Food as Medicine: A Guide to Healing Through Nutrition

Hi and welcome to how humans heal. I'm Dr. Donnie Wilson and I'm really looking forward to introducing you today to James Berry. James is a CEO and founder of an organ based superfood seasoning called Pluck. So we're going to be talking about that today and how exciting that is as well as James is a private chef. He's been a chef for over 20 years and has cooked for celebrities like Tom Cruise and George Clooney and Barbra Streisand. And we want to hear what that's like to be a private chef and why someone might choose that and why in the Importance of Cooking at Home. James is also the co author of several cookbooks, helping authors to create their recipes. So I just think that's so awesome. Thank you so much for being here today, James.

Thank you for having me, Dr. Donnie.

I know it's something as a clinical nutritionist and naturopathic doctor, I'm always talking to people about their diet and their food choices and they're always asking Me, you know, Dr. Donnie, what do you eat? What should I eat? What should I not eat? You know, so it's this constant ongoing conversation about food which is so important because literally our food can be our medicine or our food can be our work against us in our house if we're not paying attention. Right. So that's why it's so. I so much love what you do as a really, I would think of it like a. You're like a holistic chef. You know, how do you eat in a healthy way? How do you cook and eat in a healthy way?

Well, I'm very much like the how guy, so. So clients would meet with people like yourself, whether it's doctors, nutritious dietitians, really anyone in the health field that's dispensing that kind of information. And inevitably that person would say, okay, this is why you're going through what's going, what's happening. This is what you have to stop eating. And then it's usually the entire list of what people are eating. And then they go, well, how do I do that? And then the doctors go, well, let's call chef James because he'll tell you how. Because I understand swaps and I know how to make the food.

I know how to make those swaps so that they are delicious and so that the person doesn't feel like they're being deprived. Which is, you know, really key whenever you're dispensing any information around food is you got to remember people are human and, and there's a lot of emotions tied to food. So we have to make it. We can't just say, don't eat this and eat that. We have to really consider what's the emotional state and how do we support and meet the person where they are and then swap the foods in that are going to be most conducive towards their desired outcomes.

Absolutely. I completely agree with you. When I, whenever I talk with patients about, let's say, reducing inflammation in their diet or avoiding foods, that might be a food sensitivity. You know, it's about how do we, how do we frame this? In a way, we want to make these decisions to benefit your health. And at the same time, it shouldn't have to mean that you now have a completely restrictive, boring, bland diet. It can be. There's so many other foods to choose from. How can we do this in a way where you actually fall in love with your, your new way of eating that's actually supporting your health?

Yeah. And. Well, and sometimes eating the same food is boring for people, if that's the case. And so sometimes when someone is, is kind of faced with having to eat the same small variety of food so it feels like they're eating the same food every day, it's really a shift of mindset that I think has to happen. And, and what I'm always trying to, I kind of treat myself like a guinea pig. You know, I've. Over the 20 years I've been a chef, I'm always trying different diets because I need to understand them not just on that diet level, but how to make the food on that diet really delicious. Right. Particularly when I used to cook for clients. And so whenever I would do like, let's say the carnivore diet, for example, I actually found that to be a really liberating diet because you are eating the same foods every day. And a lot of people spend an enormous amount of time on trying to figure out what to eat. And a lot of times that decision fatigue sets in when they are supposed to be making that decision of what to eat, and then they make poor decisions. So I find actually just switching that mindset, being like, well, actually just eating the same food over and over is actually a blessing because you already, you know exactly what you need to do. It's not complicated. You can find a system to it, and then it's just about get your needs met and move on. And let's not make so much of. About, you know, let's not make our whole life about food.

Isn't that something. Hearing that from the. From the chef. Right. Like how to. How to make food sort of like enjoyable and simple. So it doesn't have to be. Yes. Such a. Such an overwhelming thing where that. Right. Like. So that it doesn't have to be all about the food. Because you already just made decisions that you. And you're enjoying and things that work.

Exactly. I think it's, you know, I think we tend to put certain energies towards food and misdirect them. Like, I think. I think being a foodie, being someone who loves to cook is great, but putting expectations on yourself as though you are supposed to love cooking is an issue. And a lot of people are putting those pressure, those kind of pressures on themselves, and it ruins the eating process for them. It ruins food. It either creates addictions or, you know, addictions in that they're overeating or it creates an addiction in when they're undereating. You know, I mean, so it can go either way. And I think, you know, when we say stuff like, I love French fries, like, and I. We put that emphasis of love towards food, it's extremely misdirected because that's what we should be putting towards people.

That's the energy, like you want to be directing towards the people in your life. I love my daughter, I love my wife. You know, things like that. I like food. It's a totally different energy when we equate the same energy that we would put towards our marriage towards food, that co. Like that cohabitates or that kind of co. Creates food issues, you know, food addictions.

Yeah, it's such a good point. It's. And a lot of times we do need to do a lot of healing of our relationship. Relationship with food, you know, like. And so I love that you're bringing that up. That's how I refer to it is our relationship with food. You know, how do we. How can we feel confident and clear? Obviously, as humans, we need to feed ourselves. That's sort of a. It's like a. We need to sleep, we need to eat. And if we fight against it to the degree that we fight against that, then it becomes a stress in itself, like you're saying, or an addiction or an overwhelm. But if we can just go, okay, as humans, we need to sleep, we need to eat, we need to do some movement, and we kind of accept that and we go, okay, so how can I make that doable for myself and. And good for my health at the same time? And that's where I'M curious about so many things I want to ask you. But one is, you know, even just the concept of a private chef, because I know a lot of people might be like, hey, you know, like I feel overwhelmed with cooking. I don't have time to go shopping. I don't know, I can't think of any more recipes. Is that when someone usually say, hey, maybe I should consider having a private chef or, or you know, when would people, when would that be? Sometimes something for people to consider.

Well, I think first and foremost it, it starts with affordability. You know, it's, it's definitely not cheap to have a private chef. But if, but you'd be surprised. I mean, people assume it's going to be an incredible amount of money and that they can't afford it. But offsetting, like if, if cooking food is not your forte and you are constantly busy with your work, that is your forte, then it is worth no different than having someone else clean your house. It's worth your time to have someone else prepare it. Because the issue that really, we all have to really accept is that when you are eating out or when you are outsourcing your health to restaurants and grocery stores for pre made food, you're pretty much guaranteed you will not be healthy. It's, it's almost 100% guarantee. Because you have to remember those institutions, whether it's a grocery store or restaurant, those are businesses, they have bottom lines. They have to make sure they make a profit. So they are cutting corners. They are going to be cutting quarters with specific ingredients. Sometimes they buy pre made stuff. And when you don't have control over your ingredients, you're basically saying, well, whatever that person believes is healthy is what I will accept. But I'll tell you right now, the grocery stores don't think about health. The restaurant's not thinking about health, they're thinking about profit. You know, maybe they have a mission. If they do, great. But I guarantee it's not specific to your health. And so we really have to think about what is that definition of health. And most likely yours is going to be unique to what your body needs. And so you have to be in control of your ingredients. And if you don't have time to do that, then yes, absolutely, outsource it to a private chef or even there's sometimes chefs who, I don't know what you would call them, but they're like kind of meal services where they.

They will have a chef come to your house and cook like a week's worth of food. So it's kind of like batch cooking for your entire week. So it's a little different than having someone come in every day like I, I used to do for, for those celebrity clients. But it's not a bad deal, you know what I mean? If you're someone who just needs that food and needs and needs to make sure you're meeting a certain criteria, diet, criter or protocol really key to just get it done. Like don't, don't overthink it and just make sure it gets done and gets done within your control.

I love that you're pointing that out that it's. Where are you sourcing your ingredients? And you have to kind of step back and think, hey, if I'm ordering from like you said, a restaurant or a store or somewhere where it's already pre made, we don't, you don't know what oil they might be using. Did they add sugar? What kind of seasoning are they putting?

I would assume that they did. I mean, you know the rotisserie chickens that everyone goes and buys at pretty much every grocery store out there? Those are not healthy. Just not. It's a guarantee. Even whole foods, when you go to their pre made, you know, food area, that is not healthy. People think it is because they associate whole foods with being healthy. But if you read the ingredients and you really need to read the labels, you will see they're using canola oils, they're using ingredients that you would not use at home. They're, they're using, A lot of times they're using this, the, the products that would be going bad. So they have to use it up. And that's how they're, they're making, you know, using their produce or they're, that's how they're using their meats. They, they're just making, they're making it so that they can make a profit off of it. And the sauces have preservatives in it. They, there's dextrose, there's all these different things, carriers, you name it, it's in there. It's usually also high in salt. So you just have to be, you just have to like re. Look at what it is. You're where you're choosing to off source your health. And remember, you can get control. You get you, it's just, it's so easy to get control back. And where it starts is you gotta home cook. You just gotta bring it home. Whether it's you cooking or someone else, but you control the ingredients. And one of the key things I look for when I am in control of my ingredients is I look for food that is an ingredient versus food that has an ingredient.

I love that. Tell me more about that.

Well, I, it's, it's really kind of playing off of what I said is you don't like, I, I call it don't fall asleep at the cart. So when you're grocery shopping, make sure you read those labels because people assume. I can't even tell you. Like, I was just reading some posts the other day and someone was highlighting my product pluck and saying, oh, I put pluck in there. But then in the photo, they were also adding kinder seasoning, kinder steak seasoning. So they're adding multiple seasonings. And I was like, hey, I love this shout out. But just be careful of kinder. Because if you read those ingredients, they're using sunflower seed oil, they're using sugar. There's dextrose, there's. People are assuming like, oh, well, it's a seasoning. What's the bad. What's. What could be bad about it? But I guarantee you, if you don't read that, that, that label, you are probably getting stuff. And it's a. And it's a. And it's something that's a processed food, you know, or like a packaged food. I guarantee there's going to be stuff in there that you don't, you don't realize are exposed.

Even if you buy it at Whole Foods, right? This is the thing. I end up going to the store and I'm going to health food stores or Whole Foods, and I'm picking up every label like you say. I'm picking it up. I got my glasses on in the store. I'm reading it and I'm like, if there are certain things, and I'm like, if it's in there, I'm going to put it right back on the shelf. Like you said, if it's, if it's a type of what's yours?

What's your ingredients that you, if it's in there, you, you put it back. What are your, what's your list?

I'm looking for, like, the, the sweeteners, first of all. Like, if there's, I don't even. Like if it's, especially if it's a sauce or a seasoning. I'm like, that's not where I want to spend my sugar points or however you want to refer to that. You know, if I'm going to have sugar, I want it as something that's a sweet thing, you know? Not in my sauce or seasoning. So I'm looking for anything that says sugar but also some of these that are sugars that aren't doesn't say sugar on the label.

Like dextrose is a sugar. Yep. And it's usually a corn based sugar. So if you're sensitive to corn, you know you're going to have issues.

And even any of those like sorbitol, erythritol, there's all these sugar alcohols. Because then what I find is in patients are saying why am I bloated? Why am I constipated? Why, why do I have loose stool? What? And it's like, wait a minute there. You might be having a. See some, some packaged product that has these, these sugars in there or even like you said, some of the kind of like thickeners like carrageenan or sometimes the yeast. Like sometimes you're buying like even chips that looks like you're. I'm like, I get so annoyed. I'm buying corn chips and then I look at the ingredients and they've got some sort of yeast extracts, which is kind of a catch all phrase, right?

Absolutely. Yeah. You, you really like. So on my short list is, is artificial flavors and even natural flavors. I, if I see any flavor additive, I question it. Now sometimes I accept it. Like I, if I know that the company is fairly clean, you know. But usually those are not even the companies you can find in the grocery stores. They're not.