What is a healthy diet?
reach53
Posts: 46 Member
I came across Dr. Fuhrmanns book "Eat to live" and thought it makes sense and it is in itself logical. Same with Dr. Atkins "Diet Revolution". This takes me to Dr. Dukan, who taken by himself also makes and awful lot of sense. My point here is, whatever nutrition philosophy you take it is logical and there will always be a number of people that converted from the opposite side being completely ill and suddenly well after changing their diet. Never mind the thousands of followers you will have for each side that have lost the weight, gained health and kept the weight off.
Personally I have lived on and off a low-carb lifestyle for the past 8 years. I did not reach my goal weight, mainly because I was never able to stick for good with low-carb. So Last year I lost 10kg with Dukan and Atkins. Then I speed-gained it back within just a few weeks of eating "normal" or being only partly low-carb. Being low-carb, I ate way too much dairy and way too little veg, after all I wanted to lose weight, right? In the past month I went towards a whole foods only diet, kind of Paleo/Primal (veg, fruit, meat, eggs, no dairy and no grain). I think we all can agree the Standard American Diet with all the processed foods is not healthy. I also don't feel all those artificial sweeteners are too good for us. But is there one right way to eat?
Basically if I take all processed stuff away then I just have the meats, eggs, dairy, grain, fruit and veg. Now with Atkins all fruit and grains are evil. With Paleo all grains, legumes and dairy is evil. Never mind the book "Wheat belly" which never makes you want to eat grains again. Ask Dr. Fuhrmann and all meat and dairy is evil. Now each have their number of studies from reputed institutions that prove their claims. Some even cite the same study just find a flaw in the interpretation of the opposite side.
Now I am not trying to cause a riot here, I just want to know how you handle this. I feel there must be some right way to eat, that is healthy and balanced. But what is a healthy diet?
Personally I have lived on and off a low-carb lifestyle for the past 8 years. I did not reach my goal weight, mainly because I was never able to stick for good with low-carb. So Last year I lost 10kg with Dukan and Atkins. Then I speed-gained it back within just a few weeks of eating "normal" or being only partly low-carb. Being low-carb, I ate way too much dairy and way too little veg, after all I wanted to lose weight, right? In the past month I went towards a whole foods only diet, kind of Paleo/Primal (veg, fruit, meat, eggs, no dairy and no grain). I think we all can agree the Standard American Diet with all the processed foods is not healthy. I also don't feel all those artificial sweeteners are too good for us. But is there one right way to eat?
Basically if I take all processed stuff away then I just have the meats, eggs, dairy, grain, fruit and veg. Now with Atkins all fruit and grains are evil. With Paleo all grains, legumes and dairy is evil. Never mind the book "Wheat belly" which never makes you want to eat grains again. Ask Dr. Fuhrmann and all meat and dairy is evil. Now each have their number of studies from reputed institutions that prove their claims. Some even cite the same study just find a flaw in the interpretation of the opposite side.
Now I am not trying to cause a riot here, I just want to know how you handle this. I feel there must be some right way to eat, that is healthy and balanced. But what is a healthy diet?
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Replies
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I think that, like me, you are really long-winded and it's hard tpo understand your exact point here with all the filler words.
Taking a stab, I do not eat the diet I think is the most balanced and healthy b/c like most Americans I was rasied on good old processed foods mixed with vegetables from the garden or farmer's market.
If I were to pinpoint the most balanced, healthy diet I could think of, it would be the clean eating philosophy or Meditteranean diet: avoid processed foods, avoid fake foods like artificial sweeteners, eat a balanced portion of protein from various sources, eat a ton of fruits and vegetables as fresh as you can get them, stick to healthy fats like avocado, nuts, olive oils, and fish, drink lots of water and wine, and make your desserts from pure, rich ingredients but eat them sparingly.
If I could follow my own advice, I'd drop weight fast, have glorious skin, and feel fantastic. However, I can't stick to that, so I'm here to try to get better.0 -
I work in healthcare so I tend to look in that direction for nutrition advice. I also avoid anyone selling "the next best greatest diet". One of my favorite places to get nutrition advice is the Harvard School of Public Health (link below) because they don't make recommendations that are not evidence based.
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/
I also read almost anything I find on nutrition if it's free. My thought is if it's evidenced based it won't be a secret and will be free. If it's not evidenced based, then it's just opinion and theory. And after gathering all the information I can, I listen to my own body, because no matter the evidence, we are all different and what works for one may not work for another.0 -
A healthy diet is eating natural foods, not processed, as much as possible.
BUT you can eat anything you want in moderation.
Don't deprive yourself, you should be able to maintain what you eat for the rest of your life and if that includes the occasional pre-prepared meal, chocolate or other processed item then try to work it into your plan.0 -
I think one of the biggest things to realize when trying to lose weight or become healthy is to understand that it is a lifestyle change not something that you are on for a few weeks drop the weight and go back to your old self. A lifestyle change means yes occasionaly you are going to eat pizza, cake, or fast food, its what you do after you have that that's important. You can't let yourself fall back to the old you eating up everything in site or pleasing every craving.
I am in a wellness research program with the fitness center I attend and work at. We are eating 6-9 fruits/vegetables a day, sticking within the calorie count that is right for our body, drinking half our body weight in water, cutting out all carbonated beverages, and doing cardio and strength training 3 times a week for 40 minutes. Everything we have learned here is about lifestyle change. I have been on the program for 6 weeks and find that it something I feel like I can do, I lose a healthy 2 pounds per week and I feel good about it.
Research shows that we eat on average 450 calories in beverages alone that equates to 23 pound per year that we have to burn off or carry around with us. "Knowing what foods we need to eat is essential to a productive and vibrant life (check out www.choosemyplate.gov). The food we eat fuels our bodies, much like gasoline fuels a car. If we choose foods that are loaded with sugar and sodium, we are fueling our bodies similar to gasoline that has been injected with contaminants. We would never intentionally put this kind of fuel in our cars, but we do it every day to our own bodies." This is something I read on one of the local wellness experts blogs this month, and it totally hit home for me.0 -
i do have to disagree on one point; i really don't buy into the whole natural>artificial mindset because most "information" about artificial foods is along the lines of broscience or myth. of course there are examples where overly processed food has been shown to be detrimental, such as hydrogenated oils or processed soy. but that doesn't mean that if a food didn't come straight from the wild to your plate, it's somehow automatically harmful.0
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For longevity and health it's a tad more involved that just diet. The varied long living examples on the planet have diverse diets, but they all move more than most and they all have a good network of people that supports them throught their lives. Consuming less processed foods would be beneficial for overall health.0
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I think that, like me, you are really long-winded and it's hard tpo understand your exact point here with all the filler words.
Taking a stab, I do not eat the diet I think is the most balanced and healthy b/c like most Americans I was rasied on good old processed foods mixed with vegetables from the garden or farmer's market.
If I were to pinpoint the most balanced, healthy diet I could think of, it would be the clean eating philosophy or Meditteranean diet: avoid processed foods, avoid fake foods like artificial sweeteners, eat a balanced portion of protein from various sources, eat a ton of fruits and vegetables as fresh as you can get them, stick to healthy fats like avocado, nuts, olive oils, and fish, drink lots of water and wine, and make your desserts from pure, rich ingredients but eat them sparingly.
If I could follow my own advice, I'd drop weight fast, have glorious skin, and feel fantastic. However, I can't stick to that, so I'm here to try to get better.
Sorry about the writing style :blushing: just tried to include all most of my thoughts. It just really bugged me that they all have proof for being right.
I guess this is the way to go: whole foods!
Hope you'll get there and drop the weight!0 -
I think that, like me, you are really long-winded and it's hard tpo understand your exact point here with all the filler words.
Taking a stab, I do not eat the diet I think is the most balanced and healthy b/c like most Americans I was rasied on good old processed foods mixed with vegetables from the garden or farmer's market.
If I were to pinpoint the most balanced, healthy diet I could think of, it would be the clean eating philosophy or Meditteranean diet: avoid processed foods, avoid fake foods like artificial sweeteners, eat a balanced portion of protein from various sources, eat a ton of fruits and vegetables as fresh as you can get them, stick to healthy fats like avocado, nuts, olive oils, and fish, drink lots of water and wine, and make your desserts from pure, rich ingredients but eat them sparingly.
If I could follow my own advice, I'd drop weight fast, have glorious skin, and feel fantastic. However, I can't stick to that, so I'm here to try to get better.
Sorry about the writing style :blushing: just tried to include all most of my thoughts. It just really bugged me that they all have proof for being right.
I guess this is the way to go: whole foods!
Hope you'll get there and drop the weight!
It's OK...I always want to try to saw what I want to clearly, so I'm very long-form on the boards. It drives some people crazy!0 -
A healthy diet is eating natural foods, not processed, as much as possible.
BUT you can eat anything you want in moderation.
Don't deprive yourself, you should be able to maintain what you eat for the rest of your life and if that includes the occasional pre-prepared meal, chocolate or other processed item then try to work it into your plan.
Perfect! This is it exactly.
I'm not striving for perfection, for the rest of my life. I can't do low carb either. But I will strive to make MORE of the carbs I eat healthier. I will strive to eat more healthy fats and less unhealthy ones.0 -
I think the body is a wonderfully adaptable machine and can take any variety of food sources at varying levels of optimal operation. I take all the gurus and split the difference - which happens to be about what this site (and most mainstream doctors and dieticians) seem to recommend. Eat carbs, protein, fat, in descending order of quantity. Avoid processed foods including sugars when possible, eat processed foods if that's what it takes to get food that day. Exercise lots, try to do as much of it outside as possible, don't exercise so much it hurts a lot. Drink lots of water, all other drinks in moderation.
Enjoy quality healthful food when possible, eat unhealthful food for enjoyment occasionally and in small quantities.
Don't judge other people for having made different food choices, and if your choices are working out for you take advice graciously and apply it judiciously.0 -
i do have to disagree on one point; i really don't buy into the whole natural>artificial mindset because most "information" about artificial foods is along the lines of broscience or myth. of course there are examples where overly processed food has been shown to be detrimental, such as hydrogenated oils or processed soy. but that doesn't mean that if a food didn't come straight from the wild to your plate, it's somehow automatically harmful.
That is quite true. But the problem with many artificial foods is that there simply isn't enough evidence to prove them good or bad. They are not automatically harmful, but a lack of evidence showing them as harmful doesn't automatically make them not either.
For this reason I try to limit them, but not get so crazy strict about it that I make me or others around me miserable. And I keep reading so if evidence does present itself I'll know about it.0 -
I think the body is a wonderfully adaptable machine and can take any variety of food sources at varying levels of optimal operation. I take all the gurus and split the difference - which happens to be about what this site (and most mainstream doctors and dieticians) seem to recommend. Eat carbs, protein, fat, in descending order of quantity. Avoid processed foods including sugars when possible, eat processed foods if that's what it takes to get food that day. Exercise lots, try to do as much of it outside as possible, don't exercise so much it hurts a lot. Drink lots of water, all other drinks in moderation.
Enjoy quality healthful food when possible, eat unhealthful food for enjoyment occasionally and in small quantities.
Don't judge other people for having made different food choices, and if your choices are working out for you take advice graciously and apply it judiciously.
:drinker: Well said. For me...a healthy eating plan and activity plan requires balance.0 -
They are not automatically harmful, but a lack of evidence showing them as harmful doesn't automatically make them not either.
Well technically, the null scientific assumption is that the thing in question (in this case, artificial foods) has no effect until proven by experimentation.0 -
I went the unprocessed food route, Have lost over 50 pounds that way. but everyone has different bodies, and different intolerances that to say one way is the right way for everyone is well, just plain wrong.
For me, Organic unprocessed foods has changed my life. natural, no hormone/antibiotic , minimally processed meats, lots of fresh veggies and some fruits, not frozen or canned. Now does that mean I don't eat canned, frozen or junk foods at times? heck no, but if most of what you put in your body is fresh, natural foods the way it was put on this earth, then how can that be bad for you.0 -
University lecture. It might bore the heck out of you but it will explain the aspects of a healthy diet. Here ya go:
https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/uploaded/public/11-2011/C8922A4CAEE14A6D8FABD9AB1FBCE691.preview0 -
i do have to disagree on one point; i really don't buy into the whole natural>artificial mindset because most "information" about artificial foods is along the lines of broscience or myth. of course there are examples where overly processed food has been shown to be detrimental, such as hydrogenated oils or processed soy. but that doesn't mean that if a food didn't come straight from the wild to your plate, it's somehow automatically harmful.
It's not that ALL processed foods are bad per se, but that many tend to come with additional unhealthy "baggage", and it's easier to say "avoid processed foods" than it is to list off all the things you want to try to avoid on the labels. "Minimize processed foods" is generally a better approach - because in this day and age you cannot avoid them anyway.
It's like artificial sweeteners or fat substitutes. They aren't necessarily bad, but many of them do have undesirable side effects when eaten in significant quantities. Saccharin was once touted as a perfect replacement for sugar, but large quantities of it became associated with cancer rate increases in mice.
Olestra (being nothing more than modified FIBER) was considered a great substitute for fat, then a bunch of people took it as an excuse to eat whole bags of fat-free chips, and they learned firsthand what a large load of FIBER does to you if eaten all at once, especially with a dehydrating agent like sodium and insufficient water to move the fiber along. Woo! Woo! We have a train wreck in the Alimentary Express!
In addition to the immediate, known, and studied side effects of many additives, there are things we simply don't know, because people taking the latest sweetener (after the last four have been shown to be bad, fifth time HAS to be right, right?), ARE the test subjects.0 -
They are not automatically harmful, but a lack of evidence showing them as harmful doesn't automatically make them not either.
Well technically, the null scientific assumption is that the thing in question (in this case, artificial foods) has no effect until proven by experimentation.
And technically, the experimentation is going on right now. You can be an observer or a test subject.0 -
All the conflicting "advice" and "studies" can be crazymaking. Ultimately I've ended up experimenting on myself to find out what works for ME as an individual. For MY body, wheat and cowmilk products are absolutely forbidden (gluten and cowmilk protein intolerances made me quite sick for the last few years until I figured it out.)
I do best with relatively unprocessessed foods, but I'm not going to freak out (or die) if I eat something mainstream once in awhile. Mostly my meals revolve around a variety of berries, veggies, fruits, nuts, relatively unprocessed (usually organic) poultry and occasional red meat, fish, brown rice, old-fashioned rolled oats, organic sweet potatoes, unsweetened cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt-free spices.
I bake my own gluten-free breads, rolls, pizza crusts, etc. It's easy.
Ultimately I've concluded that what constitutes a "healthy diet" largely depends on your body and what you want to achieve with it. I aim to get lots of antioxidants, good nutrient balance, high potassium/low sodium ratio, and supplement where needed. My doctor is very nutrition oriented also and has helped me tailor my food choices to meet my health goals so that even at 50 years old I'm out running 5 miles in the morning before work, my blood lipids are great, and I look as healthy and happy as can be. It's worth putting the effort into figuring out what YOU need.0 -
Well said! I'm with you.0
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Healthy is whatever you want it to be. These days, anything and everything oes.0
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Bottomline, we have altered our food supply tremendously over the last 60 years or so. Anyone who thinks those changes are not currently affecting our society is either naive or stupid. There are a million studies that say a millions things but use common snese. Adding chemicals to our food supply can't be ok.0
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I listen to my own body, because no matter the evidence, we are all different and what works for one may not work for another.
Yep0 -
All the conflicting "advice" and "studies" can be crazymaking. Ultimately I've ended up experimenting on myself to find out what works for ME as an individual. For MY body, wheat and cowmilk products are absolutely forbidden (gluten and cowmilk protein intolerances made me quite sick for the last few years until I figured it out.)
I do best with relatively unprocessessed foods, but I'm not going to freak out (or die) if I eat something mainstream once in awhile. Mostly my meals revolve around a variety of berries, veggies, fruits, nuts, relatively unprocessed (usually organic) poultry and occasional red meat, fish, brown rice, old-fashioned rolled oats, organic sweet potatoes, unsweetened cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt-free spices.
I bake my own gluten-free breads, rolls, pizza crusts, etc. It's easy.
Ultimately I've concluded that what constitutes a "healthy diet" largely depends on your body and what you want to achieve with it. I aim to get lots of antioxidants, good nutrient balance, high potassium/low sodium ratio, and supplement where needed. My doctor is very nutrition oriented also and has helped me tailor my food choices to meet my health goals so that even at 50 years old I'm out running 5 miles in the morning before work, my blood lipids are great, and I look as healthy and happy as can be. It's worth putting the effort into figuring out what YOU need.
That is exactly what I'm going through right now. I just am learning that gluten and dairy does not agree with me. I was crying in my husbands arms last weekend because we live in Switzerland the country of milk-chocolate and bakery items. So I was crying about never being able to eat the chocolate cake from the village baker (it is amazing!)0 -
Thank you all for your wonderful answers!
The essence here is: listen to your own body! Which is great advice!0
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