What do you believe is the healthiest diet for life?

[StaceyinLA]

Do you think there is a way of eating that is truly healthier than others? If so, what is it, and what is it that makes you believe it’s better?

[Stibalfamily]

I think the healthiest diet prioritizes vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. Has whole grains (not overdoing it mind you) and healthy fats. I have gone through quite a few health kicks, and I have tried meat, vegetarian, vegan and whole foods. I think moderation is important. But I think a whole foods vegan diet can be incredibly healthy, or a pescatarian diet that excludes dairy. I have looked at long term studies and it seems the healthiest, longest living people eat this way. For myself, dairy doesn't treat me right and I have found I do need a little meat now and again or I get really tired. I think you need to listen to your body and how you feel more than following a regimented diet. My .02 cents.

[hornblower]

Not too much, mostly plants

Blue Zones  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Zone

I'm vegan but honestly, I suspect there's no giant health benefit to going full vegan over low fat & mostly vegetarian & consuming lots of legumes. 

(For me, health ethics & environment all kick in as motivators to being full vegan). 

& here's my controversial opinion - I think we actually KNOW this. I don't think we have to take it on faith. I think we've known it for some time .  

"The weight of evidence strongly supports a theme of healthful eating while allowing for variations on that theme. A diet of minimally processed foods close to nature, predominantly plants, is decisively associated with health promotion and disease prevention and is consistent with the salient components of seemingly distinct dietary approaches."

"https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260914255_Can_We_Say_What_Diet_Is_Best_for_Health

It is also a fact however, that people a) have evolved to take over pretty much this entire planet and are super adaptable to a variety of nutritional intake patterns & b) can rationalize lots of things to themselves...  

 

[Targhee]

Real food, minimal processing, in moderation. Vegetables and fruits in season, whole grains, nuts/seeds/legumes, good plant-based fats, meat/dairy sparingly if at all (in that order of importance). For myself I very rarely need sugar, and minimal natural sweetness, to keep my appetite healthy.

[Liz CA]

Balance. Listening to your body and figuring out what makes you feel good. I don't think there is one perfect diet for everyone. I have red meat eaters in the family that thrive and I am happily living on fish, some poultry, lacto-fermented veggies and cheese and home baked sourdough bread.

Many people could not stomach what I am eating but it works for me. I could not stomach the red meat diet. I think striving for a variety of foods and finding vegetables you like or prep methods that work for you, figuring out meat or no meat or only select meat, condiments that make things more palatable, finding a drink that quenches thirst but does not contain a boatload of sugar. 

Above all, I think the best diet is the home cooked one.

[Carrie12345]

While nutrition isn't an exact enough science to ever know the perfect formula for each individual body, we do know enough to make reasonable generalizations.  We know what vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients our bodies need and why.  We know, for the most part, how cells, tissues, organs, and systems work, what they need and what they don't.

We know *around how many calories a body needs, and to adjust up or down with special circumstances and the demands we put on that fuel. We know the best way to get the essential "ingredients" within calorie range is through a variety of foods, heavy on plants, that haven't been stripped of their nutrients or had unnecessary ones added to them.

The bigger issue is, in my opinion, the psychology, not the biology.  (For the average human person without special circumstances.)  We know even a whole cheesecake won't kill us in one night and skipping salad for a week isn't going to leave us bedridden.  But we don't really think about the cumulative choices we make.  Our ancestors didn't do "crazy" things like track calories and nutrients because 1. they didn't have as much info and 2. they didn't have as many options.  My great-grandparents never pondered swinging through a drive thru for onion rings or grabbing a free refill of Panera lemonade.  It's hard to make choices based on need when the vast majority of options available to us are more about pleasure than physical health.

And that's why so many diets "work" for weight loss.  Pretty much every single one out there reduces or eliminates one's consumption of donuts and soda and similar splurges and overall calories, whether they meet our actual physical needs or not. They help us resist the extras, whatever their particular "hook" might be.

[Bluegoat]

I think the human diet is very adaptable, which is why we are a successful species.  THe main thing is I think it's best to keep highly processed foods down - lab created foods really.

In a big picture answer, I'd say what is healthiest for us is what is healthiest for the Earth and is sustainable within ecosystems.  So it will really depend on where you live, and may change seasonally.  My cousin in California won't be eating the same things as my friend in the Arctic.

[Bluegoat]

Oh - actually, I also think a significant component to healthy eating is a functioning food culture, and the constituent elements of that like being able to prepare food within your tradition - so that might mean the ability to cook and eat at home in our culture.

[regentrude]

A variety of foods in moderation, mostly plant based, cooked from scratch, little processed.

Unless medical conditions are present, I do not believe eliminating entire food groups is beneficial for health.

 

[Pawz4me]

Moderation but leaning mostly vegetarian. Most importantly listening very closely to what makes your unique body feel well. My own life experience—watching food fads come and go over my lifetime and paying extremely close attention to how I react to individual foods and how my family does—as well as looking at different cultures throughout history is what makes me believe this.

[Soror]

Mostly plants

Unprocessed whole foods

Eating meals with family and friends and taking time to enjoy them, not rushing through fast food or eating on the go.

 

[Soror]

2 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

Moderation but leaning mostly vegetarian. Most importantly listening very closely to what makes your unique body feel well. My own life experience—watching food fads come and go over my lifetime and paying extremely close attention to how I react to individual foods and how my family does—as well as looking at different cultures throughout history is what makes me believe this.

Yes!!! ITA I don't think there is just one right diet and I think it is very individual, you have to be aware of what foods make you feel good, what foods do you enjoy? It never works to blindly follow anyone's recommendations.

[SeaConquest]

Real food, mostly plants, not too much.

[Bluegoat]

Ok, about this mostly plants thing - people do realize that there are traditional diets that are not mostly plant based, and are quite appropriate to the places they come from?

[Ann.without.an.e]

It vastly depends on the person for specifics, but there are some general rules that possibly apply to all.

I think that sugar, refined and processed foods, chemical additives, and preservatives is bad for everyone. 

Fresh fruits and veggies are what we need to focus on and most people simply don't get enough of them.

Dairy is bad for almost everyone.  Even people who I have known to say "dairy isn't a problem for me" felt much better after they removed it from their diet.  I question whether we are really supposed to consume it at all.

Beyond that I think it gets very personal.  I choose a vegan diet because I have inflammatory issues/tendencies and this diet helps tremendously.  Maybe someone else would be fine with good quality meats?  I am also gluten free because of an autoimmune disease that is aggravated by gluten.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lady Florida.]

I haven't read The Omnivore's Dilemma but the quote from that book is what I follow.

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

[TravelingChris]

Not eat many highly processed foods. Eat more fruits and vegetables, fewer grains but do not exclude grains altogether.  Learn to eat when hungry and not for other reasons.  

[Paige]

I think the Ornish diet is probably the healthiest name brand diet for the average person who doesn't have allergies or special needs. I picked it because it has been around for a relatively long time and pretty much gets nothing but glowing reviews and the only negative I've seen is that it is hard for people to stick to. FWIW, I don't follow the Ornish diet, but it's what comes to mind in response to your question.

I am loosely trying to follow Dr Greger's guidelines right now and I feel it is also a healthy diet but it doesn't have the years of data and research behind it in the same way as Dr Ornish's, although the recommendations aren't very different. 

I don't think traditional diets are always the best at all- they only need to be minimally sufficient to sustain a population long enough to reproduce. What you eat to survive in a difficult environment is not necessarily the same as what is best for your species for nutrition and avoiding disease. 

 

[Garga]

What good timing.  DH has some heart issues and needs to completely revamp his diet.  Now that we're taking a good hard look at what we eat, we've come to the conclusion that he needs to eat pretty much all fresh food.  He has always loved boxed and canned things, but we've been changing that and making our own food lately and it's been nice to get away from all the salt and extra chemicals in prepared foods.  The food we're eating now tastes different--a little more bland, but not so bland that we won't stick to it.  We're in that stage where we're having to give our overstimulated taste buds time to adjust to a non-artificially flavored diet.  

We're both feeling really good about the changes.  Beans are becoming our new best friends and fruit is now our dessert instead of bits of chocolate candy.  Red meat is gone and we eat just a bit of chicken and fish throughout the week.  Lots of salads.

But I do have to say, I still prefer the taste of white bread.  I have some food sensitivities and find that any other bread (whole wheat or rye, etc) is too flavorful for me.  I prefer the blandness of white bread, though I know it's a bad choice nutritionally. 

[Bluegoat]

9 minutes ago, Paige said:

I think the Ornish diet is probably the healthiest name brand diet for the average person who doesn't have allergies or special needs. I picked it because it has been around for a relatively long time and pretty much gets nothing but glowing reviews and the only negative I've seen is that it is hard for people to stick to. FWIW, I don't follow the Ornish diet, but it's what comes to mind in response to your question.

I am loosely trying to follow Dr Greger's guidelines right now and I feel it is also a healthy diet but it doesn't have the years of data and research behind it in the same way as Dr Ornish's, although the recommendations aren't very different. 

I don't think traditional diets are always the best at all- they only need to be minimally sufficient to sustain a population long enough to reproduce. What you eat to survive in a difficult environment is not necessarily the same as what is best for your species for nutrition and avoiding disease. 

 

 

That's not quite the idea - the idea is that human health largely depends on the health of the surrounding environment.  To a large extent, local diets are adapted to exist in that local environment and the resources it can provide.  If you are eating a diet that is not suited to the local ecosystem it either means degrading that ecosystem or drawing on the ecosystem in another region, which creates unbalance.

Because humans are actually very adaptable, there really isn't just one version of a "most healthy" diet.  

The other element is there are often some adaptations to local diet, for example adaptations to make use of dairy among certain populations, or more difficult to digest plant products.

[ktgrok]

I think a diet based on real, whole foods is healthiest. Which foods that is will depend in large extent on the person, their activity level, their health, etc. So I think people with no metabolic issues probably do best with a mix of meat, eggs,  fruits, veggies, starches, whole grains, etc. Those who have metabolic issues probably need to tweak that to suit their personal health. For some that may be less protein/meat/fat, for others it may be less starch/grain/carbohydrate. But I Think those are therapeutic diets for people with certain problems, not the "ideal" diet for everyone. Ideally we'd eat whole foods, whichever appealed to us, and do well. 

[StaceyinLA]

I think it’s interesting that so many said similar things. I know one doesn’t really need to follow a “diet,” but it just helps me if I have resources that basically say yes or no to certain things. It’s not that I don’t think we can have a little cheat every now and then no matter what, but I like a good guideline.

I have done paleo, vegetarian and vegan diets (opposite ends of the spectrum much). Honestly, I’ve felt good on all of them, but I only purchase high quality meat (my sister raises clean, mostly grassfed beef, and we have a great chicken source as well). My biggest problem is eating out. I know I do it too much, and really need to break that cycle. It’s just when we get out to run errands/shop, it’s an all-day affair because we are far enough from the city we shop in that we can’t run back and forth. There are a few really healthy options there, but sadly not usually the ones we choose. ;-p

I know I’ll likely never go vegan because I really don’t want to consume soy on a regular basis, and can’t imagine never eating meat. Also, since I do purchase better quality meat (ethically and health-wise), I’m not as opposed to eating it. I won’t eat factory farmed, which is another reason I’d like to stay out of most restaurants.

It’s just a constant battle to do the right thing I guess. I just need a rule book. ;-p

[Soror]

42 minutes ago, StaceyinLA said:

I think it’s interesting that so many said similar things. I know one doesn’t really need to follow a “diet,” but it just helps me if I have resources that basically say yes or no to certain things. It’s not that I don’t think we can have a little cheat every now and then no matter what, but I like a good guideline.

I have done paleo, vegetarian and vegan diets (opposite ends of the spectrum much). Honestly, I’ve felt good on all of them, but I only purchase high quality meat (my sister raises clean, mostly grassfed beef, and we have a great chicken source as well). My biggest problem is eating out. I know I do it too much, and really need to break that cycle. It’s just when we get out to run errands/shop, it’s an all-day affair because we are far enough from the city we shop in that we can’t run back and forth. There are a few really healthy options there, but sadly not usually the ones we choose. ;-p

I know I’ll likely never go vegan because I really don’t want to consume soy on a regular basis, and can’t imagine never eating meat. Also, since I do purchase better quality meat (ethically and health-wise), I’m not as opposed to eating it. I won’t eat factory farmed, which is another reason I’d like to stay out of most restaurants.

It’s just a constant battle to do the right thing I guess. I just need a rule book. ;-p

I agree with happysmileylady, I don't think you need official guidelines.

I mean, there is no doubt to you that eating fast food is bad for you, right? Is there any debate on that? Who exactly do you need to hear that from?

I think your energy would be better spent towards taking time to make good food than to do more research.

And none of us are perfect, you've got to let stuff go to some degree. 

So, you are saying you felt good on a variety of diets then maybe you don't have to pick just one, really you don't have to follow a particular diet or anyone's rules unless you want to. Stop chasing the perfect diet.

Stop battling with yourself.

Aim to real foods that make you feel good.

Aim to enjoy foods that you really like that aren't healthy without any guilt every now and again but don't waste your time on crap you don't like.

[Soror]

My brother is preaching the keto gospel now and my Mom is feeling all guilty she ate a potato. 

Seriously, since I can remember she chased one fad after the next. 

I'm so tired of food guilt.

We need to clean up food and diets in the US but I don't think inducing guilt is the way to go about it.

[Garga]

People keep saying that we know what is good to eat, but not everyone does know what is good to eat.  I had to sit down and explain to my dh that what we were eating wasn't good for him anymore.  (Recently dx'd blockage in an artery).  Monday night is spaghetti night where we eat the regular pasta, sauce out of a jar, powdered cheese, and store bought turkey meatballs.  None of that is fresh food!  He was convinced we were eating a healthy meal.  I knew it was very, very borderline.  He was surprised that we'd have to change to whole wheat pasta, homemade sauce, and homemade turkeyballs.

Same thing with 4 out of 7 of the meals we eat: boxes, jars, and cans.  I can still make the same dishes, but it all has to be homemade instead of store made from now on.  

He has horribly high blood pressure and thought that as long as he brushed the salt off the pretzels he bought, he'd be fine.  He was not happy when I told him that pretzels were off the list.  However, he bounced back and found a recipe for some whole wheat chips that you make for yourself that aren't bad for you.  They're pretty tasteless, but have the crunch he craves. So, he spent the weekend happily puttering in the kitchen making himself something crunchy, but homemade.  

So, sometimes people just don't know.  My dh was raised by a mom who to this day literally thinks that Doritos are good for you because they're made with corn and cheese.  She's not kidding.  So, dh can't always tell what's good or bad for him, without a bit of guidance.  And he's smart.  Got a master's degree and everything.  But those childhood lessons stick sometimes.

[hornblower]

1 hour ago, happysmileylady said:

 

People have been consuming various forms and types of dairy for a really long time.  Cheeses, yogurts, cows milk, goats milk, etc etc etc.  I don’t think it can really be classified as “bad for almost everyone.”   In fact, I generally think that categorizing foods as “bad” or “good” is a bad idea.   Healthy or unhealthy are probably better terms, but even then, all foods are going to have healthy and unhealthy elements to them.  

Fwiw, globally about 75% of the world's population is lactose intolerant after weaning & yeah, it is bad for them. The ability to digest lactose after weaning is actually an identified genetic adaptation which appears well developed in some populations (specifically northern europeans) and is hardly present at all in other groups of people.  Assuming dairy is normal & traditional is inaccurate if you'e looking at homo s. sapiens as a whole. 

One of my objections to dairy is that it's stealing milk from babies & stealing babies from mamas. I think at many levels it's a crueller industry than just killing the darned animal quickly but that's a whole separate topic. 

[Soror]

8 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

Sure, some people don’t know.  And some people have special health conditions that require particular diets or diet changes and when that happens things can get even more confusing.  

 

But the OP said she knew some of the choices she was making while out running errands/shopping were not the healthiest choices.  

 

Most of us learned about the basic food groups in school.  And the truth is, they mostly still work, on their basic level.  I think what has confused a lot of people is how processed foods fit in. 

“Processed” foods can be healthy, it just depends on the process.  I mean, technically, a bag of frozen peas with only one item in the ingredient list is processed.  But once you start getting into peas with “butter sauce” and adding other ingredients, that is where confusion can set in. 

ITA, I know people totally clueless, one girl came over and did not even know how to make a salad. BUT that doesn't match Stacey's description in the least.

[Targhee]

4 hours ago, Bluegoat said:

Ok, about this mostly plants thing - people do realize that there are traditional diets that are not mostly plant based, and are quite appropriate to the places they come from?

I know there are. If I lived on the Alaskan slope year round dried whale blubber and seal meat would probably be perfect.  But I (and most people) don’t, and the request for a generalization right?  

I like meat, I know there are good things about it, I eat, but I eat it in moderation for several reasons.  One, it is a life taken to feed me. Two, the resources needed to grow a cow or chicken are greater than to grow plants (especially with regards to water and transportation/refrigeration). Third, the fiber in plant based foods does a better job of regulating appetite and moving things through my body smoothly than meats/daily products do. 

I have anemia, and meat sources of iron (aka heme iron) are more readily taken up than by the body than plant based irons, so I need meat to keep my iron levels up. Plus it tastes good! But I still thing it should be eaten sparingly for the reasons above.

[Targhee]

2 hours ago, Arctic Mama said:

Eating whole animals and vegetables, with fruits and sweets and nuts added in for interest and garnish.  Keeping insulin responses low is really important to long term health and a lack of inflammation, but not the same diet does that for each body.  Some people have more lead than others in that, others really need to be careful.

Whole animals meaning organ meat? That one is harder for me - texture issues, gagging. I imagine I could get used to it. What are the pros/cons of organ meats?

[Roadrunner]

Plants mostly

so much depends on medical conditions though. My type 1 diabetic relative can’t eat any grains or fruits and has to basically stick to eating fats and greens.

Absent the medical conditions I would say foods that aren’t processed, no added sugar, everything in moderation.

[Lady Florida.]

3 hours ago, happysmileylady said:

 

People have been consuming various forms and types of dairy for a really long time.  Cheeses, yogurts, cows milk, goats milk, etc etc etc.  I don’t think it can really be classified as “bad for almost everyone.”   In fact, I generally think that categorizing foods as “bad” or “good” is a bad idea.   Healthy or unhealthy are probably better terms, but even then, all foods are going to have healthy and unhealthy elements to them.  

Many ethnic groups are unable to process dairy. Most of those who can are from a European background where it seems dairy foods were most often consumed. Humans are naturally lactose intolerant (not counting our own milk up to the time we're weaned). Those of us who are not lactose intolerant are the outliers.

That doesn't mean dairy is unhealthy, just that it's unhealthy for some (most really) and had some health benefits for those who can tolerate it.

[EmilyGF]

One of the threads in "blue zones" is interpersonal connections.

So I think diets that cut you off from other people are problematic. (Santa Cruz, CA, I'm looking at you. <glare> That's where I used to live and everyone had their own special dietary restrictions that meant people couldn't really eat together, cutting people off from one another.)

Emily

[fairfarmhand]

4 hours ago, Attolia said:

It vastly depends on the person for specifics, but there are some general rules that possibly apply to all.

I think that sugar, refined and processed foods, chemical additives, and preservatives is bad for everyone. 

Fresh fruits and veggies are what we need to focus on and most people simply don't get enough of them.

Dairy is bad for almost everyone.  Even people who I have known to say "dairy isn't a problem for me" felt much better after they removed it from their diet.  I question whether we are really supposed to consume it at all.

Beyond that I think it gets very personal.  I choose a vegan diet because I have inflammatory issues/tendencies and this diet helps tremendously.  Maybe someone else would be fine with good quality meats?  I am also gluten free because of an autoimmune disease that is aggravated by gluten.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But, commercial dairy is vastly different from real dairy.

Like real eggs are different from commercially produced ones. 

(Says she she who milks daily.)

Many people have no experience with food that is raised in a natural manner, whether it's wild game, grass fed eggs and meat, and food produced right on the farm. 

[Bluegoat]

16 minutes ago, Targhee said:

I know there are. If I lived on the Alaskan slope year round dried whale blubber and seal meat would probably be perfect.  But I (and most people) don’t, and the request for a generalization right?  

I like meat, I know there are good things about it, I eat, but I eat it in moderation for several reasons.  One, it is a life taken to feed me. Two, the resources needed to grow a cow or chicken are greater than to grow plants (especially with regards to water and transportation/refrigeration). Third, the fiber in plant based foods does a better job of regulating appetite and moving things through my body smoothly than meats/daily products do. 

I have anemia, and meat sources of iron (aka heme iron) are more readily taken up than by the body than plant based irons, so I need meat to keep my iron levels up. Plus it tastes good! But I still thing it should be eaten sparingly for the reasons above.

 

The issue to me is that we actually can't make many generalizations. The arctic is one more extreme climate, but there are lots of differences in different kinds of climates and even different parts of the year.  In some places we see a lot of carbohydrates, in others a lot of fish, in some vegetables and fruit.  Most people eating all of those are healthier than the standard western diet, too, so I tend to think that is really where we should look for what is the elements that are a problem.

[Bluegoat]

4 hours ago, happysmileylady said:

Sure, as others have posted, humans are a pretty adaptable species and can survive, adapt to, and even thrive on a variety of diets.  That doesn’t necessarily mean that those traditional diets that lean more heavily in the meats (usually because of issues cultivating crops, such as in arctic regions) are automatically the healthiest diet. 

When refridgeration and freezing became available, people in general experienced an increase in overall health because they could now access a wider variety of food that wasn’t previously available to them locally.  The wider the variety of food people can access, generally speaking, the more likely it is that they will be able to consume all the nutrients they need. ...

 

 

I did't say anything about them being "automatically" the healthiest.  I don't think there is such a thing as the healthiest, I think there are quite a few healthy diets.  

But I also think our health is directly connected to relationship to land and nature.  And we can't really have an intimate relationship with something that is far away and abstract - we have it with our own land, our own community, our own ecosystem.  We need to learn to live in harmony with our own place - we have a hard time doing that already, so what are the chances we have that level of knowledge about a place far away?, If we can't live in harmony with our own place, it's unlikely we will live in harmony with another place when we are unfamiliar with it.  And that may well compromise the ability of people in those places to live in harmony with their ecosystem.  And that is what we see - we import foods from far away places, while the people who live there make do.

[Targhee]

17 minutes ago, Bluegoat said:

 

The issue to me is that we actually can't make many generalizations. The arctic is one more extreme climate, but there are lots of differences in different kinds of climates and even different parts of the year.  In some places we see a lot of carbohydrates, in others a lot of fish, in some vegetables and fruit.  Most people eating all of those are healthier than the standard western diet, too, so I tend to think that is really where we should look for what is the elements that are a problem.

There’s definitely something to what you say about looking to successful diets around the world. I imagine there are probably local foods which complement local needs very well (eg in the PNW there’s not a whole lot of sunshine and many are vitamin D deficient but we do get a lot of mushrooms growing which happen to be a good dietary source of VitD).

It’s probably just as pertinent to look at the cultures around food as well - meal times, meal preparation, social aspects of food preparation and eating, shopping and distribution, etc.  The pace of life for most Western families, both parents working, kids in activities, etc coupled with a culture of instantaneous and individualized consumerism is inconsistent with the pace necessary to prepare healthy food and to eat it instead of fast/indulgent/exactly-what-I-want food. And there are most probably other factors we aren’t even discussing which come into play.

[fralala]

My personal opinion is that having a healthy diet, one that is nourishing and life-sustaining, is about how we eat.

Enjoying food, eating with gratitude in the peaceful and loving presence of other human beings, chewing slowly and truly tasting it, noticing when one feels hungry or sluggish or satiated or energetic, thinking about the people who raised our food or the plants that nourish us or the lives of the animals we are eating-- these are healthy habits. Accepting that perhaps we cannot always afford or expect to eat as we would like to (philosophically, or in terms of actual taste), but we can always afford gratitude.

[Carrie12345]

3 hours ago, Garga said:

People keep saying that we know what is good to eat, but not everyone does know what is good to eat. 

Speaking only for myself, when I said/say "we know", I mean science has shown and people have access to that information, not that every individual has learned that information.

[Katy]

Statistically whole food (not processed) plant-based lower fat with 1-2 servings of healthy fats from nuts or avocados and 1-2 servings (or 4-8 ounces) of animal protein per week, whether from eggs, fish, cheese, or meat. Only eating the amount of calories you need, and eating 12 servings of produce per day.

What is "healthiest" for any individual adult who already has disease might be radically different though. 

[Jenny in Florida]

Has any one posted this yet? I thought it was great, and I have already shared it around:

http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/03/ultimate-conversation-on-healthy-eating-and-nutrition.html

[umsami]

22 minutes ago, Jenny in Florida said:

Has any one posted this yet? I thought it was great, and I have already shared it around:

http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/03/ultimate-conversation-on-healthy-eating-and-nutrition.html

I was just going to post that! :)

[Soror]

8 hours ago, Jenny in Florida said:

Has any one posted this yet? I thought it was great, and I have already shared it around:

http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/03/ultimate-conversation-on-healthy-eating-and-nutrition.html

Oh, I really, like that. I'm trying to think how many people I would offend by sharing that. 

[Runningmom80]

My son has food allergies and since his diagnosis I’ve done exhaustive research on “the best way to eat.”

 

i dont believe there is one best way and doctors are starting to say the same thing.

i think in general more vegetables and less sugar are universally “better” for you.

mediterranean looks to be great for most people.

vegetarian can be healthy for some but I no longer believe all (was a vegetarian for 6 years, vegan for 3)

 

the field of nutrition is still very young. We just don’t know enough to say what way is best, if there even is one way. 

[Runningmom80]

9 hours ago, Jenny in Florida said:

Has any one posted this yet? I thought it was great, and I have already shared it around:

http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/03/ultimate-conversation-on-healthy-eating-and-nutrition.html

 

Great article, I find Mark Bittman to be pretty genuine and knowledgeable. 

 

His “How to cook everything vegetarian” cookbook is really great.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Maybe there is no one best way for all people.  Heard this this morning.  From the NPR website.  You can hear the podcast there. 

April 10, 2018

William Barrington, University of California Los Angeles – Genetics and Dietary Recommendations

William Barrington recording his Academic Minute. One diet does not fit all. William Barrington, postdoctoral scientist at the University of California Los Angeles, explores the role genetics play in determining which diet will work for you. William Barrington is a geneticist who investigates the relationship between nutrition and health. His graduate research was performed in David Threadgill's laboratories at NC State and Texas A&M Universities. He is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA. Genetics and Dietary Recommendations https://academicminute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/04-10-18-UCLA-Genetics-and-Dietary-Recommendations.mp3 Historically, dietary recommendations have used a one-size-fits-all approach. The assumption that a diet that promotes health in one person will work equally well for another has been challenged by a growing appreciation that genetic factors can affect the way we respond to a given stimulus. The objective of our study was to identify the degree to which genetics influence the health effects of diet. Our study investigated the health effects of four popular human diets- a typical American diet, traditional Japanese and Mediterranean diets, and a low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet. The study was performed in mice, which have similar digestive systems and genetics as humans, but allow for precise control of environmental and genetic factors that is not possible in people. Mice were fed diets for six months, while a wide-range of clinical health parameters were evaluated, including changes in body weight, physical activity, metabolic rate, and signs of diabetes, liver disease and heart disease. While all the mice suffered negative effects of the American diet, the severity effects varied widely depending on the genetics of the mouse. Some mice had relatively minor effects, like slightly increased body fat, whereas others had metabolic syndrome similar to that observed in severely obese people. We then compared the effects of the American diet to the other three alternative diets. While no single alternative diet improved health across all the mice, there was at least one diet the improved health in each individual depending on their genetic makeup. The results of the study show that genetics profoundly affect how diets influence our health. A diet that is healthy for one individual may not be for another. Precision dietetics, which considers genetic factors in dietary recommendations, may provide better health outcomes than the traditional, one-size-fits-all dietary advice. Read More: [Genetics]: Improving Metabolic Health Through Precision Dietetics in Mice [Understand Nutrition]: Science Shows Promise of Personalized Diets Over Universal Recommendations

[Runningmom80]

47 minutes ago, SparklyUnicorn said:

Maybe there is no one best way for all people.  Heard this this morning.  From the NPR website.  You can hear the podcast there. 

April 10, 2018

William Barrington, University of California Los Angeles – Genetics and Dietary Recommendations

William Barrington recording his Academic Minute. One diet does not fit all. William Barrington, postdoctoral scientist at the University of California Los Angeles, explores the role genetics play in determining which diet will work for you. William Barrington is a geneticist who investigates the relationship between nutrition and health. His graduate research was performed in David Threadgill's laboratories at NC State and Texas A&M Universities. He is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA. Genetics and Dietary Recommendations https://academicminute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/04-10-18-UCLA-Genetics-and-Dietary-Recommendations.mp3 Historically, dietary recommendations have used a one-size-fits-all approach. The assumption that a diet that promotes health in one person will work equally well for another has been challenged by a growing appreciation that genetic factors can affect the way we respond to a given stimulus. The objective of our study was to identify the degree to which genetics influence the health effects of diet. Our study investigated the health effects of four popular human diets- a typical American diet, traditional Japanese and Mediterranean diets, and a low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet. The study was performed in mice, which have similar digestive systems and genetics as humans, but allow for precise control of environmental and genetic factors that is not possible in people. Mice were fed diets for six months, while a wide-range of clinical health parameters were evaluated, including changes in body weight, physical activity, metabolic rate, and signs of diabetes, liver disease and heart disease. While all the mice suffered negative effects of the American diet, the severity effects varied widely depending on the genetics of the mouse. Some mice had relatively minor effects, like slightly increased body fat, whereas others had metabolic syndrome similar to that observed in severely obese people. We then compared the effects of the American diet to the other three alternative diets. While no single alternative diet improved health across all the mice, there was at least one diet the improved health in each individual depending on their genetic makeup. The results of the study show that genetics profoundly affect how diets influence our health. A diet that is healthy for one individual may not be for another. Precision dietetics, which considers genetic factors in dietary recommendations, may provide better health outcomes than the traditional, one-size-fits-all dietary advice. Read More: [Genetics]: Improving Metabolic Health Through Precision Dietetics in Mice [Understand Nutrition]: Science Shows Promise of Personalized Diets Over Universal Recommendations

 

 

This makes a lot of sense to me.

[Bluegoat]

What's interesting is that lab mice aren't exactly genetically all that diverse, compared to human beings.

[StaceyinLA]

21 hours ago, hornblower said:

Fwiw, globally about 75% of the world's population is lactose intolerant after weaning & yeah, it is bad for them. The ability to digest lactose after weaning is actually an identified genetic adaptation which appears well developed in some populations (specifically northern europeans) and is hardly present at all in other groups of people.  Assuming dairy is normal & traditional is inaccurate if you'e looking at homo s. sapiens as a whole. 

One of my objections to dairy is that it's stealing milk from babies & stealing babies from mamas. I think at many levels it's a crueller industry than just killing the darned animal quickly but that's a whole separate topic. 

I do think dairy is a much more cruel industry than beef (chicken/pork have it worse than beef). I have felt good about dairy when we had our own goats and, even though I milked them once a day, their babies stayed nursing as long as they wanted (and some were quite old when the goats finally kicked them off). I’m not saying I don’t eat dairy because I’d be lying, but I do eat from certain sources. The sad thing is, even those are likely pulling babies from mommas within a couple days. I hate that, and that’s one of the main reasons I limit, and would love to eliminate completely, dairy.

[SparklyUnicorn]

2 hours ago, Bluegoat said:

What's interesting is that lab mice aren't exactly genetically all that diverse, compared to human beings.

 

I didn't read the original study (yet), but I think they manipulated the genes.

[BeachGal]

On 4/8/2018 at 10:21 PM, StaceyinLA said:

Do you think there is a way of eating that is truly healthier than others? If so, what is it, and what is it that makes you believe it’s better?

 

Generally, a diet that feeds your microbiome and maintains the mucus lining of the intestine is healthiest. Fasting properly is healthy, too, because it allows the body to “clean up” subcellular material which is otherwise inflammatory.