Ital Versus Twinkies

Fruit and seeds versus Steak and fries - ITAL versus Twinkies.

(An excerpt from Twinkies to ITAL)



What does the idea of eating “just” some fruit and seeds for dinner bring to mind? This article will break down the nutritional benefits of just that versus a popular choice for dinner in America-steak and fries. Let’s shoot for a typical (American) meal of one thousand calories. In corner 1 we have a simple meal of 6 bananas and ½ cup of raw almonds. Granted the nutrition can drastically change depending on where the food is grown. I used the fitday.com software, just to enable you the reader, a simple method of analyzing your calorie consumption (for free). Corner 1 meal has over 127% of your Vitamin B-6, Vitamin E, Copper, and Manganese (4). You also get over 50% of Vitamin C, Iron, Magnesium, Pantothenic Acid, Potassium, and Riboflavin (6). You get over 30% of Zinc and Thiamin (2). 21% of your Calcium is also obtained (1). That is 13 minerals and vitamins that you get an amount of over 20%. According to the weight of 165, male, and 6’0’’, 70% of your fiber (26.8 grams), 41% (22.8 grams) of your protein, 38 grams of fat, and 135% (175.7 grams) of your carbohydrates are in this one meal. The percentages given are average daily nutrition as a percentage of your RDA (recommended dietary allowance) or AI (adequate intake). This is 1,000 calories of just banana and almond. http://fitday.com/fitness/FoodLog.html?_a_Date=1221004800.&_v_View_FoodLogSummaryTabs-Focus=Cals

The fitday.com website will provide all of this information in detail and a pie chart or your macronutrients. I think it is about time we slightly override the macronutrients with the micronutrients, meaning that we should take a deeper look into the spectrum of vitamins and minerals in the food…let alone the phyto-chemicals, and relieve the stress of calculating the odds of what fat will make us fat and what carbohydrate is fattening. No food is really fattening, some foods have a higher potential for you to eat too much of them and in return store excess body fat. Fruit has an interesting way of letting you know that you have eaten enough, the rise of blood sugar. This instant gratification is followed by the presence of fiber which has proven to stave off hunger by sitting undigested in your digestive track.

In corner 2 we have a steak and French fries. Although a steak can vary from 32% to 53% fat, we are going to go all out with 53% fat for full flavor. I will have part two of this article to compare a “more nutritious” comparison- in both corners. Half this meal is fat, although 30% of meal 1 was fat. The fats in steak have not shown too many health benefits, with the exception of the essential need for fat to transport fat-soluble vitamins like Vitamin A, D, E, and K. The plant fats in almonds have shown to have an anti-inflammatory effect due to the essential fatty acids. Meal 2 has over 111% Phosphorus, Niacin, Zinc, B-6, Selenium, and B-12 (6). Meal 2 has 50% or more of Sodium, Iron, and Copper (3). You get between 21% and 47% of your Vitamin E, Magnesium, Thiamin, Vitamin C, Potassium, Riboflavin, and Pantothenic Acid (7). That is 16 Vitamins and minerals that you get over 20% of. This meal totals to 10% (3.7 grams) of your fiber, 173% (96.8) of your protein, 62 grams of fat, and 25% (32.5) of your carbohydrates.

http://fitday.com/fitness/FoodLog.html?_a_Date=1221004800.&_v_View_FoodLogSummaryTabs-Focus=Nutri



Looks like the nutritional properties are well worth the analysis. The vitamins and minerals are both apparent and deliver a nutritional powerhouse with over 4 minerals and vitamins climbing over the 100% mark for the daily requirement, beef and fries actually have six nutrients over 100%! The nutrition can be obtained from both meals. One meal seems to provide more potential for increasing performance, as it contains the number one fuel for our body and our mind-which is glucose or simple sugars. If we do not get enough of these precious and essential sugars we will make them in our body from fats and proteins, with a biologically taxing expense that we pay for physically over time. The small amount of protein we need to repair our muscles from tear down is almost met in just 1 meal, or 1,000 calories which is about one third of the total requirement of calories for the individual in question.

In contrast meal 2 will meet the need for protein and fat for the day, almost twice over, in just 1 meal-1,000 calories. It lacks the fiber to “stick with you” for the 1,000 calorie investment of satiation. If we get “satisfied” by our meals beyond the criteria of our taste buds, our minds and our bodies will react in a positive manner.

Consider the broad scope of nutrition and the quantum effect of healing. Digestion works on such a small scale that “bad news”, or what you perceive as stress, can completely disrupt your digestion of food. This is an ancient practice shared by many animals, to vomit in order to work the body more efficiently, without wasting precious energy on digestion. This is the extreme nature of our body, that you can easily “feel” when you are unable to digest food due to stress. Our “feelings” about each individual food is more important than the actual food when you actualize the importance of quantum nutrition, or the smallest elements of nutrition.

Let us analyze what drives us to make our food choice. Which meal seems like it would fuel an athlete, which one would give you more energy for physical activity. Which meal would take longer for you to digest? Which meal would result in indigestion such as heart burn, stomach cramps, bloating, having trouble passing a bowel movement (under 2 per day), and flatulence? Which has shown to cause heart disease and/or cancers?

Which meal do you feel would make you a healthier person in mind, body, and spirit? This is by far the most important question and decision you should consider when it comes to food and exercise. What you believe is what will happen. If you don’t feel like a certain meal or workout will make you healthy, it certainly will do just what you imagine. Although many studies show one meal has shown to have more positive health implications that another (check out the China Study, which is one of the largest most comprehensive studies ever done on nutrition). Your mind can control a possible “placebo effect” at all times. You must believe. You must have complete and utter faith that what you are doing will make you healthier, -and it will. If you really don’t believe that a food is healthy, than you can make a food much less healthier than it actually is. This has been proven scientifically, and you can prove it by just believing-or not.

There is no reason to jump in one extreme of just fruits and nuts or beef and fries. The best practice is what you perceive as balance. Numbers can measure an amount that has been designated as acceptable through specific tests. Nutritional tests have so many variables that are not always incorporated to the study including stress, nutritional history, physical emersion of movement, belief systems, and mental perception. Can you digest food in times of extreme stress like death or a loss of a loved one? Our mental state is a gigantic part of our state of wellness, and directly impacts the individual foods that we eat. If you have built a belief system that required enormous amounts of protein-or a massive amount of fruits and vegetables- than that is just what you require- either way.

Which food gives you more energy? Food conducts electricity in your body. We all have electrolytes in our body; these are minerals that conduct electricity. There is also an electromagnetic energy force in our food which can be measured in megahertz. This is a subject matter that has very little research. A book called "Sick and tired" speaks of this energy measurement, The Author's Name is Dr. Robert Young. This is the energy that will bring you energy beyond protein and coffee, a form of energy that will “jumpstart your engine”. He speaks of the megahertz charge that will range from 0 to 250 plus of MHz. Here are some Examples of the foods that we eat and the energy they provide:

Canned foods with 0 MHz, chocolate cake 1-3 MHz, Kentucky Fried chicken-3, Big Mac-5, vitamin/mineral supp 10 to 30, raw almonds 40 to 50, fruits-60 to 70, green vegetables 70 to 90. This table is from Dr. Young’s research.

Our bodies are like any other machine and operate on a subtle electromagnetic current. Nerve signals are in fact electrical charges-your brain, heart, and all organs emit and create a field of electrical current, hence the reason why getting shocked to life by a defibrillator works. Your body's cells communicate with each other with electrical pulses creating an electrical current.

The intentions of this article are to inspire thought. Our food brings us life; it certainly should not bring us death. Feel good all day, and let the foods you eat propel the felling of goodness. Enjoy your food before you eat them by giving thanks, travel far beyond the need to satisfy your taste buds, keeping in mind the repercussions that will follow. Eat with Love and Gratitude.

This article was written by Keith Lopez of Organic Fitness