From what I understand, a healthy nutritional diet and eating consists of whole grains,fruits,veggies,protein,etc. So what? Am I supposed to eat pieces of whole grain bread all day long or something? That makes no sense at all. I hate reading these yahoo articles because they never state exactly what you should be eating. All they tell you are the food groups, but what am I supposed to do with them? Am I supposed to live off of veggies all day? Am I supposed to eat whole grain bread all day? What the heck? That's not eating healthy AT ALL! I have never encountered a single healthy food article that specified exactly what you should be doing with all this food. So for instance, I go out and buy all this whole grain food, and veggies, and fruits. So? What am I even supposed to do with that? Where the hell are the recipes? This doesn't add up at all.
Eating just one of those things at a time will not make you healthy - what you need is a balance of each. One does not need to eat all of these groups every day. One can either eat the vegtables raw, or sautee them, grill them, or put them in omelets, eggs, etc. Cooking certain vegatables actually makes them better tasting and more nutritious. Finding recipes is hard in itself. Definitely take a look at Mongolian barbeque, omelets, even pizza.
I think eating healthy is eating in moderation. I do not think its what you eat, but how you balance what you eat. In moderation. To much of a good thing is a bad thing and vice versa. To much of a bad thing is bad thing. Just eat in moderation. And remember you are perfect for your. Everyone is a different size and shape. And everyone is healthy for being themselves.
Things which are processed are generally less healthy. This means that whole grain bread is better for your body than white bread, white sugar does nothing for your health, whereas honey has benefits etc. In my house we don't even have a tin opener or freezer because where I live people tend to eat mostly fresh produce. We eat natural sun-dried vegetables instead of tinned. As I'm used to fresh food, I can taste every chemical and additive when I try to eat fast or tinned food. At every meal you should eat a balance of things, e.g. you should stick to something with minimal factory interference, like plain, sugar-free cornflakes or rolled oats with a little milk or yoghurt, and some fruit and maybe toast and butter--margarine goes through a lot of processing and like all homogenised dairy produce it is difficult for the body, unless you use olive oil based margarine.
Fresh is best but even so you can still run into issues. You want a nice run of the gamut when it comes to food. eat mostly foods without solid fats and added sugars. Eat better by remembering a few simple things 1 eat less move more! Hard to be a lump if your out enjoying the world with your feet in motion 2 not all fat is bad fat. there are potential health benefits of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. however Trans fat and saturated fat should be cut as much as pos. 3 sugar is sugar ( I know someone will argue with me here but it's true.) If you want to lead a better life style cut the amount of sweeteners you use, and if I were you I would avoid the "fake" sweeteners as well as they have been linked to cancer and a host of other illnesses in past studies. 4 Eat a wide range of veggies, Gods gift to us really. Veggies are low in bad fat, sugar etc. Some veggies are all but useless to us Head lettuce, celery while both will give you a nice bump in a few vitamins they are mostly water and thus you can do better. Swap out head lettuce for Romaine or Spinach ( when eating greens think Dark, the darker the more punch it has in the vitamin department.) Corn: Corn while enjoyable is NOT a veggie it is a grain, and if you take a few moments to look into the "throne" you will see it comes out exactly as it went in. You can do better here as well. Swap out corn for some roasted Yellow squash for a yummy power hitting side dish. Eat the rainbow! Eggplant is an oft overlooked food because of its odd taste, Learn to cook this the right way ( soak in salted water for 1-2 hrs prior to cooking) To rid the veg. of it's bitter taste. Tomatoes are a wonderful fruit that packs a good deal of essential vitamins and minerals. Kiwi is a nifty food that makes a really great snack, packed with vitamin C and it is fiber rich as well.. Blend it with some Strawberries for a power packed smoothie. Potatoes, again yummy but essentially nothing but starch because we tend to remove the skin which is where the goodies are. Unused starch turns to fat... Starch is a simple sugar. SO if you opt for a tuber, leave the skin on and DON’T Fry!!! Boil em up bake em up but please don’t slather on fatty toppings and make them all naked. Otherwise what’s the point? Carrots in any form are good for you, some people like the crunch they provide, others like myself can't stand the taste unless they are swimming in something ( not really the best way to eat better) A quick trick for seasoning is with herbs and spices. Find some you like ( organic and unprocessed or grow your own in the kitchen) If you must fry things try using a bit of Olive oil (again anything is bad if you use enough of it.) I make my own dressing which is much better for you than the store bought processed stuff. By far the vegetarian diet is the healthiest for humans, I'm not here to praise any way of life but I can tell you from experience that I dropped 10lbs in 5 weeks and lowered my sky high cholesterol from 235 to just under 200 by making a few simple changes in my eating habits. One of which was dropping the meat, and changing to things like chickpeas, grains, and other unprocessed sources of proteins such as soy. If you wish to keep eating meats remember that the closer you get to the critter (and veggie) the better it is for you. Run of the mill farms inject the stock with GSH, antibiotics and who knows what else, A recent study found that Turkey, pork, chicken, and beef all contained antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria ( The kind that kills people ) So be sure to cook it until Well done. Skinless is best since the skin has a high fat count. White meat as opposed to dark meat for the same reasons, trim off the white fat before cooking and it is a good idea to allow the meat to drain on a paper towel or a slanted plate after cooking to allow even more of the natural fat to run off safely into nothingness, as opposed to your waist line, and in your arteries. Whole grains are tricky, just because it says whole grain does not make it better for you. It all boils down to what else is lurking in the food. Read the list of ingredients It should be short and you should easily be able to recognize every product listed. If you can't well it can't be too good for you. Shoot for all natural Organic foods here as well because you have fewer insecticides, fertilizers, and it can not contain genetically altered substances. I hope that helps, the best thing you can do is arm yourself with information. And remember! ***Always Talk to your doctor about these things before making any major changes to diet or exercise.*** Hope that helps a little bit.
You are from New York. The sad fact is most food that appears on supermarket shelves in the USA is somehow processed. There are unhealthy hormones pumped into meats, vegetables are irradiated to kill off bacteria and extend shelf life, bread products are full of chemical additives. Not to mention to over-abundance of fast food, which is packed with harmful additives, salt, sugar, etc. It is hard (and expensive) to eat a healthy diet in the USA. I suggest you take a look at literature about becoming a 'raw food vegan'. You would eat only raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and various other living foods like fermented vegetables, sprouts, or wheat grass.
Raw food vegan is extream, not to mention potentialy fatal. Many of our products come from "Mills" or "big farms" a potential source of E coli and other icky bugs. Also we ship in about 80% of our food from places like Mexico... where sanitation is questionable at best, about once a month we have food recalls here on something... I can't stres enough what a bad Idea I think the Raw diet is. It's foundations are right, but execusion can be in the wrong hands deadly. Yes I know you wash your food, but it is still not as safe as cooking your food fully. IMHO. As a side note The raw foodies are usualy placed on supplements because they do not get enough zinc and b 12, both are extreamly hard to come by in this diet. AND... cooking foods helps with the absorption of carotenoids such as beta-carotene and other nutrients. surprising sources of food-borne illness, however, are raw sprouts, green onions and lettuce. Raw (unpasteurized) milk is dangerous and mostly illegal to buy; trust your source. Raw (sprouted) kidney beans and rhubarb are poisonous. Always always always talk to your doctor before starting ANY diet!
The health risks you run by eating a raw food diet are minimal, compared to the certainties of poor health when eating a typical American diet, also commonly known as SAD (Standard American Diet). OP, do some research and make the choice that suits you best. But please don't make the easiest choice. You are a writer, your brain needs proper nutrition to work to its full potential. You are unlucky enough to live in a country where food is often no better than poison. The fact is that most diseases come from commercially produced foods. Avoid that as much as possible. Buy local, buy organic, and if you can, start a garden.
I have to agree with Blue Lotus. Moderation is the key...including moderation itself. There is nothing wrong with treating yourself once in a while. After all, we eat for reasons in addition to nutrition. Balance is also key. You know the four food groups. Lean on the side of fruits and vegetables, lean away from starches (but do not eliminate entirely). Also, it is important to be as active as possible. As writers, we are prone to sedentary activity. But physical exercise not only is healthy for your body (again, in moderation) but also for your mind. For many years, I ran (including two marathons). Loved it. Unfortunately, physical issues (from improper training methods) have eliminated that option for me, so I have started swimming. My two favorite times now are 1) when I'm writing and 2) when I'm swimming. I also balance the swimming with regular and race-walking. Aerobic exercise will help burn off excess calories as well as strengthening your cardiovascular, immune and musculoskeletal systems. In fact, the more you exercise, the more dietary rules you can bend (in moderation, of course).
Irradiating food to kill pathogens isn't going to change what you actually consume. Chemical additives and the like are not generally good for you, imo. I think a raw food diet can be safe enough, but I don't think going vegan is a great idea. Your body isn't made for that, and unless you're careful about supplementing your diet and planning what you eat, you're going to suffer from malnutrition in one aspect or another. The idea that "most" diseases come from commercially-produced foods is nonsense.
Steerpike, so you think it's ok to eat Xrays??? Hey now I'm not saying don't, however I think I will pass ...
Actually, you wouldn't be eating x-rays. As an energy form, they can't be eaten, and the x-rays are long gone by the time you eat the irradiated food.
LOL. Dude, the rays are gone as soon as the process is over. You aren't eating any kind of rays. They just kill bacteria. EDIT: Ed, you beat me to it. That's why I should read to end of thread before responding
I have 3 coworkers and a brother who have all gone Paleo. They lost ~20lbs in the first 2 months and look great now. Tommy, my brother, works at a hospital so he ran blood work before and after. His cholesterol is down, blood pressure is down, liver enzymes are down, has more energy and feels better. Switching over to basically no grains and lots of meat/fat has improved every aspect of his health. After watching Sergio and Mike at work (and another friend who is away for college) it seems par for the course.
Yes but that doesn't quite answer what I was asking.. I know that processed foods and all that isn't healthy, but what exactly should I be eating? The websites don't list anything except what I already listed. I have no idea what I should be eating period. It doesn't tell you what you should have for breakfast,lunch, or dinner. I went shopping last week and i couldn't find a single damn thing to buy and I was so pissed off when I left because these stupid websites are so unreliable and don't tell you anything. They only tell you to eat VEGGIES and FRUITS. What the hell!! Sorry, but I'm kinda pissed off right now because I'm reading the yahoo articles right now and they don't mention anything. I don't understand how to eat healthy at all. I don't understand what to buy when I go grocery shopping. Isn't there a single god damn website out there which tells you specifically what to eat for your three main courses!? My mom and I are stuck eating spaghetti and mashed potato's everyday for dinner! What the hell! A big FU to these publishers over at Yahoo Answers. They just rehash their articles and post the same drivel everytime, and don't tell you anything important other then 'fruits and veggies." Yeah, go screw yourself Yahoo. I'm just really ticked off right now because I think I have been losing weight due to not being able to know what to eat. I don't even know what to eat for breakfast for god sakes. I usually have a fruit or two, and yogurt. thats it. Thats not breakfast.
The reason articles only tell you what types of foods to eat, like fruits and veggies, whole grains, etc is because they expect you to read the article and then be proactive about deciding how you're going to use such things in your meals. If you want someone to sit down and make you a list of exactly what to cook yourself for each meal, hire a nutritionist?
Yahoo sucks, stop using them for 'real' information. Lots of good, easy to understand, info on Paleo: http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/10/04/the-beginners-guide-to-the-paleo-diet/ Some recipes: http://everydaypaleo.com/category/food/ http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-recipes/ And cruise-control: http://www.paleoplan.com/
Yeah, you know Kyle I've never heard of a paleo diet but it makes sense. I had a discussion with a vegan friend trying to tell her it is not a natural human diet and to be careful. she thought she was eating a more natural diet that heer body was designed for. I don't know exactly where she heard that but some vegan web sites perpetuate that myth. If you want to look at what early humans ate in a state of nature, look at cro magnons, the earliest modern humans. They ate a lot of meat and fat, and in fact much of the time their diet was exclusively meat and fat. The human body is certainly more adapted to consume these things than large amounts of vegetable matter.
As well as eating healthy food it's necessary to have a healthy attitude to food, imo. I don't mean to sound judgemental, but I think a lot of food problems come from the convenience food culture and truly huge portions served in some Western countries--for example, in England on our last visit, we shared just one portion between 4 of us, and when Starbucks opened in Turkey, they had to introduce 2 smaller cup sizes, and they only go up to medium. Again, this is a personal opinion, but I think it's best to eat fresh, well prepared food, slowly, sitting around a table with other people if possible. Some so-called 'bad' things, like full fat cream are fine unless you have a medical issue, in moderation. In France they eat tiny portions of every type of food including red meat really slowly, and here in Turkey on special occasions we don't have much sweet stuff but we eat something called meze which is loads of different salads with olive oil dressing, dolma, seafood, tiny pastries etc. Food is something to enjoy, not stress about or see as an enemy.
Sounds very promising. From what I gather, the diet mainly consists of Meat – Fowl - chicken, duck, hen, turkey Fish – wild fish, not farmed fish, Eggs Vegetables Oils – olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil Fruits Nuts Seeds Tubers – sweet potatoes, yams. But my main concern as always is, where is the guidelines? It lists all these foods, but doesn't tell you what to eat exactly. I can go out and buy all of these products, but If I can't figure out how to make anything with them, then that renders the entire diet useless. The guy who wrote it said he seemed to have way more energy after two weeks on this diet, and I'd really like to try this diet. So what exactly should I do then? Lets say I go out today and purchase all of these different foods, so what can I do with them? Is there any websites that give you a straight guideline to the Palio diet and mention what exactly you should eat for the three main courses of the day?
^^ buy a good basic cookery book, get help from a friend who can, or enroll on a class if you can't cook. If you are interested in healthy food, you'll have to learn to cook sooner or later. Unless you plan on eating everything raw.
Like Kyle, I eat in a broadly paleo fashion...though I do consume lots of dairy. I think many otherwise well-informed folk would be aghast if they knew how wonky some of the advice western governments have been giving these last thirty or forty re things like whole grains, saturated fats and cholesterol etc etc The finest site I know for dietary advice..including recipes..which follows an approach largely in sympathy with paleo is ...perfecthealthdiet.com.
The middle block of links are paleo recipe sites, the last one makes menus, recipes, and shopping lists for you each week. A small fee applies.
Eat things like sandwiches with vegetables, meats, low-fat spreads etc in them. Foods with proteins (eggs, etc) and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Honestly, I eat stuff like mac and cheese all the time due to being broke, and I'm perfectly healthy...I work out A LOT and that is, I think, ultimately more important. As long as you're not eating at McDonald's every single day or sitting on the couch for 6 hours at a time on a regular basis, you'll be just fine.
This is wrong. Early humans did not consume "a lot" of meat. Think about what you wrote. Think about your mouth. It has mostly teeth meant for mashing, not tearing. Scientists and antropologists have proven many times that ancient human beings consumed mostly what they could find on trees and plants. It was a rare occasion to catch and eat an animal. Hunting has never been a reliable source, and is seasonal. Farming for meat did not come along until late into our history as a species. Even today meat is a rare luxury for most of the unspoiled and "unglobalized" world. It is only within the last century or two that anyone but royalty and aristocracy could afford to eat meat everyday. Gout, caused by the over consumption of meats, was once known as the "disease of kings". Not anymore. And guess what, the rise of cancer and heart disease as the main killers of humans also tracks the same time frame. Read a book called 'The China Study' by T. Colin Campbell. It explains clearly how and why animal products and processed food are causing the increasing rates of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
