Well, possibly a bit of an overstatement... https://nypost.com/2023/05/11/eating-this-many-fruits-and-veggies-is-as-good-4000-steps-a-day-study/ An apple a day keeps the doctor away — and a few more could keep the treadmill away, too. Eating five pieces of fruits and vegetables every day can be as beneficial to your physical fitness as taking 4,000 steps, according to a new study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. “This study provides some of the strongest and most rigorous data thus far to support the connection that better diets may lead to higher fitness,” said lead author Dr. Michael Mi of Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre. “The improvement in fitness we observed in participants with better diets was similar to the effect of taking 4,000 more steps each day.” Harvard researchers measured the oxygen levels of 2,380 men and women — all of whom do the same amount of physical activity and said nutrition was a key factor in physical fitness — while they ran on a treadmill. Volunteers completed a food frequency questionnaire looking at their consumption of 125 different food items over the past year, with options ranging from never or less than once per month to six or more servings per day. Diet quality was then rated based on the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) and the Mediterranean-style Diet Score (MDS) — both of which relate to heart health — taking into account age, sex, total daily energy intake, body mass index (BMI), smoking, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, diabetes and routine physical activity. The higher the scores, the better quality the diet, with food consumption focusing on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, legumes, fish and healthy fats while limiting red meat and alcohol. “In middle-aged adults, healthy dietary patterns were strongly and favorably associated with fitness even after taking habitual activity levels into account,” Mi said. He added that the relationship between healthy diets and physical fitness was similar in women and men, yet more pronounced in people under the age of 54. People who closely followed the Mediterranean diet had a fitness level equivalent to people from the researchers’ previous studies who took about 4,000 steps per day. The Med diet — which was named the best diet overall for the sixth year in a row by US News & World Report — stresses the importance of quality sourcing and filling your plate with nutrient-rich whole foods and grains, with an emphasis on fresh produce, lean protein, such as fish and chicken, and, of course, antioxidant-rich olive oil. Since fruits and vegetables are high in fiber, they act as a natural fat burner that helps metabolism. The high levels of antioxidants in fruits and veggies also help prevent inflammation and other health issues. The analysis also discovered 24 metabolites — a substance produced when the body breaks down food during digestion and releases it into the blood stream during exercise — that could be linked to either good or bad diet and fitness patterns. “Our metabolite data suggest eating healthily is associated with better metabolic health, which could be one possible way that it leads to improved fitness and ability to exercise,” Mi said. However, he noted that this was an observational study, so the researchers can’t conclude that eating a healthy diet causes better physical fitness, or eliminate the possibility of a reverse relationship, such as fit people choosing to eat well. “There are already many compelling health reasons to consume a high-quality diet, and we provide yet another one with its association with fitness. A Mediterranean-style diet with fresh, whole foods and minimal processed foods, red meat and alcohol is a great place to start,” Mi said. Recent research from a team at the University of Sydney suggested that women who follow the Mediterranean diet have a nearly 25% lower chance of heart disease and early death. An earlier study from Harvard University said the Mediterranean diet was one of four common healthy eating patterns that can help reduce the risk of early death by up to 20%.
I've been eating a lot of fruit lately, especially at breakfast. My wife started making homemade granola a couple of months ago, so now I'm addicted to having a bowl of granola covered in Kefir yogurt and topped with 3 or 4 different kinds of chopped fruit.
Eating lots of vegies/peanuts lately. Limiting sugar to min. Waking up just wasted/exausted. Was either due : Limited meat Limited sugar Limited sleep Or due of over-exercising Took lots of meat. Had a great sleep. Took a break for two days. Woke up just fine today. Yet, hit the dumbel and bars again. Anyway, great to be alive.
I start the weekdays with 2 5.3 oz of the Oikos triple zero yogurts with roughly 2 cups of fruit and a handful of granola on top. I also get in roughly 5 miles of dog walking a day plus workouts. I think all of the above has me get cholesterol numbers in range while cutting out the Statin meds.
I have oats cooked in almond milk at least three times a week with a handful of fruit like blueberries or one of the many other fruits Colombia has. I also eat a lot of broccoli and carrots. We have stuff called chontaduro also which I think is peach palm? I have taken to adding a few grams of powdered (but relatively fresh) Lion's Mane mushroom when it's cool which is surprisingly sweet and may have some brain benefits. This along with the low-end microdose of psilocybin my mushroom-pusher adds. It's all legal here for practical purposes. My dreams have certainly been enhanced and I'd say my focus is improved lately. I have returned to my hobby making knives which might seem easy on TV but the ones I make sell for thousands sometimes and it takes just one slip in many hours to ruin a JKI grade A blade. Veg, fruit, mushrooms it's all good.
I think this is a BS study. They asked people what they eat, a questionnaire. Not 2 groups of people, one having more fruit, everything else the same. "healthy dietary patterns were strongly and favorably associated with fitness even after taking habitual activity levels into account," No shit Sherlock, so people eating veggies instead of Oreos are more fit? Who would have thought?
Yes, I agree it's good stuff. I originally used rolled oats, then steel cut, but now I just use oat bran with other healthful ingredients in my daily milkshake for lunch. If I am not mistaken, oat bran has all the goodness of oats but in concentrated form. I don't cook it. Rather, I just mix the ingredients with skim milk and let it stand for over a day in the refrigerator. It comes out nice and thick and mostly drinkable, although I have to scoop out the bottom with a spoon. Love the stuff. I'm not big on nut milks because they don't have any protein to speak of. People who are afraid of the hormones in milk should consider that the bulk of the hormone content is found in the fat. So I largely bypass that issue by going skim. Also, I'm lactose intolerant so I opt for lactose-free.