How important is diversity in eating habits? page

[Joshy]

I'm currently in college, and since my roommates mostly eat frozen pizza and hot pockets, I'm almost always cooking for myself. I try to eat as healthy as possible without making big elaborate meals that take an hour of active cooking time and equal time to clean up; I just don't want to spend that kind of time.

So as far as I can tell, I eat really well, but I only eat about a dozen different things. This is about everything I eat:

-Baked sweet potatoes (lots of good butter)
-Whole chickens
-Meatloaf (grass fed beef, egg, milk, etc)
-Omlets (usually with just cheese)
-Stir fries (carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, potatoes and onions, with coconut oil)
-Bananas (usually 1-2 a day for snacks on campus)
-Almond butter
-Walnuts
-Raw milk
-Leafy green salad mix (trying to eat more of this, currently only rarely)

So anyway, I feel like I'm probably getting everything I need, but these are literally the only things I eat.

What are some of the issues associated with a non-diverse diet? Or is it ok to eat the same things week in and week out as long as you're getting all the vitamins and minerals you need?

Thanks

[jammies]

That looks like a pretty balanced healthy diet to me - with a great deal more variety than most college kids get .

Any way you could add little fish in to the mix? Or perhaps some Omega-3 supplements?

Also - I am sure you know that you may need to supplement Vitamin D even with a fantastic diet.

[Joshy]

I'm planning on supplimenting fish oil, but I'm still not entirely clear on the most important aspects. I read Mark's posts, but I'm still not clear on the relative importance of DHA/EPA (?) levels, type of fish, exposure to wastes, rate at which it turns rancid, etc. I was thinking of just taking the easy route and ordering Mark's version, but if I'm going to spend as much as $25 a month I want to be sure I'm getting the best product available.

As far as vitamin D, I'm outside quite a lot, but washington is pretty cloudy. Is there a post in the archives specifically regarding Vitamin D?

Thanks

[Christina*]

I'm planning on supplimenting fish oil, but I'm still not entirely clear on the most important aspects. I read Mark's posts, but I'm still not clear on the relative importance of DHA/EPA (?) levels, type of fish, exposure to wastes, rate at which it turns rancid, etc. I was thinking of just taking the easy route and ordering Mark's version, but if I'm going to spend as much as $25 a month I want to be sure I'm getting the best product available.

As far as vitamin D, I'm outside quite a lot, but washington is pretty cloudy. Is there a post in the archives specifically regarding Vitamin D?

Thanks

Cillakat has some really good info on fish oil in her sig. She and others (like Dallas and Melissa from Whole9Life) recommend trying to find one with either more DHA or a 1:1 DHA/EPA ratio to best mimic wild fish. Carlson Labs has a good one with 1:1 ratios and her sig also includes others that have 1:1 ratios or more DHA than EPA.

[jammies]

Here is the Vitamin D thread. The first post by Cillikat has a link that should help you.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum...tamin-D-Thread

[Joshy]

Thanks jammies.

Christina, I just heard robb wolf mention Carlson Lab fish oil on a podcast. I'll check both of those sources out.

[jammies]

I'm going to bump this - I think the OP is a good question and I am hoping some of the more senior/experience members will chime in!

[Rip City]

eat moar vegetables. I see you are baking sweet potaoes...you can also try brushing olive oil over asaparagus and it bakes in 5-6 minutes at 400. Cut up cauliflower and cover in melted butter, salt, pepper, bake at 400 for 25 minutes..amazing. Just a couple quick ideas

[Unclepauly]

salt isn't very paleo is it?

[Bushrat]

Seriously...the only way you eat red meat is in meatloaf?