Which is the best foods for good health ?
- Thread starter Martin
- Start date
Since I'm not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian I can't make any direct recommendations for you, but I can tell you that I've never been healthier since I adopted a vegan diet centered mainly on whole (non-processed) foods, and there are studies out there that show how a well rounded vegan diet is the healthiest. If you're interested I can find links for you.
Hello Martin. Welcome to the forum!
There are several foods that will put you on the road to wellness. Do not look at this change as a diet, rather, a lifestyle change.
Here are some foods that are [IMHO] essential in keeping you healthy and happy:
1. Kale! It is classified as a "super food" for a reason. Kale contains high levels of beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and is packed full of calcium. You can prepare kale in a variety of ways, so if you are a bit leery about greens, try blending it into a smoothie with a banana. It doesn't have a overpowering taste, has a wonderful texture, and its so good for you!
2. Chia seeds: Oh my god, where do I begin? These little suckers absolutely ROCK. They are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and fiber. They are a great addition to any diet, and help curb your appetite. In many cases, people stop craving sweets [I no longer feel the need to chew gum to stave off my sweet tooth!]
Not only is chia a great source of protein, omega-3s, and fiber, they also have potassium, calcium, essential minerals phosphorous, and manganese. You can eat the seeds raw [sprinkle on salad or veggie of your choice] or soak them in water. They develop a gelatenous texture and can be incorporated in puddings, and in some cases, homemade salad dressings! Oh, and you can grind the seed up and use it in baking
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3. Vega One Nutritional Shake mix: This stuff is, without a doubt, the best shake mix I have ever had. It is free of dairy, gluten, and soy! Not only that, it is chock full of vitamins, proteins, minerals, and fiber. I can't even begin to cover everything that is in it, so here is the website if you are curious:
http://myvega.com/products/vega-one-shake/nutritional-info
There are several other food tips, recipes, and workout regimens I could help you with if you'd like. Just shoot me a PM, I'd love to hear from you!
-Anna
There are several foods that will put you on the road to wellness. Do not look at this change as a diet, rather, a lifestyle change.
Here are some foods that are [IMHO] essential in keeping you healthy and happy:
1. Kale! It is classified as a "super food" for a reason. Kale contains high levels of beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and is packed full of calcium. You can prepare kale in a variety of ways, so if you are a bit leery about greens, try blending it into a smoothie with a banana. It doesn't have a overpowering taste, has a wonderful texture, and its so good for you!
2. Chia seeds: Oh my god, where do I begin? These little suckers absolutely ROCK. They are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and fiber. They are a great addition to any diet, and help curb your appetite. In many cases, people stop craving sweets [I no longer feel the need to chew gum to stave off my sweet tooth!]
Not only is chia a great source of protein, omega-3s, and fiber, they also have potassium, calcium, essential minerals phosphorous, and manganese. You can eat the seeds raw [sprinkle on salad or veggie of your choice] or soak them in water. They develop a gelatenous texture and can be incorporated in puddings, and in some cases, homemade salad dressings! Oh, and you can grind the seed up and use it in baking
.3. Vega One Nutritional Shake mix: This stuff is, without a doubt, the best shake mix I have ever had. It is free of dairy, gluten, and soy! Not only that, it is chock full of vitamins, proteins, minerals, and fiber. I can't even begin to cover everything that is in it, so here is the website if you are curious:
http://myvega.com/products/vega-one-shake/nutritional-info
There are several other food tips, recipes, and workout regimens I could help you with if you'd like. Just shoot me a PM, I'd love to hear from you!
-Anna
I have been interested in diet, nutrition, and health for a long time, and have a background from both Eastern and Western upbringing and their respective food and medicine cultures. In addition, I have had the experience of an eating disorder and recovering from it, gained weight, lost weight, and gained health and lost health.
From my time spent researching and experiencing all of this, I have come to a few conclusions.
1) Eat mostly natural foods -- that is, not from packages, tin cans, or processed.
2) Eat a variety of things, and use moderation. Don't eat too much or too little. Try to keep it balanced.
3) Try to have a lifestyle that is low in stress, and stay physically active. This includes your attitude -- try to be an optimist in addition to being a realist. Health is holistic. It isn't realistic to nitpick and spend a lot of time on what you eat for the sake on health. To do that would be counterproductive and also make you lose sight of other aspects of your body and life.
4) Ask yourself, "Is my diet sustainable long term, both for my willpower and for the health benefits?" If you really want to have a food that is thought to be "unhealthy" once in a while, you might as well have it, or you could go crazy later and binge. I also think eating things that aren't that healthy once in a while won't do much damage anyway. For this reason, I don't believe in "eliminating" any foods (unless you have serious health problems, of course). For example, @Sali is right in that plain sugar has no nutritional value, and you should try to choose natural foods that have more nutrients as part of them. The thing is, "sugar" is a part of healthy foods -- fruits, or root vegetables, for example. In the end, your body converts the energy from such foods into glucose anyway, and this is basically equivalent to plain sugar. Your body runs on the energy from sugars and lipids to survive. It probably helps if you've spent a lot of time looking into this kind of thing, but the point that I'm trying to make is... I don't believe it's useful to take extreme elimination-style attitudes towards certain foods long term (lowering your sugar intake long term if you used to be a junkie is probably a good idea though), unless it's for spiritual/personal reasons, or you have serious health issues and it's doctor's orders or things like that.
Honestly, the human body isn't too needy or picky. You can find a wealth of information online about what "superfoods" are out there, the foods that are high in nutritional value, and about which foods that aren't ... but humans have been able to thrive in a variety of living conditions, and a lot of the "health-guru" introduced stuff out there is all hype for companies to incorporate new exotic products into their foods and make money off of it. I guarantee you, that if your body is deficient in something, your body will let you know somehow.
From my time spent researching and experiencing all of this, I have come to a few conclusions.
1) Eat mostly natural foods -- that is, not from packages, tin cans, or processed.
2) Eat a variety of things, and use moderation. Don't eat too much or too little. Try to keep it balanced.
3) Try to have a lifestyle that is low in stress, and stay physically active. This includes your attitude -- try to be an optimist in addition to being a realist. Health is holistic. It isn't realistic to nitpick and spend a lot of time on what you eat for the sake on health. To do that would be counterproductive and also make you lose sight of other aspects of your body and life.
4) Ask yourself, "Is my diet sustainable long term, both for my willpower and for the health benefits?" If you really want to have a food that is thought to be "unhealthy" once in a while, you might as well have it, or you could go crazy later and binge. I also think eating things that aren't that healthy once in a while won't do much damage anyway. For this reason, I don't believe in "eliminating" any foods (unless you have serious health problems, of course). For example, @Sali is right in that plain sugar has no nutritional value, and you should try to choose natural foods that have more nutrients as part of them. The thing is, "sugar" is a part of healthy foods -- fruits, or root vegetables, for example. In the end, your body converts the energy from such foods into glucose anyway, and this is basically equivalent to plain sugar. Your body runs on the energy from sugars and lipids to survive. It probably helps if you've spent a lot of time looking into this kind of thing, but the point that I'm trying to make is... I don't believe it's useful to take extreme elimination-style attitudes towards certain foods long term (lowering your sugar intake long term if you used to be a junkie is probably a good idea though), unless it's for spiritual/personal reasons, or you have serious health issues and it's doctor's orders or things like that.
Honestly, the human body isn't too needy or picky. You can find a wealth of information online about what "superfoods" are out there, the foods that are high in nutritional value, and about which foods that aren't ... but humans have been able to thrive in a variety of living conditions, and a lot of the "health-guru" introduced stuff out there is all hype for companies to incorporate new exotic products into their foods and make money off of it. I guarantee you, that if your body is deficient in something, your body will let you know somehow.
Yeah I agree with chulo about meat. The problem with meat in the diet is we end up taking in too much fat (red meats actually aren't all that great for you) and that we dnt understand portions and eat too much meat. Only a small amount of meat is needed in the diet....even a chicken breast could be too much meat for one meal. Turkey is supposedly the best lean meat as apparently you can't give turkeys antibiotics...so they arent as full of crap as chickens might be.
I can tell you some of the worst for good health...
You may just want to cut out anything your body can't easily digest naturally. Milk/dairy is the first thing. There's a reason a good percentage of the non-Western world is lactose intolerant; it's not a natural food for humans to be ingesting after infancy.
Processed foods, sugars and flours are other ones. If you can't walk into a garden, pick it off a plant and eat it as-is, then chances are it's not an overly healthy food. If you need a chemistry text to figure out what the ingredient list is, then chances are it's also not very healthy.
Excessive proteins that will raise your body's pH level and cause it to deplete the calcium supply in your bones to compensate should also be avoided. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the number one source of protein for most Western diets comes in the form of meat. Replace that with the normal amounts found in grains, nuts, legumes and vegetables and the "excessive" part won't be a factor... you also won't have to worry about those pesky little things like Osteoporosis and heart disease.
You may just want to cut out anything your body can't easily digest naturally. Milk/dairy is the first thing. There's a reason a good percentage of the non-Western world is lactose intolerant; it's not a natural food for humans to be ingesting after infancy.
Processed foods, sugars and flours are other ones. If you can't walk into a garden, pick it off a plant and eat it as-is, then chances are it's not an overly healthy food. If you need a chemistry text to figure out what the ingredient list is, then chances are it's also not very healthy.
Excessive proteins that will raise your body's pH level and cause it to deplete the calcium supply in your bones to compensate should also be avoided. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the number one source of protein for most Western diets comes in the form of meat. Replace that with the normal amounts found in grains, nuts, legumes and vegetables and the "excessive" part won't be a factor... you also won't have to worry about those pesky little things like Osteoporosis and heart disease.
Yes Dairy is another one. There are plenty of alternatives to dairy. I use Almond milk in just about everything, its lovely and goes really well with tea and coffee!!
Also, on the subject of grains....they aren't as good for you as once thought. You shouldn't eat too many grains...I can't remember exactly what I read, but its something abotu the gut anyway.
Also, bread....bread isn't great. Cut out as much of it as you can.
I know sugar is awful...but i have such a sweet tooth...i justcant do it!
Also, expanding on the consumption of veggies, as others have mentioned, it's best if you eat them raw as much as possible. Cooking (especially over-cooking) robs veggies of much of their nutritional benefit, so eating them in their natural state is ideal, in order to get the most out of them. :]
Second.
I either mix this into my morning drinks or eat the leaves raw if I'm too lazy to bother.
I do as well. Raw kale is great! The other day I added egg-white, lettuce,carrots, radicchio, and zapped it in the microwave. Delish, especially sprinkled with Mrs.Dash garlic blend.
-Anna
Raw Kale.... ugghhh! I either saute it with some garlic and olive oil, or mix it into stews/chilies. I love eating vegetables, but not when it makes me feel like I'm grazing in a backyard
These are basically the things I've learned. Not overeating is probably the biggest thing - it totally disrupts the detox process. We really don't need that much food to live healthily. Also, I've actually heard the argument lately that cooking your food is very important. When I eat only raw/vegetarian food for a while, I don't feel very full which leads me to eat too much to compensate.