An ideal nutrition prescription "in a nutshell":
Eat complete proteins, organic vegetables and fruit, nuts and seeds, little starch and no sugar; eat when you are hungry, stop eating when you are full. Drink plenty of clean water.
- Carbohydrate drives insulin response. Insulin is an energy storage hormone.
- Protein drives glucagon response. Glucagon is an energy mobilization hormone.
These must be in balance.
EFAs, Essential Fatty Acids, fuel eicosanoid response. Eicosanoids govern inflammation and immune response. These are:
- pro-inflammatory (from omega-6s)
- anti-inflammatory (from omega-3s)
These must be in balance.
This a bit of an oversimplification, but a very effective one, that will guarantee you freedom from metabolic derangement (Google "Syndrome X"). Basically, eat whole foods, real foods, things that grew on or in the earth. Minimal processing. Balance protein and carbs, avoid refined sugar and refined fats as much as possible.
- Check out this video to learn more about fat metabolism with Gary Taubes, author of "Good Calories, Bad Calories".
- Check out this video to learn more about dietary fat and silent inflammation from Barry Sears, author of "The Zone" and "Toxic Fat". He has a much longer, more detailed talk available through the CrossFit Journal.
- You can get a bit of a summary in this article.
- The you'll find a lifetime of nutrition research from Robb Wolf, he's on the cutting edge of nutrition and human performance.
Take it one step at a time. I echoose my food based on three considerations:
- Health
- Enjoyment
- Convenience
Be realistic, make small changes to healthier and more balanced nutrition, make a project of finding more wholesome foods that you enjoy. I have only ended up eating a wholesome diet because I love food so much. Cultivate the enjoyment of taste, and try new things.
Bon appetite!