Dr Jonathan Kuttner
Forward When I created this guide, I didn t what to inflict on you another diet plan with complicated charts, decimal fractions of calories and something you need a chemistry degree to decipher. So I ve broken this simple eating plan into two parts Part I - what to eat, and Part II how much to eat. It s all reasonably straight forward, easy to remember (I want you to be able to use this off the top of your head) and should answer pretty quickly the question of what s for dinner) as soon as you open the pantry. All the best for your new found health! - Jonathan
Anti-inflammatory Foods Eat Lots of These Veges are moderately anti inflammatory and a great source of vitamins, fiber and minerals. Best veges- broccolli, sweet potato, dark green spinach, carrots and other leafy greens. (Like kale, mesclun salad and mustard greens.) Spices like chilli, tumeric and ginger are great antiinflams, and give a welcome kick to your meals. Onions and garlic are also good anti-inflammatory agents - and can add flavor to your food. Japanese shitake mushrooms are an all star anti-inflam food Seafood - oysters and mussels - and especially the green-lipped muscle. (Great source of anti-inflammatory agent Lyprinol.) Cold water oily fish - excellent. Especially wild salmon, mackeral, tuna, herring and sardines. Spicy foods = anti-inflammatory. Latin American, Asian, Indian cuisine-these all contain spices that are great anti-inflammation agents. Curry, garlic, ginger, tumeric, chili peppers are also good. Other great fruits to have are the citrus family - especially lemon lime, and pink grapefruit, and guavas.
Berries - of all the fruits these are the best. Eat tons of blueberries (great anti-oxidants) acerola berries, acai, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and mulberries. Also, especially the South East Asian diets tend to use less dairy as a sauce, using coconut cream instead. Although coconut oil isn t a source of omega-3 acids, it is a great source of good saturated fat. A rare exception in fact. The fats found in coconut oil are easily absorbed and used by your body, and it is a source of anti-oxidants. Anti-inflammatory Foods - Eat in Moderation Nuts are anti-inflammatory especially those high in omega-3 like walnuts, brazil nuts, hazelnuts and pecans. Seeds, on the other hand, are slightly inflammatory. However they are a good source of fiber and vitamins - eat in moderation. Oils - use walnut oil, macadamia nut oil, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, flaxseed oil. Eat lots of veges, but eat less white potato (especially french fries) and corn. Fruits are a great way to get vitamins and a bit of sweetness into your day. Eat lots of fruit, but don t go too overboard on the very sugary and starchy fruits - like bananas and mangos. Beans and legumes are an excellent non-meat source of protein, vitamins and fibre. If you re craving something sweet - dark chocolate is a good option. Especially the 70% - 80% cocoa chocolates. These tend to be dairy free, not too sweet, and cocoa is a good anti-oxidant.
Inflammatory Foods - Eat Seldom If you re going to eat meat (inflammatory food) the leaner the better. And make sure it s unprocessed meatmany of the chemicals used to process meat are inflammatory. Chicken and eggs = inflammatory. They have a high concentration of arachadonic acid, and higher levels of omega-6 oils. This could be caused by factory farmed chickens diet which is high in grain - especially corn. So if you absolutely have to - eat chicken that s free range definitely not factory farmed. Dairy products tend to be inflammatory. The best ones to eat are low fat for example low fat cottage cheese or yoghurt. These are relatively harmless and also a great source of calcium and protein. Grains are inflammatory. However if you need to have them, choose wholegrain. For example brown wholemeal flour, brown rice, oats, barley, rye. These are much less inflammatory and a source of slow release carbohydrates. They also contain B vitamins, minerals and fiber. Farm raised salmon is a definite no-no. In farms the salmon tend to be fed grain based food making them high in omega-6 oil and thus a higher inflammation food. If the salmon you re buying doesn t say wild salmon assume that it s farm raised. Some vegetable oils are inflammatory. Cut down on soy bean oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, grapeseed oil, safflower oil.
Coffee is also mildy inflammatory if you can, replace with green tea. Definitely drink less than three cups a day, and keep to the 1 for 1 rule so that you don t become dehydrated. If you can replace or partially replace coffee with green tea. Inflammatory Foods - Avoid Like the Plague Avoid like the plague: margarine (and any other butterlike substances) and partially hydrogenated oil. Sugary foods. Especially highly processed foods with lots of white sugar. These reek havoc with your blood sugar levels, cause swings and dives in your energy, and are highly inflammatory. Alcohol is an inflammatory agent. A glass of red wine once a week (or so) is fine but if you re having alcohol every day then you re making it harder for your body. The worst kind of meat to eat? Organ meat like liver and kidneys. The major grain culprits to avoid - white flour, white bread, sticky white rice. Avoid any highly processed foods. These include so called health food bars that have an ingredient list of more than 5 ingredients. Anything with added corn starch, msg and other chemical additives is to be avoided. If you don t know what those chemicals - stay well away. Anything deep fried. It will likely have trans fats that raise bad cholestrol.
Meal Plans Breakfast. One fist sized portion of slow release carbs eg. wholemeal bread, rye bread, oat porridge, quinoa, millet, muesli (not full of sugar or dried fruit) 1 palmful of protein eg. walnuts, almonds, flaxseed, 1 egg, baked beans, fish 1 glass of water Optional: 1 Cup of tea / coffee (white tea or green tea recommended)
Morning Tea One fist sized portion of slow release carbs / fibrous fruit and vege eg. Carrot sticks / rice cracker, a piece of fruit, handful of dried fruit, berries 1 palmful of protein eg. walnuts, plain yoghurt, almonds, hummus 1 glass of water
Lunch One fist sized portion of slow release carbs eg. chicken salad sandwich, bean salad, tofu stir fry with veges, brown rice, quinoa, whole baked sweet potato 1 palmful of protein eg. hummus, falafel, chicken, beans, nuts, tofu, oily fish salmon or sardines, cottage cheese 1 handful of salad / colourful veges eg. Ceasar salad, salmon salad, chickpea salad, lightly sautéed vegetables, Sweet finish: a handful of strawberries or a piece of fruit 1 glass of water Optional: 1 Cup of tea / coffee (white tea or green tea recommended)
Afternoon Tea One fist sized portion of fibrous fruit / veges eg. handful of berries, piece of fruit, light salad, celery and carrot sticks, dried fruit 1 palmful of protein eg. handful of nuts, a scoop of hummus or cottage cheese, a piece of salmon, 1 glass of water Optional: 1 Cup of tea / coffee (white tea or green tea recommended)
Dinner One fist sized portion of slow release carbs eg. chicken salad sandwich, bean salad, tofu stir fry with veges, brown rice, quinoa, whole baked sweet potato 1 palmful of protein eg. hummus, falafel, chicken, beans, nuts, tofu, oily fish salmon or sardines, cottage cheese 2 handfuls of salad / colourful veges eg. ceasar salad, salmon salad, chickpea salad, lightly sautéed vegetables, Sweet finish: a handful of strawberries or a piece of fruit 1 glass of water
Food Rules (Some simple rules from Michael Pollan s Book that will help you eat right) Don t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn t recognise as food. Avoid food products containing ingredients no normal human would keep in their pantry. Avoid food products that make health claims. Avoid foods with the wordoid lite or the terms low-fat or nonfat in their names. Buy your snacks at the farmer s market. Treat meat as a flavouring or special occasion food. Eat wild foods whenever you can Eat more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks. Eat slowly. Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper. After lunch, sleep a while, after dinner, walk a mile. Get the book here: Food Rules - an Eater s Manual