Some general gidelines
*Eat around 25% from your calories from fat. Low fat fad diets that were popular in the 70s/80s are actually very unhealthy. Low fat diets can slow down your hormone production and lead to many health hazards.
*Avoid unhealthy transfats (hydrogenated oils) and refined carbohydrates.
*Generally, 1/3 of your fat calories should come from saturated fat, 1/3 from monounsaturated fat and 1/3 from polyunsaturated fat. Poly-unsaturated fats need to be balanced between omega-3 and omega-6. Both are essential fatty acids.
*Healthy sources of saturated fat include organic dairy products, coconut oil and red palm oil
*Healthy sources of monounsaturated fats include extra virgin olive oil, avocado and nuts. Macadamia nut oil is well suited for high temperatures, olive oil should always be used unheated.
*Healthy sources of polyunsaturated oils are nuts/seeds. Omega-3's can be found in flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds and also in algae oil. I recommend taking algae oil around 1-2 grams of EPA/DHA combined per day. Fish and fish oils are often poluted with mercury and don't forget that to produce one liter of fish oil, around 20-100 kg of fish is necessary depending on the species. Fish sources in the ocean are steadily declining, so don't fall in the trap of pescetarianism.
*Balance your macronutrients, don't go very low or high in either carbs, protein or fat. Balancing carbs/protein will balance insulin/glucagon and adding fat will slow digestion and prevent blood sugar crashes.
*Good sources of carbs include legumes, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Eat around 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
*Shoot around 70-120 grams of protein per day (combined from food and if necessary supplements). Any more than that will only benefit the protein supplement industry. (If you are looking for a vegan protein supplement, I recommend Sunwarrior protein powder)
*Eat a protein rich breakfast which will make you more active and eat your starchy carbs largely at dinner, because that will help with relaxation. It's important that cortisol is higher in the morning and lower before you go to bed. Not eating three hours before bedtime will help to optimise growth hormone.
*Sleep 7-9 hours a day. Research shows that either too litlle or too much sleep is unhealthy. This type of middle path regarding sleep/ food etc is also the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita. Advanced practioners of yoga will need less sleep, children need more sleep.
*Train intensely for 4-5 hours per week. Balance every hour of intense training with an hour of "active recovery" which can include yoga, tai chi or light walking. Think of the concept of yin/yang which are the symphatetic and para-symphatic nervous systems in our body.
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