Such a thing as the 'perfect diet'?

Graelwyn75

I am intensely interested in all the different ways of eating and the myriad books cramming the shelves, claiming their way to be the ideal way to eat. You have low carb, you have high fat, you have paleo, primal, plant based, vegan, whole foods, the list goes on. Then you have books like the china study and the anti grain brigade, the anti dairy brigade, heck now even beans are considered bad by some, yet considered wonderful by some of the plant based and whole foods advocates.

I reach a point of wondering, just what is the ideal diet if one if seeking health and longevity, barring the obvious of not indulging in too many processed foods ? There seems to be research to back just about every method of eating. For each a paper supporting something, you can find evidence contradicting that. Maybe in the end, I will just keel over from brain overload, from trying to put all this information together and come up with the ideal diet for myself.

Shadowknight137

IMO, the perfect diet is one you don't even call a "diet". Nor do you even call it a "lifestyle change" or "healthy living"; you just eat, maintain a "good" (not too high, ie, overweight, obese, etc) body fat percentage and have the energy to maintain your every day activities without even thinking about it. Intuitive, controlled eating.

As for specific foods... Nope. Nt really. Things in moderation, I guess.

http://perfecthealthdiet.com/the-diet/

^I guess if that's anything, well, there it is. I kinda like it's style - seems pretty well balanced and for all purposes, healthy.

benflando

Yes there is but it's not realistic.

Chicken, eggs, oatmeal, brown rice, banana, spinach, sweet potato, green vegetables, turkey.

EvanKeel

I think part of the problem is that you'd have to get people to agree on what "perfect" means in specific terms. And, at some point, you end up getting specific enough that there will be no single diet that is perfect.

People have different goals that their food intake should account for. I also think that putting a book on a shelf has more to do with wanting to sell a book than helping people.

bcattoes

I reach a point of wondering, just what is the ideal diet if one if seeking health and longevity, barring the obvious of not indulging in too many processed foods ?

Generally speaking I believe the answer to this is a diet:
1. that allows you to maintain a healthy weight
2. includes plenty of, and a variety of, vegetables
3. on which you feel satisfied and satiated without stress
4. has a good balance of macro nutrients for your lifestyle

On an individual basis how that is achieved may vary greatly, and may be complicated by things like disease or genetics. Which is why regular health checkups are a good idea.

But diet alone is unlikely to be enough. Regular exercise is important for healthy aging.

AwesomeMoJo

No such thing as the "perfect diet"...as individual as we all are..each of our bodies had different needs. Some people have low iron therefore need to eat food with more iron...others have allergies, or low sugar so the dietarty needs are different...

Ultimately there is no ONE perfect diet to go across the board for all people.....

Once you find what works for you..then you have YOUR perfect diet...(or as i call it nutrition plan)....

drchimpanzee

The best diet is one you can stick with that gets you the results you want.

concordancia

It depends on your specific chemistry and goals. My partner is the most intuitive eater I know and maintains a BMI in the low 20s quite naturally. He was crashing in the afternoons, so we took away his morning toast, his 1/3 loaf French bread sandwich lunch, and his pasta dinner. Sure enough, he has no problem making it through the afternoons. Once he had that under control, he started eating shredded wheat for his evening snack. Then he started working out more at work, so he added in a Kashi bar in the afternoons. Most people who thrive on a lower carb diet could not eat nearly as much fruit as he does, though - at least four a day.