Nutrition
I think that the ideal diet would be to eat as closely to the way our ancestors did over the course of the couple million years or so that they evolved before the agricultural revolution. This doesn't mean eating everything that's sold in the supermarket like the food pyramid suggests. The food pyramid is pretty much designed to include variety and to insure all food industries make money. It's based on the main types of food that are sold, not on whats healthy. Actually, the food pyramid is right, it's just upside down-minus the sugar of course!
It's impossible to eat exactly the way our ancestors did. We no longer have megafauna around to hunt, we don't eat organ meats or bone marrow save for a few individuals and some cultures. We have to make the best of what we have. We need a diet that mimics what we're most adapted to nutritionally and macronutritionally but in a modern context.
Having a balanced diet is the best way to go, but we need to define what balanced means. A balanced diet is typically thought of as a food pyramid diet, consisting of the USDAs recommended macronutrient ratios and including every type of food that is sold. Some of those foods in negligent amounts, some in great amounts. This is more of a cultural norm as well as an economical tactic. When defining balance from a true health standpoint we need to consider only our nutritional and macronutrient requirements and maybe even make some room for things we enjoy.
Grain is one of the most overrated foods. It is a staple because it had to be at one time, there wasn't enough other foods and grain was depended on. There were also rampant mineral deficiency diseases, due in large part to the antinutritional content of grains and including little else in the diet. The dependence on grains is a cultural phenomenon and nothing more. Carbohydrates are more profitable and economical. Corn is also produced for ethanol in addition to the many food products and additives. To determin our needs, we should ignore financial intrests and anything trying to support the status quo and look instead to the cold hard facts, the ones that don't help anyone profit.
Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I'll define balance as I think it should be. Balance means not too much, not too little. This applies to nutrients, micronutirents, calories and natural food chemicals. We shouldn't ignore the problem of antinutrients as that affects nutritional content. Since we don't eat exactly the same things and the variety of animal parts our ancestors used to and have a completely different food supply, we are forced to do the best with what we have. We have meats, dairy fats, plant foods, starches, and sugars. We have a need for fat, protein and some as yet to be scientifically determined carb. My jury is still out on this one as I'm just now finding info regarding a real need for dietary carbs that has to do with IgF (insulin like growth factor), metabolism, and leptin (more important when trying to lose weight). I think we need far fewer carbohydrates than we've been told, certainly not 300 or so grams a day. Maybe around the 100 range or less. We need a certain amount of protein depending on our lean mass, and we need fat for many things. The ratios for these macronutrients are all over the place and one can't help but feel confused. One thing we know for sure is that the ratios varied from population to population. Some cultures/groups ate more carbs, some more fat. There are also genetic defects or health conditions further complicating matters. So it's safe to say that one diet doesn't fit all. We need to personalize diet to take into consideration indiviual factors and needs.
Just when you think you've got it all figured out, you learn something new that confuses you all over again and shakes the once firm foundation you stood on. My beliefs about diet have changed, I've learned a lot, and I've loosened up a lot on the carbohydrate issue. I'm not so dogmatic as I used to be: you can't be. We need to approach diet with a scientific and unbiased mindset or we fall into the trap of becoming closed off to new information. I still see good reason to limit carbs but I'm no longer sure we're better off without them. There are real reasons to avoid or cut way back on gluten grains, grains in general, nuts, seeds and legumes due to the antinutrients and other toxins. Unless you're willing to go through the trouble of preparing those foods properly (soaking, sprouting or fermenting). We might do well to have a little starch once or twice a week. Rice and tubers are probably good choices. It's believed that our ancestors were eating starch tubers, how much we don't know. This has been a debated issue in the paleo community. Maybe we're better off including a little starch every now and then but not often.
We need to figure out how much protein we need to build or maintain our lean mass and include that in our diet and figure the rest from there. This will also depend on how many carbohydrates you eat. If you eat little, you need more. This is tricky as there is no scientifically confirmed amount, the amount varies depending on who you ask. The USDA recommendation is for a high carb diet and may still be too low. Remember protein isn't just for muscles but many tissues, including hair, skin, bones, and eyes. Activity level will also affect protein needs.
Once we figure out protein and carbs, we fill the rest in with fat. Fats should be mono, sat, and natural poly, in order of most to least. This would mimic what we evolved to eat. And we need not fear cholesterol-it makes us strong and our brains contain a lot of it!
Now lets talk about micronutrients. It helps to get a variety of foods and thats one way the term balanced comes into play. A little bit of everything. But does that mean we MUST have EVERYTHING sitting on the supermarket shelves? I say NO. Or we'd have to eat all the processed junk, why eat junk when you can just eat real, unprocessed, whole foods that contain all the nutrients you need? We get certain things from meat, certain things from some plant foods, and certain things from FULL FAT dairy. There are nutrients contained in nuts seeds grains and legumes but they aren't very accessible. You can get everything you need from meats (red, pink, white and seafood), eggs, vegetables, fruits, and full fat dairy. The good thing about sticking to those foods is they are nutrient dense and dont contain all the antinutrients and other toxins. They are also low in polyunsaturated fats which are known to cause inflammation and oxidize easily (they also impair the immune system). Some food combinations are also useful as the different nutrients and cofounders work together to enhance absorption (meat and veggies compliment each other). Cooking with vitamin c containing foods also reduces or stops the productin of AGEs (advanced glycation end products).
