Book Review: The Omni Diet by Tana Amen

The Omni Diet: Two Weeks to Lose Weight, Reverse Illness, and Control Your Genes by Tana Amen
My rating: 2 of 5 stars


The Omni Diet is a book written by Tana Amen, wife of brain doctor Daniel Amen. Tana Amen is a registered nurse who claims to have developed this diet to help herself with many of her own health problems and now uses this knowledge and her connections with her husband to teach this diet to others through the Amen Clinics.

The basic diet is very similar to the Paleo Diet, consisting of 30 percent protein (mostly from meat) and 70 percent plant based foods, mostly vegetables. The diet excludes all dairy products, soy, grains containing gluten, sugar, corn, and heavily processed food. This diet does not encourage fruit consumption but does recommend eating berries, such as blueberries and strawberries. The book strongly encourages eating vegetables and raw nuts and seeds.

A recurring theme is to eat like a gorilla. Gorillas eat a large amount of plant food and a small amount of meat. The problem with this is humans are obviously not gorillas even if we share 99 percent of their DNA. Human evolved to eat a wide variety of foods and we are opportunistic eaters. Keeping our diet strictly like a gorilla has the potential for nutrient deficiencies as we will miss out on key vitamins and minerals that we could easily (and cheaply) get from food such as milk and grains. The only two recommendations the book makes is not avoid highly processed foods and added sugar. Eating whole plant foods is the best way to increase health. Avoiding added sugar will also decrease you risk of diabetes and help with weight loss.

There are three phases to help you get started on the Omni diet but the most important phase is the first. The other two phases are basically relaxing the strict rules of the first phase. The diet has a large list of foods not allowed as stated above. Much of her rationale is based on sketchy science from researchers with agendas. This diet eliminates entire food groups and has the potential for creating nutrient deficiencies. The book does include menu plans but there is not much variety to the sample menus and a person will easily become bored. There is a decent chapter on exercise that will help educate you on the basics of health physical activity.

The book is actually pretty thin on getting in depth information to help you change your behavior. It reads more like an advertisement for taking her class at the clinics than an actual diet book. Most of the book lectures you on why the diet is great and has stories of amazing transformations through this eating plan. 75 percent of the book is filled with these stories but we must wait until the very end of the book to learn how to put the diet into action. Once we get there, it is a bare bones overview of what is basically the Paleo diet. To somehow make the diet different, she recommends strange foods (camu camu powder) that many people can not find in their ordinary grocery store and most likely have no idea how to use. She claims that most of the "superfoods" she recommends can be found at Whole Foods. This is a problem for people on limited budgets who cannot afford such products.

Then to fill in the gaps in your daily nutrition (most likely caused by this diet) she recommends taking at least five supplements. Then she includes a quiz to help us find out what other supplements you may need to take to feel our best. If the diet did not exclude all the food that is does, readers would not need to take this many supplements. "Filling in the gaps" (as she calls it) is taking one supplement not at least five. But you need not worry--the Amen Clinics sell all the supplements you need!

I recommend you avoid this book. Restricting your diet then "filling in the gaps" with supplements is not healthy. The Omni diet reads like an advertisement for the Amen Clinics supplement business and not a way to really increase health.


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Tips for Getting Kids In The Kitchen

One of the keys to teaching children healthy eating habits is to start early. This can be done by getting kids in the kitchen and teaching them how to cook. Start involving your children at age 5-6. Kids will be more likely to eat vegetables and other healthy foods if they have a part in making them. Most children will find cooking fun and will want to be in the kitchen with you. A consequence of cooking will be that they do better in math and reading, have more confidence and you will be spending some quality time together. Plus, they will be learning skills they can use for the rest of their lives.  

If you want your children to be healthy, you need to be healthy yourself. Children imitate what the people around them are doing. If you eat vegetables so will your children. Start at an early age by offering a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. If you start them early, they will want to eat them as they get older. This is also true for cooking.  If kids see you in the kitchen cooking, they will naturally want to cook with you. This is a great way to teach them about where food comes from, how to prepare it, and the best things to eat. Be sure to pick a time when you are not in a hurry and you can take your time to teach them. Always use kid friendly recipes that are easy to prepare. A child will most likely get bored if their meal takes too long.

Give them simple tasks which do not require any sharp knives and doesn’t involve cooking on a burner. For example, they can wash the fruits and vegetables for the meal. Use this opportunity to teach them about food safety. They can snap the ends off of green beans or measure ingredients using plastic measuring cups and spoons. This is also a great opportunity to teach them about basic math such as addition and subtraction. You can also have them read the recipe while you are making it together. This will help to improve their reading skills and they will progress in school easier. They will love helping you and you will hear all about their day and how they feel.

When they are able, you can teach them how to prepare simple snack items. This will enable them to make their own food when they are hungry. There are so many simple snacks that you can teach your children to prepare. Keep it healthy, such as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or fruit with a cheese stick.

After the preparation is complete, they can help you clean up the dirty dishes. This is also a great teaching opportunity.  Kids will learn to clean up after themselves and will have these skills when they are older. Getting them to clean when they are young, instead of watching TV or playing video games while others are working, is a great way to teach a positive work ethic and self sufficiency.  

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes that affects pregnant women. The symptoms are usually minor such as blurred vision, fatigue, and increase thirst and urination. However, these symptoms can signal a dangerous increase in blood glucose that can affect the lives of you and your unborn baby. Gestational diabetes is usually diagnosed through an oral blood glucose tolerance test. It can also be diagnosed through a fasting blood glucose test. If the pregnant mother’s blood sugar is elevated above 126 then the diagnosis is confirmed. Usually the mother’s blood sugar returns to normal after the baby is born. However, she is now at increased risk to developing Type 2 diabetes within the next 10 years. It is recommended that she continue to eat healthy and exercise to help prevent Type 2 diabetes.

It is important to get regular prenatal care especially if you have gestational diabetes. The increase blood sugar can put undue stress on the mother and baby. The baby will be unusually large at birth, could have hypoglycemia after birth, and can get jaundice. Babies born to women with gestational diabetes are more prone to childhood – and adult - obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Women diagnosed with gestational diabetes will need to monitor their blood sugar and make the recommended dietary changes to keep their blood glucose within normal limits. This can be done with diet alone but sometimes women will need insulin or other anti-diabetic drugs. The diet for gestational diabetes is very similar to other forms of diabetes. Women must monitor their intake of carbohydrates to keep their insulin levels working normally. Carbohydrate counting is the process of counting how many carbohydrates you are eating and balancing that with the amount of insulin you will need to inject. The process works for those on insulin and those you do not need it. The steady carbohydrate intake is the main driver of insulin production. If the amount of carbohydrates you take in is not steady blood sugar will go haywire. You will need to see a Registered Dietitian who will give you a diet that spells out how many carbohydrates you will need to consume at each meal. Following this diet will help keep you and your baby healthy.

In general, carbohydrate counting consists of choosing complex carbohydrate foods that will slowly raise blood sugar and keep spikes in check. The goal is to keep blood sugar in the normal limits and avoid wild ups and down. Be sure to eat enough calories to support you and the growth of your baby. You need to eat about 300 extra calories a day to support the extra growth. Be sure to choose high fiber, nutrient dense foods. Eating a variety of healthy fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, with some protein is the best way to keep blood sugar in check and for the fetus to grow normally. Choose foods that are filled with fiber. Aim for at least 25 grams of fiber a day. Meals should be spread out into three main meals and two snacks, while avoiding high sugar beverages, such as juice, right before bed. This raises the risk of a blood sugar spike in the middle of the night and possible hypoglycemia in the morning.  For breakfast eat a protein based meal with little carbohydrate. Insulin tends not lower blood sugar as well in the morning as at other times of the day. Eating protein will help insulin lower blood sugar more effectively.

Moderate physical activity is also recommended to help keep blood sugar in the normal limits. Ask you doctor about how much and how intense the exercise should be. Over exercising can cause more problems and should be avoided. Usually a brisk walk is all that is needed to keep mother and baby healthy. If you work out to much you risk not only injuring yourself but you risk starting preterm labor.  Be sure to drink plenty of water, at least 64oz or 10 (8oz) glasses a day, whether you exercise or not. Both you and the baby need to stay hydrated. You may need to drink more water if you sweat a lot during physical activity.

Eating when you have diabetes can be confusing. A Registered Dietitian can help make sense of it all. To contact one in your area, visit www.eatright.org.

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Preparing For A Healthy Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a time of joy and anticipation. As the weeks go buy you start to feel your baby growing and developing inside you. During this time, you will to eat nutrient dense foods. You are also concerned about gaining the appropriate amount of weight. Many women concentrate on having a healthy pregnancy, but most do not realize that they needed to start this process many months before they become pregnant. Healthy eating habits before conception are just as important as healthy eating during each trimester of pregnancy.

One of the most important aspects of having a healthy baby is what you eat before you conceive. You should begin eating a healthy diet at least a year to 18 months before you begin trying to become pregnant. This gives your body adequate time to resolve any minor nutrient deficiencies and for you to lose excess weight if necessary. It is very important for you to be at a healthy body weight when you become pregnant. This will decrease the risk of birth defects and other problems. A health body weight is defined as a BMI of 19-24. If you are overweight, the developing fetus will be at risk for higher birth weight which will increase the risk of obesity as adults. Healthy babies are born from healthy mothers—it is that simple.

Weight loss can be achieved by an increase in exercise and healthy eating. Focus your meals on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low fat dairy products. An important aspect of this renewed eating plan is to start incorporating foods that your developing baby will need to grow properly. These foods should contain calcium, iron, and folic acid.

Incorporating enough calcium in your diet is important since you will need to eat an increased amount during pregnancy. Calcium is an important nutrient for the development of the baby’s skeleton and if you do not intake enough calcium the fetus will begin taking for your bones and you are at risk for osteoporosis. Good food sources of calcium are low fat dairy products, such as milk and yogurt, and dark leafy green vegetables.

Iron is another major focus of your new diet plan. Iron is important for not only fetal development to help you avoid iron deficiency anemia. If you do not eat enough iron fortified foods the baby will take the iron from your body. Some good sources of iron are chicken liver, beef, and oysters. Aim to keep your beef intake down to a maximum of twice a week. Other vegetable sources of iron are iron fortified cold cereal, iron fortified oatmeal, lentils, and a variety of beans, such as kidney beans. Choose to eat these foods without any dairy products as the calcium in dairy products can inhibit iron absorption.

Another important nutrient to incorporate into your diet is folic acid (a B vitamin). This nutrient will help to decrease the risk of neural tube defects in the developing fetus. Folic acid is found in orange juice, spinach and other leafy green vegetables. A variety of beans are also good sources of folic acid.

During this time you will also want to increase your physical activity. This not only aides in weight loss but also strengthens you body for the demands of pregnancy and childbirth. Aim for some form of physical activity, such as walking or biking for 30 minutes 3-5 days a week.