54 replies to this topic

[Dmitri]

I consume the following during the week and wanted to know if the members here considered it a healthy diet.

Monday:

Breakfast:

-1 Gala apple

-1 Peach

-1 Banana

-Light Fat free Yoplait Yogurt (which contains: calcium, Vitamin D & A. Phosphorus, Active cultures: L. Acidophilus, protein, potassium and sodium)

-¼ of a cup of sunflower nuts (contain 45% Vitamin E and 90% folic acid at that amount)

-Cranberry juice

Dinner:

-Pinto Beans (rich in protein, fiber, carbohydrates and antioxidants)

-Rice (mixed with vegetables pieces: carrots, peas and broccoli)

-cup of strawberries

-cup of red grapes

-cup of wild blueberries

-salad with shredded turkey (six slices of it equal 45 calories) , crotons and fat free ranch dressing

-GNC multi vitamin/mineral powder

Before going to bed:

-glass of low fat lactose free milk

Tuesday:

Breakfast:

-2 scrambled eggs with no salt and 2 slices of wheat bread

-1 Gala Apple

-1 Peach

-1 Banana

-Light fat free Yoplait Yogurt

-Orange Juice

Dinner:

-Grilled Chicken with Pinto Beans and pieces of mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, corn) on the same plate

-cup of strawberries

-cup of red grapes

-salad with shredded turkey (six slices of it equal 45 calories) , crotons and fat free ranch dressing

-GNC multi vitamin/mineral powder

Before going to bed:

-glass of low fat lactose free milk

Wednesday:

Breakfast:

-2 waffles with sugar free syrup

-1 Gala Apple

-1 Peach

-1 Banana

-Light fat free Yoplait Yogurt

-¼ of a cup of sunflower nuts

-Orange Juice

Dinner:

-2 slices of tilapia fillet or salmon fillet (it depends each week and what my mother buys) with Pinto beans and pieces of mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, corn) on the same plate

-cup of strawberries

-cup of red grapes

-cup of wild blueberries

-salad with shredded turkey (six slices of it equal 45 calories) , crotons and fat free ranch dressing

-GNC multi vitamin/mineral powder

Before going to bed:

-glass of low fat lactose free milk

Thursday:

Breakfast:

-2 scrambled eggs with no salt, pieces of fat free turkey franks and 2 slices of wheat bread

-1 Gala Apple

-1 Peach

-1 Banana

-Light fat free Yoplait Yogurt

-Cranberry Juice

Dinner: I use OR here because each week my mother changes between the 3 salads

-Tuna Salad (rich in Omega 3) pieces of tuna mixed with mayo and mixed pieces of vegetables (carrots, peas, broccoli, potato, corn) with crackers or two slices of wheat bread.

OR

-Chicken Salad, pieces of chicken mixed with mayo and mixed pieces of vegetables (carrots, peas, broccoli, potato, corn) with crackers or two slices of wheat bread

OR

-Potato Salad, mixed with mayo and mixed pieces of vegetables (carrots, peas, broccoli, potato, corn) with crackers or two slices of wheat bread

-Pinto beans

-Rice (mixed with vegetables pieces: carrots, peas and broccoli)

-cup of strawberries

-cup of red grapes

-cup of wild blueberries

-GNC multi vitamin/mineral powder

Before going to bed:

-Bowl of cheerios with low fat lactose free milk

Friday:

Breakfast:

-2 waffles with sugar free syrup

-1 Gala Apple

-1 Peach

-1 Banana

-Light fat free Yoplait Yogurt

-¼ of a cup of sunflower nuts

-Orange Juice

Dinner:

-Pinto Beans

-Mexican food which varies each week

-cup of strawberries

-cup of red grapes

-cup of wild blueberries

-salad with shredded turkey (six slices of it equal 45 calories) , crotons and fat free ranch dressing

-GNC multi vitamin/mineral powder

Before going to bed:

-glass of low fat lactose free milk

Saturday & Sunday:

I reserve these two days to eat anything I want and it varies each week, sometimes it's sea food, Chinese or Italian restaurants.

I also exercise Monday-Friday for 1 hour an aerobic mix which consists of portion of regular aerobics (no weights) and weight aerobics (use weights that range from 3-15 pounds depending on the speed of the workout), 20 minutes of stationary cycling with moving handles which work not only my legs but my arms as well and 5 minutes of stretching (in total it's 85 minutes). I also drink about 8-10 cups of water a day.

So, would my diet be considered healthy if not what would you suggest as an improvement?

[JLL]

It seems pretty well thought out, though I'm not sure why the wheat bread is there - for taste, sure, but for health reasons, no.

[Johan]

You seem to be eating a lot of fruit. What's your daily intake of fructose?

[VictorBjoerk]

your diet seems to contain a lot of carbs and little fat.

[Mixter]

You could add fish oil caps and maybe olive oil on your salad for some added healthy fat.

The healthiness of this diet due to raw foods probably outweighs the carb/fructose content,
but you can use the PGX fiber brand ("PolyGlucoPlex") before meals to absorb some
dietary carbohydrates. Further, the diet is relatively low in meat, which is not bad, but
means you could benefit from some daily carnitine, carnosine and B12 supplementation.

If possible, skip the potato salad (too many carbs, and acrylamide/glycidamide) and
exchange bread for any 100% whole-grain bread which is fine to eat.

Cheerios or any other carbs the last 4-5 hours before going to bed will put
on weight and diminish nightly hormone production

Otherwise, pretty good IMO.

[Dmitri]

You seem to be eating a lot of fruit. What's your daily intake of fructose?

I have no idea, fruits don't come with labels so it's hard to tell how much fructose they contain.

[Dmitri]

You could add fish oil caps and maybe olive oil on your salad for some added healthy fat.

The healthiness of this diet due to raw foods probably outweighs the carb/fructose content,
but you can use the PGX fiber brand ("PolyGlucoPlex") before meals to absorb some
dietary carbohydrates. Further, the diet is relatively low in meat, which is not bad, but
means you could benefit from some daily carnitine, carnosine and B12 supplementation.

If possible, skip the potato salad (too many carbs, and acrylamide/glycidamide) and
exchange bread for any 100% whole-grain bread which is fine to eat.

Cheerios or any other carbs the last 4-5 hours before going to bed will put
on weight and diminish nightly hormone production

Otherwise, pretty good IMO.

Thanks for the recommendation, but the multi I take already contains 25 mcg of B-12 and 2 grams of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids; is that not enough? Also, I'll make sure to use olive oil on my salad and skip the potato salad.

[shadowrun]

Just to echo what some of the others have said here.

Your diet is definitely healthy - Lots of Vegetables - Small amounts of cooked food and good amount of exercise

Possible improvements
Consider reducing the amount of sugar you consume from your larger fruits (by reducing the amoutn of fruit and/or ditching the glass of juice)
Add in some of the recommended supplement or hit up a few of the biggies (which you can find in the supplement forum)
Potentially reducing you're 2 days of "whatever" eating to 1 (or have a normal day and a more sensible choice day)
Consuming Organic Produce (at least for the top 10 most pesticided)
Organic Dairy products (yogurt and milk)
Organic Meats, Grass fed if applicable
Go with whole grain anything (Specifically the waffles) if you're going to eat them.
If you're going to eat cheerios skip on the Honey Nut variety for sugar reasons.

Just some suggestions

[Johan]

You seem to be eating a lot of fruit. What's your daily intake of fructose?

I have no idea, fruits don't come with labels so it's hard to tell how much fructose they contain.

You can look here, for example - it'll tell you the amount of various kinds of sugars (including fructose) in many common fruits.

Edited by Johan, 20 August 2008 - 07:47 PM.

[Dmitri]

You seem to be eating a lot of fruit. What's your daily intake of fructose?

I have no idea, fruits don't come with labels so it's hard to tell how much fructose they contain.

You can look here, for example - it'll tell you the amount of various kinds of sugars (including fructose) in many common fruits.

I see, thank you for the link. Now what would you consider to be a healthy amount of fructose to consume a day? Do you think it would be better if I consumed one of those whole foods supplement fruit blend powders instead of eating all those fruits?

[Dmitri]

Just to echo what some of the others have said here.

Your diet is definitely healthy - Lots of Vegetables - Small amounts of cooked food and good amount of exercise

Possible improvements
Consider reducing the amount of sugar you consume from your larger fruits (by reducing the amoutn of fruit and/or ditching the glass of juice)
Add in some of the recommended supplement or hit up a few of the biggies (which you can find in the supplement forum)
Potentially reducing you're 2 days of "whatever" eating to 1 (or have a normal day and a more sensible choice day)
Consuming Organic Produce (at least for the top 10 most pesticided)
Organic Dairy products (yogurt and milk)
Organic Meats, Grass fed if applicable
Go with whole grain anything (Specifically the waffles) if you're going to eat them.
If you're going to eat cheerios skip on the Honey Nut variety for sugar reasons.

Just some suggestions

Thank you for the recommendation, although is there something else I could eat instead of red meat? I really don't like beef or pork, which is why I consume turkey, chicken and fish instead. I'll only eat beef if it's extremely cooked burnt if you will, but I suppose not enough nutrients are left in it at such high temperatures?

Also, I'll make sure to get whole grain bread and waffles next time I buy food.

Edited by Dmitri, 20 August 2008 - 08:26 PM.

[Johan]

I see, thank you for the link. Now what would you consider to be a healthy amount of fructose to consume a day? Do you think it would be better if I consumed one of those whole foods supplement fruit blend powders instead of eating all those fruits?

I don't really know, although I remember DukeNukem saying somewhere on this forum that you should stick to smaller fruits and berries and have larger fruits as treats (maybe once a day or something like that?). You'll have to ask Duke about that.

Edited by Johan, 20 August 2008 - 08:40 PM.

[krillin]

Nix the zero calorie sweeteners. Make sure you get at least 2 servings per week of a tomato product that has been smashed and cooked in oil to make the lycopene bioavailable.

Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1997 Jan;21(1):37-42.
The effect of sucrose- and aspartame-sweetened drinks on energy intake, hunger and food choice of female, moderately restrained eaters.
Lavin JH, French SJ, Read NW.
Centre for Human Nutrition, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, UK.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of aspartame-sweetened and sucrose-sweetened soft drinks on food intake and appetite ratings of female restrained eaters. SUBJECTS: Fourteen female students, shown to have eating restraint. METHODS: Subjects were given four drinks (330 ml) of aspartame-sweetened lemonade, sucrose-sweetened lemonade and carbonated mineral water on three separate days. Seven of the subjects were informed of the drink type they were consuming on each occasion. MEASUREMENTS: Appetite ratings were recorded and energy and macronutrient intakes were measured during the study day and day after leaving the department. RESULTS: During the first study day energy intake was lower whilst drinking the sucrose-sweetened lemonade compared with the aspartame-sweetened lemonade, although neither differed significantly from energy intakes during the day the drank water. When the calories from the sucrose-sweetened lemonade were included (1381 kJ, 330 Kcal) energy intake did not differ between treatments. The following day energy intake was significantly higher after the aspartame-sweetened lemonade compared with both sucrose-sweetened lemonade and the water due to an increase in the amount of carbohydrate consumed and resulted in a higher total energy intake over the two days studied. Knowledge of the drink types had no effect on energy intake or macronutrient intake. Appetite ratings did not differ between drinks and were not affected by knowledge of the drink types. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that in females with eating restraint, substituting sucrose-sweetened drinks for diet drinks does not reduce total energy intake and may even result in a higher intake during the subsequent day.

PMID: 9023599

Behav Neurosci. 2008 Feb;122(1):161-73.
A role for sweet taste: calorie predictive relations in energy regulation by rats.
Swithers SE, Davidson TL.
Department of Psychological Sciences, Ingestive Behavior Research Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. swithers@purdue.edu

Animals may use sweet taste to predict the caloric contents of food. Eating sweet noncaloric substances may degrade this predictive relationship, leading to positive energy balance through increased food intake and/or diminished energy expenditure. These experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that experiences that reduce the validity of sweet taste as a predictor of the caloric or nutritive consequences of eating may contribute to deficits in the regulation of energy by reducing the ability of sweet-tasting foods that contain calories to evoke physiological responses that underlie tight regulation. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were given differential experience with a sweet taste that either predicted increased caloric content (glucose) or did not predict increased calories (saccharin). We found that reducing the correlation between sweet taste and the caloric content of foods using artificial sweeteners in rats resulted in increased caloric intake, increased body weight, and increased adiposity, as well as diminished caloric compensation and blunted thermic responses to sweet-tasting diets. These results suggest that consumption of products containing artificial sweeteners may lead to increased body weight and obesity by interfering with fundamental homeostatic, physiological processes. Copyright © 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

PMID: 18298259

Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2002 Nov;227(10):852-9.
A review of epidemiologic studies of tomatoes, lycopene, and prostate cancer.
Giovannucci E.
Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 1812 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Edward.giovannucci@channing.harvard.edu

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. Preventable measures for this malignancy are not well established. Among potentially beneficial natural compounds is the carotenoid lycopene, which is derived largely from tomato-based products. Recent epidemiologic studies have suggested a potential benefit of this carotenoid against the risk of prostate cancer, particularly the more lethal forms of this cancer. Five studies support a 30% to 40% reduction in risk associated with high tomato or lycopene consumption, three are consistent with a 30% reduction in risk, but the results were not statistically significant, and seven were not supportive of an association. The largest relevant dietary study, a prospective study in male health professionals found that consumption of two to four servings of tomato sauce per week was associated with about a 35% risk reduction of total prostate cancer and a 50% reduction of advanced (extraprostatic) prostate cancer. Tomato sauce was by far the strongest predictor of plasma lycopene levels in this study. In the largest plasma-based study, very similar risk reductions were observed for total and advanced prostate cancer for the highest versus lowest quintile of lycopene. Other studies, mostly dietary case-control studies, have not been as supportive of this hypothesis. The reasons for these inconsistencies are unclear, but in three of the seven null studies, tomato consumption or serum lycopene level may have been too low to observe an effect. Because the concentration and bioavailability of lycopene vary greatly across the various food items, dietary questionnaires vary markedly in their usefulness of estimating the true variation in tissue lycopene concentrations across individuals. To optimize the interpretation of future findings, the usefulness of the questionnaire to measure lycopene levels in a population should be directly assessed. Although not definitive, the available data suggest that increased consumption of tomatoes and tomato-based products may be prudent.

PMID: 12424325

[spaceistheplace]

Your breakfast is very high in sugar and low in protein. Try adding more complete protein to your morning meals.

[Moonbeam]

^^^Yea, that's what I was thinking. Adding some sardines would work for both protein and good fat. They're easy to just put in a salad.

[Dmitri]

your diet seems to contain a lot of carbs and little fat.

But they're good carbs are they not? Fruits, veggies, beans.

[Dmitri]

Your breakfast is very high in sugar and low in protein. Try adding more complete protein to your morning meals.

I took your recommendation and decided to make myself a protein shake in the morning. Although, I add and blend strawberries + banana or banana + wild blueberries into the shake for added antioxidants. I also ditched the cranberry juice, orange juice, apple and peach and simply stuck with yogurt (pro-biotic), sunflower nuts and whole grain waffles or eggs with no salt and whole grain bread; I alternate between the two daily as shown in my schedule, I don't eat the eggs and waffles on the same day.

Edited by Dmitri, 26 August 2008 - 05:44 AM.

[shadowrun]

Your breakfast is very high in sugar and low in protein. Try adding more complete protein to your morning meals.

I took your recommendation and decided to make myself a protein shake in the morning. Although, I add and blend strawberries + banana or banana + wild blueberries into the shake for added antioxidants. I also ditched the cranberry juice, orange juice, apple and peach and simply stuck with yogurt (pro-biotic), sunflower nuts and whole grain waffles or eggs with no salt and whole grain bread; I alternate between the two daily as shown in my schedule, I don't eat the eggs and waffles on the same day.

Those are some great changes to your diet and you are far ahead of the curve of the general populace.
As far as I know there isn't anything wrong with a moderate amount of salt intake - Especially if you have no heart or blood problems.
If anyone knows and would care to enlighten us i'm sure we'd all be happy to know.

From what I know the best fruits are the ones with the most edible skin and or seeds to fruit volume - This is why Berries are a popular, you have to eat the skin and they are chock full of little seeds. I beleive grapes are an exception due to high sugar content.
Berries, Kiwi, small apples, plums have more nutrients and less sugar by volume than Bananas, pineapples, oranges, Large Peaches...

Be careful with the yogurt brand you choose - Yogurt itself has its own natural sugar and most manufacturers will add even more sugar to the flavored mixes.

If you can't eat beef unless its burnt...I wouldn't eat it at all - Massive amounts of AGE's from burned meat and its highly inflammatory - Even if it was organic grass fed beef most of the nutrition will be gone.

Anyone have an opinion on buffalo meat? - I tried a medium rare buffalo burger yesterday and it was pretty good. I read the package later and realized that the buffaloes were conventionally raised. I assumed they'd of been running around eating prarie grass - I'm sure it affected its nutritional profile

[edDe]

Your diet looks pretty good.

But it's difficult to decide how much vegetables you are eating per day. How many
cups of "mixed pieces for vegetables" are in each meal ?

As a point of comparison, I eat about 10+ cups of vegetables per day, and 2-3 cups of fruit
(mainly berries).

[spaceistheplace]

Anyone have an opinion on buffalo meat? - I tried a medium rare buffalo burger yesterday and it was pretty good. I read the package later and realized that the buffaloes were conventionally raised. I assumed they'd of been running around eating prarie grass - I'm sure it affected its nutritional profile

I've never seen conventionally raised buffalo. I think it's against the law to use hormones and antibiotics on them, although they still could be corn-fed.

[Dmitri]

Your breakfast is very high in sugar and low in protein. Try adding more complete protein to your morning meals.

I took your recommendation and decided to make myself a protein shake in the morning. Although, I add and blend strawberries + banana or banana + wild blueberries into the shake for added antioxidants. I also ditched the cranberry juice, orange juice, apple and peach and simply stuck with yogurt (pro-biotic), sunflower nuts and whole grain waffles or eggs with no salt and whole grain bread; I alternate between the two daily as shown in my schedule, I don't eat the eggs and waffles on the same day.

Those are some great changes to your diet and you are far ahead of the curve of the general populace.
As far as I know there isn't anything wrong with a moderate amount of salt intake - Especially if you have no heart or blood problems.
If anyone knows and would care to enlighten us i'm sure we'd all be happy to know.

From what I know the best fruits are the ones with the most edible skin and or seeds to fruit volume - This is why Berries are a popular, you have to eat the skin and they are chock full of little seeds. I beleive grapes are an exception due to high sugar content.
Berries, Kiwi, small apples, plums have more nutrients and less sugar by volume than Bananas, pineapples, oranges, Large Peaches...

Be careful with the yogurt brand you choose - Yogurt itself has its own natural sugar and most manufacturers will add even more sugar to the flavored mixes.

If you can't eat beef unless its burnt...I wouldn't eat it at all - Massive amounts of AGE's from burned meat and its highly inflammatory - Even if it was organic grass fed beef most of the nutrition will be gone.

Anyone have an opinion on buffalo meat? - I tried a medium rare buffalo burger yesterday and it was pretty good. I read the package later and realized that the buffaloes were conventionally raised. I assumed they'd of been running around eating prarie grass - I'm sure it affected its nutritional profile

Thank you for letting me know about burnt beef, I had no idea it had massive amounts of AGE's.

[spacey]

What about peanut butter? I happen to love it, AFAIK I don't see anything bad with it besides the roasted peanuts containing AGEs. But is it truly that bad if you'd compare it to regular butter? (Which isn't an alternative for me since I don't eat dairy)

[Dmitri]

I had another change in my regimen. It's not dietary though, I no longer use stationary cycling; I decided to replace it with 20 minutes of Pilates.

[stephen_b]

Anyone have an opinion on buffalo meat? - I tried a medium rare buffalo burger ...

Sure, I have lots of opinions.

In general, I'd avoid ground meat when possible, for a few reasons. Burgers come from many individual animals, all mixed together. Does that make it less safe? I don't know. There is a better reason for avoiding it, I think. Bad bacteria (like E. coli) are found on the exposed areas of meat, but not on the inside. To kill them, you'd have to cook ground meat thoroughly, raising the AGE content of the meat substantially, which is my main concern. On the other hand, a steak cooked just enough to kill any surface bacteria will have a higher overall nutritional content than a well done burger.

I am assuming that the presence of parasites inside the meat is far less likely than bacteria on the outside.

BTW, anyone notice how soaking meat in olive oil before cooking keeps meat so much more tender?

Stephen

[Dmitri]

Your breakfast is very high in sugar and low in protein. Try adding more complete protein to your morning meals.

I took your recommendation and decided to make myself a protein shake in the morning. Although, I add and blend strawberries + banana or banana + wild blueberries into the shake for added antioxidants. I also ditched the cranberry juice, orange juice, apple and peach and simply stuck with yogurt (pro-biotic), sunflower nuts and whole grain waffles or eggs with no salt and whole grain bread; I alternate between the two daily as shown in my schedule, I don't eat the eggs and waffles on the same day.

Those are some great changes to your diet and you are far ahead of the curve of the general populace.
As far as I know there isn't anything wrong with a moderate amount of salt intake - Especially if you have no heart or blood problems.
If anyone knows and would care to enlighten us i'm sure we'd all be happy to know.

From what I know the best fruits are the ones with the most edible skin and or seeds to fruit volume - This is why Berries are a popular, you have to eat the skin and they are chock full of little seeds. I beleive grapes are an exception due to high sugar content.
Berries, Kiwi, small apples, plums have more nutrients and less sugar by volume than Bananas, pineapples, oranges, Large Peaches...

I made another switch, I eat whole grain crisp bread and light rye crisp bread; I suppose it's healthier than regular whole grain bread since it has 0 fat and 50-60% less calories. Also, thank you for your recommendations.

[Dmitri]

Your diet looks pretty good.

But it's difficult to decide how much vegetables you are eating per day. How many
cups of "mixed pieces for vegetables" are in each meal ?

As a point of comparison, I eat about 10+ cups of vegetables per day, and 2-3 cups of fruit
(mainly berries).

I believe I eat about 4-5 cups of vegetables a day, and about 4 cups of fruits; I guess I should increase the vegetable intake. Also, I forgot to mention that the rice I eat is whole grain.

[REGIMEN]

Your breakfast is very high in sugar and low in protein. Try adding more complete protein to your morning meals.

I took your recommendation and decided to make myself a protein shake in the morning. Although, I add and blend strawberries + banana or banana + wild blueberries into the shake for added antioxidants. I also ditched the cranberry juice, orange juice, apple and peach and simply stuck with yogurt (pro-biotic), sunflower nuts and whole grain waffles or eggs with no salt and whole grain bread; I alternate between the two daily as shown in my schedule, I don't eat the eggs and waffles on the same day.

Those are some great changes to your diet and you are far ahead of the curve of the general populace.
As far as I know there isn't anything wrong with a moderate amount of salt intake - Especially if you have no heart or blood problems.
If anyone knows and would care to enlighten us i'm sure we'd all be happy to know.

From what I know the best fruits are the ones with the most edible skin and or seeds to fruit volume - This is why Berries are a popular, you have to eat the skin and they are chock full of little seeds. I beleive grapes are an exception due to high sugar content.
Berries, Kiwi, small apples, plums have more nutrients and less sugar by volume than Bananas, pineapples, oranges, Large Peaches...

I made another switch, I eat whole grain crisp bread and light rye crisp bread; I suppose it's healthier than regular whole grain bread since it has 0 fat and 50-60% less calories. Also, thank you for your recommendations.

"Light rye crisp bread" is basically all white flour as are any of the Scandinavian-style crisp breads; I used to like them, too. Consider looking in the freezer section for sourdough Rye bread. They're thin slices but hearty enough to stand on their own and have a ton of flavor. Rye has excellent effects on liver health which is amplified further by the sour culture of this style of bread.

The fruit in your original diet listing was fine for the 85 minutes of daily exercise. Good changes all around. Consider adding walnuts, tahini, and lentils as they are all excellent from both a scientific and TCM approach.

Ah, bananas. Quit those. They too easily produce Damp and Cold in the body. At very least avoid during the colder months of the year that are approaching. Unless you cook them up with some cinnamon, ginger, slivered almonds, and coconut milk.

[Dmitri]

Your breakfast is very high in sugar and low in protein. Try adding more complete protein to your morning meals.

I took your recommendation and decided to make myself a protein shake in the morning. Although, I add and blend strawberries + banana or banana + wild blueberries into the shake for added antioxidants. I also ditched the cranberry juice, orange juice, apple and peach and simply stuck with yogurt (pro-biotic), sunflower nuts and whole grain waffles or eggs with no salt and whole grain bread; I alternate between the two daily as shown in my schedule, I don't eat the eggs and waffles on the same day.

Those are some great changes to your diet and you are far ahead of the curve of the general populace.
As far as I know there isn't anything wrong with a moderate amount of salt intake - Especially if you have no heart or blood problems.
If anyone knows and would care to enlighten us i'm sure we'd all be happy to know.

From what I know the best fruits are the ones with the most edible skin and or seeds to fruit volume - This is why Berries are a popular, you have to eat the skin and they are chock full of little seeds. I beleive grapes are an exception due to high sugar content.
Berries, Kiwi, small apples, plums have more nutrients and less sugar by volume than Bananas, pineapples, oranges, Large Peaches...

I made another switch, I eat whole grain crisp bread and light rye crisp bread; I suppose it's healthier than regular whole grain bread since it has 0 fat and 50-60% less calories. Also, thank you for your recommendations.

"Light rye crisp bread" is basically all white flour as are any of the Scandinavian-style crisp breads; I used to like them, too. Consider looking in the freezer section for sourdough Rye bread. They're thin slices but hearty enough to stand on their own and have a ton of flavor. Rye has excellent effects on liver health which is amplified further by the sour culture of this style of bread.

The fruit in your original diet listing was fine for the 85 minutes of daily exercise. Good changes all around. Consider adding walnuts, tahini, and lentils as they are all excellent from both a scientific and TCM approach.

Ah, bananas. Quit those. They too easily produce Damp and Cold in the body. At very least avoid during the colder months of the year that are approaching. Unless you cook them up with some cinnamon, ginger, slivered almonds, and coconut milk.

I thought there was nothing wrong with the light rye crisp bread considering it has 0 fat, 17 grams of whole grain, 13 grams of Fiber and only 30 calories, but I'll look for the one you recommended. As for the banana I use them to add taste and thickness to the protein shake; is there anything else I can use instead of bananas (as I mentioned before I also add strawberries and wild blueberries but the shake doesn't get as thick with those two alone)?

I also eat lentils from time to time (not every week though). Anyway, someone mentioned that roasted peanuts had AGEs, do you know if roasted sunflower nuts contain AGEs as well?

[REGIMEN]

Dmitri

I thought there was nothing wrong with the light rye crisp bread considering it has 0 fat, 17 grams of whole grain, 13 grams of Fiber and only 30 calories, but I'll look for the one you recommended. As for the banana I use them to add taste and thickness to the protein shake; is there anything else I can use instead of bananas (as I mentioned before I also add strawberries and wild blueberries but the shake doesn't get as thick with those two alone)?

I also eat lentils from time to time (not every week though). Anyway, someone mentioned that roasted peanuts had AGEs, do you know if roasted sunflower nuts contain AGEs as well?

Rye Crisp bread:
I know that I feel the same way after eating rye crisp bread as I do after consuming generic white-flour crackers. As for the sourdough rye bread in the freezer section try your local organic grocery or Wh0leF00ds type place since that's where I get mine; wouldn't want to send you off on a wild goose chase.

Peanuts question:
I'm not certain about AGEs but all nuts in general begin to turn rancid very soon after de-shelling; pinenuts especially. Best route is unshelled nuts and crack them to order. I'm personally looking in to buying organic unshelled walnuts and a vacuum sealer. Almonds may be the easiest all-around for this unshelled issue. Light roasting in the oven helps to decrease the bad effects of rancid nuts and also makes nuts more digestable. Keep a close watch as nuts roast quickly (5-8 min. at about 300'F); just enough so you can smell their oils heat up, give a shake half way through to flip them and then let them air-cool. Seems like a lot of work but if you pulled off this circus once a week you'd be alright.

Bananas for thickening:
This might be one of those cases where texture should take a back seat to nutrition and digestibility, imo. All those banana starches(starch=thickener)... it just doesn't seem to fit your profile.

Edited by liplex, 08 September 2008 - 01:45 AM.

[Dmitri]

Dmitri

I thought there was nothing wrong with the light rye crisp bread considering it has 0 fat, 17 grams of whole grain, 13 grams of Fiber and only 30 calories, but I'll look for the one you recommended. As for the banana I use them to add taste and thickness to the protein shake; is there anything else I can use instead of bananas (as I mentioned before I also add strawberries and wild blueberries but the shake doesn't get as thick with those two alone)?

I also eat lentils from time to time (not every week though). Anyway, someone mentioned that roasted peanuts had AGEs, do you know if roasted sunflower nuts contain AGEs as well?

Rye Crisp bread:
I know that I feel the same way after eating rye crisp bread as I do after consuming generic white-flour crackers. As for the sourdough rye bread in the freezer section try your local organic grocery or Wh0leF00ds type place since that's where I get mine; wouldn't want to send you off on a wild goose chase.

Peanuts question:
I'm not certain about AGEs but all nuts in general begin to turn rancid very soon after de-shelling; pinenuts especially. Best route is unshelled nuts and crack them to order. I'm personally looking in to buying organic unshelled walnuts and a vacuum sealer. Almonds may be the easiest all-around for this unshelled issue. Light roasting in the oven helps to decrease the bad effects of rancid nuts and also makes nuts more digestable. Keep a close watch as nuts roast quickly (5-8 min. at about 300'F); just enough so you can smell their oils heat up, give a shake half way through to flip them and then let them air-cool. Seems like a lot of work but if you pulled off this circus once a week you'd be alright.

Bananas for thickening:
This might be one of those cases where texture should take a back seat to nutrition and digestibility, imo. All those banana starches(starch=thickener)... it just doesn't seem to fit your profile.

Thanks for the info. I looked for the Sourdough rye bread and couldn't find it at Wal-Mart or Target, so I think I'll have better luck at Whole Foods like you mentioned. As for the sunflower nuts question, I was asking because I buy them already packaged; the bag says they’re roasted (no salt) sunflower nuts. I eat them because my pyramid says I should only get fats from nuts, fish and vegetable oils and since most of my diet is almost no fat and I only eat fish twice a week, I eat the nuts everyday to get some needed healthy fat. I also changed the milk from 0 fat to 1% (it’s still lactose free though) so that my body has a bit more fat to store vitamins A, D, E and K.

I believe I will eat Kiwi from now instead of Bananas; someone mentioned it has DNA repair properties.