Diet and Freediving

[Cliff Etzel]

Due to some recent experiences with store bought meat and some mild cases of food poisoning, I've written meat off for the immediate future. Since having done that, I've discovered that my craving for protein has increased a fair amount. I have been supplementing with Brown Rice Protein powder and soy milk, combining brown rice with various forms of beans and legumes but I hear conflicting stories about the con's of living on a vegetarian diet - especially with the consumption of soy based foods.

I came across this book called The Thrive Diet by Brendan Brazier, a top level endurance athlete who also is a vegetarian. I wondered if any of the more informed members regarding this topic might be able to share their experiences one way or the other.

[wes]

Hey Cliff,

Life Extension foundation has some interesting articles about vegetarianism and supplements that help with that route. I have been strict vegetarian for a few years and now I eat a "plant based diet featuring raw food" which does mean some meat. I try to eat only meat that I would eat raw, even if its cooked, and try to eat raw meat as much as I can when I am eating meat.

As for the strict vegetarian diet, for sure do not replace dairy products for meat, there is lots of scientific evidence showing dairy is way worse than meat. The exception to this is whey protein which lacks the hard to digest part of dairy protein. Whey is excellent protein and used by tons of athletes for sports recovery drinks.

I drink silk unsweetened soymilk and tofo and thats about it for soy products. I eat tons of nuts and berries (really!!). If you buy berries in season from locals they will give you great deals in bulk and you can freeze them for year round eating. Also buy nuts in bulk raw and then freeze them and roast them as you eat them. I bought a few years back 200 lbs of raw hulled filberts for $2/lbs and froze them and they are great out of the freezer and roasted on a cookie sheet in our convection oven. We freeze about 500 lbs of berries a year and we pay average $2/lb so cost $1,000 total. If you would buy these frozen berries in the store in the winter would cost you $6 to $10/lbs and they taste much worse!! We eat oatmeal every morning with currants, berries apples oats soymilk and raw pecans (most pecans are raw) and make oatmeal snacks for later in the day too.

Anyway enough for now. Read the China Study book if you still are eating milk and cheese, that researcher is very pro vegetarian.

cheers Wes Lapp

[WillUnderwater]

While I am not a vegeterian - I do eat very limited meats (hardly any red meats) A good option would be canned tuna which is pretty darn safe. Portabellos and other mushrooms sauteed up are a good vegeterian option as well with a meaty taste.

[trux]

Originally Posted by NitroWill

A good option would be canned tuna which is pretty darn safe.

I hate to disappoint you but tuna is really very far from being darn safe. It is well known to be often polluted by mercury and other heavy metals, as well by histamine. Some governments recommend the maximal monthly amounts to be consumed, and recommend pregnant women considerably lower limits or avoiding it altogether.

Not that I would like to discourage you from eating tuna, but relying on it as the main source of proteins is not wiser than eating other types of meat or fish.

Well, that told, today there is practically nothing that is not polluted. I think the only way to cope with it, is having a rich choice of food - eating everything, not limiting you just to certain type of food. Once you start removing certain types of food from your menu, you will not only get less needed stuff into your body, but you start cumulating the same type of toxins. Oppositely, when you keep on eating rich, being rather selective on the quality than the type of food, the body will take what it needs from it, and the toxins and other pollutants will not hit you as bad as if you eat the same type of food all the time.

PS: I also know people who avoid canned tuna, because it often contains a considerable percentage of dolphin meat from the by-catch.

[Gera]

Every food contains some protein, indeed-- including fruit.
But to add to these less-protein-rich foods, one may eat raw egg yolks to consume protein adequately.

I eat many, many yolks and some raw fish (often together) as part of my diet. Most of what I consume is a good variety of raw fruit, sweet and otherwise (tomato, courgette, ....). I also eat some type of fat or oil with fruit or with sashimi or other raw animal food or yolks.

You may take added methionine to increase the quality of protein you are eating, as it is in relatively low supply in all protein-containing foods. You might do this if you still think what you are not eating enough protein for your body's needs.


It is amazing to find the right foods for the body-- the body then has a feeling of ease and 'rightness' that makes eating a relatively simple diet very satisfying.

[SBOffshore]

I've learned that one of the best sources of protein is Whey Protein Isolate. It's easy to digest and packs about 17 - 20 grams of protein per one ounce scoop. I buy it in bulk and sweeten it with Stevia. Most store bought brands contain sugar or sucralose plus a lot of other additives.

Don't confuse this with Whey Protein Concentrate. Isolate is what you want. Here is a link to a page with some of the benefits:

Whey Protein Institute - Benefits of whey protein

[hteas]

Cliff,
I work on contaminants in Alaska's fish. You could could do much worse than include as much wild Alaskan salmon in your diet as you can afford. ; ))
Mercury levels we see in Alaskan salmon are typically about 0.03-0.04 ppm for all five species. The US EPA has a guideline of 0.3 ppm, and the US FDA says it shouldn't be sold if over 1 ppm. The organochlorine contaminants (PCBs, PBDEs, Dioxins/Furans, and organochlorine pesticides) are almost all well below any guideline. Oxychlordane, a breakdown product of Chlordane, is the only one anywhere near guideline levels.

In addition, salmon is not only good for you, but it's good!!! And, yes, I really do eat it several times each week. : )

Howard

[naiad]

Good to know that. I like tinned pink or red salmon.

[efattah]

I have tried doing the raw plant food diet, as well as regular vegetarian, as well as paleolithic diet, faigin diet, and a 'standard' diet.

There is a famous and controversial book called 'Eat Right for your Blood Type.' The claim is that a vegetarian diet may or may not be suitable for you based on your blood type. While highly controversial, my experience has shown that some people thrive on vegetarian diets. Others will *never* thrive on them.

I for one do not thrive on vegetarian diets. However, having said that, I still have loads of options. One diet that worked well was 100% raw plant food for 2 weeks, followed by 2 weeks of a more normal diet including meat, and alternating.

On a raw plant food diet, I felt good for about 2 months, after which I deteriorated rapidly until I my body pretty much fell apart and collapsed after 8 months.

Laminar and I have both read Brendan Brazier's book (he is a local and also a friend of a friend). Laminar has followed Brazier's diet for periods. However it produces copious amounts of gas as it contains so many legumes.

Keep in mind that meat isn't just protein. It contains many nutrients not found in vegetables, include Carnitine, arachidonic acid and various obscure enzymes (especially when raw).

While adding whey protein isolate or yellow pea protein may help, these only give you the protein (as well as some other unique compounds), but still omit many of meat's nutrients.

I have also tried raw eggs, as well as raw meats. In particular, if you can find a source of raw game meats such as Caribou, then there is virtually no chance of contaminants. Cooked very rare or seared on the outside (blue on the inside), such high quality meat can be added VERY rarely to a vegetarian diet (perhaps once every 3 weeks). Even at that frequency it has the power to counter the meat abstinence effects for those people who can't thrive on pure vegetarian diets.

Organic beef can be pretty good. Keep in mind that supermarket beef may be worse in the higher grades. A friend worked at Costco and told me that the AAA grade of beef tenderloin is injected with trans fatty acid and other tenderizing compounds for 28 days. However the A grade is not (and is also less tender). Almost all supermarket meats are colorized.

Organic meats and/or game meats can avoid most of these problems.

The comment about methionine is very good. During the late stages of my raw food diet I started taking methionine in a desperate attempt to try to address the multitude of deficiencies I was developing.

One way or another, vegetarian diets are COMPLICATED. They require a far greater pro-action and knowledge of nutrition in order to thrive.

[efattah]

One last comment is the moment you go vegetarian, you should really consider taking supplemental iron. I believe 95% of freedivers are iron deficient, even eating red meat, and you omit that and you will become anemic as I did.

[SBOffshore]

Erich,

Since you have tried so many different types of diets, what specifically do you recommend for recreational freediving. I've got a trip to the Keys coming up next month and plan on spending a lot of time exploring the reefs and wrecks. I know everyone is different and should listen to their own bodies, but what routine have you found to be ideal in the weeks prior to an event, and during the days of diving? I've got the low fat part, but I've been reading conflicting information about "carbing up" the night before a day of diving. Also, what do you recommend during the day? What works for you?

Steve