4 ms·

Has anyone found a good book or site that has a definitive diet for a non-overweight, non-diabetic person who just wants to make sure they're eating healthy? Ev

Has anyone found a good book or site that has a definitive diet for a non-overweight, non-diabetic person who just wants to make sure they're eating healthy? Every book I've found seems to address some sort of problem vs. talking about being in a long term "maintenance" mode.

hachiya 17y ago
Some excellent resources: http://drmcdougall.com http://drmcdougall.com Dr. John McDougall's site An excellent presentation that he gave is available here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2348910096409126100 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2348910096409126100 John McDougall MD on the perils of dairy products He has advocated a low fat, whole foods, plant based site for decades, and this type of diet has been clinically shown to prevent and even reverse heart disease (see studies by Dr. Dean Ornish, probably others). The diet consists of fruits and vegetables, with starches such as potatoes, yams, beans, and oats featuring as the staple calorie source. The pre-1950s Okinawan diet was like this, with the staple being sweet potato. Their percentage of calories from fat was in the single digits, with carbohydrates being over 80% of calories. Okinawa has been known as having one of the highest number of centenarians, not to mention healthy long-lived people overall. Sure there are more factors than diet, but it is worth considering what they ate. The "Star McDougallers" area of the site has many testimonials of people helped with their health problems far beyond weight loss, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Taking it to the next level: The 80/10/10 diet also low fat and plant based, but all raw (fruits instead of starches, basically) http://vegsource.com/talk/raw http://vegsource.com/talk/raw Message board for the 80/10/10 diet, by Doug Graham http://foodnsport.com http://foodnsport.com Doug Graham's site http://30bananasaday.com http://30bananasaday.com 80/10/10 enthusiast forum & social network
- daveungerer 17y ago
  Keep in mind that sweet potatoes have a much lower glycemic index than normal potatoes, and in fact many other carbs, which probably explains the centenarians. Having normal potatoes as a staple will reduce your lifespan.
  - hachiya 17y ago
    Glycemic index is not the only determining factor of a food's worth, nor has it been shown to necessarily carry much weight at all. Glycemic load has been considered by some to be more important. Chocolate cake has been measured to have a glycemic index of 38, while a baked potato is 85. Heck, fructose, pure sugar, has a glycemic index of 19, while brown rice is at 87. ( Numbers from "International table of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2002" Am J Clin Nutr. 2002 Jul;76(1):5-56.) I don't think anyone is going to say chocolate cake or pure fructose is healthier than a baked potato or brown rice. So there is certainly more to a food's nutritional value than the glycemic index, which has been shown to be on shaky ground. http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/july/glycemic.htm http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/july/glycemic.htm ( Glycemic Index - Not Ready for Prime Time ) > Having normal potatoes as a staple will reduce your lifespan. Reference please? The assertion that potatoes will reduce one's lifespan is utter nonsense. Reduce it compared to what? An Atkins diet? How well did that work out for Dr. Atkins? Peruvians have traditionally used potatoes as a staple, and even in modern times they have 1/4 the heart disease death rate of the USA. As heart disease is the leading cause of death, this is significant. In fact, this "potato capital of the world" has obesity and diabetes rates which pale in comparison to the USA. As we have such an abundant variety available to us today, it is possible to pick our own staples, and I personally prefer fruits or sweet potatoes to regular potatoes. However, the fact remains that even regular potatoes are a healthy choice, provided they are consumed unrefined. French fries are a disaster of a food, but nobody is advocating these highly processed potatoes as a staple food. The below articles clearly demonstrate that potatoes are healthy and will not "reduce your lifespan". Many references are provided within. http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008nl/may/potato.htm http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008nl/may/potato.htm ( International Year of the Potato, 2008 ) http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougall020400pupotatoesarepillars.htm http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougall020400pupotatoesarep... ( Potatoes Are Pillars of Worldwide Nutrition )
    - daveungerer 17y ago
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycemic_index http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycemic_index Pretty much contradicts everything said by the page on glycemic index on www.drmcdougall.com and also addresses the points you raised above. I guess the question now is: Who do you trust? WikiPedia or a guy peddling DVDs and books?

hachiya 17y ago

Some excellent resources: http://drmcdougall.com http://drmcdougall.com Dr. John McDougall's site An excellent presentation that he gave is available here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2348910096409126100 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2348910096409126100 John McDougall MD on the perils of dairy products He has advocated a low fat, whole foods, plant based site for decades, and this type of diet has been clinically shown to prevent and even reverse heart disease (see studies by Dr. Dean Ornish, probably others). The diet consists of fruits and vegetables, with starches such as potatoes, yams, beans, and oats featuring as the staple calorie source. The pre-1950s Okinawan diet was like this, with the staple being sweet potato. Their percentage of calories from fat was in the single digits, with carbohydrates being over 80% of calories. Okinawa has been known as having one of the highest number of centenarians, not to mention healthy long-lived people overall. Sure there are more factors than diet, but it is worth considering what they ate. The "Star McDougallers" area of the site has many testimonials of people helped with their health problems far beyond weight loss, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Taking it to the next level: The 80/10/10 diet also low fat and plant based, but all raw (fruits instead of starches, basically) http://vegsource.com/talk/raw http://vegsource.com/talk/raw Message board for the 80/10/10 diet, by Doug Graham http://foodnsport.com http://foodnsport.com Doug Graham's site http://30bananasaday.com http://30bananasaday.com 80/10/10 enthusiast forum & social network

daveungerer 17y ago
Keep in mind that sweet potatoes have a much lower glycemic index than normal potatoes, and in fact many other carbs, which probably explains the centenarians. Having normal potatoes as a staple will reduce your lifespan.
- hachiya 17y ago
  Glycemic index is not the only determining factor of a food's worth, nor has it been shown to necessarily carry much weight at all. Glycemic load has been considered by some to be more important. Chocolate cake has been measured to have a glycemic index of 38, while a baked potato is 85. Heck, fructose, pure sugar, has a glycemic index of 19, while brown rice is at 87. ( Numbers from "International table of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2002" Am J Clin Nutr. 2002 Jul;76(1):5-56.) I don't think anyone is going to say chocolate cake or pure fructose is healthier than a baked potato or brown rice. So there is certainly more to a food's nutritional value than the glycemic index, which has been shown to be on shaky ground. http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/july/glycemic.htm http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/july/glycemic.htm ( Glycemic Index - Not Ready for Prime Time ) > Having normal potatoes as a staple will reduce your lifespan. Reference please? The assertion that potatoes will reduce one's lifespan is utter nonsense. Reduce it compared to what? An Atkins diet? How well did that work out for Dr. Atkins? Peruvians have traditionally used potatoes as a staple, and even in modern times they have 1/4 the heart disease death rate of the USA. As heart disease is the leading cause of death, this is significant. In fact, this "potato capital of the world" has obesity and diabetes rates which pale in comparison to the USA. As we have such an abundant variety available to us today, it is possible to pick our own staples, and I personally prefer fruits or sweet potatoes to regular potatoes. However, the fact remains that even regular potatoes are a healthy choice, provided they are consumed unrefined. French fries are a disaster of a food, but nobody is advocating these highly processed potatoes as a staple food. The below articles clearly demonstrate that potatoes are healthy and will not "reduce your lifespan". Many references are provided within. http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008nl/may/potato.htm http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008nl/may/potato.htm ( International Year of the Potato, 2008 ) http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougall020400pupotatoesarepillars.htm http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougall020400pupotatoesarep... ( Potatoes Are Pillars of Worldwide Nutrition )
  - daveungerer 17y ago
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycemic_index http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycemic_index Pretty much contradicts everything said by the page on glycemic index on www.drmcdougall.com and also addresses the points you raised above. I guess the question now is: Who do you trust? WikiPedia or a guy peddling DVDs and books?