Here we discuss ways to optimize our diet further after we have got all the basic stuff sorted out.
Optimizing Carbohydrate, Fat and Protein Intake
Combining the evolutionary approach and the latest scientific research results in a good understanding of the optimum composition of our diet regarding carbohydrates, fats, and protein.
Our body needs a certain amount of carbs to operate but can live on a diet of almost no carbohydrates (pure ketogenic) since it can manufacture carbohydrates from protein. However, living on such a very low-carb, ketogenic diet is only necessary and beneficial for people with certain neural diseases. If our body has to manufacture carbs from protein, we need to consume more protein than required for the upkeep and growth of our body. Since our optimal protein source is meat, we would need to eat more of it thus also consuming more (and hence excess) fat as well.
There is an optimal carbohydrate intake level at which the body neither has to manufacture carbohydrates from protein because it gets too little nor stores excess carbohydrates as fat since we feed him too much. For the average person, that is around 600 calories from carbs per day. We can safely consume 100 of these calories from fructose and 500 from safe starches, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, white rice or gluten-free oats.
Our body needs roughly 75 grams or 300 calories from protein per day for basic upkeep (athletes bulking up might need more).
The rest of our energy should come from healthy fats contained in lean meats, fatty fish, avocados, good oils, and nuts. How much fat we consume depends on our basic metabolic rate, our activity level and whether we want to lose weight or not. For an 1800 calorie diet, this translates to 33% carbs, 16% protein, and 50% fat.
However, even on an extreme weight loss regimen we still keep the carbs and protein at the given level and just vary our fat consumption.
It should be noted that the amount of 150g of daily carbs is not an absolute number, but more like a soft ceiling that should not be surpassed. The actual amount of daily carbs can and will vary from person to person and depend on lifestyle, fitness activities, felt energy level and personal preferences. For a healthy person, anything between 0 and 150g of carbs might be appropriate. Some of us consume as little as 30g, some 80 - 100 g, some cycle between 30g and 80g on a daily basis.
To optimize our diet, there are free online services and mobile apps available that help us calculate and track our nutrition.
The Perfect Health Diet (Reading List)
Carbohydrates: Let’s All Take A Breath (robbwolf.com)
Whey
Whey makes up 20% of milk's protein. Amazingly, if consumed in a pure, isolated form without the other detrimental components of milk (lactose, casein), a human equivalent of 20-30 grams of pure whey per day has proven to have health- and life-extending properties in animal testing, acting along the pathways of CR.
We use pure. Non-GMO Whey isolate from grass-fed, organically raised cows. Whey isolate is preferable to concentrate since isolate is stripped of almost all lactose.
Whey Protein (Supplements)
Fasting
Limiting the actual food intake to a particular time window can produce the same beneficial responses as CR. Additionally, fasting triggers autophagy, a beneficial cellular detox mechanism that helps the body to get rid of unwanted substances.
Fasting can be approached in different ways:
- Intermittent fasting: Food is consumed in a 5-8 hour window; no food is eaten in the remaining 19-16 hours
- Alternate Day Fasting: a full 24/24 window for eating and fasting is used
- Full-day fasting with prior re-feed: On day one we consume almost twice as many calories as on regular days. Dinner that day is the last meal. We fast until breakfast on day three, when we start to eat again. This has become our favorite sustainable method of intermittent fasting.
Including a full day of fasting with prior re-feed once-a-week proved to be our preferable and sustainable habit to us.
The Weekly Fast (precisionnutrition.com)
Alternate-day Fasting – a better alternative (anti-agingfirewalls.com)
An Objective Look at Intermittent Fasting (alanaragon.com)
A brief summary of popular approaches to intermittent fasting (leangains.com)
Protein Restriction
Limiting protein intake for 16-24 hours to less than 5% of overall calories can trigger similar benefits as CR does. Limiting protein intake does not require a limitation of calories or energy consumed. Thus, it's much easier implemented then a CR diet.
However, since we integrate a 36-hour fast in our weekly schedule, we don't think we need to restrict protein on a separate day.
Protein Cycling Diet (free online e-book)
Slowing Down Aging with Intermittent Protein Restriction (inhumanexperiment.blogspot.de)
Calorie Restriction
Calorie restriction (CR) is feeding an organism up to 30% fewer calories than supposedly required to maintain its weight, while still supplying optimal amounts of all micro-nutrients. In animal testing, CR has been found to increase the lifespan by up to 50% of the remaining regular lifespan. The effect was discovered in the 1930s and has been replicated and studied numerous times since then.
For both rodents and mammals, CR has shown to increase the lifespan, reduce incidences and retard the onset of age-related diseases, including cancer and diabetes. It also enhances the resistance to stress and toxicity and assists in maintaining vitality.
CR of rhesus monkeys produced physiological responses strikingly similar to those observed in rodents. Due to our long lifespans, it is not clear to what extent the life-extending effects of CR apply to us - however, the benefits of CR regarding improved health have already been documented in humans.
Calorie Restriction (lifeextension.com)
CR Society (crsociety.org)
The CR Way (amazon.com)