New GDR Diet: Guaranteed Regeneration!

What is the best way to design a healthy diet ? The tables that classify foods according to the predominance in their composition of some nutrients do not reflect very essential elements that are equally necessary for health. On the other hand, following them would force us to carry out continuous and complex calculations on a daily basis to try to adjust the calories, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, mineral salts and essential vitamins for each meal.

Can you imagine doing complex equations every time you prepare a “balanced” meal ? Try it: take a simple sandwich – whatever it is – and deduct the amounts in grams of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids that you will eat. Then look for a nutritional table and find out what proportions you will obtain of the recommended amounts of each essential amino acid, lipid, vitamin and mineral … And then do the same with breakfast, with the three dishes of the noon meal, with the snack and with the dinner plates …

Regenerating diet

Perhaps it is easier to leave aside the reductionist nutritional tables and classify foods based on other parameters that provide more substantial information. The objective of this new classification is to reflect the complex reality that revolves around food.

Quality instead of quantity. It is more illuminating and healthier to separate foods according to their overall positive or negative contribution, that is, to use a classification that informs us of the qualitative, instead of focusing only on the quantitative. Thus, most of the foods that predispose to good health can be classified as ” generative foods ” of life.

On the other hand, those foods that negatively alter biological processes or that contain toxic or potentially harmful substances can be classified as ” degenerative foods “. Finally, there is a third group of foods that have more than proven to have positive effects on metabolic processes, preventive of certain health disorders and even therapeutic for numerous ailments. We are faced with foods that can be classified as ” regenerative foods. ” Classification that we call the ” GDR index of food “.

Effect on the body. A refined and industrially processed food can show a nutritional composition similar to a natural and whole food, however they are very different. If we eat a nutritionally “balanced” food made with refined and reconstituted elements, we are likely to provoke an inflammatory response in the body. On the other hand, a natural and fresh food – for example, an avocado at its point of maturity – generates a very beneficial anti-inflammatory reaction.

The key is to choose well. Ideally, our diet should include the highest possible proportion of regenerative foods, followed by generative foods and little or no degenerative foods. And that we avoid high temperatures when preparing them. As simple as that.

With a vegetable base. Almost all regenerative foods are vegetables. Every day more scientific articles appear that highlight that a diet rich in vegetables lengthens life because it reduces the incidence of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, which are the main causes of death.

The GDR list of foods

Regenerating foods

They not only nourish, but support physical and mental health and well-being.

• Vegetables and fruits : Especially those with intense colors, raw.
• Nuts : Without salting or roasting, they provide essential fatty acids such as omega-3.
• Cereals : As long as they are whole, little elaborated and of organic production.
• Mushrooms : Shiitake, maitake or reishi contain immunity boosters.
• Condiments : Turmeric, ginger, saffron … offer antioxidants and anti-inflammatories.
• EVOO oil : Extra virgin olive oil provides healthy fat and antioxidant polyphenols.
• Medicinal plants : They are a natural pharmacy of active substances.
• Proobiotics : They provide beneficial bacteria to the microbiota, key to health.

Generating foods

They provide substances necessary for life.

• Bread : Made in the traditional way, in moderate doses, provides energy.
• Legumes : They are the healthiest source of protein, accompanied by fiber and vitamins.
• Cooked vegetables : They have less nutrients, but they are still healthy.
• Vegetable oils : Better if they are extra virgin (first cold pressing).

Degenerative foods

They alter biological processes.

• Refined flours: They cause a variety of metabolic disorders.
• White sugar : Inflames, subtracts nutrients and modifies the intestinal flora.
• Salty snacks : They contain too much sodium, additives and altered fats.
• Red meat and dairy : made with additives and added sugars are degenerative.