The unhealthiest one

[at_anchor]

People say drink a glass of milk, it will help you sleep. But I kind of feel I can't sleep after some dairy.

How would you order these foods from the worst to better:

• Hydrogenated/refined oil
• Dairy
• Gluten
• Soy
• Sugar

I think the most important part is not diet, but water, sleep, etc.

Okay, so that's about all I have to ask now.

[Yarco]

Depends on your body and what you can tolerate.

If you're lactose intolerant, milk is gonna mess you up but you can eat bread just fine.

If you're gluten intolerant, bread is gonna mess you up but you can drink milk just fine.

Generally I'd rank best-worst from least to most processed.

Refined oil is probably always going to be the worst, especially canola/vegetable oils. Olive oil and coconut oils less bad especially if you aren't heating them.

Sugar is usually super refined as well. Using honey or maple syrup would be better, but still not great.

Soy - Eating edamame is better than eating tofu, which is better than eating soy sauce

Gluten - Eating no bread is better than eating sourdough, which is better than whole wheat, which is better than eating white bread

Dairy - Drinking sheep or goat milk is better than drinking cows milk. Drinking something fermented like kefir is better than unfermented. Drinking unhomogenized milk from a grass-fed free-range cow is better than typical store-bought milk.

[Michael569]

It is not a black & white question apart from hydrogenated fats.

• Hydrogenated Fats - harmful
• Sugar - conditionally problematic where it leads to weight gain, overconsumption and fibre displacement. 
• refined oils (non-trans unsaturated) - probably neutral, potentially beneficial where they replace saturated fats
• gluten - conditionally problematic (for Coeliacs or those with genetic tendency towards Coeliac) otherwise not problematic 
• Dairy - conditionally problematic for lactose intolerance/allergic people.  High-fat is more problematic (may increase prostate cancer, breast cancer risk) than low-fat which may potentially be even beneficial in small quantities. Fermented low-fat dairy seems to be mostly beneficial. 
• Soy - mostly beneficial (except for people with soy allergies). Protein powders potentially problematic if contaminated. Excessive consumption of fermented soy especially miso and nato potentially problematic due to high sodium content. 

 

Edited October 20, 2022 by Michael569

[Jannes]

Only Hydrogenated/ refined oils is "objectively unhealthy“. @Michael569 said it perfectly, if you have a healthy diet as a base and don’t have any allergies against any of these foods you can eat all of them lol. Worry more about what you can add to your diet rather then what you should take out.  

Edited October 20, 2022 by Jannes

[Leo Gura]

1) That oil

2) Sugar

Those others will depend on your genetics and also the quality of the foods you pick.

Big difference between a glass of raw milk vs a bucket of ice cream.

Categories like dairy and gluten are way too broad.

Edited October 21, 2022 by Leo Gura

[at_anchor]

@Leo Gura What about just like standard pasturized milk, kefir, cream, and feta cheese, stuff with no aditives? Gluten here can mean just like whole grain wheat or regular wheat flour which can then be used to make bread without using  any of that oil or sugar.

I took one of those allergen tests once, but I don't remember if it tested for gluten and lactose. Sometimes bread can be healthier than low quality potatoes filled with pesticides or something,  I know. 

 

[Leo Gura]

There is no clear answer. You must ultimately just see how eating that stuff makes you feel.

Learn to listen to your body.

Edited October 22, 2022 by Leo Gura

[Phil777]

@Michael569 great analysis. But with this kinda nuance it's hard to write a diet book with a catchy cover slogan.

[Michael569]

@Phil777 which is exactly why you can't trust 9/10 nutrition books because it is a biased cherry picking. The reality of what seems to be the ideal diet ain't all that exciting and flashy ? 

Edited October 22, 2022 by Michael569