Sugar and salt I understand. Do you have more info on the oils? Have not heard that before.
Re:Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?
by abecedarius on Saturday March 21, 2015 @02:11PM
(#9243620)
Nutrition is poorly understood, but we do know that seed oils have a different profile than what people used to eat, and their high omega-6 fraction promotes inflammation. On the bright side there seems to be a reduction in heart disease (with some of them like olive oil) from their polyunsaturated fatty acids, which however doesn't improve all-cause mortality.
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/seed-oils-and-... gets into a little of the picture.
Personally I take a flaxseed oil supplement (for high omega-3), often fry in olive oil, and try to minimize seed oils otherwise. (I don't try that hard, but my intake has changed since learning about this.)
Salt intake I wouldn't worry about unless you have a specific issue making it a problem.
Disclaimer: layperson.
Re:Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?
by nostrebored on Saturday March 21, 2015 @09:36PM
(#9245123)
A ton of cheap food uses hydrogenated oils, which have been shown to have negative impact on your circulatory system.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogenation#Health_implicatio...
Re:Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?
by abecedarius on Saturday March 21, 2015 @10:56PM
(#9245363)
Oh yes, I forgot to even mention them because they're an automatic 'no' to me.
Some people think freezing food destroys its quality, but I think that the evidence for that is weak and fails to regard the loss of quality that comes from keeping things in the fridge for another day.
When I stopped eating ready meals I lost a kilo in a week, I believe (believe) that happened largely because I dropped so much salt out of my diet and therefore I was retaining much less water.
Buy things fresh, make meals and freeze them. This will allow you to cook good things quickly in the evening. Spend an afternoon and make a chicken casserole, a beef stew, a lasagne, a cottage pie and a fish pie. Freeze in portions (aim for five from each) and you have weeks of quick, nutritious and delicious food that means that you will not be stuffing yourself with rubbish.
But also buy a steamer and make sure that you have a large portion of steamed green veg every day. You're five a day can have one orange juice and a couple of bits of fruit, but a decent wodge of green is really important. Tender stem broccoli, greens, cabbage, peas, beans... all take about 30 seconds to prepare and 3-4 minutes to stem (tip: only put a mugful of water in the steamer, it will boil fast and then cook the greens just as well as 4 inches would).