LCHQ Food Up Close

There are of course many types of foods that fit within the definition of LCHQ, but here is a list of my favorites with a description of why they are of such high quality.

LEGUMES contain high levels of protein and carbohydrates, and are very much worth their price. The number of carbs varies, but their glycemic index is always low. Since legumes do contain carbs, you can’t eat them in large quantities when keeping to the LCHQ diet, but a reasonable amount is encouraged. Among legumes, there are lentils, peas, and beans—all of which are superfoods. They protect against many forms of cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and osteoporosis, and they also help maintain your weight. Colorful legumes, such as black beans and lentils or kidney beans, contain a significant amount of nutrients. There has been speculation about whether or not the phytoestrogen in soybeans could have a negative effect on male fertility but new research shows that this concern is unfounded (48).

All legumes contain something called lectin, which is a type of protein that exists naturally in beans, lentils, and peas, and inhibits the breakdown of starch. This is a good thing, because it contributes to a lower glycemic index. However, it can also cause negative effects, so it’s important to maintain a balance. The main idea is to refrain from eating enough legumes to cause gas, diarrhea, or an upset stomach, since these conditions indicate you have had too much. Lectins will deactivate as a result of too much heat, so proper cooking is important. Generally, lentils and peas contain lower levels of lectin than beans, and the canned option is better than the dried ones, since drying implies that the container itself has been exposed to heat.

MOLLUSKS such as octopuses, mussels, and oysters are delicious protein bombs and are one of man’s original food sources. One of my true favorites is the green-lipped mussel from the freezer aisle. It’s generally pretty large, and the meat sticks to the shell. Plus, the meat contains the highly anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acid ETA.

BOUILLON is a great way to season your food without adding unnecessary calories. You can add a cube or a small piece to boiling rice, quinoa, meat sauce, and so on. It will provide a lot of flavor. Make sure you don’t choose those that contain trans fats or flavor enhancers.

BERRIES are an extremely good source of antioxidants, regardless of whether they are frozen, fresh, or dried. In principle, all nutrients remain when the berries are frozen and are concentrated when they are dried. Watch out for sweetened berries, since they will take you above the carbohydrate limit. Berry powder is also a great way to enrich food with antioxidants, and can be found in various forms in the health food store.

FISH is a staple for all LCHQ menus. Regardless of which type you choose, the protein in fish will do wonders. They fill you up more per calorie when compared to other proteins and will reduce your blood pressure while simultaneously improving your sensitivity to insulin. Many people eat too little fish because they simply don’t think they know how to prepare it. First of all, it’s way simpler to cook fish than most people believe. The easiest way is to prepare a fish soup based on fish stock and vegetables; just remove it from the liquid from the stove and add pieces of raw salmon and white fish. The fish doesn’t necessarily have to boil in order to be cooked, and this technique makes for a delicious soup. Secondly, there are several practical solutions to turn to: smoked or cured fish, vacuum sealed fish, canned tuna, mackerel, and sardines, as well as pickled herring. Sure, some of these alternatives contain small amounts of sugar, but it’s insignificant and the benefits are infinitely greater than any negative effect.

There’s also the opportunity of safely eating raw fish in the form of sushi and sashimi. Additionally, raw Salma salmon is currently marketed as free from parasites, meaning it doesn’t need to be frozen and can be eaten straight from the package. It’s perfect for ad hoc sashimi.

I don’t think you need to be intimidated by the thought of cooking fresh fish either—such as tuna, halibut, or cod.

Frozen fish is also fantastic. When fatty fish is frozen, a vacuum is usually created or the packaging is infused with nitrogen. This minimizes the oxygen, keeping the fish from going rancid and prolonging its shelf life. Nowadays, the grocery store stocks bags of frozen fish pieces, which is perfect for storing in the freezer for those days when you want to make a soup or stir fry.

STOCKS are great for casseroles, soups, etc. The nutrition labels often provide more clarity than those of bouillon cubes, and it’s easy to find meat and vegetable stocks without flavor enhancers.

FRUIT. There are some people who claim that you can get fat from fruit. I argue that this is completely unfounded. Studies show that those who eat fruit every day are thinner than others (49, 50, 51)—fruit is one of the leanest types of foods there are. Only about 10 percent of a piece of fruit consists of carbohydrates. So a pear with 100 grams of “flesh” contains approximately 11 percent (11 grams) of carbs. Keeping in mind that the 20 percent from carbs the LCHQ diet calls for allows for 125 grams of carbs, this means that if you expend 2,500 calories per day, there is a whole lot of room for fruit snacking—as long as you keep your intake of carbs from other sources low. Once you’ve weaned yourself off of refined sugar, the sweetness of the fruit will become a real enjoyment and you can eat your favorite fruits every day guilt-free.

One trick is to cut the fruit into small bites and arrange them on a plate; this will make it feel a little more fancy than eating an apple straight up. Fruit contains more nutrients than just carbs. For example, pineapple and papaya contain enzymes that help your body break down protein. A small fruit salad with these fruits as a basis will therefore help your digestive system.

SEEDS are a real superfood when it comes to nutrients and the glycemic index. First of all, they make for a cocktail of healthy nutrients, such as fats, antioxidants, protein, vitamins, minerals, and extremely slow-acting carbohydrates—if any at all. Secondly, they delay the gastric emptying, so that the food and blood sugar is released into the body more slowly. This is why seeds have a natural glycemic index-reducing effect. Whether you choose flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or psyllium seeds makes no difference—they’re all great for you. However, the smallest seeds, such as flaxseed and sesame seeds, should be crushed before consumption in order for you to access their nutrients.

POULTRY. Chicken is the most common form of poultry in the grocery store, but don’t forget about goose, turkey, ostrich, and duck—all of which have great nutritional value. High amounts of protein combined with a relatively low fat content makes these appropriate for LCHQ, as long as you don’t forget to add fat from other sources as well. My personal favorite is the chicken thigh fillet, which is much more delicious than the chicken breast.

One advantage of poultry is that it contains less iron than red meat and is therefore less inflammatory. Red meat is only preferably if you suffer from an iron deficiency, and then wild meat and game is always the best option.

GRAIN. Oatmeal, rye flakes, and barleycorn are all rich in carbohydrates, so there’s little room for them in the LCHQ diet. However, when you need carbs, these are a great solution. They contain many antioxidants and seem to protect against type 2 diabetes, some forms of cancer, and cardiovascular disease. The more intact the grain’s structure, the more filling it will be, so it might be best to choose whole grain oats, whole grain wheat, or pearl barley.

VEGETABLES. If a food group is to be awarded the title of “best food in the universe,” chances are good it will be vegetables. They’re beautiful, delicious, and versatile. There are so few dishes in which vegetables don’t have a place, either as an ingredient or a garnish. Vegetables are also often worth their price and are environmentally friendly. The list of their health benefits is long. Vegetables reduce blood pressure and expand the blood vessels, are anti-inflammatory, reduce blood fat, and are good for your weight. They also increase insulin sensitivity and reduce the risk of many types of cancer, and they enable your brain to thrive. Vegetables also help the stomach by providing it with the right type of (water-soluble) fibers.

If your stomach is sensitive to raw vegetables, you can cook them. This not only makes them easier to digest, but also helps you absorb the nutrients better. Antioxidants are often easier to absorb if you cook the vegetables—the process of which will also be improved if you add fat. There are, of course, hundreds—if not thousands—of vegetables from around the world to choose from, but these are some of my favorites in terms of flavor and nutritional value: eggplant, squash, bell pepper, tomato (crushed, sundried, purée), avocado, corn, all types of lettuce, broccoli and other types of cabbage, asparagus, Jerusalem artichoke, artichoke, and sprouts of all kinds. Onions, such as yellow and red, chives, garlic, scallions, and leeks contain sulfurous substances that are very nutritious and will boost your body’s own production of antioxidants.

HONEY naturally contains a lot of carbohydrates, but in small amounts it is perfectly all right in the LCHQ diet. Studies have found that honey not only keeps us thin, but also provides a healthy supplement of antioxidants. Despite honey’s sweetness, it has a low glycemic index. It’s also antibacterial and antiviral, which contributes to the soothing effect of honey-infused water. Make sure you don’t heat honey too much; the health benefits of honey decrease if it’s exposed to temperatures above 150°F (65°C). It doesn’t matter whether you choose liquid, solid, light, or dark honey, but more color means more antioxidants. Liquid honey contains more fructose than its solid equivalent, but otherwise they are similar.

COCONUT. The coconut isn’t really a nut. It’s actually a seed. which makes it edible for most people with nut allergies. Coconut oil consists of 60 to 70 percent short and medium saturated fats. These are more water-soluble than long-chain fatty acids, which are stored in your fat cells. Therefore, coconut oil doesn’t have the same ability to be stored as fat and is instead directly used to fuel the liver and the muscles. This causes an increased energy expenditure in the liver and increased amounts of energy your muscles can use. The latter provides you with more stamina and a desire to exercise and move. One thing that contributes to the workout benefits of eating short and medium saturated fats is that they can be sent directly to your muscles’ powerhouses. These are called the mitochondria and they serve to transform what you eat into a running stride or other forms of movement. Long-chain fats take longer to reach the mitochondria, since they require carnitine in order to be transported in. The medium and short-chain fats do not require carnitine and can therefore be burnt off much more quickly. Coconut oil also has a tendency to fill us up more than other fats. For example, don’t you find that a Thai curry can be really filling? One reason is because of the short- and medium-chain fats’ ability to be used directly in the liver, and when the body spends them, the liver’s temperature rises. A higher temperature reduces your appetite, which is something you’ve probably noticed during the summertime or while on vacation in a warm country. You simply don’t eat as much at these times, which makes it easier to maintain your weight.

One significant detail is that coconut oil contains about 5 percent fewer calories than other sources of fat, which can have a huge impact if you eat coconut oil on a daily basis. This is due to the high quantity of medium- and short-chain fatty acids, which naturally contain a lower calorie content. But just as with most fat, coconut oil can generate an energy surplus, which can cause weight gain. It’s just more difficult for this to occur with coconut oil than with other fats.

Another benefit is that the lauric acid found in coconut oil has antibacterial characteristics and can also be converted into monolaurin—a fatty acid with an very strong antibacterial effect. This can contribute to a better intestinal flora, better long-term gastrocolic health, and a stronger immune system. Research has also found that monolaurin can prevent yeast infections and protect against various intestinal parasites. Some studies have shown that it may protect against hepatitis, influenza, and the measles. A high level of lauric acid has also been shown to decrease the risk for depression, which sounds logical since the brain consists of fat. Thus, the quality of the fat will certainly affect brain functionality.

A fresh coconut contains approximately 33 percent fat, of which 90 percent is saturated. The coconut’s 9 percent fiber content is considered very high and the glycemic index is low. The 3.3 percent protein content is higher than in fruit, and coconuts specifically contain zinc, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, vitamin B6, and folic acid. It has also been claimed that coconut can increase the uptake of vitamins and minerals from other types of foods.

SPICES are a concentrate of antioxidants and lots of other exciting nutrients. Quite simply, almost all spices cause some form of health benefit. Saffron can stimulate the immune system (52), and black pepper and turmeric appear to serve as antidepressants, since they increase the level of serotonin in the brain (53, 54). Mustard appears to inhibit the growth of cancerous tumors (55), and ginger is highly anti-inflammatory (56). Wasabi has shown to protect against osteoporosis; cinnamon is known for balancing blood sugar levels so effectively that it’s a natural aid for type 2 diabetes (58). Curry exists in myriad forms—the common denominator of which is their high levels of antioxidants, which seem to prevent dementia and the decrease of mental capacity in the elderly (59).

The list of spices with positive health benefits can go on and on. Therefore, you should really use spices over artificial flavors, scents, and flavor enhancers. Since LCHQ relies on real food with many spices, you will receive that high-quality effect even here.

MEAT is also allowed in the LCHQ diet, for those who choose to eat it. Red meat is rich in protein, iron, vitamin B14, and other healthy substances, but unfortunately, the modern meat we are used to purchasing is not really that healthy. This is because livestock are fed carbohydrate-rich grain products that create long-chained saturated fats in the animals’ bodies. Additionally, the meat from cattle is too fatty. Wild animals are constantly in movement and are fit, which generates a leaner meat with unsaturated fat and even omega-3s. Research has found that beef from cattle increases inflammation, while game meat does not (10). Therefore, there is plenty of research that indicates that it’s not the meat itself that increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, cancer, and obesity, but the modern-day fat constellation that the meat contains (11). Plus, game is also preferable when it comes to ethical issues, and it causes less environmental waste than meat from livestock.

Air-dried game makes for a great snack and contains almost double the amount of protein as fresh meat. Ground game meat is also excellent. If one of your friends enjoys hunting, see if he/she will share some of the catch with you.

MAYONNAISE. Homemade mayonnaise is, of course, preferable to store bought, since you’ll only use natural ingredients. If you want to try making your own homemade mayonnaise, there are many great recipes online and in cookbooks. Even commercially available mayonnaise is fine to eat as long as it’s made with canola oil. Sure, it contains additives, but that’s not a particularly big problem, since they’re usually the more harmless types. You also should not eat high quantities of it.

DAIRY PRODUCTS are often great sources of protein. For example, hard cheese contains about 30 percent protein, beating out meat, poultry, and fish. Yogurt is also excellent, since it contains lactic acid bacteria that are good for your stomach and immune system. Cottage cheese and quark are high-quality, protein-rich, and low-fat foods that make tasty snacks. Adding cottage cheese to yogurt is a quick and inexpensive way of increasing the protein content in the food. Some yogurts contain a little more fat, but these are usually a good base for sauces and tzatziki. It also appears that dairy fat is better than we originally thought, for both your heart and overall fitness. This is due to the fact that dairy fat contains short and medium saturated fats, with a high content of monounsaturated omega-9 fat.

In general, it’s a good idea to choose lean dairy products, as long as you get fats from other healthy sources. It is, of course, very easy to get enormous amounts of calories from crème fraiche and heavy cream.

NUTS are some of the best things you can eat. They lower the glycemic index of the foods you eat them with, and they provide a lot of nutrients: healthy fats, proteins, fibers, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, as well as trace amounts of carbohydrates. It’s difficult to say which nuts are the healthiest, since they all have their benefits. Cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, and almonds all contain high levels of antioxidants, most of which you will find in those with the darkest inner shell. Walnuts are unique because of their high omega-3 content, whereas pecans actually win the antioxidant contest.

A very interesting study found that the anti-inflammatory capacity is actually higher in roasted nuts, as opposed to natural nuts (60). It’s unclear if this is true for all nuts, but it might not be a bad idea to choose the most delicious roasted nuts you can find for a snack, instead of chips, cheese doodles, and the like.

Brazil nuts are interesting because they contain a lot of selenium, of which many people suffer a deficiency. Selenium is important because it’s used in the body’s production of antioxidants, and a deficiency will increase the risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer. Research has found that it’s enough to eat just two Brazil nuts a day to cause a significant increase in the body’s levels of selenium and production of the body’s own antioxidant, called glutathione peroxidase, in the blood (62).

OLIVE OIL is what I personally use for just about everything I cook. It’s both delicious and contains better quality fat than most other oils. With 70 to 80 percent monounsaturated fat, it’s great for the heart, protects against type 2 diabetes, and helps us maintain our weight. In fact, it’s not only the monounsaturated fat in the olive oil that protects against cardiovascular disease (61) but also something else that we think is the polyphenol oleocanthal (antioxidant). This apparently has very strong anti-inflammatory characteristics and is even chemically related to ibuprofen (63). Oleocanthal provides olive oil with its bitter, peppery flavor, and the more flavor, the more likely it is that the oil contains high levels of the oleocanthal. It should also protect against inflammation in other parts of the body. Since autoimmune diseases, type 2 diabetes, and other painful things are caused by inflammation, olive oil is highly interesting.

Olive oil has also been found to protect against breast and colon cancer, probably due to the fact that it contains squalene, which is a relative of human cholesterol. Olive oil also contains the powerful antioxidants tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, both of which are antibacterial and can prevent gastrointestinal infections. Naturally, olives themselves are also very healthy and provide the body with such substances as fibers.

PROTEIN POWDER is a protein concentrate that is very useful—despite being a powder. If you’re thinking about buying protein powder, you should ensure that it’s clean—that is to say, free from fat, carbohydrates, and other additives such as sweeteners or scents. Many powders contain high levels of carbs, which generates an undesirable blood sugar response and violates the limit of 20 E% from carbohydrates within the LCHQ diet.

Carbs found in protein powder are rarely healthy, since they usually derive from refined sugars such as fructose or glucose, or highly glycemic forms of starch like maltodextrin. My advice is to refrain from overusing protein powder since there’s a risk of your developing lactose intolerance. In one portion containing 35 grams of protein, you receive as many carbs as in a quart of milk, so a couple of servings of protein powder every day provides an unnaturally high intake of proteins from a single source.

Protein powder is especially appropriate for the first post-workout meal (perhaps along with an apple). It will provide a speedy recovery at a point when your muscles are most receptive. Milk protein is equally great, as well as whey and casein. The latter two are a natural part of milk protein, but can also be found concentrated as protein powder. Soy protein is great for people who are lactose intolerant or need some variety.

An important thing to keep in mind is that protein powder isn’t a natural product, which LCHQ requires, so I completely understand that one may wish to exclude it.

QUINOA is one of my favorites in the carbohydrate category. It’s delicious and healthy, with a low glycemic index, and it's rich in protein, fibers, and antioxidants. Quinoa is actually a natural whole grain product, since nothing has been refined or removed from the original seed. I like to cook a little extra quinoa to sprinkle on top of my salad the next day.

CANOLA OIL contains the omega-3 fatty acid ALA, which can be converted to DHA in the body. In other words, it’s the same fatty acid that exists in fish. There are also many monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in the form of linoleic acid in canola oil. This makes canola oil better for cardiovascular health than such things as dairy fat, for example (65). The healthiest type is cold pressed canola oil, but even the refined option has great health benefits. It has a distinctive taste that doesn’t fit all recipes, but the colorless variety is usually all right.

RICE is also a great source of carbs. Even if the LCHQ diet doesn’t leave much room for it, brown rice is one of the best things with which to fill your carb quota. It exists in different colors, including black, red, and brown. Regardless of which one you choose, it will have a low glycemic index and high nutritional value.

ROOT VEGETABLES are God’s gift to LCHQ proponents! Carrots, beets, parsnips, and rutabagas provide a lot of food but few carbohydrates: 8.7 percent for carrots; 8.5 percent for beets; 10.2 percent for parsnips; and 6.4 percent for rutabagas. If you want to try a really low-carb dish with root vegetables, you should cook LCHQ root vegetables with salmon and feta (see page 84) in which we use root vegetables with the fewest carbs. You can eat potatoes with LCHQ, but since LCHQ allows for only a small amount, it’s wiser to choose other root vegetables. After all, a boiled and peeled potato contains 19 percent carbohydrates.

SALT is needed for flavor and is completely harmless to most people. However, some people with high blood pressure react positively to lowering their salt intake. Usually we refer to these people as “salt sensitive,” but most people with abnormally high blood pressure usually get better results through other means. A higher consumption of potassium and magnesium lowers blood pressure, as does lower glycemic pressure, healthy fats, and regular exercise. This is all provided with the LCHQ diet, so I don’t believe that the salt is worrisome.

If you’re sensitive to salt, you can use mineral salt, which consists mostly of potassium chloride as opposed to sodium chloride (which is what regular salt consists of). Personally, I use sea salt for most things. The main reason for this is that it contains trace elements from the ocean that are healthy for our bodies—even if these benefits are difficult to study due to the microscopic amounts that we consume.

Furthermore, I think that sea salt tastes better because of its more “rounded” taste as opposed to the more “acrid” character of regular table salt. If you do use table salt, the kinds with added iodine are best, since this contributes to your body’s production of thyroid hormones.

SHELLFISH doesn’t have to be as expensive as you might think. You can often find frozen, unpeeled shrimp at bargain prices in the grocery store, and the smaller the size, the cheaper they are. Crayfish tails are also worth the cost, and crab is a great seasonal delicacy in the early fall. Lobster is, of course, one of the more expensive varieties.

Regardless of which kind of shellfish you choose, they’re all very healthy. The protein content is high and the little fat they contain is of high quality. Their pink color stems from the antioxidant Astaxanthin, which is a healthy carotenoid that protects your cells. One of my favorite LCHQ meals is a small shellfish platter with homemade aioli and a glass of red wine. It’s the perfect dish for the end of the day, since it contains very few carbohydrates.

FOOD FLAVORINGS give a dish one or more extra layers. Food should be delicious and make you feel great. Pleasure generates reward chemicals in the brain, which makes you appreciate life more. Great examples are pesto and tapenade, which both contain a lot of calories, but only from good ingredients. Capers are one of my favorites for salads and other things, and they’re practically calorie-free and can be used without restraint. Tabasco is another example of a great flavoring that is not only calorie-free, but also increases your energy expenditure, so you can more easily maintain your weight. Fish sauce and soy sauce are very high in sodium, but provide lots of extra flavor because they are fermented products. They fit great within LCHQ.

GRAINS appear in very low quantities in LCHQ. Whole grain oats, bulgur, whole grain wheat, pearl barley, buckwheat, oatmeal, rye flakes, etc. are all great products but contain high amounts of carbohydrates, which limits their usability. If you keep the LCHQ diet but exercise a lot and want to increase your intake of carbs, these are the ingredients you should eat more of.

MUSHROOMS are great LCHQ ingredients. Portobellos, chanterelles, morels, and shiitake mushrooms are my personal favorites. They don’t contain a lot of energy, but they provide fibers, minerals, and trace elements, as well as some very distinct flavors to improve your meal.

SAUCES with a high calorie content, such as béarnaise sauce, hollandaise sauce, and remoulade, should be consumed in moderation and, if possible, should be made from scratch. This will help you avoid the high amount of additives in commercial sauces, and you can choose the best oil for the cooking. Tzatziki and feta cheese scramble are great examples of sauces that provide the creamy feel without consisting of about 100 E% fat.

TOFU is a special product that fits well within the concept of LCHQ. It consists of about 2 percent carbohydrates, 5 percent fat, and 8 percent protein, so a salad with a large piece of tofu is great. Tofu can also be used in casseroles, smoothies, and so on. Your imagination is the limit, but note that as a vegan it’s almost impossible to eat LCHQ without including tofu.

VINEGAR is sour, and sour foods reduce the glycemic index of the food you consume. Vinegar is therefore great in salads, sauces, or perhaps for making pickled salmon. It also enhances flavors. Preferably choose red wine vinegar, since it contains the highest amount of antioxidants.

EGGS are a fantastically complete food. One egg contains approximately 7 grams of protein, of which 4 grams reside in the yolk. The egg yolk also contains an incredible amount of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. If you choose omega-3 eggs, the quality of the fat is almost perfect. It’s simply a food staple.

HERBS have a plethora of almost magical characteristics. Regardless of whether they are fresh or dry, they’re probably the single most beneficial type of food for your health.

“If a food group is to be awarded the title of ‘best food in the universe,’ chances are good it will be vegetables.”