Researchers have discovered that artificial sweeteners may

cause more weight gain than sugar because they stimulate

your appetite, encourage fat storage, stimulate a flood of

insulin, and increase carbohydrate cravings. Try stevia

instead.

Using artificial sweeteners is a good way to satisfy a sweet tooth and save calories.

CHAPTER

3

Breakfast is the most important meal, since it ends the

longest period of time that the body as gone without eating.

Going for long periods of time without food robs the body of

glucose which supplies the necessary fuel for energy.

We advise clients to avoid sugar-laden cereals and

carbohydrate-filled bagels, and instead to eat eggs and other

good proteins for breakfast.

Remember, skipping meals slows down your metabolic rate,

causing you to burn less fat, since your body wants to

preserve calories. More important, skipping meals makes

you overeat at your next meal.

Read food labels, not to count calories, but to avoid things

that are harmful. For instance, food labels must now display

the amount of trans fats contained. No amount of trans fat is

healthy. Even items labeled “healthy,” “nutritious,” or

“organic” may contain ingredients you should avoid. Other

things to look for and avoid:

• High amounts of sodium (over 400mg is considered

high). More than just the amount of sodium itself, this is

often an indication of how processed a food is.

• Unrecognizable and unpronounceable ingredients

(usually an indication of chemicals used in processing,

many of which are known or suspected carcinogens).

• Artificial colors and flavorings (known carcinogens).

Want to be really safe? Stick to foods that need no labels –

fruits, vegetables and grass-fed meats - or keep to foods with

very limited (and recognizable) ingredient lists.

Supermarkets often put the healthier foods on the “outside”

aisles of the store. Avoid temptation and increase your

chances of making good choices by sticking to the perimeter

whenever possible. A quick detour through the aisle with the

nuts is probably all you need.

While the internet is a great source of information on a

myriad of subjects, the misinformation it contains

regarding health and nutrition is frightening! Find

trustworthy information on well-known sites with

reputations to uphold, and make sure information given is

backed up by research or signed off on by a credentialed

expert.

Some sources we like are the Mercola.com website, the

brand new book, The Calorie Myth by Jonathan Bailor, and of

course, our own blog at Atlas Drug & Nutrition

Nancy Lentine, DO, an integrative family practice physician

in Little Falls, NJ has some great suggestions:

Transitioning into healthy eating? Get nutritional

counseling.

For stress eating, get the book Mindful Eating by Jan

Chozen.

For adrenal fatigue, see the website adrenalfatigue.org or

the book Adrenal Fatigue by James Wilson.

For hormonal imbalance, try the website

womeninbalance.org.

Concerned about hypertension and heart disease? Read

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Heart Disease

or Hypertension by Dr. Mark Houston.

Find trustworthy information

on well-known sites with reputations to uphold.

Healthy eating is a good habit your children will appreciate

for life. While their friends may be loading up on artificially-

flavored and colored “froot” snacks, help your kids discover

healthy foods that they enjoy. Make the produce section of

the supermarket or famer’s market the fun section when you

allow them to choose something new every week. Make it a

fun adventure for the entire family!

Did Emily choose eggplant this week (who

can resist the shiny purple skin)? Let her

help you make a fantastic gluten-free

eggplant parmesan for the family. Did

Luke grab a new variety of apple?

Spend some time with him slicing and

topping the apples with peanut or almond

butter and a few raisins for a fun after

school snack.

CHAPTER

4

All of those conditions, and many more, are well-served by

eating healthfully, as outlined in this ebook. Not sure if a

certain food or recommendation is right for you? Keep a list

of questions to ask your doctor or nutritional counselor.

Celiac disease is a gluten intolerance and it occurs when the

body cannot digest a protein called gliadin. Gliadin is one of

the hardest proteins to breakdown even in the healthiest of

intestines. It leaves the body mostly undigested.

The undigested gluten triggers the immune system to attack

the protein that is in the intestine, resulting in diarrhea,

constipation, and cramping. As the condition worsens, the

immune system remains activated and seriously damages

the intestine’s ability to absorb vitamins and minerals, leading

to other health problems.

The increase in the reporting of gluten intolerance and celiac

disease is a result of the refinement of the wheat supply and

the increase of carbohydrates (particularly grains) in the

western diet.

For those reasons, says clinical nutritionist and pharmacist

Tony Ortiz, RPH, CCN, “I believe for most non-sensitive

people, it makes good sense to avoid gluten as often as you

can. For those people who are gluten sensitive, even the

smallest amount of gluten can ruin their day, so my advice is

to totally avoid it.”

Dr. Lentine adds, “In certain situations, products containing

gluten are not healthy. They are mainly genetically modified

and in general are not healthy for our bodies. When I

recommend a gluten free dietary plan, I don’t have them rush

out and buy gluten free products, as they contain fillers to

compensate for the taste.”

.

I believe for most non-

sensitive people, it makes

good sense to avoid gluten as often as you can.

CHAPTER

5

If you have tried the suggestions above and still don’t see

results, see your doctor. Some hormonal imbalances,

including thyroid problems, can make it much more difficult to

lose weight and get healthy. Getting all your hormones

regulated can make your path to a healthy body and weight

much easier.

Don’t wait until your next regular appointment. Make an

appointment specifically to talk about your issues with

nutrition and weight.

This is in line with Dr. Lentine’s practice: “In patients who

have a hormonal or adrenal imbalance, I balance their

hormones in addition to suggesting dietary change based on

their levels.”

She also suggests practicing “mindful eating” or

psychological counseling when it appears that stress eating

is an issue.

Whether you have tried the suggestions above or not, you

may benefit by seeing a nutritional counselor. Your counselor

should be willing to work with your doctor to make sure your

individual needs are addressed.

Many counselors also have extensive knowledge of

pharmaceuticals and health conditions as well, so they can

review your current medications and find out if any are

getting in the way of your success. They may also offer a

free limited consultation, during which time they’ll help

determine whether you need their help or a doctor’s.

In patients who have a

hormonal or adrenal

imbalance, I balance their

hormones in addition to

suggesting dietary change based on their levels.

CHAPTER

6

“There is no magic bullet, pill, or diet that works for everyone.

If there were there would not be the obesity epidemic that we

have in our country... As soon as people see this as a life-

long change then they keep the weight off and they feel

good.”

“Although it may take some time for most of my patients to

grasp, once they get it, it is both life altering and sustainable.

Once my patients are able to live in a state of awareness that

food is medicine, and that the quality, quantity, and the

timing of meals affects their mind and body, which in turn

affects their quality of life, they become more mindful of

the amount of processed food they consume as opposed to

the amount of whole fresh foods.

This awareness does not only transform their nutritional

intake but also transforms their lives on multiple

levels. Eating a whole food diet is the very first step to

mindful living.”

“Fat is not something that should be avoided. Saturated fat is

made out to be the villain and accused of being dangerous -

increasing cardiovascular risk and cholesterol. In fact,

coconut oil, a saturated fat, is very healthy and should be

used instead of vegetable oil such as corn and canola in

cooking.

For the past 50 years, the mantra of avoiding fats has fit well

into the “cholesterol model” of heart disease. Fats from free

range beef, fish, and vegetable sources are very

concentrated and dense energy sources that the body uses

to make vital things such as hormones and cell membranes,

and to absorb fat soluble vitamins. One of the keys in

preventing hunger or put another way, feeling full, is to add

fats into the diet plan with each meal.

It's very important to understand differences in saturated fats.

The saturated fats that should be added to the diet are ones

sourced from high quality meats that contain a saturated fat

called stearic acid. This fat gets converted by the liver into

oleic acid which is a monounsaturated oil. Those are the oils

such as olive and canola oil that many doctors tell you to eat.

I suggest that you add olive oil to your diet but avoid canola

all together.

Other sources of good fats are:

• Avocados,

• Raw nuts and seeds

(walnuts, almonds , pecans),

• Free-range meats,

• Organic grass-feed butter,

• Organic pasture-raised eggs,

• Coconut and coconut oil.

The bad fats you should avoid are the trans fats. These are

vegetable oils that are hardened in order to preserve shelf

life but in fact reduce YOUR life by raising LDL (bad

cholesterol and reducing HDL (the good guy). Trans fats

increase the risk all sorts of chronic disease from heart

disease to diabetes.

It’s Time

To Get Healthy!

We are so happy you’ve taken this step towards

better nutrition.

If you’d like some advice tailored to your

unique needs and challenges, please schedule

your free consultation now.

If we can answer any questions you have, please do not

hesitate to ask. Send them to

tony@atlasdrugandnutrition.com or call (201) 869-5990.

Let’s Talk

(201) 869-5990Atlasdrugandnutrition.com