Nutrition and poker.

Hey there,

the biggest mistake that vegetarians make is that they usually have a way too low intake of proteins and a way too high intakes of carbs by eating pasta, bread, etc.

There is also a problem with vegetable sources of protein since they don't have the optimal amino acid structure.

If you can avoid these two mistakes, you can live a quite healthy life as a vegetarian.

Eating meat would certainly benefit you in terms of variety of food choices, but it isn't a must for a healthy nutrition plan.

I suggest consuming a lot of animal sources of protein, such as eggs, dairy products (cheese as well), and perhaps some protein bars and protein shakes.

The second very important thing that you can do is to eliminate wheat and wheat sources from your diet if possible (there is a discussion about that a couple of posts ago that makes a lot of sense :)).

The nuts are usually the cheapest if you buy them per kg, not in packages. You can usually order them via internet this way or go to the big supermarkets or markets. They usually sell these per kg, just buy a few kg and you're set for some time :). Make sure that the nuts are unsalted and not roasted though ;).

-SF

Originally posted by Waiboy

Originally posted by Schnitzelfisch
Things that I do not recommend using/eating:

-vegetable oil (use coconut oil or even butter instead)
-sodas, juices, alcohol

Stopped reading here.

Me too

Only joking..great thread keep up the good work

This is totally off topic but if anyone knows a good website for recipes when it comes to gluten/wheat free diet, I would appreciate it. I've been searching for over 3 weeks and not much good on the net

I'm looking for some meat orientated dishes too

Hey there,

is you search for paleo recipes, you should be able to find some wheat-free recipes as paleo is in essence wheat-free :).

Here's a website with some great recipes: http://paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-diet-recipes/

-SF

Hi

I have a qeustion. What do you do when you're in an environment where they won't meet your needs in nutrition ( like at a party, diner at your parents etc.). Do you have any advice for this. Also are there meals that are easily to pack if you need to go to work?

Originally posted by Schnitzelfisch
Hey there,

is you search for paleo recipes, you should be able to find some wheat-free recipes as paleo is in essence wheat-free :).

Here's a website with some great recipes: http://paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-diet-recipes/

-SF

Thank you! Saved me!

Originally posted by sirilidion
Hi

I have a qeustion. What do you do when you're in an environment where they won't meet your needs in nutrition ( like at a party, diner at your parents etc.). Do you have any advice for this. Also are there meals that are easily to pack if you need to go to work?

Hey there,

It depends on the frequency of such events and their length. If I am at a 2 hour party, I will just avoid the junk food and stick to water. If there is any relatively healthy food, I would eat that.

If it's a long party, there will usually be some relatively healthy foods (depending on a party again), such as bbq meat, veggies, etc.

I pretty much always carry some protein bars with me, which I eat if there isn't anything else. It's not the healthiest thing to eat but it's usually better than the alternatives and very easy to carry with you.

About once a month, I go and have a dinner in a fancy restaurant, where I eat whatever I want since 1 day in a month doesn't make a difference in the long run.

So if such occasions are once a month, I wouldn't worry about it and just eat whatever I want, if they are more frequent, I usually try to find healthy meals within the party (for example, at a dinner with parents I would focus on salad and meat). If you tell the people that you decided to eat healthy food because it makes your life way better, they will usually understand and won't bother you.

As for the work part, you should have the opportunity to go and have a lunch in the middle of your work. I would use that opportunity to go to a restaurant with a salad bar, order some meat and eat a lot of salad.

If that's not an option, you can make a chicken salad, tuna salad, salad with mozzarela, salad with eggs and similar dishes in advance (salads seem to work best because they make you more full than the meat alone).

As for the snacks, you can use fruit, nuts (you can have a big box of nuts at work/carry nuts with you all the time in a small container), protein shakes (bring powder in a shaker, add water when you're about to drink it) and protein bars (you can also have a couple of those at work and carry some with you at all times).

Beef jerky is also food that can be healthy and very portable, although it might be a bit expensive.

-SF

I love the opening post, when I posted similar in my blog I just got booood for it, but there are still some people here at leats who recognised that the food can be friend but also poison.

I was also experimenting with several stuff especially since I play live tourneys, and I think it is extremly important in that case how, what and when someone eats to keep up concentration on a certain level.

Write more pls, i luv it

Originally posted by Schnitzelfisch
Honey is pretty much the same as sugar - simple, fast carbs. White sugar, brown sugar, honey... more or less one and the same thing. Yes, honey might have some vitamins and minerals, but essentially it still mostly consists of sugar and has a very similar effect on your body ;).

Therefore, I couldn't say that it's better for you than sugar. Maybe just slightly slightly less bad. So if you eat honey, eat it because you like the taste, not because you think it's better for you than sugar ;).

-SF

I bought that paleo recipe book you linked too and I noticed that they do work with raw honey a lot for there desserts and also dark chocolate. I was wondering there are any recipes in the paleo recipe book that you think you probably shouldn't make?

Hey,

the intention was actually to link to the free recipes (there are plenty on that link ;)). I don't know about the ebook, haven't bought it myself.

Well, you know my opinion on honey (it's sugar), and although it might count as paleo since it's natural and stuff, I wouldn't really advise it, as it's simple sugar.

It's strange that there's chocolate within paleo, even if it's 70% chocolate it's still full of unnatural crap, so I'd use 100% cocoa powder instead. I didn't go through all of the recipes there yet, but you will be able to find a lot of them that contain the unprocessed, healthy foods there as well.

The tomatoes filled with pesto and eggs are delicious :).

-SF

Hey guys,

what do you think about this article?

http://chriskresser.com/another-reason-you-shouldnt-go-nuts-on-nuts

Hey,

thanks for the article, I've definitely learned something from it and researched the subject some more on my own. There is definitely some truth in it, and I agree that the nuts should be eaten in moderation (don't eat like 500g of them a day!).

However, this all depends on what you eat and how much you exercise.

For example, if you have a very unhealthy nutrition plan, you won't have much benefits from avoiding nuts.

If you are on a healthy nutrition plan, eating a handful of nuts a day won't make much of a difference, at least you probably won't notice it.

You need to focus on the forest, not on the trees. Avoiding nuts might make you 1% healthier. However, the phytic acid as far as I know only decreases the absorption of some minerals (within the nut). The nuts can still benefit you greatly - they are a source of healthy fats (especially macadamia nuts which are considered the healthiest of all), and for example the brasilian nuts are one of the best natural sources of selenium, which improves sleep quality.

If you are on a low carb (wheat-less) diet, you should watch out that you still consume enough healthy fats and enough calories to function properly. So if you got rid of nuts, you would need to replace them with olive oil, fish, etc., which is ok, but certainly not as practical.

Since we're talking about poker and we know that nuts help us preserve a steady flow of energy and concentration during the session, I don't really see myself eating olive oil during the session as a replacement. The nuts are way more practical and portable.

As for the diseases, for example, since I've switched to a healthy nutrition plan (it's been about 2 years), I haven't caught a cold, fever or been sick yet. I used to be sick pretty much every winter before that. The amount of injuries I've suffered has also decreased greatly.

In general, if you are on a healthy nutrition plan, you shouldn't worry about the sufficient consumption of minerals - you'll get them.

If you exercise a lot and remove the nuts from your diet and don't replace them with anything, you will be consuming way too little calories which will destroy your energy levels.

Soaking nuts in salty water overnight and then drying them (on the sun/using a dried/on a really low heat in the oven!) should help with the removal of phytic acids if you want to really optimize your nutrition, however it's pretty strange that the author of the article actually suggests roasting the nuts to do this. The known problem with roasting the nuts is that this gets rid of most of the healthy nutrients in the nuts, so they pretty much become empty calories.

To sum up, if you keep eating nuts in moderation (during the sessions, school, day job...) and follow a healthy nutrition plan, you shouldn't have any health problems because of them. If you want to perfect your nutrition plan, soaking + drying them would be a good idea. If you want to remove them from a diet, you should find a good replacement for them.

-SF

What are your thoughts on palm olein cooking oil SF?

I've been eating foods cooked by this oil since the beginning of time.

Hey there,

for cooking, coconut oil is by far the best of oils because it is made mostly (86%) out of saturated fats, and their structure doesn't change (to the worse) when heated. While palm oil is the 2nd highest in saturated fats (49%), we could argue that it's still better than most of the other oils for cooking, although coconut oil still is the best by far.

-SF

Hey there, for cooking, coconut oil is by far the best of oils because it is made mostly (86%) out of saturated fats, and their structure doesn't change (to the worse) when heated. While palm oil is the 2nd highest in saturated fats (49%), we could argue that it's still better than most of the other oils for cooking, although coconut oil still is the best by far. -SF

But I think coconut oil affects the taste of food right? I can't seem to find this coconut butter thingy. Unless margarine = butter. Margarine made out of coconut oil is the best I can find.

Nope, it's tasteless. Nah, I don't think that it's called margarine... Coconut oil, coconut butter or cocnut fat. Maybe you can post a picture of the "margarine"? You should be able to get coconut oil under the asian food in the supermarket.

Originally posted by Schnitzelfisch
Nope, it's tasteless. Nah, I don't think that it's called margarine... Coconut oil, coconut butter or cocnut fat. Maybe you can post a picture of the "margarine"? You should be able to get coconut oil under the asian food in the supermarket.

Pic of margarine:

One of the ingredients is refined, bleached, deodorized coconut oil. I'm not sure I like the sound of that.

I already found coconut oil, but didn't buy it coz I'm not sure of the taste. Guess I'll have to try it then..

nah, that doesn't look right or healthy at all :(.

try it, it really doesn't leave any taste on the food :).

My fellow Irishman Padraig Parkinson on All American Dave meals