Text copyright © 2018 Ali Miller. Design and concept copyright © 2018 Ulysses Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized duplication in whole or in part or dissemination of this edition by any means (including but not limited to photocopying, electronic devices, digital versions, and the internet) will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
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ISBN: 978-1-61243-825-2
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NOTE TO READERS: This book has been written and published strictly for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to serve as medical advice or to be any form of medical treatment. You should always consult your physician before altering or changing any aspect of your medical treatment and/or undertaking a diet regimen, including the guidelines as described in this book. Do not stop or change any prescription medications without the guidance and advice of your physician. Any use of the information in this book is made on the reader’s good judgment after consulting with his or her physician and is the reader’s sole responsibility. This book is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition and is not a substitute for a physician.
This book is independently authored and published and no sponsorship or endorsement of this book by, and no affiliation with, any trademarked brands or other products mentioned within is claimed or suggested. All trademarks that appear in ingredient lists and elsewhere in this book belong to their respective owners and are used here for informational purposes only. The author and publisher encourage readers to patronize the quality brands mentioned and pictured in this book.
To all of you readers and food-as-medicine warriors: may you find hope and direction with a pathway toward mental clarity,
improved mood, and a mellow state of mind. Take the time and energy to apply the recommendations and honor your body. You
are worth it!
Contents
Introduction
My Journey into Functional Medicine
What Is Food as Medicine?
How Is This Program Different?
Chapter 1: Anxiety, the Driver of Dysfunction
The Anti-Anxiety Diet Foundational 6 Rs
Chapter 2: Remove Inflammatory Foods
What Is Inflammation?
Inflammation and Anxiety
The Top 5 Inflammatory Foods
Elimination Diet Approach
Carb Control Is Key!
Chapter 3: Reset Gut Microbiome
Why Do Bacteria Matter?
What Fuels Dysbiosis?
Drivers of Dysbiosis
Bacteria and Mood Connection
Getting Your Microbiome to Work For You
Plowing the GI Tract with a Bacterial and Yeast Cleanse
Lifestyle Support for Your Cleanse
The Power of Fermented Foods
Gut Anatomy 101
What Is Leaky Gut?
Gut-Blood Barrier and Immune Reactivity
Blood-Brain Barrier and Histamines
Supplements to Support Gut Lining and Reduce Inflammation
Food as Medicine to Support Leaky Gut
Chapter 5: Restore Micronutrient Status
Increased Demand
Inability to Absorb
Inability to Use
Inadequate Intake
Genetic Drivers toward Anxiety and Nutrient Deficiency
When Eating Healthy Isn’t Enough and Drugs Don’t Work
Antioxidants as Anti-Anxiety Support
Mood-Stabilizing Minerals
Mood-Stabilizing Vitamins
Chapter 6: Rebound Your Adrenal Glands
HPA-Axis
Cortisol and Anxiety
“Stressed and Wired” or “Stressed and Tired”?
HPA-Axis Impact on Your Immune System
Slowing the Anxiety Drive
Supplements for Adrenal Fatigue and Stress Resilience
Chapter 7: Rebalance Your Neurotransmitters
What Are Neurotransmitters?
What Influences the Expression of Neurotransmitters?
Get to Know Your Neurotransmitters
Balancing Out the Complex Symphony in Your Brain
Other Considerations to Rebalance your Neurotransmitters
Food as Medicine to Rebalance Your Neurotransmitters
Chapter 8: Applying the Anti-Anxiety Diet
Understanding Macronutrients
Two-Week Preparation Phase: Cleaning Up and Getting Set!
Anti-Anxiety Diet Guidelines
Phase 1: Ketogenic Protocol
Phase 2: Low-Glycemic Protocol
Carbohydrate-Containing Foods
2-Week Meal Plan
Lifestyle Support
Closing
Chapter 9: Recipes
Breakfasts
Butternut and Brussels Breakfast Hash
Caramelized Onion, Turkey, and Kale Egg Muffins
Sweet Potato Avocado Toast
Prosciutto Egg Cups
Smoked Wild Salmon Scramble
Quick Coconut Yogurt
Paleo Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
Pumpkin Nut and Seed Bars
Coconut No-Oatmeal
Beverages
Anti-Inflammatory Electrolyte Elixir
Stress-Stabilizing Steamer
Almond Collagen Hot Cocoa
Matcha Green Smoothie
Citrus Burst Smoothie
Snacks/Appetizers
Electrolyte-Boosting Avocado with a Spoon
Greek Deviled Eggs
Mango Zen Fuego Nutballz
Whole Roasted Cauliflower
Curry Roasted Cauliflower
Roasted Almonds with Nori and Sesame
Asian Braised Bok Choy
Cashew Cheeze Dip
Mellow Mama Dressing
Roasted Colored Peppers
Lunch/Dinner
Grass-Fed Beef Knuckle Bone Broth
Gut-Restoring Chicken Bone Broth
Creamy Green Chile Chicken Soup
Zesty Creamy Carrot Soup
Naturally Nourished Pot Roast
Warming Chicken Thighs with Braised Greens
Seaweed Turkey Roll-Ups
Sweet and Sour Pork Meatballs
Mediterranean Tuna Salad
Truffled Egg Salad
Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin
Almond Flour Chicken Piccata
Slow Cooker Carnitas
Carnitas Burrito Bowl
Spaghetti Squash Bolognese
Simple Salt and Pepper Scallops
Desserts
Chia Cherry Thumbprint Cookies
Chai Gelatin Panna Cotta
Lime in the Coconut Fat Bomb
Coconut Chia Seed Pudding
Grain-Free Low-Carb Peanut Butter Cookies
Walnut Maca Caramels
Turmeric Orange Gummies
Matcha Coconut Gummies
Appendix
Exchange List
Anti-Anxiety Diet Grocery List
Foods in Moderation
Foods to Avoid
&n
bsp; Supplement Support for the 6 Foundational Rs
Advanced Functional Labs
Selected References
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Introduction
My Journey into Functional Medicine
Growing up as a dancer I was always very health conscious. I considered my body a machine and worked to fuel it with healthy foods. Skim milk, whole grain, high-fiber processed products, and diet soda were among my “healthy choices.” In college, I transitioned from majoring in dance to nutritional sciences, with a newfound environmental consciousness, which led me to get involved with sustainable food production and the farm-to-table movement. Inspired by animal welfare networks, I became vegetarian at age 19, then vegan at age 20, substituting animal proteins for soy and meat analogues; they were cholesterol-free, after all, and sustainable, right?
During this time, my hunger for spreading “healthy eating” and changing the world with vegan advocacy was growing. I wanted to do whatever I could to immerse myself in the field of nutrition and get experience as a dietitian. While taking courses to become a registered dietitian, I worked in a hospital as a diet technician, where I was in charge of adjusting plates to be compliant with guidelines for diabetes, sodium restriction, postpartum nourishment, etc. I coordinated formulas for tube feedings and supplemental shakes with products (often recommended by physicians) that contained corn syrup solids, highly refined soybean oil, canola oil, high-fructose corn syrup, soy protein isolate, and other food-like substances with artificial colorants and flavors to boot.
I knew that this was not real food or anywhere on the path to nutrition as I imagined it, but it was a step toward understanding how the current medical system views food. In attempts to share the influence of food as medicine with the hospital and staff, I offered a class on probiotics. The class was well received, with nurses, dietitians, and doctors giving positive feedback and asking questions. I had found my calling! I needed a learning environment that would teach me how to use food as medicine rather than as a mere calorie filler.
I completed my nutrition education at a naturopathic college, Bastyr University, where my philosophies on food were greatly expanded and challenged. I learned about food on a biochemical level: how nutrients, phytocompounds, antioxidants, and enzymes influence the function of the body. I learned about anti-nutrients, or compounds in particular foods (including soy, legumes, and many vegetarian forms of protein) that block the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and nutritional elements. I also learned that the bioavailability of nutrients varies from vegetable to animal. For example, a mere 30 percent of iron is absorbed in the body from vegetarian sources as opposed to 100 percent from grass-fed beef or bison! I became fervently invested in nutritional sciences, picking up any elective courses and opportunities available to immerse myself in a deeper understanding of how food could be medicine. Yet, as the stress of my workload and courses increased, my drive increased, which led to racing thoughts, lack of sleep, and ultimately, a toll on my body.
During the last quarter of my first year at Bastyr, I did a span of four months as a raw vegan. My system did not receive this well; I was constantly bloated, fatigued, and started getting neuropathy with pain, tingling, and loss of sensation in my hands and feet. Unable to ground my floating brain, I was overwhelmed with constant racing thoughts. My circulatory system was stagnant and I was always cold and clammy, but my commitment to the cause of vegetarianism silenced the signals of my body. After the third year as a vegan and a four-month run as a raw vegan, I started experiencing shortness of breath and significant brain fog, and for the first time, I experienced a chronic onset of anxiety. Beyond persistent worry and negative thoughts, I was also starting to experience panic attacks. Tunnel vision, walls closing in on me, shortness of breath, the proverbial elephant on the chest, and exhausting insomnia all became the norm. I was seeing an acupuncturist, taking Chinese herbs, and stopped eating a raw diet to include more warming foods, but I was not improving. If anything, I was declining. The more I obsessed and searched for a cure, the sicker I became.
Finally, I went up to the naturopathic clinic and did extensive blood work. I learned that I had an autoimmune disease with elevated antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and a diagnosis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, along with B12 deficiency and iron deficiency. It was starting to make sense: the neuropathy, the brain fog, and the shortness of breath, the vegan diet void of these nutrients! My naturopathic doctor prescribed a B12 sublingual supplement and an easily absorbable iron supplement for my deficiencies, and provided a handout of vegetarian sources of these nutrients. Even though I had been eating those foods in focused high amounts, I was still deficient!
I started to see improvement in the shortness of breath and severity of pain but felt that there was something more to it. I still didn’t feel grounded or balanced. As a future practitioner who wanted to use food as medicine, I needed to start with myself, and in this case, that meant incorporating animal products into my diet in order to meet my body’s increased demand for nutrients. I would need to bypass the anti-nutrients in many plant-based foods, and take full advantage of the enhanced bioavailability of animal-sourced nutrients. I had to make peace with becoming an omnivore again to fully heal. I committed to only consuming animal products that were free of antibiotics and growth hormones, and raised in a humane, small-scale environments on a traditional pasture-centered diet. I started with raw egg yolks in my green smoothies, then lightly poached eggs from pasture-raised chickens, then wild fish. Over the course of six weeks, I was consuming two biological sources of protein daily.
Reincorporating animal products into my diet played a great role in my recovery. It allowed me to lower my consumption of grains and completely eliminate processed grain and soy products, which accelerated my rebound to balanced health! This book will highlight the unique attributes of animal products and how traditional foods such as bone broth and organ pâté, as well as daily inclusion of meat, poultry, fish, and eggs, supports balancing your brain and optimizing mood stability.
Unfortunately, my healing journey was not complete. While some of my nutrient deficiencies were from inadequate intake, others were from inadequate absorption. I put myself on a quality digestive enzyme to help my body break down food and denser proteins while reducing the inflammatory properties of dairy and gluten.
Years later, I went to a Wise Traditions conference and met Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, author of Gut and Psychology Syndrome and creator of the GAPS diet. Learning about leaky gut and its role in driving inflammation throughout the body (Chapter 4), as well as driving autism, ADHD, anxiety, bipolar disorder, dyslexia, and depression, was mind-blowing!
I started to alter my diet to reduce inflammatory compounds and focus on restoring my gut lining and gut microbiome with therapeutic supplements and strategic diet support. I started to realize that it was the function of my body that was driving imbalance with anxiety and autoimmune flares, which then drove the nutrient deficiency and exacerbated symptoms.
During my last year in school, I was introduced to functional medicine in my work at the Bastyr Naturopathic Clinic. Here, I was challenged to develop patient interventions beyond a nutritional handout or natural foods approach. For example, when treating a patient with constipation, I would be encouraged to think hard about whether the individual truly needed a handout on fiber-rich foods and a reminder to drink more fluid, or whether the peristalsis (process that moves food through the intestines) was paralyzed by the stress response. I was challenged to try to understand why dysfunction was occurring with my patient rather than simply come up with a way to treat the symptom. I took an elective course, Functional Medicine for the Nutrition Practitioner, and something clicked. It was the missing piece of my educational and clinical experience: learning to get to the root of the patient’s problems.
For the first time, I understood how to treat people, not diseases! Now focused on an individualized approach, I began tr
eating the whole person and looking to resolve the root cause of dysfunction, rather than managing a symptom, which often yields temporary outcomes. This was the synergy that I craved, to use food as medicine to functionally address imbalance in the body. I began creating targeted treatment protocols using diet and supplement support founded on data unique to each patient and their personal expression of imbalance.
Finally, through the work of Dr. Jeff Bland and Linus Pauling, I learned about orthomolecular medicine, using nutritional supplementation to support optimized function, and the concept of nutrigenomics, the role of nutritional compounds in influencing genetic expression. I learned that high-dose nutrients could reverse disease, and that our genes are not our destiny but an opportunity! The idea that we could no longer blame our genes for disease was both enlightening and empowering, and this sealed my commitment to functional medicine. I started to understand more thoroughly the roles of stress, mental health, toxins, and hormones as the epigenome, or the lifestyle elements that influence genetic expression. This is where meditation and mindfulness as medication make sense, and the idea that stress can kill is validated.
What Is Food as Medicine?
Food as medicine is the understanding that food can contribute to disease and dysfunction or drive optimal organ function and treat or prevent disease. By avoiding inflammatory, processed, or toxic ingredients and food-like substances through a whole food diet, you can begin to experience the benefits of food as medicine. You can take it further by enhancing your diet with the addition of therapeutic ingredients that promote healthy function and lead to optimal metabolic balance. With the use of food as medicine, not only do you avoid the side effects of pharmaceutical drugs, but you can also gain a multitude of medicinal benefits for a single intention.
When treating a cold, for instance, over-the-counter expectorants can break up mucus or phlegm, but they can cause nausea, nervousness, insomnia, and/or drowsiness. Bone broth, however, can break up mucus and phlegm, and beyond alleviating congestion, it will support your immune system by boosting production of white blood cells and aid in relining the gut microvilli. Bone broth also provides support for anxiety and reduced cravings. Pretty cool for a mug of broth!