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i loved your article about plant based diets .it made me think of dr. fuhrman's eat to live followers who may think they are eating a non starchy vegetable based diet but in reality are getting their calories from nuts,or fruit,or starchy veg/grain.it seems like E2L followers often binge on excessive fruit or nuts because of their trying to live on non-starchy vegetables only.i prefer mcdougall's starch based diet myself.to each his own.thanks for the article!!!

Thanks.

Here is the article

http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Newsletter ... _Diet.html

Is Your Plant Based Diet A Vegetable Based, Nut Based or Starch Based Diet?
Jeff Novick, MS, RD

Over the years, I have worked with many people who have told me their diet was vegetable based. However, on closer examination, it was anything but. Most often, they were getting most of their calories from either nuts, fruits, or starches (starchy vegetables, whole grains, beans).

Here is why.

The basis of a diet is what compromises most of it. In the world of nutrition, the deciding factor in dietary intake is calories and not the weight, or volume or servings of food consumed. Hence, the food or food group or type of food that contributes the largest percentage of calories to the total calorie intake will form the basis of that diet. This is the accepted standard in the world of nutrition.

These days we hear a lot about plant based diets. What this refers to is that most of the calories in the diet, comes from plants.

In the plant based diet world, we also hear terms like "starch" based, "nut" based, "fruit" based and "vegetable" based. A starch based diet is one where the majority of the calories will come from starches (whole grains, starchy vegetables and legumes). As such, if someone is on a nut based diet, then the majority of their calories will come from nuts.

In addition, if someone was on a "vegetable" based diet, the majority of the calories will come from vegetables. However, because the calorie density of vegetables is so low, many who think they are following a vegetable based diet aren't and are actually following something completely different. Most often, they are actually following a fruit based, nut based or even a starch based diet, without even realizing it.

Let's look at the actual numbers and for this example, and to highlight the above point, I will use nuts and vegetables as the examples. In addition, for this example, when we refer to vegetables, we will be referring to non-starchy vegetables (NSV) unless otherwise noted as this is what most people mean when they say they are on a "vegetables' based diet..

A pound of non starchy-vegetables (NSV) averages about 100 calories per pound

An ounce of nuts/seeds averages 180 calories per ounce.

If someone was to consume 1 pound of NSV a day, that is about 100 calories from vegetables. If someone was to consume 2 pounds of NSV a day, that would be approximately 200 calories from NSV.

As an FYI, 2 lbs of NSV is a large amount of NSV and an amount that may be difficult for people to consume let alone any more than this.

If they were to consume 3 lbs of NSV, that is 300 calories and 4 lbs of NSV is 400 calories.

One ounce of nuts is 180 calories, 2 ounces of nuts is 360 calories, 3 ounces of nuts is 540 calories and 4 ounces of nuts is 720 calories.

So, let's see how they numbers play out.

If someone was to consume 1 ounce of nuts per day, that would be 180 calories from nuts. They would need to be consuming at least 2 lbs of NSV per day to be consuming more NSV than nuts.

However, even so, this would not automatically make it a NSV based diet as this would only be 380 calories total with only 200 calories from the NSV. The odds are, unless they are eating several more pounds of NSV per day, they will be getting most of their calories from somewhere else (starchy vegetables, whole grains, fruits, beans, animal foods).

If someone was to consume 1.5 ounces of nuts per day, that would be 270 calories from nuts. They would need to be consuming almost 3 lbs of NSV per day to be consuming more NSV than nuts.

However, even so, this would not automatically make it a NSV based diet as this would only be 570 calories total with only 300 calories from the NSV. The odds are, unless they are eating several more pounds of NSV per day, they will be getting most of their calories from somewhere else (starchy vegetables, whole grains, fruits, beans, animal foods).

If someone were to consume 2 ounces of nuts per day, that would be 360 calories from nuts. They would need to be consuming almost 4 lbs of NSV per day to be consuming more NSV than nuts.

However, even so, this would not automatically make it a NSV based diet as this would only be 760 calories total with only 400 calories from the NSV. The odds are, unless they are eating several more pounds of NSV per day, they will be getting most of their calories from somewhere else (nuts, starchy vegetables, whole grains, fruits, beans, animal foods).

If someone was to consume 3 ounces of nuts per day, that would be 540 calories from nuts. They would need to be consuming at least 6 lbs of NSV per day to be consuming more NSV than nuts.

However, even so, this would not automatically make it a NSV based diet as this would only be 1140 calories total with 600 calories from the NSV. While it is now mathematically possible that the 600 calories from from the NSV could be the source of most of their calories, consuming this amount of NSV is fairly difficult for most people. Therefore, they are most likely not consuming this amount of NSV and they will be really getting most of their calories from somewhere else (nuts, starches, fruits, beans, animal foods).

If someone was to consume 4 ounces of nuts per day, that would be 720 calories from nuts. They would need to be consuming at least 7.5 lbs of veggies per day to be consuming more NSV than nuts.

Again, this would not automatically make it a NSV based diet as this would only be 1470 calories total with 750 calories from the NSV. While it is again mathematically possible that the 750 calories from from the NSV could be the source of most of their calories, consuming this amount of NSV is fairly difficult for most people. Therefore, they are most likely not consuming this amount of NSV and they will be really getting most of their calories from somewhere else (nuts, starches, fruits, beans, animal foods).

So, as you can see, if anyone is consuming a fair amounts of nuts, the odds of them being on a true NSV based diet is slim. Even if they were not consuming a fair amount of nuts, it would still be difficult to consume enough NSV to make them the main contributor of calories to ones diet due to their extremely low calorie density.

For example, if all someone consumed was 1 ounce of nuts per day, they would need to be consuming at least the 2 lbs of NSV per day to be consuming more NSV than nuts. However, again, as this would only be 380 calories total with only 200 calories coming from the NSV and the odds are, they are not getting most of their calories from these NSV but from somewhere else (starches, fruits, beans, animal foods).

Understanding and clarity are important. Knowing where you get the majority of your calories from and the type of diet you are on, is important.

Many people think they are on a NSV based diet when in reality, they are not. The problem with this is that if they do not get in enough calories from somewhere, they will most likely get hungry and end up binging, and often binging on foods that are not healthy.

As we can see, if you are not getting the majority of calories from NSV, which is difficult to do, then where are you getting them from? Beans? Fruits? Starchy Vegetables? Whole Grains? Nuts? Animal foods? Junk foods?

What I am recommending here is an exercise in self-awareness. It is not a debate about which diet is best, or who promotes the best diet. It is an exercise for individuals to do themselves so they can have a better understanding of their own diet and their own health and,if necessary, to make any adjustments to bring their diet inline with their own goals and objectives.

Understanding this and discovering the answer may help you to better understand your diet and your health.

In Health
Jeff

Good points! I bet a lot of people do not have any feeling for what proportion of their calories come from what food group.

Clarity is important especially if we are to understand each other and nutrition.

For those of us on a plant based diet, our calorie sources are..

- Fruits (which would include dried fruit and fruit juices)

- Non Starchy Vegetables (which would include vegetable juices)

- Starchy Vegetables (Winter squash, peas corn, potatoes)

- Whole Grains (Brown rice, oats, quinoa, etc)

- Legumes (beans, peas, lentils etc)

- High fat plant foods (nuts, seeds, olives, avocado's, oils)

Dr McDougall puts the starchy vegetables, whole grains and legumes into one category and calls them starches.

Under whole grains, we could separate it even more into processed whole grains low in calorie density (pasta's) and processed whole grains high in calorie density (breads, bagels, crackers and dry cereals).

For someone who is struggling with their results, it may be important for them to analyze their own intake to see exactly where there calories are coming from as it may not be where they think and a reason for their lack of success.

In Health
Jeff

Just curious as to why you have "peas" in 2 different places. What are peas considered actually?? The frozen sweet peas, the green split peas, etc., the ?? - Not splitting hairs, just wondering

And yes, quite an obvious concept that seems overlooked by too many.

Sorry, they should really be in 3 places.

Peas come in different forms. Dried peas are a legume and are 550 cal/lb when cooked. Fresh peas as a starchy vegetable and around 350 cal/lb. Immature peas (those in a pod) are more of a NSV and are about 190 calories/lb.



In Health
Jeff

Thanks Jeff. Very informative article.

And good info about peas. I've always wondered about that! Today I had all three kinds at various times.

hi jeff, so would you advise people to eat approximately 700 calories worth of starchy veg and or grain ,lots of raw and steamed vegetables, ,1/2 cup of legumes,2 fruits daily?no need for nuts/seeds as flaxseed daily correct?

I would advise them to follow the principle of calorie density and adjust accordingly to fit their specific situation. The only limit I would give is in regard to any high calorie dense foods, like nuts and seeds, and for them, to limit then to no more than a serving (or two) a day.

In Health
Jeff

hi jeff, thanks for your reply. please write a calorie density book! you have such a great sense of humor and way of discussing food,satiety in a fun way!i'd be your books! i prefer books to DVDs myself.

Another immensely helpful and illuminating article from Jeff. I have learned so much from you--sincerest thanks.

I really appreciate this article. Recently, my mom talked me into going with her to a raw food retreat for a week. The majority of people there were meat eaters and didn't even know what the word vegan meant. They would look at the meals they were serving and say, "wow, I'm eating so many veggies!" A typical meal there (when it was green juices or green smoothies or the like...) was a collection of salads (almost all with oil-based dressings and/or some kind of soaked nuts) and a main dish like "lasagna" or "hamburger". I've done research on a raw food diet and experimented with it several years ago so I know what those main dishes contain - straight up soaked nuts and nut butters with some herbs and/or grated veggies. So calorie-wise, they were not eating a veggie-based diet - they were eating a nut-based diet.

Djuna

Correct.

I just added the following to the comments under the article on FB

"It is sad to see that several people have taken this article as an attack of a particular diet &/or of a particular doctor.

This discussion in regard to what is the main source of calories in someones diet is not new, nor is it directed at any one current diet or any one current doctor promoting any one particular kind of diet. However, this discussion is directed at anyone who is trying to improve their health by following a whole food, plant based diet and is simply an exercise in self-awareness.

This discussion actually goes back to the early 70's when it was an important question to many who were following the raw food and natural hygiene diets of the time. It has often been called, "The Calorie Paradox" and has remained important over the years.

It always was and still remains an exercise for individuals to do themselves so they can have a better understanding of their own diet and their own health and,if necessary, to make any adjustments to bring their own diet inline with their own goals and objectives.

This article s a great overview of the entire Calorie Paradox and was written in the 1990's and published online in 1999, over 11 years ago.

http://www.beyondveg.com/billings-t/cal ... ox1a.shtml

And was discussed over 10 years ago, in 2000, here

http://chetday.com/billings.html

As you can see, this discussion is not new, nor is it directed at any one current diet or any one current doctor promoting any one particular kind of diet. In addition, understanding the issue and discovering the answer for yourself can only help you to better understand your diet and your health.

After all, that is what this is all about!"

In Health
Jeff