[pete]

pete on May 9, 2003 at 4:33 am #8389

This could end up being a whole thread meant to answer any questions about real food people have, but to start off I have a few questions:
1.)Are avocodos good nutritional choices? I couldn’t find much about them.
2.)What kind of cheeses are out there that are good? Are almost all of them good?
3.)What are some choices for omega-3s besides fish and flaxseed, which apparently isn’t a good choice because of the high number of phytoestrogens? I guess the answer to this can be supplemental.
4.)What kind of vegetables is everyone eating nowadays? I really can’t find many that I like and I end up having tons of fruit and hardly any veggies.

[pete]

pete on May 10, 2003 at 3:02 am #20208

Two more questions:
1.)Are raisins good choices, or are they processed, de-nutrientized, and nastified by the time they make it to the box?
2.)Is brown rice the good rice and white rice bad? How about yellow rice?

[Mike Young]

Mike Young on May 18, 2003 at 4:10 pm #20209

[*]Avocados are great for you, the type of fat and the vitamin / antioxidant profile in them is among the best you'll find.
[*]All cheeses are relatively high in LDL fat and provide less than optimal nutritional value for the calories consumed. Like all foods though, they are perfectly fine in moderation. Goat, cream, neufchatel, and cottage are all pretty low in fat content.
[*]Omega 3s can also be found in certain nuts (especially walnuts), grass fed meats, and green leafy vegetables.
[*]Try to eat the most colorful fruits & vegetables you can. As a general rule of thumb, the more color a fruit or vegetable has, the more antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals it will have.
[*]Carrots, peppers, and tomatos (if we consider it a veggie) are great, easy to incorporate vegetables that have great nutritional profiles.
[*]Raisins are fine but are very calorie dense due to the fact that they have very little water content (and thus occupy less space in the stomach) but still have roughly the same caloric value.
[*]I believe it's difficult to make blanket "good or bad" categories of rice based on their color because their may be a lot of glycemic index variation within a given color based on their origin.

ELITETRACK Founder

[Carl Valle]

Carl Valle on May 18, 2003 at 10:35 pm #20210

The key for any nutritional plan is to see what natural foods you like first, and then find a way to integrate them into your diet. I am working on percentages that I feel can be real and healthy. One example of this is raw food. Even preparations described by Udo are not ideal, so you have to find ways to balance supplementation and preparation.

(1) What percent of your calories cooked?

(2) What percent of your calories are certified organic?

(3) What percent of your calories prepared by someone else?

(4) What percent of your food has labels?

This general information can be placed into my ranking scale (posted previously on other boards…cyclingforums?) and can be used as a general guideline. I am also a regular person so don't think that you must eat everything off the bush or tree and do your own fishing to be healthy….

I would add blueberries to your diet on a multi weekly basis. The USDA research center tested an array of foods and found them to be the most potent.

Researchers at the USDA Human Nutrition Center (HNRCA) have found that blueberries rank #1 in antioxidant activity when compared to 40 other fresh fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants help neutralize harmful by-products of metabolism called "free radicals" that can lead to cancer and other age related diseases. Anthocyanin — the pigment that makes the blueberries blue — is thought to be responsible for this major health benefit

[Carl Valle]

Carl Valle on May 19, 2003 at 12:41 am #20211

(1) New research from UCLA indicates that California avocados have nearly twice as much Vitamin E as previously reported., making avocados the highest fruit source of the powerful antioxidant. Vitamin E is known to slow the aging process, protect against heart disease and common forms of cancer by neutralizing free radicals in the body.

(2) Avocados are also the highest fruit source of lutein – a phytochemical known as a carotenoid, which helps protect against prostate cancer and eye disease such as cataracts and macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly.

(3) Avocados are the top rated fruit for glutathione content. Glutathione functions as an antioxidant like vitamin E to neutralize free radicals that can cause cell damage which leads to disease.

(4) Avocados also rank highest in the following phytochemicals and nutrients among the most frequently consumed fruits
-Beta-sitosterol which lowers blood cholesterol levels.
-Monounsaturated fats – heart healthy fats proven to help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and boost HDL (good) cholesterol.
-Folate – promotes healthy cell and tissue development, helping to protect against birth defects.
-Potassium – helps balance the body's electrolytes. Avocados contains 60% more potassium than bananas.
-Magnesium – helps produce energy and is important for muscle contraction and relaxation
-Fiber – lowers cholesterol and reduces risk of heart attack.

Of course the benefits are great listed by avacoado.org, adding them to your diet is not easy. I suggest you add avocados into your diet via sandwiches. I like egg salad with strip of avocados on a heavy grain bread. Then of course mexcian food…..:P

[pete]

pete on May 21, 2003 at 5:57 am #20212

Thanks a lot!!!!!!