CrossFit South Rockland

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Nutrition RX by Harvard Organic Chem PhD. Mat Lalonde

In a Nutshell
Eat with abandon: meat, vegetables, tubers, roots, bulbs, animal fats and oils,
olive, avocado, coconut.
Limit: fruits, nuts and seeds.
Avoid: all grains and grain-like substances, all cereals and pseudo-cereals,
legumes (including peanuts and soy), and dairy.
Further details on what to eat:
Meat:
•The lean meat category includes any animal such as beef, chicken, turkey, veal,
lamb, moose, yak, llama, fish and seafood, bison, rabbit, elk, venison, alligator,
eggs of any kind, etc…. Wild game is preferable over farmed animals. Pastured
and grass-fed is preferable over grain-fed.
•You can eat fatty cuts of meat if they come from wild, pastured, or grass-fed
animals. If the meat comes from a grain-fed animal, only consume the leanest
cuts.
•Feel free to eat as many eggs as you want. Omega-3 enriched is preferable.
You read that correctly…I said eat as many eggs as you want. Cholesterol
consumption is irrelevant. You also read that correctly.
Fats and cooking oils:
•I recommend cooking exclusively with saturated fat given its enhanced stability
to high heat. Coconut oil, red palm oil, and animal fats (i.e. lard, butter, ghee,
tallow etc…) should be used for high heat cooking.
•Feel free to add olive oil over your salads and vegetables. You will extract more
fat soluble vitamins from the vegetables that way. It is best not to heat olive oil.
•The following sources of fat can be eaten with abandon: olives and olive oil,
avocados, coconut and coconut oil.
Vegetables, roots, tubers and bulbs:
•Anything goes in the vegetable category.
•Tubers include things like yams, sweet potatoes, cassava, dahlia, etc…Regular
white potatoes are not recommended.
•Roots include: burdock root, yucca root, taro root, etc…
•Bulbs include anything in the onion family
•Starchy vegetables (squash, parsnips, turnips, beets, etc…) and tubers are
great sources of carbohydrate but should be consumed in accordance with
exercise volume and intensity, percentage of body fat, as well as metabolic
state/health.
Powerlifters and Olympic weightlifters are best served with a low-carb ketogenic
diet (10% or less of total calories from carbohydrate) given that the large quantity
of fat maximizes protein tolerance and assimilation.
Sprinters, gymnasts, CrossFitters can consume anywhere between 20-40% of
calories from carbohydrate depending on training volume and intensity. The 50-
60% range is reserved for endurance athletes. The carbs should be coming from
roots, tubers, bulbs, and starchy vegetables. The fructose content of the
carbohydrate source should decrease as percentage of calories from
carbohydrate increases.
It is best to go through an induction period (2-4 weeks ketogenic, low-carb)
before embarking on a higher carb diet. That is to ensure your system is burning
fat for fuel while in a normal metabolic state.
Limit:
Fruit
•Fruit intake should be limited in order to minimize exposure to fructose, which is
very lipogenic (makes you fat) and reduces insulin sensitivity. Fructose is one of
the main culprits in the metabolic syndrome. The other main culprits are a fatty
acid called linoleic acid as well as anti-nutrients found in grains and legumes.
• I would say no more than one serving of fruit per day. The following fruits are
favorable: all types of berries, lemons & limes.
Stay away from bananas, grapes, watermelon, dried fruit of any kind, mangoes,
apples, fruit juice of any kind, and pears.
Nuts and Seeds
I would like nuts and seeds to be limited due to their anti-nutrient (phytic acid,
lectins, saponins) and linoleic acid content. If you do want to eat nuts, stick with
one or two servings of macadamia nuts, cashews, or almonds. Soaking nuts to decrease levels of anti-nutrients is recommended).

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