| (I.A.NOT.A.Dietician/Nutritionalist, so more lay/anecdotal/armchair discussion follows) I've had the same problems in trying to sort out truth and nonsense, so I just try to maintain an elementary understanding of the basic components of our diets and experiment. List the fundamentals of human nutrition and spend a day on wikipedia taking notes on what we do know. My rules: 1. Know my calorie requirements. How many to maintain current weight, to lose weight, to gain weight? 2. Pay attention to calorie ratios - Protein/Carbs/Fats. Am I working out this week? Anaerobic or aerobic? Do I have extra energy stores right now? What am I burning and what am I storing? 3. Protein quality & diversity of protein sources. Highly bio-available proteins? Simple or complex carbs, high or low GI? Saturated, mono-, or poly-unsaturated fats? No trans fat. 4. Vitamins and minerals. Where are the major gaps in my diet? 5. As little processed food as possible. There's plenty of information out there on these things. Do your own research. Every week learn exactly what is in one particular food. See what works for you, then eat what you're knowledgeable about and what makes you feel right. |