I'm trying to supplement my diet with some healthy oils, flax seeds, etc. If I eat the quantities I see recommended, there is no space for regular foods.
I'm curious as to what others here supplement with (oils, fibers, etc.) and how you work it into your daily menu.
I'm a calorie counter, but I don't count the calories in my fish oil capsules because I don't consider it a food. I may be alone, lol. Fiber goes right through you, so some people don't count it either, unless you take a supplement that contains sugar and other ingredients.
Susanne, I'm not really considering the calories, just fitting it in with other foods. Some of these supplemental foods (more so than vitamins or minerals) really fill you up.
Right now I'm trying to add back flaxseed oil. I'm taking 1 T a day (it's often recommended to take 2 T.) I do have eczema and am trying to increase the Omega 3's.
I also have been reading about coconut oil, and it is often recommended to take 3-4 T, which is an awful lot. I know my body does well on additional oils, so I want to give this a try. I did 3 T. yesterday, though today I am going to drop back to 2 teaspoons 3x a day, which is 2T.
Then try to toss in a tablespoon or so of ground flax seed, or of wheatgerm or psyllium (which I do not use, but others do) and there is almost no room for REAL foods...which the perhaps of a whole food diet is.
Logically I know the idea of the whole foods diet is NOT to use lots of supplemental foods and right now I am working on the happy medium.
Are you taking the coconut oil for any specific reason? There has been a lot of controversy about the recommendations to take it. The websites that recommend it always seem to have financial stake in the coconut oil business. The American Heart Association still says to avoid it, and the cons seem to outweigh the pros.
Quote:
Where does the American Heart Association weigh in on coconut oil as an aid to weight loss? "I would be very pessimistic about this, says Robert Eckel, MD, the Association's spokesman on nutrition. He says he's concerned about the effects of high levels of saturated fat. "This is going to be a cholesterol-raising diet."
He says he also doubts claims that coconut oil can boost metabolism. "People have looked in the past as to whether MCTs have thermogenic properties, and I think the answer is pretty well negative. Generally, saturated fats tend not to be as well [metabolized], so if it does have any ability to promote heat generation, it's going to be minimal."
Eckel says coconut oil's effect on metabolism, if any, is modest compared with the potential for raising overall cholesterol and particularly "bad" LDL cholesterol. "Ingesting coconut oil for a short period of time will not do harm, but I'm concerned about the long haul."
I like the benefits of flax seed, but I don't take both flax seed oil and flax seeds on the same day. I usually just add flax seeds to a smoothie. I'd be interested in hearing what everyone else does
I grind flaxseed and add it my oatmeal. I also sprinkle it on fat-free cottage cheese with my wheat germ, fruit, and almonds. I've added it to things like meatloaf and other baked stuff, too.
I take a fish oil capsule with my other vitamins in the morning and don't count it in my calories. I add 2 tbs. ground flax to my oatmeal or protein pancake, and do count those calories. I also add 1 tsp psyllium husk and they have virtually no calories.
Everything I've read about coconut oil recently also indicates more cons than pros. If you want to add more unsaturated oils, try using walnut oil in your salad dressings. It has loads of benefits and tastes good, too.
The recommendations I've read say we should not add additional good oils to our diets, but take a closer look at the fats we already eat and replace the them with the better fats.
I can't do the flax seed thing. Tastes like cardboard to me, no matter what I add it to or what I add to it. I've tried and tried. I actually like wheat germ, so I sprinkle it here and there on stuff when I feel like it.
I recently started taking a fish oil capsule if I haven't had fish that day and if I remember. When I run out I don't know if I'll continue or not.
I take an over-50 multi vitamin b/c it's got a lot of extra B's and is cheaper than the specifically-B-heavy multivitamins and has a little extra calcium, which I get plenty of in my food but it can't hurt. I think the B's help my mood; this might be a placebo effect, for sure, but I'll take a good placebo effect any day.
Not to hijack the thread, but maybe someone on here has a suggestion on something I haven't had a chance to really look into, though--
I added a glucosamine-chondroitin supplement about 3 weeks ago because I have some injury arthritis I hope to get a handle on, but I think it makes me nauseous sometimes. The one pharmacist I mentioned this to just shrugged (that makes me nuts!); a friend said some brands made him feel ill and some didn't, but couldn't tell me which because he didn't seem to get any benefit from it and stopped (his arthritis is pretty crippling already) and couldn't remember which he'd had trouble with. No one else I know that takes it has had a problem. Suggestions very welcome, as I think it's making a difference already.
I sprinkle 2 tbsp of wheat germ and 1 tsp of flaxseed oil on my cereal every morning. I love it!
I made a great salad today by cutting up a cucumber and then putting 12 baby carrots in the food processor with 2 tsp of flaxseed oil. I processed the carrots and oil until it was smooth, then heaped it on top of the cucumbers with a little salt and pepper. Delicious!
I am an avid coconut oil user and I love it! It has given me energy and I have had no adverse side affects at this point. I tend to have very serious issues with the reasonings behind those "cons" that people point out...but I won't get into that here. If you choose to start using it then just use it like you would any other oil...cook with it bake with it, etc. If you have the expeller pressed kind that has no odor or coconut flavor then use it everywhere you'd use vegetable or canola oil. If you have the kind that tastes more like coconut then you are a little more limited unless you like everything tasting like coconut! My absolute FAVORITE use for coconut oil (especially the coconutty flavored one) is to pop my popcorn in it...delish!
As for flax seed oil...do you make smoothies? Just blend some into your smoothies or yogurt in the mornings. This is an easy way to get it into your diet. Also use flax oil to make salad dressing. You can even sprinkle the flax seeds onto a salad. I prefer the flax meal (ground seeds) and I throw them into anything I bake. I just remove a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the flour and add flax seed meal instead. Seems to work so far.
I put ground flax seed into whatever hot cereal we're having (usually oatmeal for me) and DH also puts it on cold cereal but I don't like it that way. I like the idea of baking with it, but I seldom bake anything these days. The oil is good on salads, and I'm going to try the walnut oil.... I think overall you'll do much better putting it in things rather than just taking teaspoons full. It gives me shuddery memories of some awful oily orange juice mixture my mom used to give us when I was little.
Working in supplemental foods/oils
