Fat belongs on the plate. But it should be the right kind of fats, says Dr. med. Anne Fleck, also known as Doc Fleck. The preventive and nutritional medicine specialist doesn't believe in strict do's and don'ts. In this Medicom interview, she talks about fatty acids, top nutrients that should not be missing from any diet, and why chewing properly is so important.
MEDICOM: Healthy eating is simple; that is the basic premise of your book "The 70 Easiest Healthy Recipes." Healthy enjoyment and a relaxed attitude are also part of it. How can we imagine that?
Dr. Fleck: I am not a fan of rigid do's and don'ts. If you go back to choosing simple, high-quality foods—for example, plenty of vegetables and moderate amounts of fruit, protein from fish, eggs, and mushrooms, and if you like meat, from a solid source once a week, plenty of nuts, almonds, seeds, and high-quality oils, such as olive oil—and carbohydrates flexibly according to the latest research, depending on your physical activity. So, if you run a lot, you need more.
MEDICOM: And the relaxed attitude?
Dr. Fleck: Relaxed simply means I don't have to torture myself. If you regularly eat simple and natural foods, your taste buds will also change. Eventually, they no longer have this persistent hunger for sugar-laden things, but get used to a natural sweetness. The book contains a few desserts because it was important to me that people don't deny themselves that little sweet sin, as it is also part of a healthy, enjoyable life.
MEDICOM: Let's talk about fat. You mention the low-fat dogma. What is that?
Dr. Fleck: In the early 60s, an unproven hypothesis based on a so-called 7-countries study was postulated as scientific truth, namely that low-fat is good. The industry quickly jumped on this, so food products and yogurts were offered in reduced-fat versions. The result was that fat as a flavor carrier was replaced with much cheaper sugar. People have become fatter and fatter. We have an obesity epidemic. In Germany, over 60 percent of people are classified as overweight.
It comes down to the balance of fats, and we clearly need more Omega-3. These are the polyunsaturated fatty acids. I keep recommending packing foods like fish or vegetables into the oven and drizzling high-quality olive oil over them afterward. For very high-heat searing, coconut oil, clarified butter, ghee, or sesame oil are more recommended. Dangerous fatty acid formations don't occur there. The really bad fats are so-called trans fats, specifically the trans fatty acids from industrial production, i.e., cheap margarine and cheap cookies. Now many people would think: “Yes, wonderful. I don’t eat those.” But that mistake in the kitchen where I actually cultivate my own trans fats in the frying pan by using high-quality fats at too high a temperature is a real risk.
MEDICOM: So is it best not to fry at all?
Dr. Fleck: I’m not a nutritional extremist. Fry less, and fry properly. Especially for people with inflammatory diseases—for example, rheumatism, MS, or even cancer patients—I really recommend frying significantly less; also try boiling or gently cooking fish and meat, for instance in the oven. And drizzle good, healthy oils over them afterward. But that doesn’t mean we should throw all our frying pans into the sea.
MEDICOM: For the so-called “good” fats, a balanced combination of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids applies. What is the story behind that?
Dr. Fleck: We need both Omega-3 and Omega-6. They are, so to speak, counterparts. They are buddies that both support each other. Back when we were hunter-gatherers, eating berries, eggs, shrubs, and herbs, that composition of diet provided a lot of anti-inflammatory benefits, i.e., a great wealth of Omega-3. Only the modern diet—with more meat and industrially processed products—is bursting primarily with Omega-6. To maintain this balance, we definitely need much more Omega-3. An optimal ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 is 2:1.
If we eat a rather normal day-to-day diet, a bread roll with sausage here and an industrial snack there, many people today experience a shift in fatty acids: 20:1. That is simply unfavorable because it promotes low-grade inflammation in the body, and those are silent killers. They are practically the triggers for heart attack, stroke, insulin resistance, or even cancer.
One more important thing: the “bad” arachidonic acid; it is one of the fatty acids and is also pro-inflammatory. But to put it into perspective, arachidonic acid is also contained in our mother's milk. It’s all a question of the dose makes the poison. Even the smallest human needs a hint of arachidonic acid and inflammation promotion; otherwise, we would die if we cut our finger because nothing would heal anymore.
MEDICOM: You write about a top-10 list of packaged foods. This includes spices like turmeric and black pepper, and nuts, which contain selenium. Can you briefly outline how important they are for our body?
Dr. Fleck: We need selenium for cellular protection. It is an antioxidant defense missile. That is why it is especially recommended for inflammatory diseases and cancer, but conversely, it is also smart from a preventative standpoint. You can optimally boost selenium; for example, two or three Brazil nuts per day cover that optimally.
Turmeric is one of the most essential anti-inflammatory spices, a real miracle. In earlier times, when there were no medications, people had to rely on spices or herbs, and turmeric has an extremely anti-inflammatory effect. You must, of course, also ensure that you ingest a certain dose of turmeric and the active ingredient curcumin. A pinch a day is not enough. Turmeric works optimally in the body in the presence of black pepper, which also has anti-inflammatory effectiveness. Pepper and turmeric are best absorbed in the presence of oils.
Here the magic word for anti-inflammatory nutrition comes into play, which really fits like a master key for practically all diseases, whether it’s skin conditions, gastrointestinal diseases, rheumatic diseases, migraines, or obesity. Because small, wrong, bad inflammations fuel so many diseases like an engine. That is why, according to my methods, this central role of losing the fear of fat, using fat as an anti-inflammatory secret weapon, handling it correctly, and using good quality is key. Of course, all in healthy moderation.
MEDICOM: What about local or European superfoods like garlic, tomatoes, berries, etc.? What is special about them?
Dr. Fleck: Garlic was used as doping by the Egyptian pyramid builders. Garlic is also an all-rounder. It is especially advisable to integrate it into your diet. Ideally, two to three cloves per day. And fresh garlic in particular, because it contains many sulfur-containing substances like “allicin.” These are responsible for antimicrobial properties, performance-enhancing properties, or cardiovascular-protective properties. Anyone who is afraid of bad breath should remove the green sprout inside the garlic, because it is not only hard to digest but also potentially promotes bad breath. Parsley, basil, and peppermint mitigate the whole thing, or chewing on a coffee bean helps. Garlic also doesn't lose its health power when heated.
MEDICOM: And the tomato?
Dr. Fleck: I find the tomato to be a wonderful food, an all-rounder. Cooked, it has a higher lycopene content, even more antioxidant effect. Above all, it prevents cardiovascular diseases. Especially when you think about summer, its high wealth of vitamin A and folic acid is very beneficial, also as skin protection. The tomato is like a small SPF from within. For people who don't tolerate tomatoes well due to the histamine content in the tomato skin, I recommend removing the skin when heating tomatoes. Furthermore, these little poorly digestible skins are something that accumulates in the gut over the years.
MEDICOM: You also mention dark berries, which are part of your Doc Fleck breakfast. What can blueberries, blackberries, elderberries, etc., do?
Dr. Fleck: Blueberries, blackberries, black currants, or elderberries are wonderful. They are by no means inferior to the exotic ones. Our dark berries impress with their content of phytochemicals and so-called anthocyanins. They are responsible for the beautiful blue-violet color. The darker, the better the antioxidant cellular protection and infection defense. They not only have antioxidant anthocyanins but also minerals and trace elements, whether it's calcium and magnesium, iron, and phosphorus.
It is interesting that the blueberry is also very well tolerated by people with actual digestive or gastrointestinal complaints or chronic inflammatory bowel diseases; it even helps with diarrhea and protects against bladder infections. Elderberry is, of course, also very rich in these antioxidant anthocyanins due to its dark coloring.
MEDICOM: Now, the thing is: all these nutrients are also available as supplements. When do you recommend them?
Dr. Fleck: Nutritional supplementation is sophisticated, clever, and also important if you are, for example, athletic, if you live in the north and substitute little vitamin D, it is simply urgent. I recommend a clear vitamin D substitution in the north, for example, for all patients. And that is simply necessary. It is also smart to pay attention to vitamin B12 with increasing age. That concerns older people. Of course, nutritional supplementation is absolutely necessary for people who eat a vegetarian or vegan diet. They need vitamin B12. They need DHA, not DHL, docosahexaenoic acid, which is otherwise only absorbed from fish. It is available as a supplement also from organic algae, for example, oil additives, linseed oil, or coconut oil with DHA. But not inflationarily and not without proper advice.
MEDICOM: Regarding the gastrointestinal topic, it's not just about the organic aspect. You also talk about chewing properly and eating in good company. Can you explain that?
Dr. Fleck: Chewing is one of the most important, simplest things we can do for our health in general. Digestion in the mouth—everything we introduce into our mouth is at the mercy of the gut. If we chew poorly, poorly digested food components enter the gut. Then, over decades, the following miseries usually happen. That is, gut bacteria multiply in different ways that have a more unfavorable effect on the immune system, and food intolerances can arise because the poorly digested food components create an imbalance. Furthermore, this can also lead to poor sleep. However, it is also important because by chewing for a long time, we experience much faster, better satiety, we eat slower, and we eat more consciously.
MEDICOM: Does eating consciously also mean eating in company?
Dr. Fleck: Of course, eating in good company is, as even studies prove, excellent for preventive medicine. For example, I am convinced that families fall apart because people don't meet at some point for at least 20 or 30 minutes to eat and talk to each other.
Of course, this shouldn't be a disadvantage for someone who lives alone. I also tell people who live alone: “Eat at the dining table and not at the desk and not on the side.” We are losing access not only to one of our best, our most social traditions—namely cooking—but interpersonal aspects are also being lost. The health benefit there is simply a huge added value.
MEDICOM: Would you like to say something in conclusion?
Dr. Fleck: I always like to say that health begins in the mind; what we think is decisive. That is a main engine for health, in the heart, and also in the cooking pot. That is where the journey must head.
Book publication by Dr. med. Anne Fleck: In her book “The 70 Easiest Healthy Recipes” (Becker Joest Volk Verlag), Doc Fleck describes the A to Z of a healthy kitchen with recipes from A for eggplant schnitzel to Z for zucchini base pizza. Healthy eating can be prepared simply is the motto of the nutritional physician.
"The 70 Easiest Healthy Recipes" by Dr. med. Anne Fleck has been published by Becker Joest Volk Verlag.
Do you want to learn more about Omega-3 fatty acids? More information in the blog post Why are Omega-3 fatty acids so important?
