Stigler Diet

Not all fiber is equivalent. The fiber in legumes tends to be highly fermentable, and provide far more in the way of health benefits than the fiber in vegetables such as broccoli.

Lentils are pretty much nature's perfect food when considering cost, protein and fiber content. Additionally, lentils are low in methionine. I don't put much stock in methionine restriction for human longevity, it does work in rodents, so if you want to be a guinea pig (couldn't resist) they're good in that respect too.

Eggs are also excellent for their high essential fatty acid content, and this may sound counter-intuitive but if you eat a lot of beans dietary cholesterol is actually beneficial. High quality eggs are also a really good source of vitamins E and D.

Finally, though they're unfortunately not so cheap, hemp seeds provide you with both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and minerals. A mix of sunflower or pumpkin seeds and chia seeds works well and is cheaper if you're optimizing for cost.

The only vitamin that I think is worth supplementing is niacin. Niacin has been shown to increase BDNF levels in animals which can help with mood and memory formation, and it has also been shown to increase lifespan by 10-15%. For people who don't go outside and don't consume much milk vitamin D might also be a good idea.

I just did my own version of this diet with a nutrient-dense low-carb approach.

Ground beef: $3.50/lb = $2.19/day

Sardines: $9.99 for 6 - 4.375 oz = $1.67/can = $1.67/day

Fresh spinach: $3.99/2.5 lb (.35 cents/g) = $.84/day

Eggs: $7.99/ 5 dozen (13.3 cents/egg) = $.40/day

Sunflower seeds: $2.49/lb = $.36/day

Butter: $9.99 for 4lbs = $2.50/lb = $.12 cents/day

Total cost: $5.58/day

This is 1800 calories and is 65% fat, 30% protein, and 5% carbohydrate. I used http://nutritiondata.self.com to formulate it and it meets or (far) exceeds every vitamin and mineral requirement except for only 50% DV of Thiamin (not worried about this).

I basically do a version of this but with more expensive boneless short rib (very marbled and delicious) and am in perfect shape (you can find evidence here if you scroll down a bit https://twitter.com/FoodLiesOrg )

Spreading this menu over 2 meals (one at noon and one at 7:30pm) will give you a nice intermittent fast. It will also train your body to burn fat instead of sugar. You will be very full off of only 1800 calories and should lose a lot of weight.

Disclaimer: I'm not dispensing nutritional advice as I am not a doctor or dietician. I've just researched this stuff for years and am making the documentary http://foodlies.org

The diet I created and posted here is only $2,000 per year and includes fresh, nutritious foods that don't detract from your health like most of those foods loaded with carbohydrate and sugar would in your example.

Obviously they aren't comparable, I just think it's cool you could live in perfect health for a year for $2,000

http://nutritiondata.self.com uses the USDA database.

I made a diet with only 5 foods (plus butter) that is ideal for human health and weight loss (posted on this thread).

"Eggs: $7.99/ 5 dozen (13.3 cents/egg) = $.40/day"

Wait, does that mean 3 eggs/day? That would be asking for troubles (cholesterol).