I’ve had many patients ask me if I go out to eat in restaurants and what I do with so many food sensitivities, so I thought I’d share a few of my personal tricks.
Eating out can be a lovely experience; different foods, prepared by a pro, served to my table, and I don’t have to do any dishes!
Having a romantic evening out or laughing with friends can be good medicine for the soul, but sometimes there aren’t the best food options.
So I encourage you – connect with friends and have a special night out on the town, but do a little crisis management beforehand…
There are a few challenges you may face when eating out.
Whether you’re ordering a burger and fries or a chicken salad with vinaigrette…
Restaurant Problems
1. Most restaurant meals have one thing in common: they’re made with low-quality oils like soybean, corn, or a vegetable oil blend. These unstable oils contribute to lipid peroxidation, which occurs when free radicals steal electrons from the lipids (fats) in our cell membranes. Lipid peroxidation is just one type of oxidative damage – which is like “rusting from the inside out” and a primary driver of aging and inflammation.
And research suggests lipid peroxidation may be one of the leading causes of coronary artery disease, too – this is when your arteries become blocked with plaque. This matters because the low-quality oils used in restaurant food contribute to lipid peroxidation more than any other fats!
2. Hidden Sugar is in many restaurants’ main dishes, sauces, condiments, and drinks. I went on a pilgrimage to Egypt and ordered a pure mango juice at a hotel restaurant, only to learn that they add sugar to it. Yep, that’s right, sugar added to an already sweet mango drink. Most condiments also have a lot of sugar added to them. And the sugar isn’t usually natural, it’s often high fructose corn syrup, which is highly inflammatory, toxic to your liver, suppresses your immune system and is horrible for your brain and teeth.
3. MSG and other chemical preservatives, colorants, and flavor enhancers. These can cause headaches, bloating, gas, skin issues, challenges with nutrient absorption, joint pain, and inflammation. I’ve asked many restaurant servers if these things are in any of their ingredients, and often they say “No,” but when I ask to see a package label, I find one or more of them. It’s not their fault, they just aren’t paying attention to details and understanding that these things may be detrimental to our health.
4. Gluten is abundant in most restaurants. Even if you don’t have celiac disease, you could have non-celiac gluten sensitivity and not even know it yet. Regardless, gluten is not good for anyone and causes a lot of inflammation and even immune dysfunction. Other than bread, gluten is often used in sauces as a thickener, even in cans of coconut milk (Thai and Indian food consumers be aware), and in hamburgers as a binder.
5. Ice water is served at almost every restaurant I’ve ever been to, and it’s horrible for your digestion. That cold water makes digesting your meal even more difficult. In Asian medicine, we need to have a strong digestive fire, not like acid reflux, it’s a different kind of fire and a warm “spleen.” And when you drink ice water before a meal, it can “put out the fire” and cool off the spleen. This leads to fatigue, weight gain, brain fog, bloating, gas, constipation, or diarrhea to name a few.
6. Who cooked your food, and how were they feeling emotionally? You may have never even considered this question, but it may be more important than you think. This may seem “woowoo”, however science has studied and documented the power of thoughts and intentions, in the form of prayer and distance healing. And we’ve seen the power of thought, spoken language, and sound on water, plants, and humans in various scientific experiments. So, if your chef is pissed off and upset when they prepare your food, it will impact the quality, flavor, and even your ability to absorb the nutrients of that food.
7. Genetically Modified Organisms, pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. All of these are unhealthy and many restaurants use ingredients that have been altered and sprayed. They serve vegetables and fruits that were picked unripened, out of season, and from depleted soil.
8. I mentioned ice water above and want to include Filtered Water here. Many restaurants still serve tap water. As you may be aware, tap water is often full of chlorine, fluoride, residual hormones from pharmaceuticals (they get flushed with your urine and poop and municipal water systems can’t get them out, hormone disruptors from residual plastics, pesticides and herbicides to name a few.
Geeze, Should You Just Stay Home?
No, not necessarily, but you can be smart about it!
Here’s what I do instead…
1. First, order smart, and avoid deep-fried foods. I skip the fries unless I’m at a restaurant that guarantees the use of high-quality oils… which is pretty hard to find! But as I mentioned before, even the “healthier” items on the menu are likely to be cooked in lower quality oils, and salad dressings are another sure source. Sometimes, I even sneak my own salad dressing in my purse.
2. Be proactive and ask to see ingredient lists. Specify if you have food sensitivities. I often tell people I have an “allergy”, because then they take me more seriously. I tell them I can’t even get close to gluten and ask if their kitchen implements clean, food allergy-friendly practices such as segregating certain areas, like a separate grill for the hamburger buns etc.
3. Have a snack before you go out with friends. This way, if you don’t find anything your body will like, you won’t be starving. I like to have a “power drink” packed with collagen or real vanilla-flavored beef bone broth protein powder (It’s sooo good), fermented greens powder, and probiotics. My fermented green powder from Innotech (use code HEALTH10 to get 10% off ) has spirulina as well as other superfood greens in it. Research has shown spirulina can mitigate the effects of lipid peroxidation… and stop oxidative damage from occurring! Those nasty oils won’t get me down!
4. Bring your own food. I have been invited out with friends to a restaurant I knew wouldn’t have nourishing and safe food for my body type, so I brought my own. I hide it, not making it too obvious, and if anyone asks, I tell them that I have serious food allergies and wanted to come to their lovely restaurant with friends without having to call an ambulance. This usually stops them cold, and I’m never bothered again.
5. Ask if the Chef can make you something special. Fine Dining got its name from the exceptional meals prepared by world-class chefs. They often love to be creative and either tweak something already on the menu or make something extraordinary for you. These have been some of my best meals ever!
6. Avoid fast food restaurants and pick a “sit down” kind of restaurant. You’ll likely have more options and the ability to “fine-tune” menu options to fit your needs.
7. Bring your digestive enzymes and Betaine HCL with pepsin or bitters with you. This will help you digest your meal better, especially if you have exposure to inflammatory ingredients.
8. Look for restaurants that serve local, seasonal, organic, and sustainable foods. Sometimes the phrase “farm to table” is used. This usually means that they are working with the local farmers to get fresh, in-season, and hopefully, organic produce brought directly to your table.
9. Bring your own bottled water, or specifically ask for spring water. Some restaurants serve great water and others don’t. If they don’t have good bottled water, then spring for sparkling water with a twist of lime.
Socializing and connecting with friends and family over a special meal at a restaurant is so nourishing for the soul. It doesn’t have to hurt your body. If you follow my tips, you can avoid some of the most common restaurant problems and turn complaining into gratitude and joy.
Blessings of Vibrant Health,
Kristin Grayce