Blog

Oct 18

Are you a Halloween or a Thanksgiving person? That is, if you were only able to celebrate with the foods associated with one of these two popular holidays this year which are right around the corner, which would you choose? Would it be the (often) big and complete meal of "turkey day" or the rush and nostalgia of the sweet treats on Halloween? It turns out this general idea, what types of foods we gravitate toward, may tell us more about our future health risks than we ever thought. Although the headlines aren't super surprising - health-conscious eaters, by and large, did better than those who gravitated toward unhealthy foods - this new study got us closer to knowing exactly how much.

At the risk of oversimplifying, a research team in England looked at the health survey data of 180,000 individuals which included food preferences. They then grouped into one of three categories - "health conscious" (people with a low preference for animal-based or sweet foods, and a high preference for vegetables and fruits), "omnivores" (high preference for all foods), and "sweet tooths" (high preference for sweet foods and sugary beverages) and compared each group in a variety of ways ranging from detailed blood analysis to disease risk. While some of the results weren't a big surprise - those who preferred sweets struggled more with their weight and inflammation than those who preferred healthy foods - others stood out. The difference in depression risk was particularly powerful.

Members of the health-conscious group appeared to get a protective benefit of as much as 31% as compared to the sweet-tooth group. They were also less likely to have heart disease, diabetes as well as a variety of other conditions which ranged from rheumatoid arthritis to kidney disease. The omnivores fared somewhat better than the sweet-tooth group in most categories, but not nearly as much as those who preferred healthy foods.

Of course, there's a lot more to be done here. Exactly how cravings take root and to what extent they can be changed is not clear. It has been shown that cravings are related to our gut biome and how the microbes that live there communicate with the brain, so it's reasonable to think they can be influenced, but how much and how lasting are still open questions.

Until then, it may be best to have some strategies to bolster our resilience to the seasonal stress we're about to face. It's a perfect time to feed the healthy microbes - grab some plants and get ready for the holiday rush...it's only 2 weeks away.

Have a great weekend,
Mike E.