We're all used to seeing "What I Eat In A Day" videos on YouTube where, for some reason that I've never quite understood, these seem to be really popular. Sure, I can see why people who are looking to lose weight or put on muscle might want to see some examples of what their role models eat, how much and how often, etc. But very often these kinds of videos are put out by people with very poor to zero nutritional knowledge and can even be a dangerous source of nutritional advice. What would make more sense to me is to look for examples of what we should be eating each day, not based on some YouTube celebrity or an adherent of some fringe or extreme diet, but based on real scientific evidence. It's absolutely insane that in an attempt to justify their bad eating habits and addiction to meat and dairy, people would rather follow dietary advice from idiots like Sv3rige or Nikocado Avocado instead of highly qualified experts on the subject. If only there was someone who had the time to wade through in great detail and really analyse all of the peer-reviewed scientific nutritional studies that were published, in order to discern exactly what we should be eating for optimal health and wellbeing. Thankfully, Dr Michael Gregor from nutritionfacts.org has made it his life's work to wade through all of the studies available, on an ongoing basis, in order that we don't have to! Now, as a result of his years of intensive study, Dr Gregor knows that all of the evidence adds up to show that a whole food, plant based/vegan diet is the the optimal diet for human health and nutrition. However, not all plant foods are created equal. For example, if you were to eat only potatoes it would be a whole food plant based diet but wouldn't give you optimal nutrition! So he's compiled lots and lots of videos and blog posts about the different nutrients available in various different foods and you should head on over to his website and his YouTube channel to have a look at some of these. But what he has basically done is condensed all of this huge wealth of information down to what he calls his daily dozen - twelve essential elements that you should be trying to incorporate every single day as part of a balanced and varied lifestyle and I've summarised these below. I cannot delve into all of the different food groups here to talk about all the awesome foods and near-miraculous components within each group or why these are so important so again I would urge you to head on over to NutritionFacts.org or get the Daily Dozen app from the app store so that you never again have to rely on random YouTubers giving you biased advice on what to eat... Legumes Hummus or bean dip, cooked beans, split peas, lentils, tofu, tempeh, fresh peas or sprouted lentils. Berries Fresh, frozen or dried. Other Fruits A wide variety of fresh and dried fruit is recommended. Cruciferous Vegetables Things like, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, watercress, Brussels sprouts or broccoli sprouts and horseradish Greens Both raw and cooked. Other Vegetables Raw and cooked, leafy and non-leafy veg, vegetable juice, mushrooms. Flaxseeds One tablespoon ground Nuts and Seeds Quarter cup of nuts or seeds Two tablespoons of nut or seed butter Herbs and Spices Quarter teaspoon of turmeric Any other salt-free herbs and spices you enjoy Whole Grains Hot or cold cereal or cooked grains, pasta or corn kernels, tortilla or sliced bread, bagels or English muffins, popcorn Beverages Water, green tea, herbal and lemon teas are ideal. Exercise Daily exercise is so vital to a healthy and balanced life. Try to take 90 minutes of moderate exercise or 40 minutes of vigorous activity. B12 Made by microbes in the soil, the results of vitamin B12 deficiency can be devastating. The form of B12 you should be looking for is cyanocobalamin, which you can get through eating plenty of fortified vegan foods. However, it is so important that it is also advised to take a supplement. If you enjoyed this post, don't forget to let me know by Tweeting it using the button below so I can create more content like this for you in future.
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