Food Ideas

[FrederickSebastian]

Hello All,

 

Just wondering -- I've been gradually trying to wean myself onto a CRON-diet and will be eating the minimum allowable healthy amount per day for my height, age and weight... Can you tell me -- what are some of the best foods to focus on? I know I had a post before on STAPLE foods but this goes beyond that. Anything and everything that would make up a good diet and what should I be looking for in terms of nutrition? What vitamins and minerals are most important to get in on a daily basis? Should most of my calories come from fat, carbs or protein?

 

I'd appreciate any help,

 

Fred.

[Gordo]

My recommendation is to eat the biggest variety of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, and mushrooms that you can. Here is a decent guide straight from one of the biggest health care companies which obviously has an incentive for people to be healthy.  If you eat meat, I'd probably stick to fish, particularly salmon, and avoid red meat, certainly avoid processed meat. Minimize advanced glycation end products (includes not frying anything, or flame cooking anything, or even eating bread crusts).  Avoid processed foods, refined white flour, refined sugar.  Avoid dairy.  Most calories should come from carbs, but fat should be included in every meal - best to get it from seeds, nuts, avocados, etc, and not from processed oils.  You can get all the protein you need from all of the above, especially beans, grains, and nuts.  Avoid excessive amounts of rice, but 2-3 servings a week is fine, other grains are healthier and contain less contamination (barley, oats, wheat, quinoa, etc). Drink soy/nut milks.

A big mistake many people make is not getting enough calories, this can leave you feeling and looking weak and sickly and over a long period can lead to frailty and osteoporosis.  Figure out what you can get a decent amount of calories from, I like sweet potatoes, purple potatoes, avocados, nuts, beans/lentils, some fruit and grains for the bulk of my calories.  I also like to grind and eat 1 tbsp flax seed and 1/2 tbsp chia seed daily (good fat source and source of omega 3's).  You can use cronometer for a few months to get a better idea of your calories and nutrient intake but you won't need it after that.

Supplements:  If you don't eat salmon, take a DHA supplement, also take a weekly B12 supplement, D3 as needed (in winter) especially if you don't get a lot of sun in the summer/fall, k2 recommended, iodine (don't go overboard, just RDA).

[mccoy]

Tofu is a great nonfat protein source, seitan is even more proteic.

Some people like their nonfat greek yogurts, which carry very little calories, are digestible and contain 10% protein. A great food for CR practitioners who are not ethically vegans.

Unsweetend soy yogurt is great, as well as unsweetened soymilk.

[Saul]

Wheat protein, aka wheat gluten -- which is what is in seitan  -- is high in methionine per gram of protein for a vegan source (tofu is much lower) -- but is lower than animal protein.  Gluten is roughly "in the middle" between bean proteins and animal protein in this metric (mg of methionine per gram of protein).

  --  Saul

[Clinton]

Gordo - why avoid dairy?

 I only drink about 1/2 cup of skim milk twice per day- mainly for the calcium.

[Gordo]

1 hour ago, Clinton said:

Gordo - why avoid dairy?

 I only drink about 1/2 cup of skim milk twice per day- mainly for the calcium.

Well if its mainly calcium you want, you will actually get more calcium from soy or nut milks (compare labels).  Dairy is an IGF-1 spiking food.  Dairy in general is the top source of saturated fat in most people's diet, contributing to heart disease, diabetes, and probably Alzheimbers.  Studies have linked dairy to increased risk of numerous cancers.

Research shows that dairy products have little or no benefit for bone health. According to an analysis published in the British Medical Journal, most studies fail to show any link between dairy intake and broken bones, or fractures. In one study, researchers tracked the diets, exercise, and stress fracture rates of adolescent girls and concluded that dairy products and calcium do not prevent stress fractures. Another study of more than 96,000 people found that the more milk men consumed as teenagers, the more bone fractures they experienced as adults. Learn about how to build strong bones on a plant-based diet. 

Preventing and ReversingOsteoporosis 

NEWS RELEASE

Doctors Urge 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee to Ditch Dairy 

[mccoy]

I'm not a priori against dairy. Saturated fat is avoided by using skim milk or nonfat products. I noticed that there is a strong advocacy from vegans and from dairy producers as well, so the issue is not very clear. A little dairy will not reach the calcium AI levels. Some mineral waters are rich in Ca.

My reasoned belief is that a moderate amount of good-quality low or nonfat dairy products for active people will be beneficial.

Then, we can scan the literature and as always we'll have papers against and papers in favour of dairy. Truth is that it has probably pros and cons and moderation is the key.

Too low of an IGF-1 is probably bad, and dairy may serve to swift the levels a bit higher up.

 

[Clinton]

Thanks Gordo & McCoy,

Clinton 

[Saul]

7 hours ago, mccoy said:

Too low of an IGF-1 is probably bad, and dairy may serve to swift the levels a bit higher up.

Good luck!

Probably no one on an ad lib diet has low IGF1 !  You have to be eating very little protein -- and almost all people from developed countries -- and almost all from Third World countries, except those who are starving -- eat much too much protein.

Particularly bad, are animal proteins -- high in methionine and other sulphur containing amino acids, which kicks up IGF1 eve3n more.

(If you want to die sooner, eat more beef and cheese 😁.)

  --  Saul

[FrederickSebastian]

21 hours ago, Gordo said:

My recommendation is to eat the biggest variety of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, and mushrooms that you can. Here is a decent guide straight from one of the biggest health care companies which obviously has an incentive for people to be healthy.  If you eat meat, I'd probably stick to fish, particularly salmon, and avoid red meat, certainly avoid processed meat. Minimize advanced glycation end products (includes not frying anything, or flame cooking anything, or even eating bread crusts).  Avoid processed foods, refined white flour, refined sugar.  Avoid dairy.  Most calories should come from carbs, but fat should be included in every meal - best to get it from seeds, nuts, avocados, etc, and not from processed oils.  You can get all the protein you need from all of the above, especially beans, grains, and nuts.  Avoid excessive amounts of rice, but 2-3 servings a week is fine, other grains are healthier and contain less contamination (barley, oats, wheat, quinoa, etc). Drink soy/nut milks.

A big mistake many people make is not getting enough calories, this can leave you feeling and looking weak and sickly and over a long period can lead to frailty and osteoporosis.  Figure out what you can get a decent amount of calories from, I like sweet potatoes, purple potatoes, avocados, nuts, beans/lentils, some fruit and grains for the bulk of my calories.  I also like to grind and eat 1 tbsp flax seed and 1/2 tbsp chia seed daily (good fat source and source of omega 3's).  You can use cronometer for a few months to get a better idea of your calories and nutrient intake but you won't need it after that.

Supplements:  If you don't eat salmon, take a DHA supplement, also take a weekly B12 supplement, D3 as needed (in winter) especially if you don't get a lot of sun in the summer/fall, k2 recommended, iodine (don't go overboard, just RDA).

Yes, Gordo -- I'm going vegetarian soon and want to base my diet on salads with lots of healthy fats (avocado eggs olive oil) and nuts, seeds and berries. I eat seitan quite often and tofu a little less often. I am currently trying to find a good, nutritious vegan caesar dressing.

 

Thanks for the help.

[mccoy]

On 2/27/2019 at 4:46 PM, Saul said:

Good luck!

Probably no one on an ad lib diet has low IGF1 !  You have to be eating very little protein -- and almost all people from developed countries -- and almost all from Third World countries, except those who are starving -- eat much too much protein.

Particularly bad, are animal proteins -- high in methionine and other sulphur containing amino acids, which kicks up IGF1 eve3n more.

(If you want to die sooner, eat more beef and cheese 😁.)

  --  Saul

Saul, those are quantitative terms. What's low or high IGF-1? And what's the optimum for healthspan and longevity?

Perhaps we should reason in terms of percentiles rather than more vague adjectives and try and find a consensus on which percentile is best for longevity.

I doubt that it has been proven that the zero percentile is the most favourable. On the contrary, it may be that it represents death.