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Experimenting with "unclean" No Vitamin A diet while traveling
This past week I was traveling for work. I was in airports and driving on the road. Additionally I had some lunch meetings. This meant that the places I would have to select food from included airports, gas stations, fast food restaurants, and whatever restaurant the company chose. I decided to loosen up the diet and include some unclean, low/no vitamin A foods. I wanted to see if I would feel any worse eating a processed food diet devoid of Vitamin A. I looked out for redness on my hands, headaches, blemishes on my skin, bloating, and muscle tightness around my neck and shoulders. I should preface this by saying these foods were by no means healthy or ideal. I just figured it was a good opportunity to actually test this theory by exposing myself to processed oils and noxious sweeteners, in addition to a host of artificial ingredients and chemicals.
So for snacks and breakfast I had: coffee, beef jerky, jam sandwiches, gas station donuts(trace dairy and eggs), hostess chocolate cupcakes(trace amounts of soy, eggs and milk), dairy/egg free cookies, darkish chocolate(some milk fat, but no milk protein), lemonade, coke, apple sauce, apple juice, pomegranate juice, sweetened iced black tea.
For meals: Plain burgers from fast food chains with raw onion added with fries and a soft drink. Roast turkey/Pastrami/roast beef sandwiches. Steak and Fries/baked potatoes. Saurkraut and beef hot dogs. Pho. Korean Beef and rice.
I made sure to avoid eggs, milky foods, colored fruits and vegetables, and exotic cuisine.
I few surprising things I noted were:
1. My appetite did not become excessive and remained very moderate. I often could not finish my burger and fries, and even left food on my plate. This was despite regularly eating hyper palatable foods. According to some obesity theorists, I should have a raging appetite from exposing myself to these foods. My appetite has been decreasing if anything.
2. No headaches, no change in eyesight, no muscle stiffness. In fact, I felt pretty good.
3. No negative effects on skin.
4. How relatively easy this diet is to follow without access to a kitchen.
5. The American diet is really not that bad.
The reason I did this experiment is to reaffirm that my restricted and "clean" beef, bread, rice, and beans diet was not what was making me feel good. So I ate a terrible diet devoid of vitamin A for a week and felt well. I don't plan on continuing to eat this way, but it is nice to know that I could pop over to Wendy's for a plain burger without ill effects.
I have had similar experiences. I have had plenty of fries, burgers and coke but without the A stuff. My symptoms did not flare.
Good info, thanks.
Potentially the most dangerous substances to avoid in some processed foods are the "healthy" additives like folic acid, iron and VA.
Of these folic acid is the hardest to avoid at least in Australia where it is added to all bread. Science acknowledges that this substance is harmful to at least a percentage of the population who convert it to natural forms of folate with difficulty.
Of all the micronutrients we need they choose to add iron and VA which are the two most likely to bioaccumulate and create health problems that doctors don't often recognise in clinic as being caused by iron or VA toxicity.
In fast food chains, the stuff to avoid is probably mostly spices/flavours and breading.
@eliza1275 Even though I really like bread I'm sick of trying to obtain it without folic acid. I don't react to it to my knowledge but since it is associated with increased cancer risk and autism I refuse to buy this Orwellian garbage. I'm eating mostly potato chips, pasta and rice noodles instead for starch. I buy organic pasta which has the added benefit of being low/no glyphosate which is interfering with VA metabolism.
I just make homemade sourdough with unfortified wheat. It’s amazing!
In the US, Kroger has some organic wheat biscuits and cookies that don't seem to have any fortification. Check the labels out, since some organic breads are now being fortified. From what I remember, even organic flours were fortified in both Canada and the UK.
I also have some genetic issues with processing folic acid, but I have not had issues with fortified grain products. I really think the issue comes from Vitamin A, rather than iron fortification. I have family that lives in Spain and Italy who suffer from similar issues, despite eating a diet without any fortification. Their diet is mostly homemade, with a heavy emphasis on peppers, tomatoes, oranges, pork, and dairy products. My grandmother drinks a lot of unfortified semi-skimmed milk and is suffering from osteoporosis.
Quote from somuch4food on March 10, 2019, 5:07 amIn fast food chains, the stuff to avoid is probably mostly spices/flavours and breading.
Definitely. Sometimes they use cornflakes for breading, which is fortified with vitamin A.
It is actually surprisingly easy to eat out once you are aware of these factors. And even the spices and herbs are probably not that bad since only a small amount is needed to flavor a dish.
Quote from Guest on March 11, 2019, 7:26 amI just make homemade sourdough with unfortified wheat. It’s amazing!
Do you use starter? I am in search of starterless sourdough. I have one recipe, but it is with wheat and a small pinch of dry yeast, which I am trying to avoid now.
If without starter, please post recipe! Thank you!
You have to have starter to make sourdough. If it doesn’t have it, it’s just unleavened bread.