Access to all articles, new health classes, discounts in our store, and more!
The Nutritional Training Diet
Published by Lee Foundation for Nutritional Research, undated.
* * *
This is a recommended method of eating foods to induce you to “automatically” improve your diet. Unlike the dull, restricted, menu-type diet, the “training diet” can be interesting. It encourages a greater, rather than lesser, variety of foods.
Since this diet consists primarily of vegetables, meat, fish, poultry and fruit, it is high in minerals. Because it encourages use of fermented foods, it is high in lactic acid, which in turn favorably influences intestinal environment. It is rich in calcium, sometimes called Mother Nature’s “lullaby mineral”. It is high in natural vitamins. Since it eliminates a high proportion of so-called “empty-calorie” foods, it should have an excellent weight normalization influence.
The “training diet” must be understood, not just blindly “followed”. You must lead your own way.
In this regard, please read the following information carefully. If you understand why you are asked to follow certain rules, it will be much easier to gain your cooperation. It merely takes plain, common sense.
General Dietary Principles Regarding Available Wheat Flour Products
All commercial wheat flour is prepared so that it may be stored for long periods of time without spoiling. In order to do this, most of the “life” is removed from the wheat. Fresh whole wheat flour spoils rapidly!!! Except for those fortunate enough to possess a household flour mill, truly fresh flour is unavailable. This applies to commercial whole wheat products, as well as to the refined varieties.
An important feature of this “training diet” is to eat maximum quantities of “live” food! Therefore, elimination of foods prepared from commercially-processed flour is recommended.
This is perhaps the most difficult recommendation of the “training diet” for many people. However, if fullest nutritional benefits are to be obtained, this rule should be strictly adhered to!
Rule Number One: Eat no food products prepared from commercially processed wheat flour.
Regarding the Use of Uncooked Foods
Many people may go days on end with no more raw food in their diet than perhaps a smattering of lettuce, or an occasional glass of fruit or vegetable juice. The remainder of their food intake is completely cooked! No well-informed Nutritionist would recommend this unorganized approach.
The question which arises is how this all-too-common deficit in the eating pattern can be eliminated.
This is something which should not be left to chance. The right foods should be readily available the year round. They should, if possible, be inexpensive and palatable.
There are two outstanding foods which qualify in this regard:
- Canned Tomatoes and Tomato Juice
- Cabbage (Raw)
Tomatoes lend themselves particularly well to canning. The canning process does not materially affect their food value. In fact, because tomatoes are canned at the height of their natural perfection, the food value of canned tomatoes can be higher than the hothouse varieties sold in off-season. Note: Tomato juice should be removed from the can when opened and placed in a closed container to prevent losing various vitamins, because of exposure to air.
Cabbage stores as well, if not better, than any other raw food. When eaten as slaw it appeals to most people’s taste. It has high nutritional value. The merits of eating cabbage as a year-round raw food was extolled long ago by the Roman Emperor, Cato (to illustrate its long history of valuable use).
Rule Number Two: Drink at least two glasses of tomato juice and eat two servings of raw cabbage daily.
Use of Meat Products in the Diet
Meats such as veal and beef are a good source of proteins. However, excess intake of protein provides no more protein for the bodily needs than “enough”, the excess being utilized either as carbohydrate or fat. The more important factor to be considered is the digestion of a normal quantity of protein, enough so that a reasonable “safety factor” is supplied, but no more! Many American diets supply this amount.
Contrary to some opinion, the grinding of meat into small particles (e.g. hamburger) does not increase its digestibility. Nor does the thorough chewing of meat. No protein digestion occurs in the mouth. Meat need only be chewed to the extent that it may be easily swallowed.
On the other hand, grinding of meat can have deleterious effects. Ground meat spoils rapidly at room temperature, and whole meat does not; in fact, a sort of “pre-digestion” can occur. Nucleic acids are released in the grinding process and, apparently, this changes preservability. Similar action may occur when ground meat is introduced into the intestinal tract. Here the temperature situation for spoilage is ideal. If there is insufficient hydrochloric acid in the stomach, or a lack of proteolytic (protein digesting) enzymes, the possibility of putrefaction of proteins is greatly enhanced with ground meat, as compared with whole meat.
Preserved meats, such as wieners and sausages, do not have as much of a putrefaction tendency, since they contain preservatives. However, for the same reason they are not as desirable from a nutritional point of view.
Rule Number Three: Avoid use of ground or processed meat in the diet.
Use of Sugar and Proteins at the Same Meal
Sugar inhibits or retards action of proteolytic (protein digesting) enzymes. Therefore, sweet foods (such as desserts) should not be eaten at the same time as animal foods, such as meat.
As an example, beans (such as navy beans) are an excellent vegetable source of proteins. In Mexico, the Pinto bean is a major constituent of the diet, and is eaten unsweetened. In this country “baked beans” are served, which combine proteins and sugar. Baked beans are noted for the digestive flatulence (gas) they cause.
Too many Americans are accustomed to finishing off a good protein meal (steak or other meat) with sweet desserts (“apple pie”, for example). The dessert should be eaten several hours after mealtime, on an “empty stomach”, for best nutrition.
There are many sugar-protein combinations which may be avoided easily. A list appears later. The fact that most foods contain some protein must be taken into consideration, of course. Also, a small amount of sugar does little harm. It is the concentration of sugar which is the important factor, its deleterious effects being proportional to the quantity present. Also, the nature of the sugar, e.g., natural or refined, must be considered. While natural sugars are less harmful in this regard, they are best eaten at different times than with high protein meals. For example, orange juice, high in natural sugars, would not be an ideal combination with eggs. A better choice would be tomato juice.
Rule Number Four: Avoid combinations of protein (animal foods) with foods containing large amounts of sugar.
Use of Fermented Foods
One of the first methods discovered for preserving foods was by fermentation. Such foods as pickles, sauerkraut, buttermilk, yogurt, cheeses, and cottage cheese came into being as a result. All of these foods, in their natural form, have a long history of use, and are highly acceptable dietary items.
Because the fermentative process acts to produce lactic acid, this natural acid is common to these foods. It apparently has a “preservative” effect in the intestinal tract as well. Such foods as yogurt and buttermilk thus have an enviable reputation for being favorable to intestinal environment.
The fermentation process also seems to act somewhat as a “pre-digesting factor”. Tough fibers are made softer; nutrients may be released from their biological hold, such as lactose (milk sugar), which is richer in buttermilk than in sweet milk. (Lactose favorably influences the absorption of calcium).
Two foods are outstanding in the fermented food class: (1) Buttermilk, and (2) Sauerkraut. They are readily available, and both are rich sources of lactic acid. Buttermilk is preferred, of course, because of its higher protein and calcium content. But, those who do not care for buttermilk may well consider sauerkraut as a lactic acid source.
Rule Number Five: Include fermented food in the diet daily–buttermilk, cottage cheese, yogurt, and sauerkraut are preferred.
Additional Comments and Suggestions
People who eat as much salt as they desire may easily consume too much. While this is ultimately a matter for one’s Doctor to decide, keep the salt intake moderate.
Snacking between meals is a good practice only if high quality, nutritious foods are eaten. Animals given free access to food at all times generally gain less weight and are healthier than animals fed at spaced intervals, following the human pattern. Some good foods to “snack” with are hard-boiled eggs, celery, raw potatoes, carrots, nuts, fruits of all kinds, tomato juice, grape juice, figs and dates. Remember, snacktime is the time to satisfy your “sweet tooth” with naturally sweet foods.
Oatmeal and brown rice are good foods to eat for breakfast. These may be made more palatable by adding fruits (either fresh or dried) such as apricots, peaches, raisins and so forth.
For those troubled with constipation, to eat a raw potato before retiring, or late in the evening, on an “empty stomach”, can be useful practice. The effect can be enhanced by taking about an ounce of the following combination: ⅓ cider vinegar, ⅓ blackstrap molasses, ⅓ honey. This is then diluted to taste with water. This combination also makes an excellent salad dressing. It is free of fat.
Overall Picture of the “Training Diet”
In order to help you obtain a better overall idea of a recommended “training diet” we have listed below examples of desirable and undesirable foods:
Desirable Foods:
- All Garden Vegetables (Fresh, frozen, canned, in order of preference, respectively). Such as: Asparagus, beans, peas, carrots, potatoes, broccoli, sweet potatoes, yams, rutabagas, tomatoes, chard, lettuce, celery, cabbage, etc.
- Meat Dishes and Soups. Such as: Steak, roasts, stews, vegetable soup, potato soup, boiled dinners, etc.
- Fermented Foods. Such as: Buttermilk, yogurt, cottage cheese, other cheeses, sauerkraut, and pickles, (unsweetened).
- Fruits, Fruit Juices and Vegetable Juices. Such as: Tomato juice, grape juice, orange juice, pears, avocados, apples and so forth.
Undesirable Foods:
- Commercially Processed Flour Products. Such as: Bread, buns, biscuits, crackers, rolls, cookies, doughnuts, spaghetti, macaroni, pizza, pie crusts, dumplings.
- Ground or Processed Meats. Such as: Ground Meat, Hamburger, Meat Loaf, Weiners, Sausage, Chili, Hash, Luncheon Meats.
- Sugar-Protein Combinations. Such as: Baked beans, ice cream, chocolate milk, desserts with meals, sugar-cured ham, malts and milkshakes, sugar in coffee with meals etc.
Nutritional Training Diet in Brief Form
- Eat no food products prepared from commercially processed flour.
- Drink at least two glasses of tomato juice and eat two servings of raw cabbage daily.
- Avoid the use of ground or processed meat.
- Include some form of fermented food in the diet daily.
- Eat high proportions of natural, raw, unprocessed foods.
Note: The above dietary recommendations are for general nutritional purposes only, and are not to be considered substitutes for any specific nutritional counsel or advice of the doctor concerning specific situations, depending upon evaluation of the individual involved. Certain persons considered experts may disagree with one or more of the above statements or recommendations.