healthiest food that is not a fruit or vegetable?

A complete protein contains all of the essential amino acids (the ones that our body cannot produce in adequate amounts), which are extremely important to athletes. There aren't a lot of grains or pseudo-grains which are also complete proteins, which is why I love quinoa

Green leaves are the healthiest foods.

Green leaves are neither fruit nor vegetable.

If you have time, the China study is definitely a great read about nutrition, makes a really good case for a plant based diet

LetsRunna wrote:

A complete protein contains all of the essential amino acids (the ones that our body cannot produce in adequate amounts), which are extremely important to athletes. There aren't a lot of grains or pseudo-grains which are also complete proteins, which is why I love quinoa

It makes no sense to refer to a food item as "a complete protein." Just say that it contains all the essential amino acids.

It's delicious with fava beans and a nice chianti.

Teff, especially when made into Injera. Just ask Geb and Bekele about it.

ammagamma wrote:

It makes no sense to refer to a food item as "a complete protein." Just say that it contains all the essential amino acids.

Actually foods are very often referred to as 'complete proteins' when they contain all the essential amino acids. Its a widely accepted way to say the same thing. But I guess it doesn't meet the standards of some clueless sh*thead on here, so I'll refrain from using it in the future

Green Leaves wrote:

Green leaves are the healthiest foods.

Green leaves are neither fruit nor vegetable.

Would you recommend sweet gum, american beech or red oak leaves? They are all green and grow on the trees near where I live.

Why not just go to the source and skip the middleman. Eat grass....nice and green and rich in all needed nutrients, just ask any cow or goat.

Almonds.

Lean red meat.

quiona

easily the best. It has been shown interest by NASA for foods to bring to space because of all of the good things packed in it

jacabo wrote:

I agree with you, except I would remove the "lean" from your sentence. Fatty meat from a healthy animal (say, a grass-fed porterhouse steak) is full of beneficial fatty acids and vitamins, plus lots of protein.

Eggs are awesome and near-perfect as far as food goes.

Acid-forming? What?

omnivore wrote:

In your opinion, what is the single healthiest naturally occurring food that is not a fruit or vegetable? It could be a grain, a meat, an animal by-product like milk or eggs.

Wild Salmon or Organic/Natural Grass Fed Beef.

Cashews or almonds

Green Leaves wrote:

Green leaves are the healthiest foods.

Green leaves are neither fruit nor vegetable.

sure bert wrote:

Would you recommend sweet gum, american beech or red oak leaves? They are all green and grow on the trees near where I live.

I've not tried those. How do you like them?

My favorite leafy greens are bok choy.

the gecko wrote:

If I had a diet rich in fruits & vegetables, the single healthiest naturally occurring food I would consider adding to my diet is lean game-type meat or seafood/fish like salmon or cod. Eggs are decent, nuts & seeds are good too, but definitely don't compare to meat/fish imo if you could only add one group.

Grains are acid-forming, and not very nutrient-dense, so they don't make a lot of sense to add to the diet (fruits & vegetables are much better choices), especially for those of us running alot who need to try to reduce acidity in our bodies caused by training.

The most important nutrient a high mileage runner needs are calorie macronutrients. Vegetables don't have enough calories to fuel running (a high fiber to glycogen-producing calorie ratio is very bad for running) and modern fruit bred for sweetness has too much fructose, which your body cannot convert to glycogen and treats like a poison, processing it in the liver like alcohol, which it is more chemically similar to.

Of my 3500 calorie a day diet (which keeps me at 152 at 6'4" at 80 mpw) perhaps as much as 1000 are from cashews and almonds. Any food that is calorie poor is more or less wasted and a large enough serving of vegetables ro provide calories will have an ass exploding amount of fiber.

Brian wrote:

fructose, which your body cannot convert to glycogen and treats like a poison, processing it in the liver like alcohol, which it is more chemically similar to.

Where do you people get this shit?

Fructose is indeed metabolised in the liver . . . the products are intermediates in the pathways of glycogen, fatty acid, and triglyceride synthesis. You're just plain wrong.

ammagamma wrote:

LetsRunna wrote:

A complete protein contains all of the essential amino acids (the ones that our body cannot produce in adequate amounts), which are extremely important to athletes. There aren't a lot of grains or pseudo-grains which are also complete proteins, which is why I love quinoa

It makes no sense to refer to a food item as "a complete protein." Just say that it contains all the essential amino acids.

Wow...someone's a fan of pointless semantics.