Salad is bad for you. And so are eggs, avocados, and soy.

[iqqi]

Hi guys! I recently visited an Asian alternative medicine person to get some ideas on a better diet, since I've never been one for "healthy". The guidelines sent to me were pretty hardcore, and I'd love some opinions.

Bad food: coffee, pop/soda, energy drinks, store bought juices

Alternative: water, tea, coconut water, kombucha

note: cold drinks are a no no.

Bad food: dairy products (cheese, milk, yogurt, butter) including
anything that contains dairy such as pizza, cookies, cakes, chocolate etc..
also: scrambled eggs, sunny sideup fried eggs

Alternative: hemp milk, almond milk, coconut milk (all non-sweetened)
Eggs are fine if cooked in water (hard boiled, soft boiled, poached)
6 months later: goat/sheep products (Raw. Not pesteurized)

Bad food: wheat, oats, corn, soy, white rice

Alternative: sprouted wheat/grains (brands: Ezekiel, Manna, Rudi’s Organics spelt bread) quinoa, millets, amaranth, brown rice, red rice, purple rice, farro. brown rice pasta (good brand: Tinkyáda) beans, all roots

Bad food: sugar/fake sugar/sweets

Alternative: all fruits (except: mangoes, avocado, lychee berries, longan) 6 months later: coconut palm sugar, RAW honey

Bad food: Canola oil, veggy oil, peanut oil, corn oil

alternative: low heat cooking: olive oil, grapeseed oil

Bad food: red meat (beef/lamb)

alternative: white meat and then 6 months later: bison

Bad food: salad (limit to 1-2/week), any raw veggies

Alternative: cooked veggies (land & ocean) land veggies: has to be leafy (such as kale, mustard greens, collard greens, chard, arugula, dandelion greens, bokchoy...) ocean veggies: seaweed, kelp, algae

Bad food: peanuts, peanut butter, pistachio, cashews

alternative: almonds, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, pecans, walnuts, seeds (such as black sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds....)



nothing processed, canned, or frozen. all bad!
this is not OK: spicy, deep fried, grilled, broiled
this is good: sauteed, steamed, boiled, baked, oven roasted

Also, button mushrooms are bad.

I thought a lot of that stuff was pretty crazy, and in my research I've also seen some heated debate over whether or not potatoes are good for you. What the hell. Can't a person eat some raw carrots in a ranch dip and be healthy??

 

[wait_out]

I suppose this depends how much faith you'd put in alternative medicine iqqi. It sounds a little extreme, but it doesn't stop you from trialing it for a month. you'll live

 

[MikeBrown30]

Ummm yeah, 99.9% of alternative/homeopathic medicine is absolute bullsh1t.

You think I can convince my mum to stop spending hundreds of dollars every month on sh1t that she supposedly "needs" but doesn't actually make her feel better?

Yet she refuses to exercise because it's too hard, she won't measure her food portions because there is too much work involved/it's confusing. She wants to lose weight, but does not want to do the hard work that will allow her to reach her goals.

******************************************************************************************************************

The only inherently bad foods are man made/processed foods. Stick to things that grow out of the ground, or come directly from animals, and you should be ok as long as you don't have allergies.

You also have to understand that elderly people of certain cultures are living in a time capsule, where they aren't open to change, and they hold onto all these "old wives tales" and potions and bullsh1t. I'm not just talking about Oriental people, I'm Italian myself, and some of the garbage that my grandparents still believe to this day causes me to shake my head in disbelief, because of how ridiculous it is.

Bottom line:

If it grows from the ground, comes from an animal, or is an animal itself, it's healthy. Man-made/processed, no good.

 

[Bible_Belt]

I have read that Chinese "alternative" medicine was always encouraged by the Chinese government, because it distracted the citizenry from the fact that they did not have legitimate health care.

Bison is red meat. Eggs cooked in water should be no different than fried. And there are a lot of studies backing the health benefits of peanuts.

 

[iqqi]

Yeah, I agree her guidelines are pretty ridiculous. She is a younger Asian woman, with a lot of great reviews (third party sites) and articles written on her.

Some of the information she gave me seems legit and quite interesting. I have a problem with low energy levels and anemia (a lot of woman have this issue), and it was interesting to find out that raw vegetables are hard on the digestive system and that cold drinks zap energy levels. That all is legit I've found, after some research.

I was surprised to see soy on her list, and especially eggs. I thought eggs were terrific! I have definitely ruled out the "no avocado" part. Avocados are awesome and very good for you. I know a lot of people think canned vegetables are no good, but I think they are just fine.

I'll try to incorporate some of what she taught me into my general eating practices. But truth be told I am horrible at self moderation and discipline.

 

[Bible_Belt]

raw vegetables are hard on the digestive system and that cold drinks zap energy levels.

Really? Do you have a link to what you read?

The healthiest food is always going to be the food that is produced closest to you. Visit your local farmer's market in the summer. And even if you only have a balcony, you can still have an Earthtainer garden : http://www.earthtainer.org/

 

[Jariel]

I really can't see what you would gain from these alternatives. You're losing some big iron, zinc and protein sources and a lot of the foods listed as "bad" won't actually do you any harm.

Many of these so-called "healthy" eaters don't look particularly good, they don't age particularly well and don't necessarily have more energy than the average person, so you have to ask what it is their diet does for them.

On the other hand, you have fitness models, body builders and atheletes who eat a load of the "bad" stuff on that list.

Personally, I don't buy into any theoretical or text book advice. I want to see results.

 

[Groovy]

Iqqi,
Is she a traditional Chinese medicine doctor? What condition did the lady say you have? What did she recommend you to take?

 

[Colossus]

Quackery.

Red meats and saturated fats in moderation, if at all.

Coffee is fine. Soda/sugary drinks bad.

Processed sugars in moderation, if at all.

Anyone who tells you that fresh vegetables are 'bad' is a quack and could just as easily sell you oil of bat's eye for a cancer cure.

 

[iqqi]

raw vegetables are hard on the digestive system and that cold drinks zap energy levels.

Really? Do you have a link to what you read?

The healthiest food is always going to be the food that is produced closest to you. Visit your local farmer's market in the summer. And even if you only have a balcony, you can still have an Earthtainer garden : http://www.earthtainer.org/

Here is the first thing that popped up on google, it might even be an ad for some crap, however the information is legit from all the other stuff I have read and information I have gotten from people.

http://bodyecology.com/articles/raw_vegetables_gas_bloating.php

I LOVE fresh veggies, but now I understand that the best preparation for them is lightly cooking them.

This kind of sums up what I have read and been told about cold liquids: http://www.selfgrowthurway.com/2011/03/is-drinking-ice-cold-water-bad-for-your.html

 

[backseatjuan]

Raw veggies are bad for you?

Unless veggies are GMO, I can't see that they are bad for you.

 

[GameTime76]

Everyone has their own theory of what healthy eating is. Personally, I think half this list is B.S.

I know a guy from work who is a raw vegan. ONLY eats fresh raw fruits and veggies, nothing cooked. He says he eats about 20 bananas a day. You know what he looks like? Skinny, under weight, pale and sick.

You dont need to take extreme measures to eat healthy. It also depends on YOUR goals. Just know what foods are good and what foods are bad... I mean if you only eat potato chips, cookies and drink pepsi for lunch. Then, yea thats not the most "Healthy" food choice. Its not rocket science.

 

[marmel75]

How are raw veggies bad for you when cooking is what actually destroys virtually all of the nutritional value in them? Makes no sense, to be honest.

 

[SteVenParker]

I thought eggs were terrific! I have definitely ruled out the "no avocado" part. Avocados are awesome and very good for you. I know a lot of people think canned vegetables are no good, but I think they are just fine.

 

[Metzgermeister]

Um.. Wow. That list is pretty extreme.

I'm all for being healthy, natural, and getting fresh local produce/meat whenever I can, but these are the two big things I saw wrong with that list:

- Spicy food is bad. There are numerous studies that show that spicy foods have numerous health benefits.

- Frozen food is bad. Absolutely NOTHING changes when you freeze food properly, except for MAYBE a mild reduction on freshness of flavor.

 

[HalfAddict]

How you gonna say oats are bad lol

 

[5string]

I'm confused. Dogs eat their own turds and still remain healthy. WTF?

 

[Groovy]

all my life i been eating soy am i gunna die? i also eat peanuts. i been research and peanuts are a ingredient in dynamite! why no one warm me of this? i see old people in the street eating cashew and feeding them to pidgeons! the poor pidgeons never had a chance! they have been innocent all along! i am feeling dizzy and weak now, what do i do? i would eat this salad in from of me but i don't want to do more damage to myself. damn.

iqqi, i still await ur reply. Plus, i wanna know if u told her u had something cuz tcm is more then 5000 years old full of wisdom! I wanna see the sense in this. I am sure she didn't just say this out of the blue. There has gotta be something else.

 

[Bible_Belt]

I'm confused. Dogs eat their own turds and still remain healthy. WTF?

My dogs greatly prefer my cat's turds.

 

[MikeBrown30]

Iqqi, can you tell me how this woman actually differentiates between good and bad foods? Like, what criteria does she use to deem a food as "bad".