Nutrient Data Locker

"If you have any interest at all in diet, obesity, public health, diabetes, epidemiology, your own health or that of other people, you will probably be aware that sugar, not fat, is now considered the devil's food."

--The Gardian, "Interview: Robert Lustig: the man who believes sugar is poison" Aug. 24, 2014

"Massive expansion of adipose tissue, the major site for storage of excessive energy in the form of triglycerides, is the hallmark of obesity."

--Haiyan Xu, "Obesity and metabolic inflammation" Apr. 28, 2013

"We propose that it should be recommended that older individuals consume ≥1.2 g protein · kg−1 · d−1 and that there should be an emphasis on the intake of the amino acid leucine, which plays a central role in stimulating skeletal muscle anabolism. "

--Stuart Phillips, "Protein Requirements and Optimal Intakes in Aging" May 15 , 2018

"But here’s the rub: Our bodies really aren’t looking for ALA and LA; they’re looking for something better. ALA and LA are considered “parent” omegas, because they are used to manufacture the omegas we actually need: EPA, DHA, and ARA ."

--Georgia Ede, "The Brain Needs Animal Fat," Mar 31, 2019

"Let Food Be Thy Medicine...Just about every nutrition related professional I know has that quote displayed somewhere in their office, probably to convince reluctant patients that a really smart guy a really long time ago predicted that food could actually heal the body. ,,,In a very loose sense, then, we could argue that food and medicine were not entirely distinguished in Hippocratic medicine."

--Helen King, "Hippocrates Now The ‘Father of Medicine’ in the Internet Age," July 9, 2020

"Most traditional Okinawans eat mainly vegetarian diets. Their meals may include stir-fried vegetables, tofu, sweet potatoes, and Goya. Goya, often translated as 'bitter melon,' is a vegetable extremely popular as a symbol of Okinawan health food. ... While centenarian Okinawans occasionally eat some pork, it is traditionally reserved only for ceremonial celebrations and consumed in very small amounts. The Okinawan diet is rich with soy-based foods such as tofu and miso soup.

The average citizen consumes at least seven servings of vegetables daily, and an equal number of grains (in the form of noodles, bread, and rice - many of them whole grains). Add to this two to four servings of fruit, plus tofu and other forms of soy, green tea, seaweed, and fish rich in omega-3s (three times weekly). Sweet potatoes, bean sprouts, onions, and green peppers are prominent in the diet. Vegetables, grains, and fruits make up 72% of the diet by weight. Soy and seaweed provide another 14%. Meat, poultry, and eggs account for just 3% of the diet, fish about 11%. The emphasis is on dark green vegetables rich in calcium (Okinawans, like other Japanese, don't eat much dairy). Okinawans do drink alcohol, but women usually stick to one drink a day, while men average twice that. Moderation is the key.

Okinawans eat fruit every day picked from their own trees including citrus fruits, pineapples, bananas, papayas, guavas, mangoes and passion fruit. (They) eat meat from locally-reared livestock mainly on special occasions. For example they will cook an entire pig and eat every part of it, including its face, boiled or stewed ... but they get their protein mainly from fresh fish and around 3 oz daily of melt-in-the-mouth tofu and traditionally-fermented soy products. (They) use salt sparingly, and when they do use salt it is mineral-rich local sea salt. (They) regularly use the powerful anti-inflammatory spice turmeric to flavor dishes. (They) replenish their cups from a large pot of green tea all day long and use mugwort and hibiscus to make herb tea.

A traditional Okinawan breakfast may consist of miso soup with spinach or eggs with rice; while a typical lunch would be papaya, tofu, and dark green leafy vegetables, and sweet green tea, with a bitter citrus fruit for a snack in the afternoons. ... The fruit staples are pineapples, papayas, mangoes, passion fruit, guavas, and citrus fruit. Vegetables normally eaten are Goya (bitter melon), hechima (squash), shikuwasa [a Clementine-sized citrus fruit with lemon-lime-orange taste], sweet potato, seaweed, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and plenty of green leafy salad leaves. Tofu, white and brown rice are also eaten. There is very little meat eaten with meals, however the meat staples are pork or soki (usually boneless stewed pork spare ribs), beef, and fish."

--G. Douglas Andersen, "Foods Consumed by the Healthiest People, Part 2: The Okinawa Diet," December 16, 2011