Diet Mania: Are You Confused?

Paul A. Goldberg, BA, BS, MPH, DC, DACBN, DCBCN

Consultant and Founder The Goldberg Tener Clinic After fifty years of teaching Clinical Nutrition and in Clinical Practice, I can state without hesitation that dietary matters are the most confusing and frustrating health topic to patients on their journey to reverse chronic disease and regain good health.

There is an enormous amount of conflicting information bandied about from parties having financial interests about dietary matters including food manufacturers, supplement companies, practitioners, dietitians, diet gurus, etc. Eat this...don’t eat that...follow my program......use this superfood...weight loss diets, athletic diets, autoimmune diets, high carb, low carb, high fat, low fat, high fiber, low fiber vegan, carnivore, macrobiotic, blood type diet, ketogenic diet, juice diets...to name a few... then add the extensive supplement company propaganda and we can all end up in the loony bin! Man of all animals does not understand what to eat, when to eat or not eat or how much to eat!

My credentials to address this topic: Decades in Clinical Practice working with thousands of patients, teaching Clinical Nutrition to Professional and Dietetic Students and laypeople, degrees in Nutrition, Public Health/Chronic Disease Control, two Diplomates in Clinical Nutrition, serving as the  Senior Director of Research for a major Supplement Company, and as a consultant to two clinical nutrition based laboratories. So... I have really piled it on higher and deeper!

A few fundamental points to help you unwind dietary confusion...

Diet and Nutrition are not the same. What a person eats is their diet. Period. Nutrition on the other hand includes all the steps involved in transforming food into living tissues. Nutrition is the process by which living organisms develop, grow, repair, and maintain themselves, by which wounds and broken bones are healed and by which reproduction is accomplished. Nutrition involves all the steps in the process of transforming food into cell substance and maintaining it. It is a process that involves every part of the body including the gastrointestinal tract, the nervous, endocrine, immune and cardiovascular systems...the entire body.

Diet is simply what we choose to consume. Nutrition is the sum of all the processes involved in transforming food, air and water into living, animated tissues.

Our diet is important but only one part of our health and nutrition status. Nutrition involves the entire body, how effectively it transforms food into energy and new tissues and all the factors that influence that process.

Many patients and most practitioners see diet and nutrition as being synonymous. That is not only shortsighted ...it leads to poor clinical results. Our diet is but one element that affects our Nutritional Status.

The diet provides raw materials for the body to transform into energy, tissue repair and new tissues. Prior to food being utilized it must be altered by the body to make it suitable for its use, and it is here that many health issues begin. Without good digestion, absorption, assimilation, excretion, and elimination the very best of diets may not be any better than the very worst of diets.

You may have heard the expression "You are what you eat". This is not true. A myriad of factors influence health and disease and your nutritional status including genetic and environmental factors. When a person or practitioner focuses only on diet (or on supplements), they overlook other factors involved in building good health.

We are not comprised of what we eat but what we are able to transform into healthy tissues. Digestive efficiency, the ability of the body to eliminate wastes and the amount of nerve energy available greatly influence this and these in turn are influenced by other factors.

It is not by accident that interviewing a patient generally takes us from one to two hours. Diet matters are not addressed till later. There is simply too much other critical information to obtain about that person and the life they have led that has contributed to their health issues, that we must first understand.

Regarding diet, every person is different... what is a "good diet" for one person will not be the same for another. We are all biochemically different in many ways. The adage "what is one man’s meat is another man’s poison" deserves our attention. Roger Williams, Ph.D., for example, pointed to a 2200-fold difference in calcium requirements among healthy human subjects. Toxins, which can have a significant effect on nutritional status, affect individuals in different ways. Research regarding mercury toxicity has revealed sensitivities to mercury that vary as much as a million-fold from one individual to another. We are all unique human beings. Click below to download the article "Infinite Variety".

GTC_Infinite Variety 2025.pdf

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There are distinct stages in getting well that patients often must go through,

not just a dietary assignment. For many, an initial period of detoxification/

digestive rest is required if food is to be utilized efficiently and chronic disease

reversed.

Consideration must be given to each patient’s ability to digest carbohydrates,

proteins and fats varying significantly from patient to patient. In addition to

initial limitations patients can have regarding their ability to metabolize

carbohydrates and/or fats and/or proteins, the diet must be adjusted for allergic

responses to specific foods which requires careful evaluation. The reasons for

the patient's allergies when they exist also requires attention. The need for

dietary restrictions based on the patient's unique biochemistry is critical in

order to initiate the pathway to cellular regeneration and recovery.

Many patients lack the digestive efficiency to break down foods, regardless of the diet, suffering with significant digestive issues of constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas, cramping, etc. For some, greatly increased rest and sleep is critical to overcome digestive issues and for others heavy metals, pesticides and industrial compounds that have accumulated over the years are interfering with the utilization of nutrients and must be addressed. For others, toxic habits such as alcohol, tobacco, recreational drugs,

sugar / carbohydrate addiction and coffee are inhibiting the utilization of food.

Of special impact are prescription drugs that patients have or are presently taking. ALL drugs have an impact on a person's health and digestive ability. Drugs both interfere with the utilization of nutrients AND simultaneously increase nutrient requirements. Steroids are particularly notorious in this regard.

A patient’s social life often needs repair. Marital issues, familial dynamics, loneliness, occupational frustration, and other elements of a patient’s personal life can severely inhibit nutritional processes regardless of the diet and these must be addressed.

How often I hear the cry...

"Dr. Goldberg, I don’t understand why I have these health problems... I eat a good diet"!

Man is not simply what he eats! He is a complex organism with many needs and with many variations that make him or her the individual that they are!

Today, there are many clinics offering "nutrition" services. So called "Functional Medicine" doctors are among them. Here, however, the approach regarding "Nutrition" is simply adding more and more pills aka "supplements" to the patient’s regiment along with prescribed drugs. More pills and more pills. Having been a Senior Director of a Supplement Company years ago I can attest that "Functional Medicine" doctors were the company's best customers making very large purchases and continually looking for new products to sell.

Supplements are not the answer to our health issues, yet they are the major player, along with drugs, in most "Functional Medicine" Offices where the emphasis, as the name implies, is still on MEDICINE. There is a minor place for supplements in restoring some patient’s health, but it should not play the major role.

Life is complex. Diet is but one part of it, interconnected with other foundational issues that require sorting out. All parts of a patient, their digestive efficiency, biochemical nuances, emotional, immune, environmental and other stressors, need to be addressed to re-create the chronically ill patient and bring them back to a full and productive life.

The before / after pictures shown below illustrate the positive outcomes that are possible when a comprehensive approach is taken. For 50 years, The Goldberg Tener Clinic has helped thousands of patients overcome a wide variety of health conditions. Arrange for an appointment or inquire about how we can assist you with your health concerns.