So, what should you eat for optimal health? – Part I
That is the million dollar question. Isn’t it? This is such a big and controversial topic that so far I had dared not touch it. There is so much information out there on this topic. It is mind boggling.
Let us start from a simple premise.
Let’s assume for a moment that you can get over all the excuses like: I don’t like the taste of it, or I am a vegetarian, or I cannot live without meat, or but that’s the way I was raised, or but I travel too much, or, I don’t have time to eat healthy, etc., etc., etc.
If the only objective was optimal health and you could follow whatever diet or nutritional plan was optimal, what should you eat?
Well, that is the question I have been asking and answer I have been searching for quite a while now.
Here is a sampling of the books I have read, in no particular order, looking for the answer:
All of these books have their specific points-of-view.
Some of these advocate vegetarian or vegan food.
Some recommend high protein.
Some recommend low carbs.
Some balanced meals.
Some advocate very low amount fats.
Some recommend saturated fats. Some don’t.
Some focus on eating simple foods.
Some focus on sugar management.
Some say track (count) calories.
Some say don’t bother with calories counting.
So, what is one to do?
It is so easy to get lost in trees or the nuances of different food paradigms.
While there are so many things these books don’t agree on, there are also a lot they all do agree on.
Looking for what they do agree on, here are some basic principles I have extracted from these and other books and resources:
- What you eat, how much you eat and when you eat, all matter
- Eat clean
- Eat lots of vegetables and fruits
- Use only healthy fats and fat sources
- Incorporate sufficient proteins in your diet
- Best beverage to drink is pure water
- Add or subtract specific foods based on your personal needs
Over the next posts, I plan to take each of these items one at time and share my thoughts. For now, I would like to hear your feedback on this list of basic principles.
Have you seen any diet book or nutritional studies that violate any of these basic principles?
Do you think there should be other basic principles to add to this list?
Purposely Live to120 
Hi Ashok. you are certainly making progress on your next 60. Do you miss any of the things that you have removed from your diet? And do you or have you had any dificulty with acid reflux at any time? If so how did you deal with it?
Anne, These are good questions. I personally don’t miss things that I have removed from my diet as badly as some other people. In general, I find it much easier to totally eliminate something from the diet than to have a little bit of it. I recently read a book by a brain researcher who provides a logic of why that is so. Many foods and ingredient, e.g., salt, sugar, alcohol, cheese, meats generate dopamine, which makes it harder to just eat a little or just one time. So, when commercials dare us that ‘you can’t just eat one’, they are right since there is a biological reason for it. If you totally quit something, then you don’t have the same urge. Of course, many times there are other sensor anchors in our brain, e.g., certain smells bring back the anchored emotions. Overcoming such anchored urges are easier to get over if I pick equivalent choices. After quitting sugar for few weeks, I find that all fruits, taste so much sweeter.
On the second question, it has been a long time since I had this issue and frankly I don’t remember my personal specific situation. These days, if any one is having that issue, I would recommend two different actions. First, if it is possible to do, I would try to find what foods cause it and then eliminate those foods from the diet. Second, I would try out some probiotics. It is now well known that lack of proper gut bacteria can cause all sorts for digestive issues. These days, Kimberly and I are taking RAW Probiotics Ultimate Care-100 Billion Garden of Life 30 VCaps, by Garden of Life. We order it from Amazon. You take just one capsule and day at any time of the day. Within the course of a 30 day, I would expect noticeable difference. This has made a huge difference in my personal flatulence, which I have known was caused by some undigested proteins but did not know what to do about it.