Food as Fuel: Treating Your Body Like a BMW

I got a text from a friend the other day that pointed out I have been slacking big time on blogging! Taking 18 credit hours this semester is making it hard to find time to sleep, let alone blog! I'm feeling really inspired and positive today, and I felt like taking a study break to share my thoughts with all of you!

I recently did a project for my Nutrition Counseling and Communication Skills class that required us to follow a specific dietary regimen for a week. I chose low sodium, and had to plan a diet where I consumed no more than 1500 mg of sodium in a day. To get an idea of about how much sodium I normally consumed, I put a typical day of eating into a nutrition program, and was really shocked about what I found. Not about my sodium intake, which was pretty low, but that I was deficient in nearly every single vitamin and mineral there is.

I pride myself on being a pretty healthy eater, but because I am vegetarian and consume a low calorie diet, it is really difficult for me to get all of my nutrients through food. Taking a vitamin supplement is great, but nutrients that come from food are better utilized by your body. In planning the diet for my assignment, I had to stick to foods that were low in calories but had high nutrient content. These foods are known to be nutrient dense. Basically, following a nutrient dense diet is about getting more bang for your buck by choosing low calorie foods that pack a high amount of nutrition. The goal  is to pack in as many nutrients into a 1500 to 2000 calorie day, resulting in good health and protection from disease, not to mention good weight management!

This table from Eat Right America shows the ANDI (Aggregate Nutrient Density Index) scores for various foods. The higher the score, the higher the nutrient density.

This got me thinking a lot about food as fuel. The food we eat is more than just food... it is nutrients that allow us to function and perform to the best of our ability. Would you put cheap gas into an expensive BMW and expect it to drive the way you want? No. Just like you can't fill your body full of junk food and expect it to perform how you want it to.

The knowledge I gained from this assignment has inspired me to modify my diet to include more of these nutrient dense foods, and see if it improves my mood, energy level, cognitive ability, and fitness level. If you would like to join me in adding nutrient dense foods to your diet, here are some examples!

Vegetables

greens: romaine, kale, raw spinach and collards
carrots
Brussels sprouts
peppers
squash
sweet potatoes (yams)
celery
avocado
green beans
peas
asparagus
parsley (for juicing)
onions
garlic
broccoli

Fruit

all berries
cantaloupe
all melons
bananas
mangos
grapefruit
oranges
grapes
pineapple
cranberries
apples

Nuts

almonds
walnuts
cashews
brazil

Seeds 

flax
sunflower
pumpkin
sesame
hemp

Grain

oats
millet
quinoa
buckwheat
spelt
barley
wheat

Legumes

soybeans
chick peas
black-eyed peas
black beans
pinto beans
small white beans  

Fats

hemp oil
flax oil
pumpkin oil
olive oil

Animal Products

wild Pacific sockeye salmon
skinless chicken breasts
free range eggs
yogurt
goat’s cheese
cottage cheese

Natural sweeteners

Sucanat (a non-refined cane sugar which retains the molasses)
unpasteurized honey
frozen juice concentrates
blended dates and raisins

As a little inspiration, here is what I had for lunch today:

6 oz chobani plain Greek yogurt with banana, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1 tablespoon walnuts.
9 Grain Salad (olive oil, wheat berries, cous cous, lentils, brown rice, mung beans, curry powder, cider vinegar)
Not pictured: Luna Bar, chocolate peppermint stick flavor, which includes calcium, vitamin D, folic acid, and iron!

Ok! Back to studying I go. I hope that you will all be inspired to fuel your body with the foods that it needs to work its best for you! If you join me in my nutrient dense challenge, I would love to hear how you are incorporating these superfoods into your diet!