Healthy diet - where do I start?

[Saidin]

I live a reasonably healthy life, except for the eating part. I'd really like to change that, but I don't know where to start.

I read on this forum that eating meat isn't good for you, but I don't know why. Milk's not too good either, but why not? And more importantly: what is good? Where do I start? I'd really like to:

• Create some kind of eating list with breakfasts, lunches and dinners,
• Know why the food and drinks on this list is good for me.

[skinnyninja]

I just bought a bunch of fruits and veggies recently and I'm experimenting. Normally, I eat primarily red meat and junk food. I'm thinking that some of my possible goals are going to be:

-Severely limit meat intake, maybe chicken for dinner.

-Start eating at least one serving of veggies and one serving of fruit with each meal.

-Replace coffee and pop with juice

I have no need to lose weight, I just want to eat healthier. Also, my brother-in-law has a degree in nutrition so I will talk to him for some advice. Right now I am still experimenting--i'm not ready to set firm goals and start a 30 day trial just yet.

[Keith]

Probably the simplest starting point is to ensure that you're getting enough fruit & veg.

Aim to get 50+% of your diet from fruit and veg.

As to why milk isn't good for you, start here: Milk Sucks!

One excerpt:
"One study, funded by the National Dairy Council, involved giving a group of postmenopausal women three 8-ounce glasses of skim milk per day for two years and comparing their bones to those of a control group of women not given the milk. The dairy group consumed 1,400 mg of calcium per day and lost bone at twice the rate of the control group. According to the researchers, "This may have been due to the average 30 percent increase in protein intake during milk supplementation ... The adverse effect of increases in protein intake on calcium balance has been reported from several laboratories, including our own"".

[Alarin]

My main recommendation, and the one diet change which has made a major improvement in my life, is simply - drink heaps of water. It should be plain water and filtered, I just have a Britta jug and I change the filter every 6 weeks so I'm getting the goodness of water without all the chemicals and rubbish coming from the tap. By drinking at least 2 litres of water a day (I drink 3 litres +) you help your body flush out toxins, keep you healthy, and hydrate your brain which improves concentration, memory, and all that good stuff.

Avoid soft drinks (Coke, Sprite, etc), they're two kinds of bad for your body - they fill your bloodstream with sugar and they're carbonated so they rob the body of oxygen, both things which make it harder for your body to fight off illness. Be careful with fruit juice too, a lot of it is mostly added sugar.

This is an absolutely enormous topic, and I've done a fair bit of research on it over the years, but instead of trying to explain it all here I'll point you to some good resources that really helped me, and also tell you what I personally eat and drink based on all this research. Good diet does actually make a big difference and I find I'm very healthy on my current diet, have heaps of energy, and very rarely get sick.


First resources, I recommend:

The Worlds Healthiest Foods

100 Quick and Easy Healthy Foods

Lessons from the Miracle Doctors - This free pdf book is out there and should be taken with a grain of salt, but it's eye-opening and definately worth reading, it also gives the answers to the kinds of questions you've asked. Normally this book is available from http://www.jonbarron.org but the site seems to be down at the moment so I've uploaded it to my webspace for you.


And this is what I eat on a day-to-day basis, it doesn't change much and I find I'm very healthy, stay thin, and have heaps of energy eating this way.

Breakfast - Two weetbix with soy milk and honey. Cup of tea.

Morning tea - Raisin toast with olive spread (margerine alternative).

Lunch - Tomato soup with brown bread OR boiled potato with tinned tuna and some brocolli + lemon and salt OR a big bowl of brocolli, zuchinni, carrots and mushrooms steamed with water, soy sauce and a bit of butter.

Afternoon tea - Cup of tea or coffee and a pear.

Dinner - Baked chicken and vegetables OR salmon mornay with brown rice OR roast lamb and vegetables OR a tomato and mushroom omellette (free range eggs).

Before bed - Rice Puffs (cereal) with honey and soy milk.


I hope that helps

[Alarin]

Oh I also take Juice Plus supplements every morning, they're basically all the vitamins and minerals of fresh vegetables compacted into tablet form (they have capsules, chewable tablets and gummies). They definately help keep me healthy and especially boost immunity.

[madgeylou]

for the "why" behind not consuming animal products, read "the china study."

it was the book that prompted me to do my 30 day vegan experiment, which has evolved into almost a full year of near-veganism (i eat eggs and cheese maybe once a week). i'm still trying to ramp my diet up to include enough vegs and fruits -- i succeed about half the time -- but giving up most animal products has been a snap for me.

i notice that i get a lot fewer head colds/congestion, even in cold weather. this used to be a big problem for me and i think it's mostly due to dairy.

here's the general plan of what i eat:

breakfast: a few pieces of fruit, plus 1-2 cups of tea with soymilk
lunch: a big bowl of soup (bean, veggie, split pea, or lentil) or a huge salad with lots of beans and veggies on it (like a head of romaine with spicy black beans and salsa on top)
dinner: some sort of casserole (chickpea/broccoli or some such), baked tofu, veggies, cooked greens, maybe another salad

when i stick to this plan, i feel very healthy and energetic and clean, like a machine that is well maintained and all fueled up.

good luck! "the china study" is an amazing read.

[escapee]

Find the following interesting ..

potential pitfall for vegans & recommended nutritional lifestyle

Nutrition and Lifestyle Recommendations

1. Make whole plant foods the foundation of your diet.

Emphasize (non-genetically modified, organically grown) whole foods (“foods as grown”). Include a variety of fresh, colourful vegetables, including green leafy vegetables on a daily basis, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains*.

(*If there is any question of gluten intolerance - e.g. abdominal cramps, bloating, diarrhoea or hives after eating wheat, barley, oats and rye – consider eliminating products made from those grains and emphasize low-gluten grains like quinoa, millet & buckwheat.)

2. Minimize refined carbohydrates – both sugars and starches.

Refined sugars such as white sugar, brown sugar, syrups, candy and sodas, as well as refined starches, such as white flour products and white rice products, crowd out foods that nourish and protect us, and contribute to a variety of health problems. These foods cause oxidative damage to tissues and contribute to premature aging of the body. They elevate blood sugar levels, adversely affect blood lipids (particularly triglycerides), and increase risk for type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes, as well as cardiovascular diseases and gastro-intestinal disorders.

3. Include a healthful intake and balance of essential fatty acids.

Aim for 3 to 5 grams of alpha-linolenic acid per day for most adults. This can be achieved by consuming 2 T. freshly ground flax seeds or 2 tsp. of fresh flaxseed oil daily (add to gravies, cereals, smoothies, salads etc.), or an equal amount of alpha-linolenic acid from a combination of foods such as hempseed oil, hempseeds, walnuts and organic canola oil. If taking omega-3 fats in the above forms is impractical or undesirable, consider taking an algae-derived DHA supplement (300 mg./day, in “vegi-cap”), available at natural food stores. This is particularly important for those who may have increased needs (e.g. pregnant or lactating women), or reduced ability to convert alpha-linolenic acid to EPA and DHA (e.g. people with diabetes or hypertension).

4. Assure an adequate protein intake (approximately 60 to 90 grams per day for vegan adults.)

Liberally ingest protein-rich foods – lentils, chickpeas, beans, tempeh, tofu, and other legumes, as well as nuts, seeds, and products made from them.

5. Assure an adequate supply of trace minerals.

Consume ample helpings of dark green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, root vegetables and fruits. It is not enough to eat the minerals – you must absorb them. So, break up the plant fibres by chewing your foods well and/or using food preparations methods that help to break up plant fibres – cooking (e.g. soups or stews), grinding, juicing, grating or pureeing.

6. Insure a reliable source of vitamin B12.

Reliable sources include fortified foods and supplements. Fortified foods such as non-dairy beverages (rice-based and soy-based drinks), Red Star nutritional yeast (Vegetarian Support Formula), and some cereals are good choices. Select at least two servings of these foods each day, with at a total of at least 3 mcg. of B12 in total.

If there is any doubt that your intake of B-12 may not be sufficient (as is common with many long-term vegans), then a vitamin B12 supplement is advised. Take a sublingual “microdot” of approximately 2000 mcg. vitamin B12 at least once a week. When using large amounts of B-12, only 0.5 to 1.0% will be absorbed - thus high intakes are required to insure sufficient absorption.

7. Keep sodium intake to not more than 2400 mg per day, and preferably around 1800 mg per day.

About 75% of the sodium in most diets comes from processed foods, and about 20% is added at the table. This is one more reason to limit processed foods (meat analogs, canned soups etc.). Use flavoured vinegars, lemon juice and other low-sodium taste enhancers, rather than soy sauce and other salty seasonings.

Note: Athletes, especially those living in warm climates may require higher amounts of sodium in their diets.

8. Eliminate trans fatty acids.

Commonly found in processed foods containing “hydrogenated vegetable oil,” “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” or shortening (read the labels!), trans fatty acids distort the shape, flexibility and permeability of cell membranes, thus compromising their function and increasing risk for artery disease, type 2 diabetes, and possibly some cancers. Again, minimize processed foods and emphasize fresh, whole foods.

9. Consider taking a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement.

If there is any question of adequate intake of any given vitamin, mineral or essential fat, consider taking a high-potency (vegetarian) multivitamin-mineral preparation (tablet or liquid or powder) daily, or approximately 2-3 times per week. This supplement should contain the following nutrients in approximately these amounts:

iodine – 150 mcg, zinc - 15 mg, copper – 1-2 mg, boron - 2 mg, vitamin K - 0.5 mg, and vitamin D2 – 5 mcg.

Other possibly helpful supplements to consider would be:

a calcium/magnesium supplement (approximately 1000 mg. of calcium and 800-1000 mg. of magnesium), as well as 300 mg of algae-derived DHA and 10 mcg. vitamin B12 daily or 2000 mcg. vitamin B-12 weekly.

10. Be sure to get a consistent reliable source of vitamin D.

The best place to get your vitamin D is sunshine. Aim for about 20-30 minutes on your face and forearms each day, and more if you have dark skin. (Such brief exposure times will not damage your skin or increase cancer risk, and will produce substantial benefits for your immune system.) If you live in a cooler climate, sunshine will not be intense enough to produce vitamin D during the winter months, and you will need to rely on fortified foods such as fortified non-dairy beverages or vitamin D supplements. Vitamin D3 is generally derived from animal sources, while vitamin D2 is plant-based.

11. Try to get 20 to 30 minutes of active, weight-bearing exercise at least every other day.

Include a balance of cardiovascular, flexibility and strength exercises.

12. For optimal health, a positive mental and emotional state is essential – and possibly more important than nutritional intake. Life is about more than avoiding disease and death. Get as much love, laughter and meaningful service into your daily life as possible. Make your life a reflection of your hopes, dreams and joys.

[thadroe]

Also, get some cookbooks that are centered around vegetarian eating. It seems that the biggest struggle most people have when trying to eat more plant food, is simply what to do with it and how to prepare it. Many people are only used to eating some bland frozen vegetables on the side of our plate.

Continually experiment with new recipes. Get some books and search the web. It's helpful to maybe start with a main ingredient, like cauliflower, and search for recipes out there. Use trial and error and keep trying to find recipes you like.

For most people like myself, changing over to a healthy diet required spending a lot of time re-learning how to prepare foods.

Thad

[gberardi]

Originally Posted by Saidin

I live a reasonably healthy life, except for the eating part. I'd really like to change that, but I don't know where to start.

I felt the same way last year, although I didn't think that my eating was too unhealthy. I found that I was still eating as much as I did in high school, even though I am no longer playing soccer or having gym class everyday. I would eat ham and cheese sandwiches, or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I would eat Triscuits or other crackers.

I didn't become vegetarian until very recently, but last year I decided to change my diet by adding more fruits and vegetables as well as cutting back on some of the extra food I ate. I was a proud member of the Clean Plate Club. If it was in front of me, I had to finish it. I eventually learned to say no when I was full. I also stopped packing that second sandwich for lunch.

So if you can start incorporating more unprocessed plants into your diet, even if you don't completely drop all the unhealthy things, it should be a "good start" to eating a healthier diet.

At my day job, a coworker has a bowl of candy. Each day, I would take a piece of candy. Maybe two or three pieces. I decided one day not to take the candy. I can have one tomorrow, but I can't have one today. And I did it. It was a nice sense of accomplishment, even if it didn't amount to much. The idea, however, was that I was in control. I told my temptation no, and I basically trained myself to say no to things that, in the end, I don't really want. I tried it for a few days, then a week. I've been without candy or donuts or pretty much any daily junk food for quite a few weeks now (a month? I lost track).

So in summary, you can easily cut back at least a little bit of the junk and add at least a little bit of the good. Supposedly people who like sweets will also like fruits, so switching out an apple for an apple flavored sucker is a great deal.

Just beware. If you told me last year that I would be eating a vegan diet, I would have thought you were crazy. I've read a lot about nutrition and health in that year, though. You start out making little changes. The next thing you know, you're being amazingly conscious of the things you eat and do. B-)

[Wanderer]

5 very simple healthy tips

1) Drink lots of water, its one of the purest things on earth and will almost certainly help rid your body of toxins etc.

2) Buy a fruit bowl, mine consists almost exclusively of apples and oranges, but any fruit is equally good, whenever you get peckish reach for some fruit rather than the dreaded biscuit box!

3) The healthiest meat is poultry, so if you increase your intake of that (chicken, turkey etc.), and reduce intake of red meats that should also help.

4) Salads rock! lettuce, carrots, potatoes, peppers, pasta, onions, etc. all mixed up in a big bowl will last for days and is very filling and easy to make, you can just whip it up using whatever is in the cubboards (pretty much)

5) Avoid junk food, fried food, chocolate and alcohol, notice i said avoid and not cut out of your diet entirely, I rarely eat at McDonalds, but maybe twice a year allow myself a meal from their. Just refusing it altogether makes it more likely to come crashing down at some point, whilst limiting it works better.

Above all the most important tip I have is to listen to your body, if it doesnt feel good after 5 bags of candyfloss dont eat 5 bags of candyfloss.

[alexanderbecker]

Originally Posted by Saidin

I read on this forum that eating meat isn't good for you, but I don't know why. Milk's not too good either, but why not? And more importantly: what is good? Where do I start? I'd really like to:

• Create some kind of eating list with breakfasts, lunches and dinners,
• Know why the food and drinks on this list is good for me.

Hi Saidin, below is a list I compiled for the purposes of general eating, not following any specific diet, be it vegan or warrior or whatever you like --

1. Keep a journal and note every bit you eat for a period of at least two weeks.
2. Measure and log your weight, daily.
3. Change your eating habits and your lifestyle, do not go on a diet only temporarily.
4. Do not starve or deprive your body of any food group, do not avoid all fats or all carbs.
5. Eat consciously, resolve to eat healthily, replace unhealthy food with healthy food, one item at a time.
6. Eat in moderation, eat less than your metabolism burns, excess energy is stored as fat.
7. Eat natural instead of processed, organic instead of refined foods.
8. Eat more fruits and vegetables and nuts.
9. Eat less starchy (potatoes, rice, bread, pasta, or beans) and more fibrous foods.
10. There are no miracle pills.

The full post is archived at WOW: 10 Diet Tips for Successful, Sustainable Fatloss and Long-Term Health Benefits (General dieting principles based on common -- yet often ignored -- sense.)

And as for the milk, there is almost conflicting evidence, although I tend to go against dairy produce for human consumption, the logic against drinking another species' milk is kind of compelling and also, I personally feel so much better without milk and cheese and the like in my diet.

Reference: Dairy Products as Part of a Healthy Diet?

[Saidin]

Great replies in this thread. Thanks everybody.

For someone starting eating more consciously, I guess the best way to start is eat more of the good stuff and less of the bad stuff. Reading the above I get the feeling I radically need to change my eating habits, however, starting slowly will probably make it easier to make those changes permanent.

Thanks for the great links and replies. More links and comments are always welcome.

[ahimel]

Originally Posted by Saidin

Reading the above I get the feeling I radically need to change my eating habits, however, starting slowly will probably make it easier to make those changes permanent.

Definitly! Health food nuts often give other people the impression that if you don't eat an exclusively vegan diet of locally-grown or locally-made natural foods, you're a hideous slob in danger of immenant heart attack. I don't think we mean to, it's just the level of health food we're thinking at, which may or may not be appropriate to the level of health food you're at.

I would start with the small changes. Drink more water. Don't try to change anything you're eating, just make sure you get 64 oz of water each day. You'll eat less automatically.

Or replace one soda/day with an 8oz glass of juice.

Or replace potato chips and ranch dip with tortilla chips and salsa. You'll drastically reduce total fat and saturated fat, improve the sodium level, gain antioxidants and get a serving of vegetables! Easily a 50% improvement.
By contrast, changing that to homemade tortilla chips and farmer's market salsa, while it does reduce sodium further and eliminate chemical preservatives, is more like a 5% improvement. Definitly worth doing, but not nearly as important as the first step.

After you're comfortable making some changes in your diet, try to adjust your intake to create a balanced diet. Try to get no more than 30% of your calories from fat. Determine how much protein you really need. Start with the USDA food pyramid. It's far from perfect, but it's almost certainly an improvement on what you're currently eating.

Then do your own experiments and see what you want to do. Cut dairy for a month and see whether you feel better or worse. Cut red meat for a month; cut all meat for a month; eat only raw foods. The possibilities are almost endless.

Also, I refer you to the previous thread, The Cumulative Guide to Nutrition.

[mita121]

Hey Saidin, What are you saying mate? According to you, you are leading healthy life without a healthy diet. How it can be possible, man? See, Our health mainly depends on our food habits. Nevertheless, try to avoid junk foods from restaurants. Also make sure to avoid red meat as far as possible. Milk can be allowed provided that you can digest it. Always try to take green vegetables.

[Saidin]

Originally Posted by mita121

Hey Saidin, What are you saying mate? According to you, you are leading healthy life without a healthy diet. How it can be possible, man? See, Our health mainly depends on our food habits. Nevertheless, try to avoid junk foods from restaurants. Also make sure to avoid red meat as far as possible. Milk can be allowed provided that you can digest it. Always try to take green vegetables.

Heh, thanks for your first post to be one to critique what I said. In any case, my health wasn't bad, just my eating habits. These too weren't awful. Just not good either. It's not that I was fat or even overweight, but that's partly because I sport too much for that to happen.

So, here's what I changed the last year:

• I drink less milk, going from 1 gallon per week to about 1/4 gallon.
• I drink 2 to 3 liters of water at work (monday to friday), but not yet in the weekends.
• I drink fruit juices in the weekends. Currently looking for juices without added sugars
• I eat almost no pork and far less red meat. I don't feel like giving up meat completely.
• I eat more fish, but not enough by far (at most once a week)
• I eat more vegetables per meal/day
• I eat less snacks (at most once a week now, from 4-5 times a week)
• I eat less junk food instead of dinner (from once a week to once or at most twice a month)

I really, really need to buy more fruit. I find that when I buy more fruit, I also eat more fruit. However, I always leave a small part of it in the fruit bowl too long so it starts to rot. Then I feel it's a waste of money, which makes me doubt (when in the store) wheather I should buy fruit or not.

So, there's still room for improvement, but it's also much better than how I used to eat.

[escapee]

When it comes to the subject of health, i recommend Brian Peskin .with no reservation. My intuition tells me that he is the only "expert" that has the 3 three "modern" deadly chronic diseases by the throat but i can be wrong.

http://brianpeskin.com/townsend-2007/townsend-2007.pdf

It's been almost a year. What a journey to look for the answer.

[JoannaC]

I feel so much better when I avoid dairy

For me, I have a corn allergy which was only diagnosed in the last year, and I was shocked at how much my eating simplified and my grocery bill went down when I started becoming vigilant about not bringing corn into the house. That stuff is in everything! Most snack foods and prepared foods are out for me. If you emilinate corn (or at least, corn syrup) from your diet, you will not be able to buy all those empty calorie snack foods.