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Eating Protocol

The following is based off of the Mediterranean 'diet', unlike other modern diets, the Mediterranean diet does not eliminate any whole food. The studies conducted on the Mediterranean region were made during the 1960s prior to our modern food ultra processed food craze.

The key tenets of the Mediterranean diet include a high intake of plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes, with olive oil as the primary source of fat. It also emphasizes moderate consumption of fish, poultry, dairy, and limited red meat, along with enjoying meals with family and friends.

General Tips

  • Start small and build into this protocol
  • Forgive yourself for the rare, odd missed day, do better the next day
  • Cook at home, build meals around vegetables, beans and whole grains
  • Eat fish at least twice a week
  • Use olive oil instead of butter in preparing food
  • Serve fresh fruit for dessert & snacks
  • Make one meal per day vegetarian
  • By the plate visual: 50% veggies / fruits, 23% grains, 25% protein & legumes, 2% fat
    • The fat should not be really visible; most comes in the form of EVOO, 2% visible fat may come from fatty foods - avocado, goat cheese, seeds
  • Note this is not the macros but how a meal plate should look
  • Revisit this site for updates and reminders or to suggest improvements

Drink Liquids

At least 15.5 cups of fluids per day

  • Coffee
  • Teas (see Tea Protocol)
  • Water

Limit salt intake

  • Swap salted nuts with unsalted
  • Buy canned veggies, beans and sauces with no salt added
  • It is typical to add salt while cooking with these products but this allow you to control the salt amount

Spectrum

  • Eat seasonal fruits and vegetables
  • Each 30 different plants, seeds and nuts a week
    • Not just fruits and veggies that count, you can include grains, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices, too

Eat light dinners

  • Eat light dinners, shift major meal to lunch
  • Avoid starchy carbs at night (rices, pasta, potatoes, breads)
  • Eat low-glycemic index foods at night

Increase fiber intake

  • Increase wholegrains, whole fruits, pulses/beans, nuts and seeds
  • Swap to Barley for Oatmeal for breakfast in order to reduce Glucose impacts

Time of Day Eating

  • Limit eating hours to 10 hours per day
  • Don't eat after 9 pm (water, coffee, tea is ok)
  • Don't eat starchy/high-sugar snacks/drinks after 3 pm (Have that piece of See's Candy before)

Do not eat

Don't go here

  • Fried foods
  • Processed meats, spam, ham, bacon, jerky, hot dogs, sausage
  • Processed shrimp (lots of salt in processing) [Eat Fresh Shrimp!!]
  • Canned soup
  • Pizza
  • Flour tortillas and fried tortillas (corn or flour, either one of these is tough for me to avoid)
  • Refried beans
  • Indication of being an ultra-processed food:
    • Contains more than 5 ingredients
    • High-fructose corn syrup
    • Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)
    • Carrageenan
    • Artificial Food dyes (even question natural dyes)
    • Hydrogenated oils
    • Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
    • Potassium bromate
    • Sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite
    • Sulfites (like sulfur dioxide, potassium bisulfite, sodium bisulfite and sodium sulfite)
    • Potassium nitrate
    • Potassium sorbates
    • Potassium metabisulfite
    • Acetates
    • Tocopherols & alpha-tocopherol
    • Sodium ascorbate
    • Phosphoric acid
    • Extracts of rosemary
    • Calcium propionate

Limit

  • Sweets
    • One exception is high content coco powder 80% or more chocolate, but limit to 1 oz every few days
  • Dairy
    • Dairy fits in the limit category, limit overall to 2 servings per day
    • Servings: 1 cup Greek yogurt, 1.5 oz cheese
    • The majority of this amount is taken up by the sacrificial cheese (1 oz) in the tea protocol
    • Most websites promote 'non-fat' dairy versions, I believe this is an error as it is a throwback to 'all fat is bad' which got us into the over-carb diets we have today. Back when the MD study was being performed 'fat-free' dairy didn't exist
  • Crackers
  • Condiments / sauces
  • Salad dressings (Make your own EVOO, Vinegar, Mustard)
  • Canned veggies (or change to no-salt)
  • Canned beans (or use dried if no-salt canned are not available)
  • Canned sauces (tomato, pasta, etc) (or get no-salt added)
  • Pickles
  • Breads
  • Fruit juices
  • Red meat/beef - typically only eaten during major celebrations
  • Pork - typically only eaten during major celebrations

Eat Foods

  • Avocado
  • EVOO (up to 3 tablespoons per day)
  • Vinegars (3 tablespoons per day)
  • Whole grains
    • Ground flax seed 2 tablespoons
    • Hemp hearts 2 tablespoons
    • Chia seeds 1 tablespoons (high calorie food!!)
    • Einkorn Berries (type of farro wheat)
    • Black rice (not really a rice)
    • Barley meal
    • Oatmeal groats (don’t like these)
  • 1 oz high polyphenol (>80%) dark chocolate / Cacao nibs
  • Whole bananas, oranges, cantaloupe, honeydew, apricots, grapefruit, also, some dried fruits, such as prunes, raisins, apricots, figs and dates, are also high in potassium
  • Purple fruits and veggies
    • Eggplant
    • Red cabbage
    • Blueberries
    • Blackberries
    • Black raspberries
  • Leafy greens
    • Spinach
    • Swiss chard
    • Broccoli
  • Potatoes (1-2 times per month)
  • Sweet potatoes (1-2 times per week)
  • Mushrooms
  • Peas
  • Cucumbers
  • Zucchini
  • Pumpkin
  • Fish
    • Tuna (limit due to Mercury)
    • Salmon (limit due to Mercury)
    • Halibut
    • Cod
    • Trout
    • Rockfish
    • Atlantic mackerel
  • Beans and legumes
    • Soybeans
    • Garbanzo
    • Lentils
    • White beans
    • Pinto beans
    • Kidney beans
    • Black beans
    • Lima beans
  • Nuts and Seeds
    • Walnuts
    • Pumpkin Seeds (pepitas)
    • Almonds
    • Pistachios
    • Sunflower seeds

By the numbers

  • Daily Average Macro: 37% Fat, 43% Carbs, 20% Protein
  • Shoot for 140-160 g protein per day while strength training (1.4-1.6 gram protein for each KG of body weight)
    • No more than 30 g per day should come from protein powder
    • Strive to contain 700–3000 mg of leucine
    • A high-protein meal is one that is rich in protein, typically providing at least 30 grams of protein per serving,
  • No more than 9 teaspoons (36 grams or 150 calories) of added sugar per day
    • Does not include sugars naturally found in whole fruits
    • 1 tsp honey = 5 g / 15 c
    • 1 tsp maple syrup = 13 g / 53 c
  • 25 grams or more of soluble fiber a day decreases your LDL cholesterol
    • African Diet 90 grams total soluble / non-soluble, so higher could be better
    • Articles state that 25-29 g per day could be beneficial
  • Less than 10% of calories from saturated fats (AHA says 6%)
    • 1 g fat = 9 calories
    • < 14 g fat for AHA
    • < 21 g fat for US RDA
  • Move towards a 10-hour eating window per day
  • Try for 5955mg potassium per day (1:3 Na:CL), other foods that are rich in potassium:
    • Nuts
    • Poultry
    • Wild rice
    • Unprocessed wheats
    • Bran cereal

Supplements

For Deficiency

These are not recommended unless medical testing show a deficiency.

  • B12 supplement (2000 mcg)
  • Iodine supplement (325 mcg)
  • Iron supplement

For Benefit

  • At least 15 ml/3 tsp of vinegar per day
    • Some recommendations include 1 tablespoon before each meal
    • Or alternatively 1 Tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar within 20 minutes of a meal or high-carb meal
    • If drinking diluted or straight vinegar, rinse with water to avoid tooth damage
  • Creatine
    • Promotes strong muscles
    • 5 G (1 scoop) per day
    • No loading protocol
  • B12 supplement (2000 mcg)
  • D supplement (5000 IU)
  • Vitamin K2, (MK4 1000 mcg, MK7 180 mcg from MenaQ7®)
  • Aged Garlic Extract (1000 mg)