You Are What You Eat? Well Maybe...

How many times have you heard the phrase "You are what you eat." and wondered exactly what it means? The marketing spin appears to imply if you eat fatty foods, you will be fat. Is this really an accurate spin? Is the phrase even valid?

Feed Your Body What It Needs For Optimum Health And Fitness

I shake my head when I see this marketing ploy used because even though I know it's important to feed your body what it needs for optimum health and fitness, I also know what you eat doesn't always result in body fat.

Our bodies are all unique in how we process food and drink. Sure, the digestion process is the same for most people, providing it hasn't been altered by surgery, or an inherited gene, or certain medications, or hormonal challenges, or... Well, the list is really quite large.

Yes, our bodies attempt to absorb and utilize most of the foods and drinks we consume. In fact, you can click here for a very detailed description on how your digestion system works. It's really quite amazing. Few people realize how many muscles, hormones, and organs are in play when we eat anything. Even fewer are aware of how much harder certain parts of the body must work to process some foods over other foods.

What About Metabolism?

But that's only part of the story. Then we also have to get into the subject of metabolism. For example, I was able to eat anything I wanted growing up, and never gained weight. I remember eating 6 to 12 pancakes with lots of butter and syrup for Sunday breakfasts at home and never gaining an ounce. Yet my mother was always watching her weight, and even tried a few diets when her weight got a bit out of hand.

Face it, our bodies are all different and unique to us -- yet still have some similarities as well. For example, one of the major differences between humans and mammals is a sialic acid (sugar) called N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc). Yet interestingly enough, it has been discovered "when you eat red meat, a small amount of NeuG5c is taken up into human tissues 'as if it were originally made in human cells,"*1 and I guess, to a certain extent, we really are partially what we eat?

Medical Conditions Can Affect Your Body's Ability To Lose Or Gain Weight

Medical conditions can also play a part in what happens to the food you consume. For instance, an overactive or underactive thyroid or constricted arteries can result in trouble maintaining, gaining, or losing weight.*2 (In fact, it is worth scheduling a checkup with your doctor if you suspect this is the case for you.)

Also, certain "medications, including corticosteroids and antidepressants, can also make you gain weight. If you're on such a drug, changing the amount you eat may not be enough to get you to your weight goal."*2

I almost choke when I read some of the popular diets out there and see what harm people can be causing to themselves by following them. Sure, they may be losing some weight on the outside, but do they have any idea what they're doing to their blood vessels and the potential danger to other organs in their bodies, such as the heart?

Look, the body is a very complex system of cells creating an amazing complex system for sustaining itself. It's unfair to say off-handed "You are what you eat." when each body produces a different reaction to foods and drinks, and differing levels of hormones, acids, enzymes, and more within the body. Is your liver working at peak performance? Is your pancreas doing all it should? What about your nerves and spinal column? There's a whole lot that can go wrong somewhere in that amazing and complex system called the body.

This is perhaps one of the reasons I personally believe you should rule out medical problems with the advice and counsel of your doctor, before heading to the world of diets and dieting. And should you choose to diet, choose something nutritional. Read our article here on choosing the right diet and take some of the tips into consideration. In my humble opinion, it's important that your body gets all it needs so it can support you properly.