Umahro’s 10 Dietary Commandments Anno 2015

28. November 2015 - Ernæring * Kostvejledning
Af: Umahro Cadogan

NB: And calories naturally still count. If you eat them in excess, they will end up making you fatter or cause other problems in your body.

The exception is when you are already lean and doing a lot of strength training, in which case excess calories could go into building muscle.

1: Eat vegetables, berries and fruits.
At least 600 gr a day – but 1 kg is even better – and preferably more vegetables than berries and more berries than fruits. Eat organic and biodynamic of possible. Eat the whole spectrum of colour (“eat a rainbow”) every day. Try to get produce that has been harvested when ripe. Eat it prepared in a variety of ways: Some raw, some juiced, some cooked, some blended in smoothies, some marinated and some fermented.

2: Eat high-quality protein with every meal.
Have at least 1 small handful/palmful protein with every main meal and ideally some protein with snacks as well. Preferably eat organic, grassfed, biodynamic or wild sources of animal protein. Protein powder without added sugar, colours, flavors and sweeteners is a perfectly acceptable way of upping your protein intake.

3: Spare your body the burden of refined sugar…
the sugar you add, what is added (in secret) to products as well as the synthetic sweeteners. The lower bodyfat percentage, the higher lean mass and the more active you are, the better you can tolerate eating some added sugar, but being fit is not a carte blanche. Stevia, xylitol and erytrithol are acceptable sugar substitutes if used in moderation.

4: Do not fear fat, but look at the type and quality.
Animal fats should ideally come from grassfed, free-range, organic, biodynamic animals or game. Vegetable oils should be cold pressed and unrefined (i.e. extra virgin quality). Make sure you have omega-3 fats every single day.

5: Eat nuts, almonds, seeds or legumes (lentils, beans and chickpeas) every day.
Have a small handful of nuts, almonds or seeds every day. Consider substituting whole grains and potatoes with legumes, if you have problems controlling your blood sugar levels.

6: If you eat grain products, then choose whole grains.
Refined grains are devoid of nutrition. Ideally eat them soaked or in the form of sourdough bread. Gluten is a problem for some, but there is no need to avoid gluten, if you do not have problem with it.

7: Drink 1½ L water, pure vegetable juice, vegetable juice sweetened with a tiny amount of fruit juice, green tea, white tea, black tea and herbal tea.
If you must drink coffee or alcohol, prioritize quality rather than quantity. And dairy products can be fine, but are an issue for others. Irregardless, they are not an absolute necessity.

8: Eat regular meals and never skip breakfast!
Other eating patterns such as intermittent fasting, alternate day fasting, 8:16 eating:fasting can be relevant, but only when necessary from a medical, body-composition or health perspective.

9: Eat balanced meals with healthy fats, high-quality protein, “whole” carbohydrates and vegetables.
Use the T-plate model as inspiration. The more organic, the better! Some people do well tweaking the ratio of protein:fats:carbohydrate in various directions depending on needs, body composition, state of health, genetics and epigenetics.

10: Consider a multivitamin/mineral and a few other basic supplements even when eating and living healthily.
Not as a substitute, but as add-ons:
Multivitamin/mineral…iron-free for men and non-menstruating women unless there is diagnosed iron deficiency
Vitamin D…at least during the winter
Omega-3 fatty acids
Probiotics if you have digestive problems

How you prepare your food matters too

The way food is prepared also plays a major role as to whether the food you eat is healthy or not.

All the scorched molecules formed during cooking a high temperatures (blackened protein on meat, rancid fats in your frying pan, scorched toast etc.) are unhealthy in larger amounts and have as big an impact on your health as eating too many calories or an imbalanced diet.

So fry, grill, toast and broil less. Marinated, sliver, steam, boil, poach, stir fry, ferment and slow-cook more to decrease the amount of scorching, burning and rancidity.

Eat fewer industrially produced carbohydrate-rich products such as crackers, chips, crisps, french fries, mass-produced bread, breakfast cereals and the like. They contain as large amounts of unhealthy scorched molecules as overcooked fish, meat, game, shellfish and poultry.

Also decrease the amount of salted and smoked foods, as both processes lead to the formation of toxic compounds similar to when overcooking foods.