I hosted a fun game on the 180DegreeHealth Facebook page last night. Sort of a “Guess this food” type of game based on the mineral content. Today, we square two foods off against one another. On the left side we have Sample Food A, weighing in at a whopping 100 grams. The challenger, Sample Food B also weighs in at 100 grams – an even head to head comparison of nutritional strength and prowess.
We could squabble about the merits and evils of every known food on the planet. Almost every food has it?upside and its downside. But this is?an interesting perspective to look at from a purely nutritionist point-of-view. For now, see if you can guess which two foods we are comparing here.
It should be noted that anywhere you see this little squiggly sign (~) it means that no data was compiled for that nutrient. It doesn’t mean that there isn’t’some of that?vitamin or mineral in the food itself. Don’t consider it a ZERO or that just wouldn’t be fair.
Consider the pic of Kuni above, host of Wheel of Fish, to be a clue as to what you will win if you successfully guess what’s in the boxes!
? 
RED SNAPPA!!!!
On the left: breakfast cereal.
On the right – a plain potato?
Oh, or a banana?
You’re getting dangerously close to identifying Sample B already Stephanie! Don’t spoil the game too early!
Ha!
And on the right!
You mean like junky cereal on the left and “healthy” cereal on the right? LOL
Yes!
Hopefully we’re not comparing anything “fortified” here, like sugary cereals, breakfast bars, etc. You can fortify a snowcone and make it full of vitamins/minerals.
Hadn’t thought of that. Of course.
noting! absolutely noting! stooopid, yo so stoooopid!
The one on the left is super close to an Egg McMuffin :)
Left, something with grains and cheese, on the right a sweet potato?
Man you are getting super close Crystal.
cheese and apples
Co-winner, with the Apples guess.
The one on the left is definitely Pizza!
I wouldn’t be surprised if the one on the left is a Domino’s 14″ Cheese Pizza :)
The right side one is definitely not a Potato..Potatoes have Selenium and that chart is showing 0% for Selenium.
Left cheese pizza, right sweet potato
Only 1% RDA of Vitamin A in a sweet potato? Try again. Neither food is a potato. The one on the left is definitely not a whole food based on its sodium content.
Mac & Cheese on the left.
Poop on the left… and diarrhea on the right! I win!!!
poop maybe, but right can’t be diarrhea since diarrhea contains vitamin B12
This is completely unrelated, but you can use low-carb bread as a sponge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdDfF4hXfj4
I thought you’d find this as funny as I did.
That was pretty incredible.
Oh wow! That’s hilarious!
I haven’t ever tried Julian Bakery’s low carb bread, but one reason I absolutely never want to eat store bought gluten free bread is that the bread usually has a consistency of dried sponges…blech.
If anyone knows of any non-spongelike gluten free bread, please let me know. :)
Udi’s brand isn’t bad, especially toasted!
“since diarrhea contains vitamin B12”
Bobak,
Are you doing the AV’s Primal Diet? hehehe!
lol, i think you should be asking Half Navajo that question haha
i would think the one on the left definitely has dairy in it – since it is higher in vitamin a and calcium. it also is high in the B Vitamins, so I’m thinking it has some grains in there.. possibly a pizza?
On the right, it is only relatively high in vitamin C so maybe a fruit of some sort?
the right looks like an apple.
We have a winner! That’s an apple on the right, the symbol of nutrition.
i said apple too :D
and cheese on the left
Thanks Matt Stone. I was pretty surprised but the apple stood out to me as I had researched this not so long ago when I started wondering how much VitC there would be in apple juice if there were no supplemental ascorbic acid in it.
cheee steak on the left? iron says beefy to me.
If you’re trying to make the point that a “unhealthy food” is actually healthy by showing it has a better nutritional profile than a “healthy food” you should not compare the foods by weight but instead by a certain amount of calories.
Dense foods definately have their benefits by having a low water content and such. But making a food denser by for example drying it (eg. fruit) does not make it more nutritious. The point I’m trying to make is nutritional density =/= nutritional value so it’s not a fare comparison if one is much denser.
Thanks Franz Fuhrman! You’re right that Sample B on the right is much less calorie-dense than the sample on the left. Part of the sleight of hand of comparing these two foods. If you want a per calorie matchup multiply the nutrient contents in Sample B by 5.2
And that still makes the pizza compare well agains the apple :)
And hey, I’m no Fuhrman! I put the ” ” thingies there for a reason. I just though you were making the apple (not that I knew it was an apple :P) look bad.
Okay okay you guys did well. It’s Pepperoni pizza vs. a raw apple.
Point of post…
1) Definitely more to consider when choosing food than vitamin and mineral content
2) If you are avoiding things like pizza, burgers, ice cream, etc. because you think they are “empty calories” you are dead wrong
Milk on the left?
Hey All,
I don’t mean to intrude on the game here, but I have something that I need to say to all of you.
I’ve been thinking about what I said the other day…
“I decided that I needed to forget everything I’ve learned, including Matt’s information, and go back in my mind to a time when I ate without any thought to what I was putting in my mouth and simply ate instinctively.”
I’ve decided that I need to stop reading health blogs. I really believe I’m on the right path finally, and I need to focus on what my body is telling me instead of outside voices. I get stuck in my head so easily, even when I think I’m doing good not letting myself get stuck in my head. Something someone says will easily get my head spinning again, so I think I need to go. I’ve done great healing my metabolism and learning what works good for me, now I need to take the next step and completely trust myself with what I’ve learned here, and the only way I’m going to succeed at that is to avoid getting distracted by more health talk.
I’ve truly enjoyed my time here and the many conversations we’ve had. You’ve helped me a lot, and I can’t thank you enough for that.
Thank you, Matt, for the information you share and the help you have given to me, and others. I have gained so much being here and reading your e-books.
Nola, I hope you get your thyroid issue taken care of and ultimately find the answers you are looking for. Thank you for our many conversations and helping me to sort through all the stress and confusion we’ve gone through in our efforts to sort things out for ourselves.
Julia, thank you for your thought provoking posts. I will continue to read over and over your post on happiness and weight loss. That has been my favorite post of yours hands down. It gave me so much inspiration, and continues to do so. It’s my shot of pick me up when I’m feeling down.
Thanks again, everyone, and good luck to all of you in your quest for healing and health.
Good for you Emma, I also find it confusing continually reading blogs, esp. the tater post. I hope I get to where you are soon!
Thanks Emma
Our conversations have been good.
I think you are doing a good thing – I hope it goes very well for you
All the best.
Atta girl Emma. It always makes me happy to see people just forget about health for awhile and remember being human. For health reasons. Congrats and best of luck.
Thanks guys. Bye.
Good luck Emma! Good for you!!
Matt, any chance of a post on iodine?
Get serious and write about Size 0.
OK, so was the pizza fortified with vitamins/minerals? At least the dough? I’m pretty sure all those B Vitamins aren’t found naturally in plain white bread, cheese or pepperoni.
Agree, I’m really not getting where the iron is coming from.
Pepperoni maybe?
I used to worry a lot more about nutrients, and then I read the Keys Minnesota semi-starvation experiment, in which supplemental vitamins had no effect on recovery. Or if they did have an effect, it was dwarfed compared to the effect of eating more calories.
Another interesting tidbit from that book: Peeing at night is a universal sign of not eating enough. Of course, it’s not necessarily the only cause.
Or its a nice sign of diabetes. Or of interstitial cystitis (I cured mine with billberry, over 14 years later I’m still going strong.) Or of drinking too much water.
Enjoyed the game, Matt!
On a totally different topic: Do you have any plans for a rewrite of 180 Diabetes? The old one is clearly not what you would say these days, but I need to know what you would say about it. People around me are are getting diagnosed way too frequently. Even a blog post would help. Cheers, love your work.
A course of gymnema sylvestre will kick that right in the butt. Its not terribly expensive and it is highly effective.
It’s still on track in many ways. I hope to revise all my books eventually. Andrew Kim has written a very interesting post recently, and plans to submit some content to 180D as well. Here’s his post on diabetes and tentative dietary recommendations… http://www.andrewkimblog.com/2013/03/diabetes-dangerous-fat-and-protective.html
Hi Matt,
Completely off topic but I thought I’d post it here so my question hopefully has a better chance of being answered. I’m 7 weeks pregnant and am nauseous all day, every day. I can barely eat and when I do there’s only a few foods I can tolerate, like French fries, ice cream, and toast. I’m worried that I’m not getting enough nutrients and the nausea prevents me from enjoying anything in daily life. Have you had any experience helping pregnant ladies with nausea? Thanks!
It’s going to be mostly about getting in the S’s, which sounds like exactly what your body is wanting. I would try to eat those with gusto.
Tatertot, if you are around, or Matt, could the potato hack work for weight loss with a small amount of coconut oil to make the potatoes less dry? Or would that increase caps too much or would the fatty acids interfere with what the starch does. I read the article Matt linked to about how lowering fat and increasing sugars/ carbs? Can improve insulin resistance and help diabetics. I can’t remember exactly what it said, were starches beneficial or jmostly fruit sugar? I know coconut oil is metabolized different from other fats being able to bypass liver and be used for quick energy so that is why I ask about it in particular. Thanks.
A small amount probably wouldn’t undermine it. But it would have to be very small, probably no more than a tablespoon a day. The potatoes shouldn’t be dry though. Just boil some red or gold potatoes, let them cool, then slice them in half and salt them. I loved eating potatoes this way, even as a kid. And I still eat them this way now sometimes, just because I like them that way.
Thanks Matt. I’ll give that a try. Not for too long though as I’m really enjoying my new free spirited way of eating that you have introduced me to. Your blog is and has been great therapy for me. Much better and more cost effective than psychologists and shrinks I’ve been to.
Increase calories too much not caps, sorry