Nutrition Basics: How Serious Is This?

Some people may wonder, how serious is the health problem in the United States?  The figure is staggering...

If you add up all the military deaths of the 20th and 21st centuries including World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan, that is only 60% of the number of people who die every year from diet-related disease.

Keep eating those vegetables!

What's wrong with extra virgin olive oil?

This was a question posed by a reader on a previous post and I thought the question was so important that it bears its own post.  So here goes...

Extra virgin olive oil falls into the category of processed oils.  It is pure fat, including saturated fat and any nutrients that it once had while in an olive have been removed.  So, there is no nutritional value in it.

But isn't fat necessary in your diet?

Absolutely.  Fat is necessary.  According to Dr. Dean Ornish, the body requires about 5% of your dietary calories to come from fat for effective body functioning.

So why not throw on some olive oil?

Because the average American has about 35-40% of their calories coming from fat.  Wow!  That's 35% more than your body requires.  In addition, your body is very efficient at turning fat in your diet into stored fat on your butt.  Your body does not see fat as food!  Your body sees fat as emergency store and puts it away for a time when food is scarce.  Wonder why America is obese?  Check the fat content on packaged foods.

On any label, take the Calories from Fat and divide it by the total Calories.  On this label, Calories from Fat are 120.  Total Calories are 280.  120/280 = .43

That means this food is 43% fat by calories.  In short, put it back.  Go find the food without a nutrition label.  Where's that?  The produce section!

Let's look at a few vegetables and fruits:

Broccoli - 10% fat by calories
Kale - 11% fat by calories
Spinach - 14% fat by calories
Tomato - 7% fat by calories  
Apple - 3% fat by calories
Whole wheat - 4% fat by calories

You can see that Mother Nature provides plenty of fat for our bodies when the foods are in their natural state.  By cutting out processed oils and eating foods the way nature intended (raw or cooked), we provide our bodies the nutrient dense foods they want.

Most people who eat a whole-foods, plant-based diet with no added oils end up with a fat intake somewhere between 10 - 20%, which is great for your body and your health.  If your fat intake is above that, the average person will begin to see health issues creep in slowly.

So, if you want to include "healthy" fats in your diet, leave the bottles of oil behind.  Instead, add a few natural foods that contain oils like walnuts or flax seeds or avocados or olives.  A little planning goes a long way and you'll never have to buy a crazy expensive bottle of EVOO again.

Eat colors!

I had to share this photo of Japanese sweet potatoes from my garden.  The vibrant purple color was unbelievable.  Every ad you hear for food these days talks about antioxidants and how they help prevent cancer.  Interestingly, antioxidants in foods express themselves as colors.  Each one has a different, yet very positive effect on your body and your health.  It is also no coincidence that if you Google "highest antioxidant foods" that every list you find will be 100% fruits and vegetables.

If you wonder about the connection between the consumption of animal protein and cancer, check out the China Study.  It will change the way you think about food and its connection to your health.

So, when planning your gourmet meals, look for the brightest and widest array of colors to pile on your plate.  It is not only visually appealing, it's great for your body too.

Nutrition Basics: Balanced Meals

What should my plate look like?

This is an easy one.  On average, your plate should have roughly 2/3 grains and legumes.  The other 1/3 is vegetables and fruits.  That's it.

Then listen to your body.  If want more vegetables or a massive power salad, eat it!  Just make sure you're eating whole foods and not a bunch of processed junk.

No need to count calories, read nutrition books, starve yourself, or pound down protein shakes.

This simple idea is all you need for great nutrition.  Everything your body needs will be taken care of.

Nutrition Basics: Satiety

Let me introduce you to what I call, "the french fry effect."

You sit down to a meal and you can eat three full plates of french fries.  Afterward, you feel a bit sick and a bit hungry, but somehow you ate all those potatoes without a problem.

The next day, you sit down to a meal and you are served one dry baked potato.  You can hardly finish it!

Why does this happen?

It all comes down to satiety, or what makes you feel full.  Strangely, the body does not register fat as food.  It is more than double the calories of carbs or protein, but the body doesn't really recognize it as food when it comes to eating.

Researchers say that the body sees dietary fat as emergency store.  It's not for everyday energy burning.  That's what carbohydrates are for.  Your muscles, your brain, your nervous system and many organs run purely on glucose aka carbs.  That's why when you eat carbs, it goes straight to your muscles and organs for use.  When you eat fat, it goes straight to your butt for storage.

So, when meal time comes, the foods that fill you up most are foods with:

-fiber
-protein
-water

That's why foods like beans and rice are so filling.  Every culture has their version of grains and legumes.  Beans and rice.  Corn and beans.  Wheat and lentils.  Rice and soy.  Many cultures' cuisines are defined by these foods.

Add fat and suddenly, your satiety is thrown off.  The body says, "Hey!  That's not regular food.  Send down more regular food."  So, you eat more.  A lot more...  just trying to get full.

By cutting added fat out of your diet, you get a double bonus.  Not only will you consume fewer calories by removing the added fat, but you also will get full sooner because there's no fat to throw off your satiety.

It's the most amazing thing.  When I started eating and cooking this way, I could only eat about 2/3 of the food I was able to eat previously.  Weight loss happened without even thinking about it or feeling like you are depriving yourself of good food.

So, eat!  Cut out the fat.  And stop eating when you feel full.  You'll be on your way to better health and effortless weight loss in no time.

Nutrition Basics: Fat

Fat is an abnormally large part of the American diet.  Most Americans eat a diet that is 35 - 40% fat.  Imagine your dinner plate and then picture that more than 1/3 of your plate is just pure unadulterated jiggly fat.  Wonder why 2/3 of America is overweight?  That's one big reason.

According to Dr. Dean Ornish, the human body needs a diet of a minimum of 5% fat to function effectively.  So, let's look at the fat content of a few vegetables.

Eggplant is about 8% fat by calories
Broccoli and Chard are about 10% fat by calories
Spinach is around 14% fat by calories

 So, what does this tell us?  Mother Nature gave us all the fat our bodies need in food's natural packages.  We don't need extra virgin olive oil dumped all over our foods because it is a "good fat" or because we "need" oil.

You don't "need" any processed oils in your diet for your body to function effectively.  

Mother Nature provides all the fat you need.

Sadly, in cooking, oil is ALWAYS the first thing people reach for to start cooking.  We use it to fry garlic and onions, we pan fry with it, we deep fry with it, we coat baking sheets with it, we add it to every recipe we make.  All that fat adds up.

The human body is extremely efficient at turning fat in your diet into fat on your butt.  You want to lose weight in a hurry?  Cut the added fat out of your diet.

EVOO may taste good but all the nutrients have been removed from oil.  The only thing in there is fat that's going straight to your butt and your arteries.

So, what do we do instead?

1.  Water frying
2.  Instead of olive oil, throw a few olives in your dish or a few walnuts or a slice of avocado.  Whole foods still have all their nutrients and are a much healthier choice than a bottle of oil.

Eat food the way Mother Nature intended.  Leave the EVOO at the store.

Nutrition Basics: Protein

Any time I tell people I eat a plant-based diet, they will predictably ask, "where do you get your protein?"  It is a refrain heard constantly by vegetarians.  Yet, when asked, how much protein does a person need?  Those same people have no idea what to answer.  So, here's the scoop without getting too technical:

Protein is used to repair damaged tissue, build cell walls, among its many functions.  The average person needs around 30 grams of protein per day.  One cup of brown rice and one cup of lentils equals about 23 grams of protein.  That's almost your entirely daily need if you ate nothing else all day!

It turns out that it is nearly impossible to be protein deficient when you are eating a diet that is full of unprocessed whole foods, starches and vegetables.  Even the needs of body builders are only 12% higher than your average person.  That would put their needs in the 35 - 40 grams per day range.

This is why my recipes are not packed with mock meats and other plant-based products like tofu, seitan and tempeh.  They have their place in plant-based cuisine but these sorts of refined protein foods are simply not necessary to meet one's daily protein needs.

So, where do I get my protein?  From an amazing array of vegetables, legumes, grains and starches that provide all the protein my body needs.