by Siim Land
Wakame, 100 g
45
0.6
9.1
3
nTOR
When it comes to cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens, then it’s a good idea to cook them slightly as to break down their cell wall a bit for better nutrient absorption. Raw veggies are primarily fiber and very hard to digest by the human digestive tract. Too much rawness can cause digestive issues, bloating, constipation as well as hinder the metabolism directly.
Cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens have different compounds that can damage our thyroid functioning, especially goitrogens and oxalates. Spinach, Swiss chard, and beets should be slightly cooked to reduce their oxalic acid content.
Here’s a List of the Yellow Zone Vegetables You
However, not all vegetables are the same. To keep our gut healthy and inflammation low, we’d want to avoid things like grains, gluten, lectins, legumes, beans, and things like that for the vast majority of time. Unless we’re doing it as hormetic conditioning.
There are even some seemingly healthy vegetables and tubers that we would want to limit. Whether that be because of their slightly too high carbohydrate content or because eating too much of them may cause some digestive issues. I call them the ’Yellow Zone Carbs’ – don’t eat them every day but include them into your diet a few times a week.
Yellow Zone Carbs include everything from bell peppers, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, berries, beetroot, carrots, turnips etc.
Food Source
Calories
(kCal)
Fats
(g)
Net Carbs
(g)
Protein
(g)
ACS
Carrots, 100 g
41
0.2
10
0.9
nTOR
Turnip, 100 g
28
0.1
6
0.9
nTOR
Beetroot, 100 g
43
0.2
10
1.6
nTOR
Garlic, 1 clove (3 grams)
4
0
1
0.2
nTOR
Green beans, 1 oz
10
0.1
1.3
0.5
nTOR
Bell Pepper, 1 oz
6
0
0.8
0.2
nTOR
Pickles, 100 g
11
0.2
2.3
0.3
nTOR
Peas, 100 g
81
0.4
14
5
nTOR
Spinach, 1 oz
7
0.1
0.4
0.8
nTOR
Squash, 100 g
17
0.3
3.1
1.2
nTOR
Squash, Butternut, 100 g
45
0.1
12
1
nTOR
Squash, Spaghetti, 100 g
31
0.6
7
0.6
nTOR
Tomato, 1 oz
5
0
0.8
0.3
nTOR
Here’s a List of the High Carb Foods to Eat on Refeeds:
Food Source
Calories
(kCal)
Fats
(g)
Net Carbs
(g)
Protein
(g)
ACS
White Potato, 100 g
77
0.1
17
2
HiTOR
Sweet Potato, 100 g
86
0.1
20
1.6
ModTOR
White Rice, 100 g, Cooked
130
0.3
28
2.7
HiTOR
Brown Rice, 100 g, Cooked
111
0.9
23
2.6
ModTOR
Basmati Rice, 100 g, Uncooked
349
0.6
77
8
ModTOR
Oatmeal, 1 Cup Cooked, 234 g
158
3.2
27
6
nTOR
Grits, 1 Cup Cooked, 234 g
143
0.5
31
3.4
HiTOR
Corn, 100 g
131
1.4
26
3.6
ModTOR
Cream of Wheat, 100 g
369
0.5
78
11
HiTOR
Banana, 1 Medium, 105 g
105
0.4
27
1.3
HiTOR
Orange, 1 Large, 184 g
87
0.2
22
1.7
nTOR
Grapefruit, 1 Large, 246 g
104
0.4
26
2
nTOR
Quinoa, 100 g, Uncooked
368
6.1
64
14
nTOR
Dates, 100 g
282
0.4
75
2.5
HiTOR
Figs, 100 g
74
0.3
19
0.7
HiTOR
Lentils, 100 g, Cooked
116
0.4
20
9
ModTOR
Beans, 100 g, Baked
155
5
22
6
ModTOR
Kiwi, 100 g
61
0.5
15
1.1
nTOR
White Bread, 1 Slice, 25 g
66
0.8
12
2.3
HiTOR
Ezekiel Bread, 1 Slice, 34 g
80
0.5
15
4
ModTOR
Whole Wheat Bread, 1 Slice, 28 g
69
0.9
12
3.6
ModTOR
Pumpkin, 100 g
26
0.1
7
1
nTOR
Apples, 1 Medium, 182 g
95
0.3
25
0.5
nTOR
Peaches, 1 Medium, 150 g
59
0.4
14
1.4
ModTOR
Pineapple, 100 g
50
0.1
13
0.5
ModTOR
Ketchup, 1 tbsp
19
0
4.5
0.2
HiTOR
Pasta, 100 g, Cooked
131
1.1
25
5
HiTOR
Puff Pastry, 100 g
558
39
46
7
HiTOR
I included some processed junk food into the list to give some reference of their macronutrient content. Notice how they’re comprised of the worst ratios you’d want – high fat, high carb, low protein. It won’t even help with muscle hypertrophy, not to mention longevity.
Of course, you can follow the 80/20 rule and have a few cheat days here and there – I’m not judging. However, you have to take full responsibilit
y for them. Meaning, have them planned out, put higher energetic demands on your body before that, deplete your muscle glycogen, control your food intake, don’t get into the uncontrollable binging cycle, and savor it completely.
If you’re not able to enjoy what you eat, then it will never satisfy. Not appreciating even healthy food may turn a nutritious dish into empty calories just because you’re not fully present.
How often to have higher carb refeeds depends on your workout routine, how much fasting you do, do you want to build muscle, or gain fat, and how many carbs you eat.
In general, it’s not advisable to have high mTOR and high insulin refeeds any more than once a week. People who train a lot can get away with 2 times but the average person could even do it only once or twice a year. It’s not necessary to have carb refeeds because you can safely build very lean muscle over the long term with a purely ketogenic approach. However, those carbs do make it easier and I find them beneficial for swapping in and out of ketosis as well.
Here’s a List of the Fruit and Berries You Can Eat:
Food Source
Calories
(kCal)
Fats
(g)
Net Carbs
(g)
Protein
(g)
ACS
Low Carb Berries
Rhubarb, 100 g
21
0.2
4.5
1
nTOR
Raspberries, 100 g
53
0.7
12
1.2
LowATG
Blueberries, 100 g
57
0.3
14
0.7
LowATG
Strawberries, 100 g
33
0.3
8
0.7
LowATG
Blackberries, 100 g
43
0.5
10
1.5
LowATG
Elderberries, 100 g
73
0.5
18
0.7
LowATG
Cranberries, 100 g
46
0.1
12
0.4
LowATG
Cherries, 100 g
50
0.3
12
1
LowATG
Low Carb Fruit
Avocado, 1 oz
47
4.4
0.6
0.6
nTOR
Olives, 1 oz
65
7.5
1.9
0
nTOR
Coconut, 1 Cup, 80 g
283
27
12
2.7
nTOR
Watermelon, 100 g
30
0.2
8
0.6
nTOR
Cantaloupe, 100 g
34
0.2
8
0.8
nTOR
Honeydew, 100 g
36
0.1
9
0.5
nTOR
Like I said earlier, fruit doesn’t have much value on the nutrient density hierarchy. Not because it lacks micronutrients and vitamins, but because fructose isn’t that useful for overall health nor muscle hypertrophy.
You can get much better results from less effort by eating primarily vegetables and tubers. Low carb berries are an exception because they’re more fiber than sugar. Plus, things like elderberries and blueberries have super-concentrated antioxidants and polyphenols that are great.
It’s okay to eat like a few servings of fruit a few times a week but it has to be done carefully and with the right food combination.
Don’t eat fruit with high-fat high cholesterol foods like eggs, meat, or bacon. It’ll oxidize the cholesterol and fatty acids again, creating more inflammation. Imagine if you’d put apple jam with high fructose corn syrup on your toast and eggs...
Have a few pieces of fruit on carb refeeds. The low-fat high carb context would make fruit safer to consume. However, too much fruit would fill up the liver glycogen and inhibit ketosis. You would want to eat primarily glucose-rich fruit, such as ripe bananas, dates, and oranges.
Eat fruit seasonally. Despite having access to fruit from the supermarket year-round. You wouldn’t want to be eating fructose across all seasons. It’s important to have very low carb periods as to keep the body’s circadian rhythms optimized. The best time to consume some fruit is during the harvest season when you could find it growing within your local environment.
When it comes to pesticides and GMOs, then avoiding fruit is also a huge win-win situation. You’ll prevent the high fructose load on your liver AND you’ll avoid the increased inflammation from all the chemicals and toxins that get sprayed on conventional fruit.
From an evolutionary perspective, not eating fruit in the modern context is an extremely smart and effective strategy. Think about it.
Here’s a List of the Herbs and Spices You Should Eat:
In addition to the regular carbohydrates, there are other herbs and spices we would want to add to our diet. There are dozens of herbs that are used as medicine but they’re also incredibly potent in boosting longevity.
Food Source
Calories
(kCal)
Fats
(g)
Net Carbs
(g)
Protein
(g)
ACS
Rosemary, 1 oz
36
1.6
5.8
0.9
LowATG
Basil, 1 oz
6.4
0.2
0.7
0.9
LowATG
Coriander, 1 oz
83
5
15
3.5
LowATG
Cilantro, 1 oz
6.4
0.1
1
0.6
LowATG
Thyme, 1 oz
28
0.5
6.8
1.6
LowATG
Parsley, 1 oz
10
0.2
1.8
0.8
LowATG
Cardamom, 1 oz
87
1.9
19
3
LowATG
Cumin, 1 oz
105
6.2
12.4
5
LowATG
Turmeric, 1 oz
99
2.8
18.2
2.2
LowATG
Cinnamon, 1 tbsp
19
0.1
6
0.3
LowATG
Ginger, 1 oz
19
0.2
4.3
0.4
LowATG
Ginseng, 1 oz
106
2
23
0
LowATG
Black Pepper, 1 tsp
7
0.1
1.9
0.3
LowATG
Cayenne Pepper, 1 tsp
6
0.3
1
0.2
LowATG
Fats and Lipids
As said earlier, the minimum daily dietary fat intake is 20-30 grams, which isn’t that good either.
A healthy fat consumption on non-ketogenic diets should be somewhere between 20-35%, which on a 2000 daily caloric intake would be around 40-80 grams. On a low carb keto diet, it should be slightly higher but you don’t need to be eating copious amounts of dietary fat because more won’t be always better.
After going through the keto-adaptation process, you don’t need to be consuming a
ton of extra fat just to meet your daily caloric needs. In fact, it can actually be counter-productive both for body composition as well as performance.
Like I said in Chapter The Case Against Sugar (And Fat), I don’t want to be eating any more calories from fat than I need. On a ketogenic diet, fatty acids are used for energy production but there’s still a point of diminishing returns. Especially when you add some carb refeeds into your diet, it’s not necessary to go all out on fats. Instead, here are the modified macronutrient ratios most people can stick to:
Carbs should still be quite low most of the time around 5-15%
Protein can be increased for the muscle building benefits up to 25-30%
Fat will stay around 55-65%, which will cover the essentials and gives extra energy.
Most people can stick between 100-180 grams of fat and be perfectly healthy. There is no metabolic advantage to eating more fat. Fat should be thought of as caloric leverage, not as a staple.
If you want to raise your blood ketones, then just fast for a bit longer. This is a much smarter way of driving yourself into deeper ketosis as well as autophagy. It’ll also help to maintain mild caloric restriction.
Here’s a List of the Nuts and Seeds You Can Eat:
Although nuts and seeds can be a good snack, they’re somewhat easy to overconsume and with not that high nutrient density. They’re definitely high in micronutrients and healthy fats but compared to something like eggs, fish, or meat they’re slightly less satiating.
I wouldn’t recommend eating nuts when you’re trying to lose body fat because they’re not that filling in terms of their caloric content.
Eating large amounts of nuts isn’t ideal because of their phytate content either. Phytic acid is a compound found in nuts and seeds that tries to protect the nuts from being eaten. In a small hormetic dose, they’re great but not something you’d want to make a staple in your diet.
In terms of the nutritional value of nuts and seeds, then they caloric content of nuts and seeds isn’t justifiable either. Although things like Chia seeds and flaxseeds can be a good source of low mTOR plant-based protein, their fatty acid content and amino acid profile isn’t that bioavailable.
Like mentioned earlier, humans can convert only about 8% of ALA into DHA and you definitely want to be getting more DHA rather than ALA. From longevity as well as a performance perspective, you’re better off spending your calories and money on high-quality fish like salmon or oysters. It’ll be better for your brain, muscles, cellular membrane, heart, as well as physical output.