When I think of the best food in the world, I think of Sicily. Every region in Italy has its own peculiar cuisine depending on what is locally available but Sicily really just has it all. When I visited Catania the first time I ordered a caponata as part of my evening meal. It was ridiculously cheap and ugly to look at. I still remember the first forkful I had.
I’m making a minestrone. It translates to “big soup”, it’s a Winter favourite that uses pretty much whatever vegetables you have in the house and it’s particularly convenient if any of your ingredients had been forgotten and are on the edge of rotting. This is how you save them without wasting a thing.
As always is the case with nutrition, there’s no one-size-fits-all even within the realm of a Paleo diet. We lead different lifestyles and some of us need to take into consideration underlying conditions such as autoimmune diseases, gut issues, obesity, diabetes.
I’m going to give you some information on how to handle the Paleo diet for “special populations” and a clear list of which foods you can eat without restrictions, which you should eat in moderation and which you should completely avoid during the 30 days of Reset.
One of the main upsides of being quarantined is the opportunity to prepare all our meals. We suddenly find ourselves in this privileged position in which we have full control over what we consume, we have time to cook and in all countries worldwide we are still allowed to go out for necessities such as buying food.
We would like to take this chance to invite you to join a challenge that will benefit everyone, from the ones who are overweight and have been struggling with health issues to athletes who train for performance. We challenge you to 30 days of a strict “Paleo” diet to reset your body, prevent and even reverse chronic disease.
FAD diets are everywhere; there is keto, carnivore, vegan, intermittent fasting, eat for your blood type, if it fits your macros, potato diet, juice diets, and the list goes on and on. As personal trainers and coaches, we must understand the pros and the cons of a restrictive diet so that we can support our clients with the information they need to make an educated decision on their diet.
Fad diets remove certain foods that cause inflammation, digestive issues and can impact our hormones. Restrictive diets are designed to promote certain foods based on certain nutrients and possible health benefits. Following these diets for a short period can have beneficial impacts on performance, health, and even longevity. However, there are some potential problems to be aware of when following a restrictive diet for an extended period.
Muscle is the biggest organ in the body and one of the keys to health and longevity. There is a silent muscle loss epidemic that is going unnoticed. We are more focused on being over-fat, but the real issue is that we are under-muscled. Muscle mass is our metabolic currency; it the largest sit of glucose disposal and controls many of the metabolic diseases we see today.
Over the last decade, the incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases(IBD) has increased worldwide [1]. Symptoms are often painful and can include diarrhea, bleeding ulcers and anemia.
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is a very restrictive, unconventional diet plan that severely limits carbohydrates. By eliminating most carbohydrates (primarily grains, starches, dairy, and sugars) and allowing only specific carbohydrates that require minimal digestion, we can reduce inflammation and make eating enjoyable for people with gastrointestinal (GI) disorders.
At TSTMethod we’re a big fan of eating a high protein breakfast, and we recommend this to all of our clients, no matter their health and wellness goals. Amino acids (protein) are the key building blocks to health and lean muscle mass. As we age, we need to eat more protein as our ability to grown and maintain lean muscle starts to decline. Our ability to absorb high levels of amino acids begins also starts to slow down, and this impacts our hormones and therefore, our recovery. There are certain populations that need more protein than others, and you can read more about that here.
This recipe can be modified in many ways; this is just one example. You can use any meat such as chicken, pork, lamb, beef, or a mix. You can substitute the type of herbs, and you can use different flours. We recommend avoiding gluten and using tapioca flours, buckwheat flour, or even potatoes starch to hold the ingredients together.
