Ask HN: Food hacks for eating well? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Food hacks for eating well?

#161

Post by zargon » Mon, Jul 26, 2010, 3:28 PM UTC

flog wrote: post #59

paulsb wrote: post #15

Hmmm, where to start: - Switch out junk food for healthier snacks (dark chocolate, nuts, (dried) fruit). Over time your tolerance for junk food will go down and you will want less of it; - If you really want a hit of junk food, just have it. There is no point dwelling on it. I will have one piece of sugary food with my coffee at around 10:00, which keeps me satisfied. Sometimes I binge out after not having a lot for…

"eat 'good' sugar, i.e. fruit;" -- even that may be contentious. This video on the dangers of fructose was posted not that long ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

Lustig says fruits are good. It is the artificially added fructose (ie HFCS) that he says is dangerous.

Re: Ask HN: Food hacks for eating well?

#162

Post by wowik » Mon, Jul 26, 2010, 3:39 PM UTC

Knowing food basics about carbs, fats and protein, basic vitamins and minerals, calories and food digestion can help a lot. It seems like a miracle but once you know of what consists your food your brain magically adapts and doesn't sense any pleasure emotions once you eat something unhealthy. Food Inc. movie changed in similar way my view on processed food in supermarkets.

I can also recommend South Beach Diet for you (http://www.amazon.com/South-Beach-Diet-Delicious-Doctor-Desi...). The book explains in simple terms how cravings occur (it mainly has to do with insulin levels and the digestion speed) and how to get rid of insulin (carb) spikes by replacing bad carbs and fats with good ones and balancing your diet. And exercise is my personal recommendation, don't know the physics but for some reason it improves digestion and overall feeling.

Re: Ask HN: Food hacks for eating well?

#163

Post by ochekurishvili » Mon, Jul 26, 2010, 4:19 PM UTC

1) Eat in small "chunks" and often... about 5-6 times a day.

2) Take water often so that you never fill thirsty.

3) Say a big NO to eating unhealthy food whole days.

4) Get more than 25 grams of protein daily.

5) Enjoy the healthy life.

Re: Ask HN: Food hacks for eating well?

#164

Post by marze » Mon, Jul 26, 2010, 5:18 PM UTC

The most surprising hack I've heard about it from Seth Roberts, the self experimenting UC Berkeley professor.

He says that drinking a glass of water with three spoonfuls of refined sugar or refined oil midway between meals suppresses appetite. People say it works.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/magazine/11FREAK.html

Re: Ask HN: Food hacks for eating well?

#165

Post by JaretManuel » Tue, Jul 27, 2010, 2:30 PM UTC

There are some great tips here. I will stick to basics: -Refined Sugar is bad, and even worse is fructose. Avoid it as much as possible. So avoid cola/pop (I cut it out years ago) and stop adding sugar/sweeteners to your tea/coffee. -Eat lots of fruit and don't worry which has a low GI or not. -Almost all unsalted nuts will be good for you. Almonds, Peanuts, etc. -Unsalted/Sugar Free trail mix will be good. -A blender, blueberries, banana (freeze it if you have to), and all natural (non hydrogenated) peanut, almond or sunflower butter should be your best friend. It is super quick to whip up a shake. Once you make this a habit you will want to rid the other stuff. Exercise is advisable as well as that will further lower your cravings. -Drink lots of water as it will sate your appetite.

Re: Ask HN: Food hacks for eating well?

#166

Post by amk » Wed, Jul 28, 2010, 5:17 AM UTC

I just wanted to add something to the discussion here.. A lot of sugar is definitely harmful to you, but is it sensible to complete avoid sugar everywhere as if it is poison? Isn't all this a bit hyped up? Example: I don't drink any processed juice or soda. But I do take sugar in coffee, and I eat chocolates once in a while. Is there any good reason for me to cut down on this sugar intake too? (and replace it with other so called "healthy alternatives" like those with Aspartame?)

Re: Ask HN: Food hacks for eating well?

#167

Post by rcavezza » Sat, Jul 31, 2010, 5:09 PM UTC

I've been building a recommendation engine that takes what you eat and gives healthier substitute recommendations. http://foodmarkit.com.

Still in alpha mode, any feedback would be appreciated.

Re: Ask HN: Food hacks for eating well?

#168

Post by CO-OP » Tue, Aug 03, 2010, 1:32 AM UTC

I have a wonder soup which I make every week. I try to have a cup everyday. It is designed for general health, but particularly it is infused with cancer fighting foods. It's quite easy to make, just put the following ingredients in a blender:

Half Head Cabbage ! Carrot 3 Onions 2 cans diced tomatoes (any tomatoes will do) 1 red chilli 1 green chilli 3 cloves of garlic 4cm slice of ginger Some Jalapenos Cloves Rosemary Parsley Salt Peppercorns Tumeric

Blend this heavily, for best results use a cheese grater for the carrot and chilli beforehand.

Pop into a saucepan, add two (unchopped) sticks of celery (remove celery before serving) to leech while boiling.

You will need to boil until the spices and chilli overwhelm the cabbage taste. Play with spices as necessary.

Put in fridge and microwave a cup in the mornings or afternoons. The soup will be quite hot, thanks to the chillis, but the whole mix is very good for you.