When it comes to figuring out what are the best things to fuel your body with, the opinions are vast and contradicting. As we’ve really found out in 2020, experts are a dime a dozen. And, most of our experts find it necessary to be controversial to be noticed.
Tomatoes are a super food that prevents cancer. Tomatoes are an acid forming food that goes against the optimum health provided by an alkaline forming diet. Tomatoes, according to the gut doctor Steven Gundry, should be avoided.
So, let’s read this right. A fruit (not a vegetable) that is known to be super food in the prevention of cancer also contributes to an acidic environment that makes for a great home for cancer to thrive? Not to mention, this fruit is an important part of the diet of a number of ‘blue zone’ communities around the world where people more often than anywhere else live to 100 years old and beyond.
Confusing? Absolutely.
Nuts are a super food. They are packed with many, many vitamins and minerals. The gut doctor loves most of them but for sure not cashews. Most, with the exception of almonds, are acid forming. Oh, and if we’re still counting calories, nuts are packed with them.
Super food? Confusing? Absolutely.
Mushrooms are one of the only vegan sources of vitamin D. But, they contain D2, not D3. It’s D3 that humans need, right? Well, according to an article from the Harvard Medical School (a reliable source, I would think…) it doesn’t really matter, as long as it’s D.
Confusing? Absolutely.
Oh, one more. Legumes. AKA beans. Heralded as a super food and the best source of non-animal protein. Beans have incredible nutrition and all the fibre a body would ever want. Yet, the gut doctor has a low opinion because they contain lectins. But, many, many other sources claim the lectins are de-activated with the cooking process. But, then again, most are acid forming.
Confusing, Absolutely.
What’s My Take?
Again, I am not a certified dietician, nutritionist, doctor, nurse, etc. But, I’ve read a lot of the many opinions out there. These sources are not quacks. But, their opinions do vary, sometimes substantially.
My method to fueling my lifestyle shift that has rocketed me to weight loss and incredibly increased levels of health and fitness is a bit of a mix plucked from the best. I’ve taken the opinions, mixed in common sense and added what has been successful for me in the past. If something doesn’t seem to be working, it simply needs to be adjusted.
Being vegan, legumes are a mainstay. I eat my fair share of beans but have made a shift to lentils. Lentils really are a super food that doesn’t seem to have any enemies in the world of nutrition experts.
Lentils cook quick – much quicker than dried kidney beans or any of their close friends. Seasoned, they make a great meal just on their own. As a soup, they’re a game changer. My favourite? Frying up my favourites (onion, garlic, mushroom plus whatever other veggies I have around) then mixing them in with already prepared lentils.
As for tomatoes, I’m still on the side that they are a super food. However, I have cut down a bit from tomato based meals to having them just as a single ingredient in something larger. Supposedly, if you peel the skin and de-seed them, they lose their bad properties. Sorry, that’s much more effort than I’m interested in. After all, when food prep becomes a chore, it simply doesn’t get done. When food prep doesn’t get done, you slide on your lifestyle shift.
When it comes to nuts, I try to stick to almonds. And, I try to limit how much I take in. This is for two reasons. The first is the obvious in that they do account for a high number of calories. They other is that almonds, like all nuts, are damned expensive.
Mushrooms are magic. No, I don’t partake in THAT kind of mushroom – although, I’m not overly against giving it a try at some point. Pretty much every single meal involves some mushrooms. If I’m snacking between my main meals, it’s often raw mushrooms. Now, more than ever, we need our immune systems in top shape. Vitamin D is the key to that and mushroom are rich in the D.
What Do The Experts Agree On?
There’s certainly one thing that everyone seems to be in agreement with these days. Intermittent fasting, or other forms of fasting, are a must. As mentioned in earlier posts, I practice what I call Night Fasting. As I have learned, this is pretty much textbook intermittent fasting, I just didn’t know it.
In it’s simplest form, all this means is not eating after dinner. For me, I stop eating at 3-4PM and don’t put anything in the tank again until around 9-10AM the following day (except water). This comes out at around a 16 hour fast, right in tune with the 16/8 ratio that is recommended.
Reducing calories alone will not work. Increasing exercise alone will not work. It’s all in the fasting.
Well, it’s not just all in the fasting. You need to also cut out any kind of sugar intake. You take to take a serious look at either completely reducing your wheat product intake or drastically reduce it. Dairy can be left on the grocery store shelf – it does nothing for you. If you insist on eating animal meat, try damn hard to keep it to fish and a bit of chicken.