What does " eat healthy " actually mean ?

[bobm]

Everyone says to eat healthy ... what does " eat healthy" actually mean ? I have seen many menus and diets , new governtment school lunch menus ( kids say that they are now starving after half an hour and started to add cookies or packages snacks in their back packs from home ) , etc. that almost always include cheese, yogurt, and cottage cheese as well as peanut butter that claim they are healthy. Well, I am, as well as many others , are allergic to these types of foods. Also, I became diabetic about 4 years ago, so I have to now severely limit sugar. Dietitions say to substitute something else for them like more vegetables and fruits and berries ( contains sugars ) and nuts and whole grains and limit red meat. I am a carnivore and when I limit any type of meat and increase vegetables, fruits, rice and /or pasta ( instead of potatoes ) within a half an hour, I start to get hunger pains and my stomach starts to growl, so I start to crave for sweets or meat . If I eat backed goods like breads, cookies, cake, donuts, pies etc. , I gain weight by the pound daily and my blood sugar skyrockets. My wife can't eat any type of berry with small seeds and / or tomatoes / quinoa as she gets intestinal pains and bloody stools. So , what is one to " eat healthy " to be healthy ?

 

[AMKuska]

Bobm - I'm currently studying to become a canine nutritionist. Obviously dogs and people are not the same, but I think there are a lot of correlations. I'm currently only on unit 3, but we've already talked about how very unique dogs can be in terms of diet, and how important it is to match dogs to their appropriate diet. For example, all dogs produce "Amylase" in their pancreas, an enzyme responsible for digesting starch. However, some dogs produce very little, and some dogs produce a lot. Wolves in comparison, consistently produce very little. (I don't remember what the number system meant at this time, but wolves always produced '2' and the lowest amount produced by a dog was '3' with the highest amount being something like 13 or 14...can't remember now. We talked about it several weeks ago.)

Anyways, that's why some dogs do remarkably well on diets high in starch, and some dogs don't.

I think people are a bit the same, where 'healthy' is finding the best diet for your unique body. For me, on a diet of straight fruit and vegetables, I am hungry -all- the time. In fact, I'm even hungry when my stomach feels like its about to explode there is so much food in it!

I think eating 'healthy' is simply eating what is best for your particular body, what ever that might be.

 

[bobm]

Very interesting information @AMKuska . When I increase fruit and vegetables in my diet I too am very hungry all of the time starting about a half hour after I had a hefty meal. If I increase the amount of meat and decrease most of the vegetables and fruits, I don't have the hungry feelings until it is time for the next meal, which makes me more compatible to a carnivore like the wolf. Do you have an internet, library book or anything else contact for this information regarding the dog / wolf comparison of Amylase levels so I could study it to see if it could be something that could apply to me ?

 

[AMKuska]

Here is a copy of the study:

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v495/n7441/full/nature11837.html

I suspect if you cut out fruits and vegetables you're going to get either a case of rickets or scurvy. fair warning.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Or constipation.

 

[goatgurl]

or both. I'm also diabetic and have to be careful with what i eat. i have found out the hard way that not all fruits and veggies are created equal. i can eat a sweet potato and not have a problem but eat a white potato and have a quick sugar spike and then drop. an apple or peach does not cause a problem but a banana here again causes a big sugar rise and then problems with hypoglycemia. what is healthy is what works best for you and you are going to have to experiment with what that is. i have also found that i have to eat protein with a meal if i don't want to have those sugar ups and downs. just not total protein, about 35-40%. keep notes about what you eat how you feel after you eat it. and my guess is that your wife has diverticulitis and yup, small seeds, nuts and the like can cause real problems for her including infections of the intestines and even rupture of the bowel.

 

[so lucky]

bobm, you say you are allergic to nuts and dairy. Do you mean you are lactose intolerant, or do you have a true dairy allergy? Most of us get lactose intolerant as we get older. If I eat ice cream from the hand-dipped shop down the street, I am nearly doubled over in pain in about a half hour. but I could drink raw Guernsey milk all day long, with no problems at all.
Can you eat eggs? Doctors are now saying that they are not bad for you (duh) and I stay full a long time when I eat a couple eggs for breakfast.
It's hard to know what is healthy when the "experts" keep changing their mind.
Like others here have said, you have to find what is healthy for you. What makes you feel good in an hour.
I think a person could live on sweet potatoes and eggs. Well, almost. Maybe you could find a half dozen "super foods" that you and your wife can eat, and just fill up on those, with meats to fill in.
One more thing: if you haven't tried apple cider vinegar to help stabilize your hunger, it is worth a try. I use honey in my vinegar water, but you wouldn't have to, if the sweet aspect would play havoc with your diabetes. I find that if I drink vinegar water once daily, I don't get weak shakes or dizziness from hunger, and I can last better between meals. Hope you find some things that work for you.

 

[AMKuska]

You can always try making yourself a fruit and vegetable smoothie in the morning, to go with a hearty breakfast that fills you up. This is what I normally do as my son is three and feels the way virtually every three year old on the planet feels about vegetables. He guzzles down his mango and strawberry (with spinach and arugula) smoothie without blinking, and we don't have to have a four hour battle over a single broccoli floret.

Since I'm drinking the smoothie with a hearty breakfast (or to-go on the way to work after breakfast, my favorite.) I don't get hungry, but I get everything fruits and veggies have to offer.

Also blend carrots and broccoli into my baked potato soup. ^^ Again, hearty but with vegetables. I'll try to look in my recipe books and find some really good fill-you-up recipes for you if you're interested.

 

[bobm]

I have a problem with eating any type of cheese, cottage cheese , yogurt and buttermilk only, while any amount or kind of milk and ice cream I can drink and eat in any amount that I want. I drink a tall glass of 2% milk every morning without any problem. When I was a kid I drank fresh milk right after the cows were milked, while any type of cheese , cottage cheese, yogurt - I would upchuk shortly after eating it, so I quit even trying to. So, I think it must be genetic. I can't even stand the smell of peanut butter and/ or peanuts, if I should eat some say in a cookie, I upchuck. Also genetic ? I eat eggs as well as nuts with no problem. I don't have any problems with any other foods that I have eaten. However, eating vegetables or fruits, rice or pasta I am very hungry within a half an hour. I put in honey in my oatmeal cereal most mornings. I can eat a steak that covers a dinner plate that lasts me for hours but my doctor gave me a healthy diet publication that has me eating a small steak that would ONLY fit in the palm of my hand , a very small amount of potato, and lots of vegetables, and after a half hour I am hungry. Yes, AMKuskaIa, I would be very interested in some good fill you up recipes, and I thank you .

 

[897tgigvib]

Eating healthy

My mother raised us to eat a little bit of a lot of different things.

On the other hand, dad used to say, if you don't like what's for supper, dinner's over.

=====

In general, but not always true of course, wimin know what to eat better than men. I can think of a billion exceptions, but it is a basic truth.

Go to the grocery store. Notice how the wimin load up their cart. Then I look at my cart.

Sometimes I feel like just trading shopping carts!

Hay! That's one ya never see in the news!

SHOPPING CART TRADER STRIKES AGAIN
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