Nutrition
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Here I will build a list of essential vitamins and minerals, and their sources. It is my amended version of the list featured in How to Heal Your Metabolism by Kate Deering. Sources described are for the diet I have designed for myself, and are not exhaustive.
Vitamin B
Consists of eight water-soluble vitamins described below (these cannot be stored in the body)
B9: Folate
Functions:
- Repair and formation of DNA
- Production of healthy red blood cells
Sources: orange juice, eggs, beef liver, beef kidney
B12: Cobalamin
Functions:
- Brain and nervous system function
- Blood production
- Metabolism of every cell in the body
Sources: milk, cheese, yoghurt, eggs, beef, oysters, shrimp, beef liver, beef kidney
B1: Thiamine
Functions:
- Supports proper mitochondrial utilisation of metabolic fuels
- Suppresses the production of lactic acid
- Helps break down sugar and amino acids
- Needed to form the neurotransmitters acetylcholine and GABA
Sources: potatoes, coffee, eggs, oysters, beef liver, beef kidney
B2: Riboflavin
Functions:
- Needed for fat, ketone, protein, and carbohydrate metabolism
- Protects against PUFA toxicity
- Anti-estrogenic
Sources: milk, cheese, yoghurt, eggs, beef liver, beef kidney
B3: Niacinamide
Functions:
- Essential to glucose metabolism
- Helps with skin conditions
- Inhibits oxidation of fat in the tissues
Sources: beef, oysters, shrimp, beef liver, beef kidney
B5: Pantothenic Acid
Functions:
- Needed to metabolise protein, fats, and carbohydrates
- Required for healthy hormone production
Sources: milk, cheese, yoghurt, eggs, beef, oysters, shrimp, beef liver, beef kidney
B6: Pyridoxine
Functions:
- Amino acid breakdown in the intestines
- Healthy immune system
- Opposes estrogen and prolactin
- Essential to dopamine production
- Mitigates PUFA toxicity
Sources: potatoes, eggs, beef, beef liver, beef kidney
B7: Biotin
Functions:
- Needed for cell growth
- Needed for metabolism of fats and amino acids
- Takes part in the transfer of CO2
- Liver support
Sources: eggs, beef liver, beef kidney
Vitamin C
Functions:
- Needed for growth and repair of tissue
- Supports the immune system
- Antioxidant
Sources: potatoes, orange juice, kiwi, watermelon
Vitamin D
Functions:
- Needed for proper calcium absorption
- Suppresses parathyroid hormone
- Improved immune system modulation
Sources: sunlight, eggs (depending on quality of eggs), oysters, shrimp, beef liver
Vitamin E
Functions:
- Antioxidant
- Opposes estrogen
- Promotes progesterone
- Protects cells from damage caused by iron excess
- Protects cells from damage caused by PUFA excess
Sources: kiwi, eggs, shrimp
Vitamin K
Functions:
- Proper calcium absorption
- Proper blood clotting
Sources: aged hard cheeses, kiwi, eggs, beef liver, beef kidney
Calcium
Functions:
- Needed for bone and teeth formation
- Needed for nerve function and muscular contraction
- Suppresses parathyroid hormone
- Supports glucose metabolism
- Protects against excitotoxic damage of cells
- Needed for heartbeat regulation
- Lowers blood pressure
Sources: milk, cheese, yoghurt, powdered egg shells
Magnesium
Functions:
- Important for the efficient utilisation of ATP in cells
- Supports thyroid hormone
- Improves management of calcium in the body
- Inhibits stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol)
Sources: potatoes, coffee, orange juice, oysters
Potassium
Functions:
- Important for cellular stability
- Supports carbohydrate utilisation
- Opposes calcification of soft tissues
- Improves CO2 retention
Sources: potatoes, milk, yoghurt, orange juice, kiwi, watermelon, beef liver, beef kidney
Sodium
Functions:
- Suppresses stress hormones (aldosterone, adrenaline, cortisol)
- Required for cellular energy production
- Spares magnesium from being lost in urine
- Pro-thyroid
- Protects brain and nerve cells from excitotoxic damage
- Supports restful sleep
- Key component of stomach acid and bile
- Supports the thermogenic effect of food (helping the body convert calories into heat rather than storing them as fat)
Sources: salt, cheese, shrimp, oysters
Zinc
Functions:
- Opposing heavy metal toxicity
- Essential for proper thyroid function (conversion of T4 into T3)
- Important for maintaining androgen levels
- Suppresses aromatase (aromatase converts testosterone into estrogen)
- Indispensable to protein synthesis and wound healing
- Helps maintain the integrity of the intestinal lining
- Supports immune system regulation
- Improves CO2 management in the body
Sources: oysters, beef, beef liver, beef kidney, shrimp, cheese, yoghurt, eggs
Copper
Functions:
- Key to iron regulation
- Key to production of ATP (the key unit of energy required by every cell in the body)
- Helps prevent 'age spots' forming on skin
- Key to maintaining the structure of tissues (required for the cross-linking of collagen and elastin)
Sources: potatoes, oysters, shrimp, beef liver, beef kidney
Selenium
Functions:
- Essential for proper thyroid function (conversion of T4 into T3)
- Protects against PUFA toxicity
- Neutralises the toxic effects of heavy metals in the body
Sources: oysters, shrimp, beef liver, beef kidney, beef, eggs
Iron
Functions:
- Essential for cellular energy production
Sources: beef liver, beef kidney, oysters, beef, shrimp
Vitamin A
Functions:
- Supports proper differentiated growth and development of the body
- Supports immune function
- Supports storage of glycogen in the liver
- Healthy skin
- Vision
- Cholesterol conversion into pregnenolone
Sources: milk, cheese, eggs, beef liver, beef kidney
Most people are overnourished. One way to take control is to measure your daily energy expenditure and not eat above that.
Using an online calculator like https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html, you can get a decent estimate of your daily caloric needs (aka your caloric maintenance).
Then, using https://cronometer.com/, track your food to ensure you don’t exceed your daily caloric needs.
By eating in a 500-calorie deficit, you can lose about a pound per week. Lift heavy weights a couple of times a week so the weight you lose is fat, not muscle.
Avoid a prolonged deficit. Eat high-quality foods so you get all the macro- and micronutrients you need (Cronometer will tell you). Recalculate your caloric maintenance once a month or so to make sure you don’t hit a wall.
This is a simple way to do body recomposition.
The easiest lever to pull when trying to lose weight is satiation. That can be done artificially through GLP1-agonists, but in the case of nutrition, that's best accomplished by an increased protein and fibre intake.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but potatoes seem to be a good source of fiber. Very filling, also due to their high water content.
Carbonated water and diet sodas also feel filling, and they don’t even have calories. Diet sodas can help people lose weight. I like to drink Diet Coke when I’m on a cut. The caffeine gives me energy.
Some people think if they’re hungry that means they’re losing fat. I think that’s wrong.
You can eat a single meal at Cheesecake Factory for 2500kcals and be hungry again an hour later.
Or you can eat low-calorie foods throughout the day and not get very hungry until it’s actually time to eat again.
Some people might have trouble reaching their maintenance calories if they ate nothing but chicken breast, boiled potatoes, and broccoli for a day. They’d feel very full throughout the day.
I don’t expect much correlation, if any, between how satiating and how calorically dense some food is.
The good news for people who enjoy volume eating is that you can eat a lot while losing fat as long as you do it right. That means foods high in fiber and/or water (again, potatoes) and lean proteins. Vegetables generally work well.
The most important thing for fat loss is a calorie deficit, not hunger. Hunger is not a reliable indicator that you’re losing fat. You could be losing fat without being hungry, or you could be gaining weight while being hungry often.
Don’t go off of feelings. Count calories, macronutrients, and fiber, and weigh yourself to track progress.
Factory-farmed pork and chicken are bad choices. Sufficiently so that it's worth stressing, rather than saying their well-fed counterparts are tastier or somewhat preferable.
Fiber-rich vegetables like lettuce, greens, and salads should be part of your diet.
Whole grains, nuts, and legumes are health-promoting staples.
Nicotine from non-smoking sources can be a useful health or cognition tool.
One is that it's a way of reducing body fat, and overweight is likely a bigger problem for many people than potential short term negatives of fasting.
Eating dinner earlier can be beneficial to sleep because digestion raises body activity.
Less constant feeding can improve blood sugar swings and insulin sensitivity because every time you eat, your body has to run the insulin system again.
You can just eat fiber with your meals instead, that will slow down insulin secretion afaik.
Protein above 0.8 g/kg of lean mass is desirable, often up to around 2 g/kg.
Per kg of lean mass. Someone who weighs 150kgs does NOT need to eat 300g of protein.
I could see that. Milk is hydrating. Yogurt is a good source of calcium and protein. Can go with low-fat or fat-free options to reduce calories.
I tried to look for good arguments against eating dairy for it being dairy and I cannot find any.
Yes. Fat is calorically dense and easy to overconsume, especially from hyper-palatable foods which are often greasy. I try to eat around 60g of fat per day.
May have found a solution to my salt problem: https://www.instagram.com/p/DZ5cCwQFOtp/
The Kirin Electric Salt Spoon. CNET wrote an article about it: https://www.cnet.com/home/kitchen-and-household/we-tested-an-electric-salt-spoon-that-might-help-you-stick-to-your-low-sodium-diet/
It basically works by using electric signals to trick your brain into thinking it’s tasting salt.