What single food is the most nutritionally perfect?
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Lourdesong wrote: »Another vote for milk.
Milk is another good one.
So far we're at milk and fresh meat (not including pre-macroed, prepared foods).
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Meat.0
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I had a nutrition professor tell us to always guess "broccoli" if we're asked to name a food that is high in XYZ nutrients.
If supplements counted, I would say Soylent, but who would want to live off a liquid diet?
I always thought Soylent was more cracker-like, but I might be thinking of something different. Or maybe I'm just confused.0 -
eggs!
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While no single food is nutritionally perfect, is there one single food that comes close to being the most nutritionally perfect? (ie has the best ratios of vitamins and macronutrients) Liver? Brown Rice? Legumes?
Great Question. Unfortunately, anyone who gives you a specific answer is providing an answer based on their own definition of nutritionally perfect and their preferences and biases.
think: I like sugar, therefore, I'm going to identify most with doughnuts diets
Most science is biased. Any nutrition information recommended by the government is definitely biased. Many studies are not based on real-world scenarios (studies are often performed on rats or mice in lab environments). Many researchers are paid by specific interest groups: dairy lobby, beef lobby, fast food lobby, large food producers, nutraceutical industry (vitamins and supplements), diet industry ("miracle" diet books), etc. RDA values are a product of political compromise. There is probably not a lot of money going toward broccoli research these days. Vitamins, an incomplete concept of health benefits, based on studies from the early 1900's, are only a starting point--there's a whole lot more to food than it's vitamin C (or D, or B, or A) value. No one agrees on macro ratios whether high protein, high fat, or low fat, high carb, low protein. Bigger doesn't mean better like the nutraceutical industry would like us to believe.
I'm going with broccoli or spinach (and doughnuts, because I too am biased).
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Until the time of the Famine, the Irish peasants were considered to be the healthiest in Europe and their diet was primarily potatoes and milk. Sounds good to me!0
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eggs!
+1
Surprised it got to the second page before anyone voted for eggs. Great source of protein, fat, vitamins D, B-2, B-10, and B-12, folate...decent amounts of vitamin A and iron for the calorie load.
No fiber, but I guess that just goes to prove the point that there is no single perfect "food." Unless you give a pass to the votes for dishes/meals made up of half a dozen different foods.0 -
The Egg is pretty perfect even though it's gotten a bad rap in the past.
I would say scrambled eggs with olive oil and kale would be a perfect meal.0 -
Quinoa perhaps, even better combined with kale.0
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supersocks117 wrote: »Breastmilk? But really, as an adult you need a balanced diet, no food is perfectly balanced alone.
Good answer.
Yes breast milk is a complete food providing all nutrients, nothing else required.
But unless you are a baby under about 6 months of age, there is no single food containing all your nutrition. And nobody eats only one food anyway, so whole question is pointless.
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I asked this question to a RD professor in college and she said no food can be eaten exclusively, HOWEVER if needed milk would be her best bet.0
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Breastmilk. It is the only food you can theoretically survive on without eating anything else.0
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greenmg411 wrote: »I asked this question to a RD professor in college and she said no food can be eaten exclusively, HOWEVER if needed milk would be her best bet.
I read this in a nutrition textbook I picked up at a second hand store.
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If we are talking solid food, then Eggs will sustain human health/life far longer than a diet of only broccoli or rice or beans or kale.0
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Hummus.0
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It would probably be some type of nut or seed. It wouldn't be perfect, but with the mix of protein, fat and carbs it might be the most perfect.0
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Lourdesong wrote: »Another vote for milk.
Milk is another good one.
So far we're at milk and fresh meat (not including pre-macroed, prepared foods).
mr knight, I seem to remember you have some experience with people on the autism spectrum?
I have met a few adults (and of course my own child) who has a diet comprised of bread products and dairy products... with the addition of a glass of vitamin C rich juice, I reckon you could live on that simple diet forever.
Anyways, some sort of dairy product/grain/vitamin C source combo. Pizza is really looking like the winner here.0 -
So the requirements are...complete proteins, essential fatty acids, and some carbs.
The closest I can think of is freshly killed meat/fish (and I do mean "freshly" - like, kill it, skin it, eat it). Complete proteins, obviously, and EFAs, but fresh meat also has significant carb content thanks to the glycogen.
Why wouldn't micronutrients also be a requirement?0 -
Carbs are not a requirement.
And you won't get all the necessary micronutrients from eating one food only. In the unlikely situation that all food on the planet is wiped out except one, you would need to take a multivitamin to supplement your single food diet (if you are intent on living for longer than a year).0 -
DeguelloTex wrote: »If there were some way to get protein into salsa and fried chips, that might be it. At least for me.
cheese0 -
Oh, it would have to be breast milk, right? I mean, humans do survive on nothing other than breast milk.0
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No, not queso. Salsa.DeguelloTex wrote: »If there were some way to get protein into salsa and fried chips, that might be it. At least for me.
cheese
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Yeah I'd have to say milk too... even though I avoid it because it doesn't fill me up for the calories. Eggs are good, but no carbs.0
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Nuts?0
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DeguelloTex wrote: »
No, not queso. Salsa.DeguelloTex wrote: »If there were some way to get protein into salsa and fried chips, that might be it. At least for me.
cheese
cheese on top or between. what is that wonderful white Mexican cheese.....
I say cheese is perfect, smoked cheese even more so0 -
Fatty cuts of meat.0
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Hmmm...if there were one, I don't think I'd only eat it to meet my macros. I'm lazy but I like variety. LOL. For lunch I made quinoa cooked in a little chicken broth, as well as spinach, kale, chicken and a hard boiled egg and it has 31g carbs, 8 g fat, and 33 g protein. 0
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My trainer suggested drinking chocolate milk after weight training; has a decent ratio of fats:carbs:protein. All three. Supposedly one of the better recovery drinks out there!0
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A scotch egg.0
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