Chef Jem's offers dietary suggestions for a young gymnast.

Date:   1/4/2010 7:08:41 PM ( 14 y ago)

A young lady (possibly in high school) who is a gymnast asked what she should eat.

She said her current diet consists of:

Breakfast: 1 Scrambled egg with a little bit of cheese and a piece of toast.
Lunch: Caesar Salad with cheese and boiled egg.
Snack: Apple and Crackers
Dinner: Usually pasta and chicken

I replied at All Experts:

Okay, let's look at just what you are sharing here (although there is virtually everything else with all the other factors that could also be considered; maybe another time).

Here are some things that you may want to consider. First, how do you feel after you have finished your meal as well as twenty minutes later plus up to two or three hours later? I would suggest that you start a small (pocket size) notebook and record the content your meals (as completely as you can) and adding how you feel (in terms of satisfaction, energy and anything else you want to note) at least three times after the meal. This information can become very helpful for you to gauge any changes you make in your diet. When you have started that then -

You may begin substituting and/or adding some more "nutrient-dense" foods. The more you can educate yourself about what nutrient-dense foods are the more options you'll have to choose from.
For starters let's begin looking at your breakfast:

You have "1 Scrambled egg with a little bit of cheese and a piece of toast."

What do you scramble your egg in? If it's butter then I have to say that's an excellent choice! The only improvement there might be by using grass-fed or pastured butter rather than a commercial, "factory"-raised, grain-fed source of butter. The reason is that you will be getting more nutrition and a higher grade of nourishment with dairy products from animals who are fed their proper diet. My initial foundational message for you is that the improvements that you may want to make with your diet will be largely from the improved quality of foods that you use. Pastured dairy is a higher quality product!

What is your source of eggs? For nutrient-dense eggs you will most likely will need to find a local source that you know has their chickens outside on some kind of "pasture" and eating a large part of their diet of insects, grubs, worms and the like. The supplementing feed that is typically added to their natural diet should be soy-free. This requires some looking into and it will be worth checking that out! Eggs are virtually a perfect food and so it would be in your best interest to find the most nutritious local eggs as you can. If you aren't able to find eggs like this then contact your closest "Local Chapter" of the "Weston A. Price Foundation" and they will help you find all the local sources of nutrient-dense foods! What a Free service they offer! You can find your local chapter here; http://www.westonaprice.org/chapters/


The cheese also is recommended to be from a grass-fed source and raw!

What bread are you using for your toast? All grains need to be properly prepared so that the nutrient inhibitors (that protect the grain) are removed, otherwise they can be difficult to digest and worse. I always recommend that grain-based products be made from organic grains that have been pre-soaked and ideally sprouted! Another excellent process when it comes to breads is is "sour-dough". Please be aware that some people have allergies or food sensitivity to certain grains like wheat. If you feel bloating and other discomforts after eating bread products then you may want to consider getting tested for food allergies and the like. Also some people have a genetic pre-disposition for very little or no grains at all. Grains aren't necessarily a requirement for a complete nutrition program (however some people may do well with them but I wouldn't blindly recommend a grain-based diet). I have recently eliminated all grains from my diet and am pleasantly amazed at the differences I notice!

Do you put anything on your piece of toast? How about putting raw grass-fed butter on it? You can feel absolutely free to have as much butter as you like! If you like butter than feel free to splurge! You can consider it a real health food! I highly recommend this high-quality source of good fat! Healthy animal fats are essential for the fat-soluble vitamins like A and D that are not available form plant sources. I highly recommend that you get yourself fully-informed about the importance of healthy animal fats and a good source for that information is also at the Weston A. Price foundation's web site.

That's my first response for your breakfast.
That same process that I just demonstrated to you can be applied to the rest of your meals. It appears that you have an essentially good orientation for your nutrition. Not everyone has that awareness! I congratulate you (and your mother and /or whoever may have influenced you along these lines)!

Feel free to ask additional questions after you have tried out my suggestions for about one month and then want to review how that's going for you. I would enjoy hearing from you again!


Chef Jem

Executive Producer:
"Raw Milk: The Whole Truth"
AKA "The Raw Milk Controversy: Fact & Fiction"
Featuring Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy
and Dr. Dale Jacobson, DC

Afraid of the idea of drinking raw milk? If so, viewing this video may bring relief!
View four video clips Online at:
http://www.youtube.com/profile_play_list?user=ChefJem33


Over 20,000 total views of the video clips just at YouTube!
Over 59,000 page views at:
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