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NUTRITION

Everyone dreams of an ideal, healthy, and easy-to-follow diet. Why is it seemingly impossible for most of us to achieve?

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To understand this, we must, like with the other pillars, go back in evolution to our ancestors.


For early humans, food (fuel) was hard to come by, and to obtain it, they had to hunt, cultivate, and gather edible items. For modern humans, the availability of "fuel" poses no difficulty and requires no effort. We eat too much, too often, without giving our digestive and hormonal systems a break, which is the cause of our troubles. Therefore, to look and feel healthy through nutrition, we must take care of our digestive and hormonal systems. Through eating and fasting, we can increase the number of healthy bacteria in our intestines, so the quality of the products we consume has a crucial impact on our physical and mental health

For early humans, food (fuel) was hard to come by, and to obtain it, they had to hunt, cultivate, and gather edible items. For modern humans, the availability of "fuel" poses no difficulty and requires no effort. We eat too much, too often, without giving our digestive and hormonal systems a break, which is the cause of our troubles.


Therefore, to look and feel healthy through nutrition, we must take care of our digestive and hormonal systems. Through eating and fasting, we can increase the number of healthy bacteria in our intestines, so the quality of the products we consume has a crucial impact on our physical and mental health.

STEP 1

Determine/calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the number of calories your body burns at rest. It's best to use a body composition analyzer, or you can use formulas available online, such as the Harris-Benedict equation: Depending on your goals, establish: caloric balance = weight maintenance, deficit = weight loss, surplus = weight gain.

STEP 2

Apply the appropriate macronutrient proportions according to your needs:
PROTEIN 30% = BUILDING MATERIAL (4 kcal),
40% FATS = RESERVES (9 KCAL),
CARBOHYDRATES 30% = ENERGY (4 KCAL).
You can use an app (e.g., Fitatu) or seek advice from a good dietitian.

STEP 3

Check (through observation or tests) if your digestive system tolerates certain foods (food intolerances, allergies). If so, try to exclude them from your MENU.
The most common current causes of intolerance and allergies are lactose (dairy) and gluten (some grains - especially wheat) - so you can eliminate products from these two categories with significant health benefits. Consult with a doctor or dietitian.

STEP 4

Ensure proper hydration. We should drink at least 30 ml of fluids per kilogram of body weight. A person weighing 80 kg should consume 2400 ml of water within 24 hours under average atmospheric conditions. During hot weather, drink even more. Start your day with 1.2 glasses of lukewarm water (an hour before coffee/breakfast!). Limit drinking in the evening to one hour before bedtime. During physical activity, drink approximately 0.7 liters of water per hour. Avoid colored carbonated beverages and (WARNING!) limit fruit juices!

Implement intermittent fasting (IF), which comes in several types.

  1. Start by gradually extending the period between dinner and breakfast to 12-14 hours per day by shifting meals to appropriate times (have dinner no later than 2-3 hours before bedtime). Follow the principles of healthy eating for the remaining 8 hours
  2. Incorporate 16-hour fasting/8-hour eating windows 2-3 times a week (on different days).
  3. Progress to a 24-hour fast initially once a week, then twice a week (on different days).
  4. Depending on the fasting goal (e.g., reducing inflammation/chronic disease) and your body type (slim/normal/overweight), adopt a prolonged fast lasting 3-5 days, once every 3-6 months.

Remember that after a prolonged fast, you'll need 1-3 days for adaptation back to normal eating. Consult a dietitian, trainer, or physician before starting fasting protocols.

Exclude highly processed foods from your daily menu.

Choose products as close to nature as possible. Limit unhealthy snacks: sweets, chips, ready-made meals, packaged meals, fast food, and foods with questionable ingredients. Don't fall for products labeled as "fit" or "light" - they usually contain a lot of chemicals anyway. Avoid buying sweets, salty snacks, sweetened drinks, and alcohol "just in case" - this will help you avoid reaching for them in moments of crisis. Always read the ingredients of products purchased at the store.

Try to minimize sugar intake as much as possible!
It can be disguised under various names:

syrup or nectar (any type, e.g., high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup)

dextrose

fructose

glucose

maltose

maltodextrin

inulin

molasses

sucrose

malt (any, e.g., barley)

sugar (also brown, cane, beet, coconut)

concentrated fruit juice

powdered milk (this is also sugar!)

HEALTHY SMOOTHIES

BASE: coconut milk, almond milk, coconut water.
GREEN VEGETABLES: watercress, kale, Napa cabbage, beet greens, chard, spinach, asparagus, broccoli, fresh cucumber, celery, sorrel, Napa cabbage, cilantro leaves, parsley leaves.
HEALTHY FATS: avocado, peanut butter, almond butter, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, linseed, cashews.
FRUITS: beetroot, banana, pear, kiwi, pomelo, pineapple, persimmon, pomegranate, raw cranberries.
GRAINS AND SEEDS: flaxseed, chia seeds, oat bran, rye.
SPICES/HERBS: cinnamon, turmeric, black cumin, spirulina, ginger, cranberry, brewed green tea, thyme, rosemary, salty and fermented fuyu tofu, sage, oregano, saffron.

FERMENTED FOODS

NATURAL PROBIOTICS - Lactic acid bacteria, which form during fermentation, are natural probiotics. Numerous scientific studies confirm their beneficial effects in treating and preventing rotavirus infections, intestinal inflammation, digestive disorders, and recovery after antibiotic treatment.

BEETROOT FERMENTATION

(1/2 cup daily): for every 1 kilogram of beetroots (organic...), a few cloves of garlic (even a whole head!) peeled and halved, 2 liters of PRE-BOILED and COOLED water, allspice, bay leaves, cumin, black pepper, 1/2 or 1 tablespoon of salt per 1 liter of water (you can also make it completely salt-free for people with hypertension). Put everything in a clay pot and let it ferment for about 7 days, then pour the fermentation into jars and store in the refrigerator.

BONE BROTH

A good habit is to drink a glass of broth every day: bones and meat (preferably marrow bones of good quality; it can also be bones from a baked village chicken, a village chicken carcass, pork trotters, ribs) and optionally vegetables. Cover with water and simmer on low heat or in a slow cooker for at least 4 hours (preferably about 12-20 hours). It's important to simmer the broth on very low heat without any boiling. If you want to cook the bones longer than 4 hours, you can remove the meat earlier. Season towards the end of cooking – with turmeric, Himalayan/sea/rock salt, pepper. The prepared broth can be kept in the refrigerator for about a week. You can also pour it into single-use cups, freeze it, and drink a glass every day.

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