I went to the library to find some books about nutrition so that I can enter this nutrition experiment with the proper knowldege. Most of the books in the nutrition section were focused on dieting for weight loss. This is problematic because i don't want to be on a nutrition deficit. I want to make sure that I'm getting enough of the right nutrients during this trial of exclusion.
The first book that spoke to me was all about the Glycemic Index - a measure of the way your body will react to the sugar you absorb from foods. The GI of each item is based on how much sugar it contains and how quickly your body absorbs it. Your body produces insulin to ferry around the sugars in your system. Maintaining consistent insulin levels will help maintain a consistent energy level. The Glycemic Load is a measure of the overall insulin response your body will have to a mix of foods based on quantity and combination of individual elements. Since high spikes in insulin are followed by deep valleys, it is recommended to consume low to medium GI foods.
As you would imagine, pastries have a high GI and vegetables have a low GI. However there are many foods that have surprisingly high or low GIs, sweetened fruit juices and angel food cake, respectively. Fiber, both soluble and insoluble, have a GI of 0 and therefore help lower the overall GL of a meal.
This book also talks about the importance of carbs and separates the good carbs from the bad carbs.
It also talks about cholesterol, LDL and HDL. Cholesterol is like a courier for fat in your body. As it brings the fat from A to B, sometimes it leaves a mess along the way. A lot of low density lipoprotein is bad for your system is a very sloppy courier and can lead to clogged arteries. However, high density lipoprotein is healthy because as it travels, it helps to clean up the route. You want a combined cholesterol under 200, with between 40-60 HDL and under 120 LDL.
Fats, saturated, unsaturated, and trans. Good fats are those that are liquid at room temperature - oils. Bad fats are those that are solid at room temperature - butters and meat fat. Trans fats are just terrible - they are engineered to be tasty (creamy), but as a result are processed in harmful ways in your body.
I'm not sure if you can blanket all solid-at-room-temp fats as bad. I just read a book (Real Food by Nina Planck) that argues in favor of solid fats such as butter (from pastured cows), lard, and coconut. Especially if you are using the fats for cooking, you want the chemical stability of these solid fats. Unsaturated fats (especially polyunsaturated) are unstable at high heats and should generally only be eaten cold, as I understand it. Otherwise, you are going to be eating denatured/rancid fats, which are no longer healthy. Also, many of the currently available "healthy" fats are highly processed (e.g., canola), whereas some of the "bad" fats aren't so processed. You've got to pick your battles, I guess. I should also point out that things like cholesterol and saturated fat are absolutely necessary. Things like cell membranes need the stability provided by saturated fats. Obviously you don't want to get too much, but eliminating fats and cholesterol is NOT a good idea. Especially since so many vitamins are fat soluble and need fat in order to absorbed and used by the body.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've been reading, the real "enemy" in diet is sugar, including both sucrose and fructose. Avoiding any added sugars, even if it's so called natural sugar, seems to be the way to go.
Your diet experiment is a great idea, and I've been meaning to do something similar myself! Even something as simple as cutting caffeine or eating several small meals vs. few large meals. I'm interested to hear what you find!