Tuesday, February 24, 2009

High Nutrition Diary

Daily Supplements: GentleCare Multivitamin(2), OsteoSun (vitamin D) (4, 2 at breakfast, 2 at lunch), LDL Support (2), Saw Palmetto (2)

Today was interesting in that I kept my fat intake to less than 15% and really didn't crave the nuts/seeds. I had just 1.5 oz. during cycling training. It's only one day, but I had lots of starchy carbohydrates. My morning smoothie was loaded with fruit, and green leafy vegetables. For lunch the Kitchari had brown rice and the soup had a little pasta. For dinner I had two french rolls, something I haven't eaten for quite some time. I ate a little hummus with the rolls, but still kept the fat intake for the day low. It looks like there is a trade off between starches and the fat from nuts/seeds and other healthy sources. Dr. Fuhrman rules in favor of the nutrients from the nuts/seeds over the starches. Maybe, for me, the best is a compromise between the two.

The nutrition details also show that my ratio of Omega 3/Omega6 was more favorable at 3:1. The ratio has been 4-5:1 on most other days when I eat more nuts/seeds. Some nutritionists say that the lower this ratio, the better.

For the past week, my fat intake has averaged 18%, which is 3% lower than the average since I started using CRON-O-METER. Looks like to keep my fat intake between 15-20%, I need to eat more lower nutrition starches and less higher nutrition nuts/seeds. I am not sure whether that is the right way to go or not. I guess this is the essence of the difference between Dr. McDougall and Dr. Fuhrman. Dr. McDougall argues that starches (rice, potatoes, etc.) have been the staple of the world's healthiest populations. Dr. Fuhrman argues that we can do better by lowering starch consumption and centering the diet around vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables, fruit, beans/legumes, nuts/seeds and whole grains. Dr. Fuhrman argues that his eating style has a higher nutrient density and therefore is more disease fighting. Dr. McDougall argues that the higher fat from nuts/seeds may not be good for the circulatory system and urges a lower fat diet.

Are we talking about a real significant difference here? It would be nice if there were some research to resolve the difference. In the meantime, I may just split the difference.

Breakfast

Kitchen Sink Smoothie II

Snack during and after cycling

Raw trail mix
Banana
Raisins
Dates

Lunch

Carrot, pasta and bean soup
Zucchini and Asparagus Kitchari

Dinner

Lentil, bean and mushroom soup
2 french rolls
3 tbsp hummus
Multi-Fruit Sorbet

Nutrition Summary


Nutrition Detail

3 comments:

kneecap said...

I'm finding it hard to get enough calories so I'm leaning towards more nuts myself.

Howard Veit said...

The thing I like about nuts and seeds is that they are so easy on the stomach, at least for me. I know some people have a hard time digesting them. The more carbs I eat, the more I feel like I am getting a sugar fix, especially with the dried fruit. It is definitely a balancing act.

kneecap said...

yes I agree. Nuts are hard for me to digest. I'm finding 2 oz is good. dried fruit is dangerous for me, the dates anyway--makes me want more. but the starchy veggies I do well with. I agree, a balancing act. The crono-meter program really helps out with this I've found.