Diet Advice!

[TelephoneAngel]

Um, what are "pulses"? Is this a UK-ism?

Hello

I don't know if it is only a uk-ism but it encompasses things like lentils, grains of barley, I think probably couscous and any other small grains that can be eaten.

[Seshat]

Sorry, in my understanding its legumes: beans, peas, lentils and so on.

(wiki searches)

Apparently wikipedia agrees with me.

[TelephoneAngel]

Sorry, in my understanding its legumes: beans, peas, lentils and so on.

(wiki searches)

Apparently wikipedia agrees with me.

Probably right then as an "official" definition. Although I think various definitions are out there.

[TelephoneAngel]

i just took a mouthful of the lamb mix outof the crockpot.Delicious.That's tomorrow's dinner sorted out

I meant to say as well i had been drinking al ot of fruit juice in cartons from the supermarket thinking it was healthy but i have been watching an interesting programme on tv about how healthy various things in your diet actually are and those fruit juices have more sugar in them than cans of soda!

[Whiskey]

you didnt know fruit had a crap ton of sugar in it? Theres a difference between the sugars, but yeah, fruit is sweet because it has natural sugars in it. A lot of them.


I hope you realize how fatty lamb is.

[Seshat]

Two pieces of fruit a day* is fine, but ideally whole fruit rather than juiced. Or if juiced, include the pulp - put the fruit in a blender, rather than a juicer, and drink/eat the whole thing.

A smoothie made in a blender with ice and/or milk is fine too, just don't add sugar and count the milk in your dairy for the day.


* for berries, grapes, melons and other odd-sized fruits, 'a piece' is a serve about the size of an apple.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

I love blending up fruit and a little bit of milk or juice to make smoothies.
(I never add sugar to them, ruins the taste.)
Thought I'd check in, tell y'all how I'm doing with fixing my diet.
I'm eating a lot more veggies and fruit. I'm also taking various vitamins under the recommendation of my doctor-- like vitamin D3.
I'm also inserting whole grains into my diet-- like whole wheat tortillas rather than regular ones, bread with flax seed in it, Triscuits (shredded wheat-type cracker) rather than saltines.
Cut way the hell back on added sugar, and tea (my source of caffeine, which I don't really need to function). Yeah, tea's good for people, but it constitutes a lot of my sugar intake!
I'm more careful with my protein intake-- quality and deliciousness instead of at random.
I'm also actually looking at my fat intake as a thing now too!
So far, so good-- feeling pretty good.
I made leek-potato soup, blended it all up so it was like Vichyssoise, but without the cream-- I put in the sour cream later, and my mom adds sausage, so I do too. It's good and so so simple.
What kind of mint would you recommend with strawberries and/or cherries? What are good mint/fruit combos, because I want to start putting non-fruit flavors in my smoothies, because yes fruit is yummy, but spices are good too!
(also, 'pulse' is a proper term for those sorts of things, just not used often. )

[Andara Bledin]

For those who need more D, you should consider checking to see how much sunlight you get over the course of a typical week.

Current research suggests that 10-20 minutes of sunlight a couple of times a week outside of peak hours should provide enough vitamin D in addition to regular food sources. Of course, since you can't charge people for going into the sun, it doesn't get as much research as it should.

Vitamin D is vital to our health, and the increased risk of developing cancer from too little is something that doesn't get as much attention as it should.

^-.-^

[Magpie]

Current research suggests that 10-20 minutes of sunlight a couple of times a week outside of peak hours should provide enough vitamin D in addition to regular food sources. Of course, since you can't charge people for going into the sun, it doesn't get as much research as it should.

This does not apply past about 45 degrees latitude. Canadians cannot get enough vitamin D just from sunlight year round. In the summer you can (although probably not if you live really far North), but even in Toronto which is pretty far South, you need supplements in the winter time. (Yes, I'm aware that this is probably connected to how much you bundle up, even though they never say this). Your face does not synthesize vitamin D.

What I'm saying:
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/...ls-canada.html

What Andara is saying:
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/...vitamin-d.html

[TelephoneAngel]

Chicken is protein?

Tonight I bought some nice chicken breasts chopped some onion garlic and olives with mushrooms and tomatoes and putthem in an oven dish covered with chicken stock mixed with mild curry powder.

When It is cooked I cannot decide if to have rice or a can of lentils with it.Maybe the lentils would be strange?

I have also cooked some salmon with herbs and lemon and i am thinking of taking it to work tomorrow for lunch with a bit of salad.

[blas]

Chicken is excellent protein. As is tuna fish.

I eat chicken and tuna almost every day. I have a very high protein diet. Also fiber. Never enough fiber!

I can't afford the smoothies I was having a while back, but they filled me up to not needing to snack. But beware. Lots of protein = lots of poo poo.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Chicken is excellent protein. As is tuna fish.

I eat chicken and tuna almost every day. I have a very high protein diet. Also fiber. Never enough fiber!

I can't afford the smoothies I was having a while back, but they filled me up to not needing to snack. But beware. Lots of protein = lots of poo poo.

fiber+protein= constipation, if you get too much!

[Solumina]

Just watch the long lived ocean fish as you don't want mercury poisoning, for example yellowtail tuna that you tend to find in steak form is much lower in mercury levels than the albacore found in a can.

[Whiskey]

Chicken is protein?

If you're not joking I really, really want you to go to your local library and pick up a book on nutrition.

[Seshat]

Animals: protein, animal-based fat, iron, assorted micronutrients.
(Animals: all birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, insects, etc)

Dairy: Mammal milk & milk-derived products. Proteins, animal fats, calcium & micronutrients.

Eggs: Proteins, animal fats, micronutrients, and eggshell is almost pure calcium.


Now, protein is actually 'a set of closely related molecules'. We need the full 'human' protein kit for health. All animals, dairy and eggs can give us the full 'human' protein kit.

Grains give us an almost, but not completely full kit.

Pulses (beans, peas, lentils, etc) give us an almost, but not completely full kit.

However, the ones grains are missing are not the ones pulses are missing.

Therefore, vegetarians and vegans who wish to be healthy MUST eat both grains and pulses every day.


Grains, pulses, and almost all fruit & veg give fibre, though some (like watermelon) have less than others. (Oats are a great fibre food.)


Energy foods are fats, oils and sugars. Anything creamy, oily, fatty or sweet contains energy. The body can also convert excess protein to energy.
(The 'rich' taste in cakes and muffins also comes from fats, usually butter.)

Energy that your body doesn't use during the course of the day can (and usually will) be converted to body fat. IE: stored for use during lean times.


Vitamins and minerals are found in all foods other than pure refined sugar. Each food contains a different set of vitamins and minerals.
The two ways to be sure you get all of them are (1) to become a nutrition expert and look up tables and calculate and be all boring about it; or (2) to eat from each category of foodstuffs, eat a wide variety of foods, make sure you eat varied colours of fruit/vegetables, make sure you eat from all parts of the plant, and (ideally) eat different types of animal and different parts of animals.

If you choose to avoid a particular group of foods (eg, not eating any animal flesh, or not eating any seafood), I advise speaking to a nutritionist. They can give you tips like the 'eat grains + pulses to make a full protein set' one.