General Diet Tips:
Aim for variety. Include as much fresh food as possible. Minimize your
consumption of processed foods and fast food. Eat an abundance of fruits and
vegetables.
Caloric Intake
Most adults need to consume between 2,000 and 3,000 calories a day. Women
and smaller and less active people need fewer calories. Men and bigger and more
active people need more calories.
If you are eating the appropriate number of calories for your level of
activity, your weight should not fluctuate greatly.
The distribution of calories you take in should be as follows: 40 to 50
percent from carbohydrates, 30 percent from fat, and 20 to 30 percent from
protein.
Try to include carbohydrates, fat, and protein at each meal.
Carbohydrates
On a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, adult women should consume between 160 to
200 grams of carbohydrates a day. Adult men should consume between 240 to 300
grams of carbohydrates a day.
The majority of this should be in the form of less-refined,
less-processed foods with a low glycemic load. Reduce your consumption of foods
made with wheat flour and sugar, especially bread and most packaged snack foods
(including chips and pretzels).
Eat more whole grains such as brown rice and bulgur wheat, in which the
grain is intact or in a few large pieces. These are preferable to whole wheat
flour products, which have roughly the same glycemic index as white flour
products. Eat more beans, winter squashes, and sweet potatoes.
Cook pasta al dente and eat it in moderation.
Avoid products made with high fructose corn syrup.
Fat
On a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, 600 calories can come from fat - that is,
about 67 grams. This should be in a ratio of 1:2:1 of saturated to
monounsaturated to polyunsaturated fat.
Reduce your intake of saturated fat by eating less butter, cream,
cheese and other full-fat dairy products; unskinned chicken and fatty meats; and
products made with coconut and palm kernel oils.
Use extra-virgin olive oil as a main cooking oil. If you want a neutral
tasting oil, use expeller-pressed, organic canola oil. High-oleic versions of
sunflower and safflower oil are acceptable also, preferably non-GMO (genetically
modified).
Avoid regular safflower and sunflower oils, corn oil, cottonseed oil,
and mixed vegetable oils.
Strictly avoid margarine, vegetable shortening, and all products
listing them as ingredients.
Strictly avoid all products made with partially hydrogenated oils of any
kind. Include in your diet avocados and nuts, especially walnuts, cashews,
almonds, and nut butters made from these nuts.
For omega-3 fatty acids, eat salmon (preferably fresh or frozen wild or
canned sockeye), sardines packed in water or olive oil, herring, and black cod
(sablefish, butterfish); omega-3 fortified eggs; hemp seeds and flaxseeds
(preferably freshly ground); or take a fish oil supplement.
Protein
On a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet your daily intake of protein should be
between 80 and 120 grams. Eat less protein if you have liver or kidney problems,
allergies, or autoimmune disease.
Decrease your consumption of animal protein except for fish and
reduced-fat dairy products.
Eat more vegetable protein, especially from beans in general and
soybeans in particular. Become familiar with the range of soy foods available
and find ones you like.
Fiber
Try to eat 40 grams of fiber a day. You can achieve this by increasing your
consumption of fruit, especially berries, vegetables (especially beans), and
whole grains.
Ready-made cereals can be good fiber sources, but read labels to make
sure they give you at least 4 and preferably 5 grams of bran per one-ounce
serving.
PhytonutrientsTo get maximum natural protection against age-related
diseases (including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative
disease) as well as against environmental toxicity, eat a variety of fruits,
vegetables and mushrooms.
Choose fruits and vegetables from all parts of the color spectrum,
especially berries, tomatoes, orange and yellow fruits, and dark leafy
greens.
Choose organic produce whenever possible. Learn which conventionally
grown crops are most likely to carry pesticide residues and avoid them.
Eat cruciferous (cabbage-family) vegetables regularly.
Include soy foods in your diet.
Drink tea instead of coffee, especially good quality white, green or
oolong tea.
If you drink alcohol, use red wine preferentially.
Enjoy plain dark chocolate in moderation (with a minimum cocoa content
of 70 percent).
Vitamins and Minerals
The best way to obtain all of your daily vitamins, minerals, and
micronutrients is by eating a diet high in fresh foods with an abundance of
fruits and vegetables.
In addition, supplement your diet with the following antioxidant
cocktail:Vitamin C, 200 milligrams a day.
Vitamin E, 400 IU of natural mixed tocopherols (d-alpha-tocopherol with
other tocopherols, or, better, a minimum of 80 milligrams of natural mixed
tocopherols and tocotrienols).
Selenium, 200 micrograms of an organic (yeast-bound) form.
Mixed carotenoids, 10,000-15,000 IU daily.
In addition, take daily multivitamin/multimineral supplements that
provide at least 400 micrograms of folic acid and at least 1,000 IU of vitamin
D. They should contain no iron and no preformed vitamin A (retinol).
Take supplemental calcium, preferably as calcium citrate. Women should
supplement with 500-700 mg daily, for a total daily intake of 1,000-1,200 mg
from all sources. Men should get no more than 500-600 mg daily from all sources,
and probably do not need to supplement.
Other Dietary Supplements
If you are not eating oily fish at least twice a week, take supplemental
fish oil, in capsule or liquid form, 1-2 grams a day. Look for molecularly
distilled products certified to be free of heavy metals and other
contaminants.
Talk to your doctor about going on low-dose aspirin therapy, one or two
baby aspirins a day (81 or 162 milligrams).If you are not regularly eating
ginger and turmeric, consider taking these in supplemental form.
Add CoQ10 to your daily regimen: 60-100 milligrams of a softgel form
taken with your largest meal.
If you are prone to metabolic syndrome, take alpha-lipoic acid, 100 to
400 milligrams a day.
Water
Try to drink 6-8 glasses of pure water a day, or drinks that are mostly
water (tea, very diluted fruit juice, sparkling water with lemon).
Use bottled water or get a home water purifier if your tap water tastes
of chlorine or other contaminants, or if you live in an area where the water is
known or suspected to be contaminated.
Of course different people's bodies have different needs, which is often best learned by experimentation.
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