Which is the best foods for good health ?

[Leticia Mejor]

noodles/rice(energy)
Broccoli
carrots (enhance dark eye adaptation by replenishing chemicals in retinal rods/cones-- very good for the eyes in general)
water chestnuts
beef/chicken/pork (when not cooked unhealthily--- these meats gave our ancestors the strength to continue living, though life was hell)
spices (anti bacterial, promote digestion, release endorphin)
some sugar (for use in short term missions)
salmon (good for the brain, good fats)
pine nuts (energizing, fatty)
olive oil (apparently healthy)
bread (sustained Mesopotamia, cradle of civilization)
1-2 cup of strong coffee daily (antidepressant/possible neuroprotective effects)

 

[This]

Powdered human baby flesh.

 

[aeon]

In general, eat a Mediterranean diet.

Specifically, this question cannot be answered due to individual differences in digestion, metabolism, immune system, and so on.


cheers,
Ian

 

[knight in battle]

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 heard that meat, meat products, and fat are actually what allows people to reduce the fat in their bodies.

 

[Lemonworld]

Leafy green vegetables x10000000. And treat sugar like your worst enemy. Works for me. But how I miss that candy...

 

[Soulful]

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

Kale is awesome but I think I remember reading that it's contraindicated for people who experience liver or gallbladder issues. That may be worth looking into. Otherwise, it's a powerhouse of a food.

I think something we rarely hear is the idea that we should, above all, listen to our bodies.
I also think, though, that it's not always obvious how to be in tune with our bodies. Sometimes the messages may seem absent or confusing. For instance, just because we get a craving for something incredibly sugary or salty and chock full of toxins as well as devoid of nutritions does not mean our body is actually craving that. But I do suspect it's imperative we somehow clear our system of those kinds of messages and enable ourselves to listen to what our body actually needs. It probably will communicate.

Second, pay attention to what your ancestors ate, then apply common sense.

Third, evaluate where your information comes from. If you don't trust the government and the media to be honest with you regarding a host of things, apply that same logic to the diets it proselyetizes. This, too, is political.

Fourth, diets can change. There may not be such a thing as "the diet" for some people. What may be appropriate in one setting and during one period may no longer apply later on. It's okay to be flexible. This is where listening to your body comes in.

Educate yourself. It can be hard to know what's legit science and how biased the information is, but education is still key.

Stay hydrated.

Abide by a generally healthy lifestyle, and whatever mishaps you make with your diet, your body will be all the more enabled to rectify them at a lesser cost.

 

[Faye]

I heard that meat, meat products, and fat are actually what allows people to reduce the fat in their bodies.

This is basically what I have seen as well with the caveat that you have to reduce carbohydrate/sugar intake. Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes is a good book.

Basically, assuming you have adequate protein in your diet, the remainder of your calories will be either carbohydrates or fat. Excess carbohydrates, esp. sugar/refined carbs (i.e. white flour) increase insulin resistance and thus make you gain weight. In order to not gain weight, you can trade off carbohydrates for fat in your diet so that you eat less.

Trans fats appear bad, but I'm not convinced that saturated fats are necessarily bad.

 

[knight in battle]

This is basically what I have seen as well with the caveat that you have to reduce carbohydrate/sugar intake. Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes is a good book.

Basically, assuming you have adequate protein in your diet, the remainder of your calories will be either carbohydrates or fat. Excess carbohydrates, esp. sugar/refined carbs (i.e. white flour) increase insulin resistance and thus make you gain weight. In order to not gain weight, you can trade off carbohydrates for fat in your diet so that you eat less.

Trans fats appear bad, but I'm not convinced that saturated fats are necessarily bad.

Yes, Taubes' guidelines are what I'm experimenting with. His conclusions appear to be sound. Apparently, energy to exercise comes from protein and healthy fats, which is perhaps why I have generally mustered enough energy only to do weightlifting, previously, instead of cardio, which is far more fun for me, but rarely "felt motivated" to do.

His allowances on leafy green vegetables──and warnings against corn, flour, potatoes, sugar, grains, bread, and milk──seem to agree with commonly held ideals.

 

[barbad0s]

I heard that meat, meat products, and fat are actually what allows people to reduce the fat in their bodies.

Supposedly, there are certain nutrients in red meat that make your body metabolize fat more efficiently. Healthier animals have higher levels of it, as well as a better omega 3 vs omega 6 fat ratio.

However, meat as a food is more oxidizing than plant-based foods are going to be. Cooked meat contains carcinogens.

Think biomagnification, when it comes to toxins in foods.

Edit: Btw, your body uses fat cells for storing toxins.

 

[Shaqie]

Fish ...

Eat a lot of fish.

 

[Flavus Aquila]

I suggest you experiment.

Some people seem to thrive on the 'close-to-vegetarian' end of the diet spectrum; others seem to thrive on the carnivorous end of the diet spectrum.

Likewise, some people find rice easier to digest, while I find wheat products much more agreeable.


Experiment and you will quickly notice which foods make you feel healthy and energetic, and which foods make your lethargic, bloated, or sick.

 

[InvisibleJim]

Two words.

Kiwi Fruit.

 

[Tin Man]

I devour the souls of the innocent. Delicious and fat free.

 

[Bird]

I may be a bit paranoid, but in my mind, a raw natural diet
is the best.

 

[Korg]

I'm a huge believer in vegetable juicing. And by vegetable juicing, I mean liquifying fresh, organic produce and drinking it immediately - not having a V8. You can consume pounds of veggies this way on a daily basis.

It is extremely expensive, but we like to use a juicer by Vitamix. I've used probably a dozen or more blenders in my lifetime and very few last more than 12 months. The containers crack, the motors burn up or they need to be discarded because they simply can't process foods well enough. So you get what you pay for and I've not had any issues at all since buying a vitamix years ago.

/plug

That said, here's some foods I've juiced (in no particular order) and drank on an almost daily basis:

carrots
green cabbage
red cabbage
kale
red leaf lettuce
green leaf lettuce
romaine lettuce
cucumber
spinach
turnip greens
chard
red beets
artichokes
rutabaga
bok choy


...some of these you have to use sparingly or you can turn an otherwise healthy drink into something that tastes like vomit and piss. But if you go to your local health food store, they'll have all kinds of vegetables to pick from. There's dozens and dozens you can rotate every few weeks. The list above is one I just wrote off the top of my head.


If you want to augment these with fruits, that's cool. Use:

blueberries
strawberries
bananas
green apples (I like these most)
red apples
blackberries
black grapes
peaches
pineapple
mango

....you get the idea. You have to find what does and does not work well together, of course. But there are a bunch of websites with recipes to help you out.

 

[Bird]

On a side-note to juicing, the less fruit the better, really.
If you use banana, a little goes a fucking huge way. Red
beets make everything taste like dirt, even if you only use
5 grams. Korg listed carrots first because they are the best.
The best.

 

[Lerxst]

Yes, Taubes' guidelines are what I'm experimenting with. His conclusions appear to be sound. Apparently, energy to exercise comes from protein and healthy fats, which is perhaps why I have generally mustered enough energy only to do weightlifting, previously, instead of cardio, which is far more fun for me, but rarely "felt motivated" to do.

His allowances on leafy green vegetables──and warnings against corn, flour, potatoes, sugar, grains, bread, and milk──seem to agree with commonly held ideals.

I studied the high-protein meat-based diet in depth during the Atkins craze in the late 90's.

Excessive protein (especially animal based) lowers your body's pH levels and doesn't provide any means to neutralize them, as a result it draws calcium from your bones, causing longer-term problems than just a bit of excessive weight - kidney stones and Osteoporosis.

You also have to consider that some organs function off of the immediate energy that carbohydrates provide (the brain for one). With too much protein, especially from meat, and not enough carbohydrates, your body needs to get the first form of energy it can.

Ketosis (if that's what your diet relies on) is also your body's way of saying, "WTF are you doing to me????" and intentionally creating that state in your otherwise healthy body, has one side effect that people going through a lot of these diets can't actually see or tell. Having removed carbohydrates (the primary energy source), and given your brain the choice between proteins and ketone bodies, your brain wants the ketones; it's like offering a baby an apple or a lollipop. They only provide about 50% of the energy as carbohydrates though.

Without enough carbohydrates, even if your muscles get stronger, your Central Nervous System gets weaker. It's a trade-off.

 

[Poetic Justice]

Two thirds starch e.g. rice, pasta, wholemeal bread

Half of whats left should be fresh vegetables. Steamed preferably

Half of whats left lean meat.

Mix and match. Have different vegetables and different meat each time.

A typical meal for me is pasta with olive oil and pepper, various vegetable including carrots, peas, leeks, onions, green beans, cabbage and sweetcorn (steamed of course) and some meat

Eat this and swap your sugary treats for fruit and you won't go far wrong

 

[knight in battle]

Excessive protein (especially animal based) lowers your body's pH levels and doesn't provide any means to neutralize them, as a result it draws calcium from your bones, causing longer-term problems than just a bit of excessive weight - kidney stones and Osteoporosis.

You also have to consider that some organs function off of the immediate energy that carbohydrates provide (the brain for one). With too much protein, especially from meat, and not enough carbohydrates, your body needs to get the first form of energy it can.

Ketosis (if that's what your diet relies on) is also your body's way of saying, "WTF are you doing to me????" and intentionally creating that state in your otherwise healthy body, has one side effect that people going through a lot of these diets can't actually see or tell. Having removed carbohydrates (the primary energy source), and given your brain the choice between proteins and ketone bodies, your brain wants the ketones; it's like offering a baby an apple or a lollipop. They only provide about 50% of the energy as carbohydrates though.

Without enough carbohydrates, even if your muscles get stronger, your Central Nervous System gets weaker. It's a trade-off.

So I am assuming that some green leafy vegetables everyday would do the trick?

 

[Lemonworld]

On a side-note to juicing, the less fruit the better, really.
If you use banana, a little goes a fucking huge way.

Yep. Beware fructose sugar.

.......

Juicing is good, but I wonder about the lack of fibre.

Carbohydrates... I avoid anything that has been processed. Whole grains and vegetables seem okay with me, but only in small amounts. I never eat carbohydrates or fruit after lunchtime.

Eating many leafy green vegetables is also a good way to balance your blood alkalinity.

Also pay attention to digestion and stomach acid. Before every meal I drink lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, and I never have water with meals.