What would the smallest number of foods required to fulfill all macro and micronutrient requirements. I’ve heard multiple times that humans can survive solely on potatoes and dairy but what would be a reasonable but short list of foods that provide specifically all micronutrients for a human to thrive and become their best self? I know the vertical diet has attempted to fill that need although directed solely at performance and I have an irrational hatred for peppers.
As a caveat I think it’s important to point out that the microbiome seems to have the most beneficial effects when presented with a large variety of fibres.
That said, I would go for something like:
Legume: Green (cronometer doesn’t have full nutrient listings for green lentils specifically) lentils for protein, fibre, and hella micronutrients. Legumes have the best correlation with longevity of any food as well. (300g)
Greens/Veggies: Broccoli or cauliflower (chop and stop for sulforaphane). Get enough of the plant and some leaves are included. Either way broccoli and kale are comparable but broccoli covers a wider base, if not quite as calorically efficient. (200g)
Nuts/Seeds: Walnuts seem to be the nut that correlates best with longevity as well as having some omega-3s. Scratch that, I need selenium so going with Brazils. No wait, chia seeds. ALA, calcium and selenium (100g)
Grains: Quinoa because why not? (200g)
Fill in the gaps: Butternut squash for vitamins A and E (300g)
All raw weights. Here’s the results.
Note that I changed the DRVs so despite protein being 127g it’s only 71% of my goal. B12 I’d need to supplement, but I’m vegan so that’s expected. I tried to keep it around 2500kcal so I managed there but I don’t think it’s going to be the most enjoyable diet.
Vitamin E was hard to hit but given the 600% of vitamin C I hope that covers the gap as vitamin C ‘recycles’ vitamin E in the cell membranes, as it were.
So this could definitely do with fine tuning and maybe replacing some but it was just a quick, for fun thing.
Egg yolk has the highest anabolic effect after placenta and breast milk.
Anabolic effect means turning into body tissue.
Anabolic effect of egg yolk: 48%
Eggs pretty much have every vitamin and mineral except for vitamin C.
Loaded with healthy fats, contain omega 3 fatty acids including DHA and EPA.
There is no evidence to support the idea that eggs raise your bad cholesterol (remember, healthcare is a business).
That’s a good question!I’m not an expert, I start by saying that, IMHO it would be
1 a source of carbs
2 a source of protein
3 a green vegetable
3 a red/orange one
4 a legume
5 a vegetable source of fat as olive oil or nuts
With these foods you SHOULD be able to survive decently have most macro and micronutrients, but I may be wrong.
This q resonates with me because I walk 20 mins to the closest market and I cant carry too much at a time home. Thid is my diet going on 6 years now:Cereal (not organic, organic cereals aren’t fortified with that iron and minerals)Whole milk (i get fairlife its low sugar)Almond butterRaw kale /spinach (rotate weekly)
Tuna (in water not oil)/ Skinless chicken breast /great northern beans/lentils (rotate these proteins to your preference and what your in the mood for that day just watch your tuna cravings)
Eggs, almonds, olive oil, blueberries, grass fed beef. I don’t believe Milk and potatoes would cover enough protein required for longevity. Most deadly diseases (cardiovascular, insulin resistance, neurodegenerative) begin at the skeletal muscle which requires high quality protein.
*could also swap avocado for either olive oil or GF beef
Certain algeas have super high nutrient densities, like Chorella or Spurlina. EXTREMELY nutritious and you can get them in powder form. But for perfect health? Perfect health would mean getting everything you’d need, so you’d definitely need a source of sulforaphane for longevitiy which means you’d need something high in sulforaphane, the only particularly concentrated source is broccoli sprouts.
I’m sorry. This sounds like an eating disorder. I’m not sure what the goal of eliminating almost all foods from your life is about but to me this reeks of orthorexia and potentially anorexia. This is a dangerous thread.
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/eating-disorders/what-is-orthorexia#:~:text=Orthorexia%20is%20an%20unhealthy%20focus,coined%20the%20term%20in%201996.
I’m a therapist and have worked with disordered eating for years.
Here’s one you could easily grow, no carrying stuff needed:
1 cup of snails (has ALA, EPA/DHA, B12, Selenium, Iron, Zinc at truly incredible levels)
350g pigeon peas (plant one seed, harvest lentil/pea like legumes for years - its a small tree)
20g moringa powder (another tree, also super easy to grow from a seed)
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Or 100g can pink salmon with bones + 3 cups cooked/canned lentils + 20g moringa powder (for a day).
if you bought dry lentils and cooked them yourself that’s not much to carry often. Only 900 calories though so you probably should add some walnuts to up ALA and LA.
I would go for cabbage soup. So red cabbage, carrot, celery, beans, I like pinto beans, red sauce. Whole grain sandwich with cheese. For breakfast, oatmeal with raisins and nuts. For supper brown rice with a stir fry and a small amount of meat.
You could get by just on eating beef alone. Just look at the carnivore subreddit for a group of people doing just that and not only surviving but thriving. Personally not for me, but I’ve done it before for an extended period of time and it works.
I don’t think there is a universal diet that would lead to perfect health in any individual. It depends on gender, age, climate, lifestyle, stage of life, job, goals, nationality etc.
I also think the jury is out on defining one perfect diet. Nutrition is a science that evolves based on studies and also has many different fields within it and people with their opinions of what is the best. Like any science, and it’s incredibly complex. I don’t think these posts asking questions like this are ever going to attract definitive answers. Reading down the comments I am mostly seeing people write their own opinion based on foods they like, which really doesn’t mean much.
