Hedonist, Dilettante or Purist?

[Shadow]

In Protein Power LifePlan, there are three different nutritional approaches outlined for this WOE. Remember your approach is not carved in stone and that you may move from one level to another.

The information below comes from Chapter 13, "LifePlan Nutrition", pp 336 - 348.

The Hedonist - This is the least restrictive of the approaches. The basic rules are:
1. Always eat enough good-quality protein to meet your body's needs. All protein sources are allowed.
2. Keep your total carbohydrate intake per meal within the limits of the phase you are in. No carbohydrate sources are forbidden as long as they fall within your carbohydrate allotment.
3. Eat good quality fats. Acceptable fats are: cold-pressed oils, fresh flax seed oil, fresh marine oils, raw or roasted seeds or true nuts, peanuts and their butters, egg yolks and butter or ghee.
4. Drink plenty of water. Beverages not allowed include sweetened soft drinks and diet soft drinks containing aspartame.
5. Replace potassium and magnesium.

This approach is for people who want to improve their health and their waistlines without changing their diet more than necessary. It's a good place for everybody to begin - allowing you to change your diet gradually, and still see great benefits. Even if you later choose to follow one of the more restrictive options, you can come back to the Hedonistic approach when the occasion demands - for a party or on holiday.

The Dilettante - This is the middle-of-the-road approach. The basic rules are the same as for the Hedonist with the following additional restrictions:
1. Use natural meat and poultry products, nothing grain-fed or treated with antibiotics or hormones. Choose wild game if you can.
2. Avoid processed meat products with MSG and nitrites.
3. Try to use eggs from cage-free naturally raised chickens.
4. Canned fish products should be canned in their own oils, olive oil or spring water. Avoid any canned in soy oil.
5. If you don't eat fish, take either Carlson's Cod Liver Oil or fresh flax seed oil. The flax seed oil should only be used if you are in reasonably good health.
6. Use organically grown fruits and vegetables. Fresh are preferred but organic canned or frozen (without sugar) are acceptable also. If you use conventionally grown fruits or vegetables, triple wash them and use one of the products available to strip them of the pesticides and surface chemicals.
7. Avoid wheat, corn, millet, and rye. Avoid their meals, flours, or any product made with them.
8. No crystalline fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, regular corn syrup or and foods made with them.
9. When possible, use only organic dairy products.

Dilettantes aim to improve "leaky gut" problems by avoiding the most problematic grains: corn, wheat, millet, rye. They limit sucrose and added fructose, placing less of a strain on the immune system. They opt where possible for organic and naturally reared foods. This approach is recommended for anyone with a family history of autoimmune disorders: MS, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disorders etc and possibly Parkinson's disease and Alzheimers. It's also of benefit to those at risk from cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, type II diabetes, sleep apnea and gout.

The Purist - The most restrictive approach. Here you will go beyond the Dilettante's level and follow the additional restrictions:
1. Avoid all cereal grains and products.
2. Eat only organic, fresh produce.
3. Eat only natural meal, poultry, or game products.
4. Avoid all legumes.
5. Avoid all dairy products.
6. Avoid all processed foods.
7. Avoid all sugars but honey. Use only liminted amounts of the honey.
8. Eliminate all artificial sweeteners. The only exception is stevia.
9. Eliminate all sources of caffeine. Herbal teas and decaffeinated coffee allowed.
10. Eliminate all alcohol.

This approach is for those who want to be closest to their ancestral diet, those who suffer from serious complications of the modern metabolic disorders, those whose symptoms don't resolve on the less restrictive approaches, those who want to improve their health as fast and as much as possible.

"Be aware that your current selection is not chiseled in stone; you may move to any of the three commitment levels whenever you choose and for as long as you choose."

[Gaelen]

I added a poll to this thread; however, please only respond to the poll, and not directly to the thread. If you wish to discuss your personal approach, please comment in this thread. Enjoy!