Are there foods you eat every day for health reasons?

[Jenise]

The answers to this question on another site made some interesting reading. It made me reflect on how much better educated and aware we've become in even the last ten years about the importance of feeding ourselves not just the food we want, but the food our bodies need. Propagandized food pyramids that nobody paid any attention to anyway aside, it used to be that healthy eating was more defined by what we collectively needed to avoid (fried foods, certain fats) than what we needed to include, presuming by default that the rest was safe and safe was good enough until a doctor told us it wasn't.

Twenty years ago the world could pretty much be divided into three groups--omnivores, vegetarians (includes vegans) and Jack La Lanne , "Jack" being a catch-all for those on medically restricted diets, the carb-loading body builders, the career fad-dieters, the juicers and your nutty cousin Lucy who wore hemp dresses and used the word "natural" all the time. But now there's a new kid on the block: the nutritarian. He's the perfectly normal guy down the street who has voluntarily modified his diet to maximize the nutrition potential of most of what he puts in his mouth out of the belief it will pay off somewhere down the road.

Now most of us aren't dedicated enough to live up to a name like nutritarian, but most of the people I know are making some modifications of that nature. Egads, even me. Following is my list of daily good-health neccessities, what are yours?

lemon water: 1 whole lemon or lime squeezed into a glass of room temperature tap water, drunk first thing every day*
raw leafy greens
raw walnuts or almonds
avocados
green tea

*for balanced alkalynity to which I attribute the fact that I no longer need Prilosec, which I had until this change been unable to do without for a good ten years now

[Robin Garr]

Hmm, interesting questions! I can't think of anything I eat specifically as food-as-medicine, other than maybe red wine , but certainly some aspects of our diet are chosen because they're healthy and because they're good. I usually eat mostly fresh grapefruit juice, fresh seasonal fruit and yogurt for breakfast almost every day, for example, adding an English muffin on the side or maybe a single poached or soft-fried egg only if I'm going to be out and among 'em for a big day. I choose this as a healthy alternative, sure, but also because I like it.

For a variety of reasons including both health and ethics, we're trying to eat as much as possible from local or regional farmers' markets and producers, conscious that this may be a healthy choice but not entirely for that reason.

Is this the kind of thing you mean? My feeling is that Mary and I are very conscious of the potential health benefits (or costs) of our food choices, but not often swayed by trendy stuff like avoiding white refined flour or switching to purportedly heart-healthy butter substitutes or egg substitutes or anything like that. Balanced diet, portion control, and moderate consumption of a full range of foods with a tilt toward local, "natural" producers where it's practical, without being ridiculous about it, all this works for us.

One does hate to be a party-pooper, but if the truth be told on the day that I start thinking consciously about food as being "good for me" will be the same day that I endorse Sara Palin for president.

On a fully serious note, I suppose in the end if were to do an analysis that would show that I eat a well-balanced diet. To either my credit or discredit, that includes a great many fried foods (I find it difficult to resist a veal schnitzel a la Holstein); more than a modicum of goose liver; ice cream and chocolate when the mood strikes; good hot dogs, knockwurst, bratwurst and the like always beckon to me on the street (and who am I to refuse when a food item beckons?); and on and on.

Indeed I do eat my share of vegetables (adore salads), thoroughly enjoy citron presse (no sugar please) and fresh fruit and carrot juice, and overall get my share of whatever it seems to be that keeps me going. Good genes, I suppose so I'm not at all obese and seem (despite cigarettes et al) to be in good shape. I do agree with my family physician however, when he says that I'm "in fine shape now but that doesn't say anything about what will be tomorrow". I suppose I'm willing to wait for tomorrow...

Best
Rogov

Usually use fruit juice to wash down meds and vits in the morning; unless we sleep very late, then I might use ale for that task. Something to do with the sun being over the yardarm.

[Jenise]

Is this the kind of thing you mean? My feeling is that Mary and I are very conscious of the potential health benefits (or costs) of our food choices, but not often swayed by trendy stuff like avoiding white refined flour or switching to purportedly heart-healthy butter substitutes or egg substitutes or anything like that. Balanced diet, portion control, and moderate consumption of a full range of foods with a tilt toward local, "natural" producers where it's practical, without being ridiculous about it, all this works for us.

Kind of, but not quite. Locavoria is more about ethics, isn't it? What I'm talking about would be eating blueberries every day because you believe they'll do something for you in a superior way that nothing else can. Whether or not you add an egg or oatmeal to it--unless you do that every day for a specific purpose too, i.e. protein or cholesterol control respectively--would be immaterial.

FWIW I believe in the balanced approach. However, it does seem that as our bodies age we get specific maladies and shortages of this and that's which diet can proactively address to varying degrees.

[Jenise]

Indeed I do eat my share of vegetables (adore salads), thoroughly enjoy citron presse (no sugar please) and fresh fruit and carrot juice, and overall get my share of whatever it seems to be that keeps me going. Good genes, I suppose so I'm not at all obese and seem (despite cigarettes et al) to be in good shape. I do agree with my family physician however, when he says that I'm "in fine shape now but that doesn't say anything about what will be tomorrow". I suppose I'm willing to wait for tomorrow...

Best
Rogov

I knew I'd hear from you--love the Sarah Palin joke. But indeed you clearly have a remarkable constitution. Most of us would kill to get away with half the liberties your good genes allow you so easily. Instead, only with very very careful management will we end up looking like George Clooney at age 99, like you.

[Robin Garr]

Locavoria is more about ethics, isn't it?

Probably varies depending on the individual. Ethics, yes: The assumption that the animals are treated better than on industrial agribusiness farms - and we can, if we wish, visit the farmer to check it out. Also, supporting small farms, and getting to know the people who produce our foods face to face. But I'd say it goes beyond ethics to food quality and flavor, again not an absolute given, but just as with small-farm winery producers, you tend to have people who are crazed (in a good way) about starting with quality produce or animals and raising them the old-fashioned way, without hormones and DDT and what have you.

What I'm talking about would be eating blueberries every day because you believe they'll do something for you in a superior way that nothing else can. Whether or not you add an egg or oatmeal to it--unless you do that every day for a specific purpose too, i.e. protein or cholesterol control respectively--would be immaterial.

I guess we're sort-of conscious of some things but don't do any of them in a formal, structured way. Plus, it gets complicated: Oily fish is supposed to be good for us, so an occasional dinner of salmon is good. But farm-raised Atlantic salmon is extremely problematical, environmentally and ethically, so we pass on the Atlantic in favor of occasional Pacific wild salmon, which clicks off a "health" box and an "environment" and a "no industrial food" box but loses us a few points for food miles and carbon footprint.

Just one example of how it can be a little complicated to keep up with all these feelgood issues and maintain them in balance.

Blueberries
Dark chocolate

Jenise, I am going to try the lemon water thing. I've heard about the benefits from several people.

Fresh, in season fruits, every day for breakfast, several of them.
almonds, pecans
Lots of leafy greens
Vegetables, of all kinds, especially, red, yellow, dark green
Whole grains, especially ancient grains

I find the lemon water interesting because for the last 23 or so years we have started our day with juice, usually orange juice, every day. I started it because it was healthy, I thought; it is now a habit, so much so that we go to some lengths to have a fruit juice first thing. In Greece, once, it was a really almost no fruit in the drink but we drank it anyway.

And then there are my vitamins. . . three tablets meant to be taken twice a day, but I only take them once . They are said to be made of all natural ingredients, alfalfa, parsley, acerola cherries, oregano. . . I am dedicated to them. Even when I was pregnant, I compared the analysis of these with prenatal vits and added only what they were low in. It must have worked, my son's APGAR was over almost perfect.

[Jenise]

Blueberries
Dark chocolate

Jenise, I am going to try the lemon water thing. I've heard about the benefits from several people.

Try it, especially if you sometimes have acid issues. In addition to the Prilosec I used to very occasionally need a Tum or two--since I started drinking lemon water (often more than once a day, but at a minimum I drink it before I even touch a cup of tea or coffee)? Not even once. Which sounds counter-intuitive since lemons are full of acid, but it's not actually acidic in terms of Ph content, it's alkaline. In fruits, the more sugar content, the more acid-making they are in your body. Limes are a point lower than lemons but close enough to be considered equally effective.

Six almonds.

Blueberries
Dark chocolate

Jenise, I am going to try the lemon water thing. I've heard about the benefits from several people.

Try it, especially if you sometimes have acid issues. In addition to the Prilosec I used to very occasionally need a Tum or two--since I started drinking lemon water (often more than once a day, but at a minimum I drink it before I even touch a cup of tea or coffee)? Not even once. Which sounds counter-intuitive since lemons are full of acid, but it's not actually acidic in terms of Ph content, it's alkaline. In fruits, the more sugar content, the more acid-making they are in your body. Limes are a point lower than lemons but close enough to be considered equally effective.

I am a chemist (but not a physiologist) and would politely like to call B.S. on this. Your body is a huge reservoir of buffered aqueous solutions. In order for your cells to function properly they must have a pH within a very narrow range (around 7.4) and that is what the buffers do - they prevent a radical change of pH with the addition of an acid or base. Lemon juice would contain a tiny amount of citric acid, which is considered a 'weak' acid. A weak acid and its salt (e.g. sodium citrate) would create a buffer system of its own with a slightly acidic pH. In fact wine is also a somewhat acidic solution containing weak acids and their salts (malic, lactic, tartaric, etc.). The vast buffering capacity of your body makes these small additions irrelevant from a pH standpoint (as it must to function properly).

You should also know that your lemon juice is going into your stomach, where the gastric juices contain hydrochloric acid, a 'strong' acid with a very low pH (ie, extremely acidic)!

[Jenise]

Joe, I don't know what to say. I am definitely not a chemist. But I adopted this practice after reading a book about maintaining PH balance by a PhD microbiologist wherein it was reccomended (I was staying with friends, the book was laying around), and I've been free of acid problems ever since for the first time in a LONG time. Admittedly I made another dietary change around the same time (for unrelated reasons, had to give up all grains) so I can't be sure it's *only* the lemon water, but the change is marked.

Interesting question, Jenise -- I seem to have become a sort of health nut on foods these days. In part it is the result of habit -- we ate a fairly restricted diet for several years while I did most of our cooking -- and now that I'm cooking for one, my diet is even more restricted.

Partly I'm focusing on high cholesterol/triglycerides and following my internist advice -- hence red wine. But in general lots of vegetables, legumes, grains like oats and barley (in the form of groats) and chia seeds, walnuts, etc. Fish once a day -- Pacific salmon, herring or sardines.

No other oils of any kind, no dairy, no sweets -- only black or blue berries once a day.

As a result, lots of soups, stews and souffles. Roasting without oil on parchment paper has become my "standard".

Once in awhile, for social reasons more than anything else, I eat out and have no restrictions, although I tend to choose within those guidelines anyway -- Italian restaurants in this area do a wonderful job with an array of roasted vegetables. I no focus on the company -- desserts no longer appeal to me. Somehow rich foods have become cloying to my palate -- a taste or two for pleasure -- and then I'm satiated.

My days of eating a pint of ice cream seem like an ancient memory.

Regards, Bob

I could go on, but I'm starting to bore myself with all the

I have a few things I consume pretty much every day(except when I'm traveling and may not have access to this list) Of course added to this list is a regular, omnivorous diet (by choice low on meat).
and while some of these items may not at all be considered very healthy by everyone, I think they contribute to my physical and mental equilibrium:
By the way, I don't take any medications whatsoever on a regular basis, except once a week, if I remember, I'll take an aspirin.
Upon rising--a 16 oz. glass of room temperature water
One mug of good coffee with sugar and 1/2 & 1/2 (this gets my brain working)
Sometime during the morning--a small scoop of plain yogurt mixed with some fresh fruit (usually blueberries) and a tablespoon of whole grain cereal, plus a dash of milk.
Every evening--a piece of fruit (usually a small pear or a small peach, both of which are now available year-round)
Red wine with dinner.
A piece of dark chocolate with almonds after dinner.

On the one hand, I agree with Rogov, I don't think I would regularly eat anything ONLY because it was "good for me."

On the other hand, I have developed a lot of healthy food habits, because fortunately I like a lot of the things on the "good for you" list. I have been eating 3 or 4 fruits for lunch every day at the office for years. It feels like a luxury, they can be SO delicious, in the late summer, ah, nectarines! And now the high point is usually a navel orange, so juicy and sweet. When those red pears are perfectly ripe -- I could go on. Partly I got into this after watching Chimpanzees and thinking about how our common ancestors would have wanted to eat. So it's evolutionary. And now the new Weight Watcher's program (yes, I need to pay someone to look over my shoulder now and then!) fruit is FREE, zero "points plus"! So all the chubby ladies are eating my lunch now, I feel like I started a band-wagon.

Otherwise we eat plenty of vegetables, and more fish than most people I think. For the Superbowl party, my son and his fiancee will be with us so I am making a vegetarian 3 bean chili with tempeh for meaty texture. We often cook vegetarian when they are visiting, and sometimes when they aren't.

As a Biochemist I have to say the lemon water is a big head scratcher, I don't get it. I quit taking Prilosec after I lost 20 pounds and have not had to go back. But we drink orange juice every morning. If lemon water has a positive effect, wouldn't orange juice? The pH issue should be the same, no? It would be nice to see some kind of journal article about this.

Joe, I don't know what to say. I am definitely not a chemist. But I adopted this practice after reading a book about maintaining PH balance by a PhD microbiologist wherein it was reccomended (I was staying with friends, the book was laying around), and I've been free of acid problems ever since for the first time in a LONG time. Admittedly I made another dietary change around the same time (for unrelated reasons, had to give up all grains) so I can't be sure it's *only* the lemon water, but the change is marked.

I'd love to hear the PhD microbiologist's arguements as to the mechanism of this. If it works it isn't from the direct pH effect. But I do think our minds do play a role in all this stuff. I have friends that swear they can't drink an espresso because it makes them more 'wired' than a regular coffee (which they drink). And others who swear that Guiness is 'too strong', despite the fact that it has less alcohol than Budwiser.

I can't say I look much at the healthiness of the foods I eat. I do try to keep my caloric intake at some sort of reasonable level and I try not to eat too much of any specific food. If I've had a couple of fatty suppers in a row, I might aim for lighter ones for a couple of days to make up for it. There is not any specific food I eat for its health value, though.

[Jenise]

If lemon water has a positive effect, wouldn't orange juice? The pH issue should be the same, no? It would be nice to see some kind of journal article about this.

Per this book I read, no. Orange juice, because of the sugar content, is -9.2 vs. lemon's +9.6 (and lime's +8.2) per one ounce of fruit.

And to Joe: I'd say no on the placebo effect. When I used to take Prilosec, although the dosage was supposed to be daily I so minded having to take anything at all that I tried to get by with every other day and too often let it slide a third or fourth--until I got the burn warning. I didn't start drinking the lemon water for this--like I said, I was staying with friends and picked up the book. My diet didn't change there because I was doing all the cooking. Concurrent with that we bought a box of meyer lemons at Costco. So I started drinking the lemon water as kind of a day-starter morning cleanse. It was only me realizing that I'd gone a week or ten days without needing to put any fires out that I realized something had changed. And like I said, haven't needed any help in that department since.

Jenise: with regard to the sugar in citrus, what are those numbers you quote? How can there be negative sugar? What are the units?
How does the sugar tie in? For all your digestive system knows, the sugar came from something else you ate (all carbs eventually get reduced to glucose).
I'm not saying the placebo effect isn't real - if it works for you, go for it!

Oatmeal, 70%-or greater dark chocolate (in moderation, of course;) ), just two I can think of.

On the one hand, I agree with Rogov, I don't think I would regularly eat anything ONLY because it was "good for me."

On the other hand, I have developed a lot of healthy food habits, because fortunately I like a lot of the things on the "good for you" list.

For me it's pretty connected. Food is about pleasing my palate as well as my entire body. Don't want to eat things that make me feel uncomfortable afterwards. Inevitably, that leads to 'healthy' eating, although I just think of it as normal eating. Because it has always struck me as a shame that many Americans make a dichotomy between healthy/unhealthy eating. Under those terms, 'healthy' seems virtuous and therefore usually difficult to maintain. For me it's all about 'normal' balanced diets vs. abnormal unbalanced diets. Much like what Rogov said.

Of course I'm still in my 30s so I can imagine that in future decades I will probably have to tweak my diet a bit.

And to answer the question, my system needs a lot of fruit to keep it churning (in this season, say 4-5 apples and 2-3 grapefruits per day, roughly speaking). That's probably the baseline 'health' requirement.

Jenise can you tell us the name of the "PhD Microbiologist" or the name of his book?