A question for nutritionists.

[poppins]

In January next year I need to simplify my diet for about four weeks. I need to cut down drastically on cooking anything that is difficult to prepare and cook.

 

Is it possible to eat wholesomely for about four weeks by eating just cans of soup. Is it possible to get my five a day and not be starved of any required nutrients for that period without it effecting my health?

 

McDonalds or some nice greasy fish & chips

[Majestic]

What about investing in a juicer, or smoothie maker.....?

 

Juicers are quite messy and require washing up.

[Number Six]

If you just ate potatoes and literally nothing else then you'd probably still end up malnourished- you'd survive probably, but that's just because there's enough carbohydrate in a potato to keep your energy systems running, but there's not enough of a whole load of things to keep you healthy long term.

 

True - that's why I suggested putting some topping on them!

 

Could someone subsist solely on potatoes and milk? I had my assistant Una run a spreadsheet on key nutrients. Looking only at vitamins and minerals for which a recommended daily allowance has been established, we find a diet of vitamin-D-fortified whole milk and potatoes stacks up pretty well, providing at least some of all known dietary needs except molybdenum. For example, if you're an active male between 19 and 30, of average height and weight, then one gallon of milk and eight pounds of potatoes will supply the RDA of most nutrients, falling a little short on the iron, folate, and niacin fronts, missing a lot of vitamin E, and striking out completely on molybdenum. Chug two gallons of milk with your spuds and all you're missing is about two-thirds of your vitamin E and, of course, your molybdenum. Not so nuts about milk? Fine, cut it down to a quart and choke down 14 pounds of potatoes instead. Now you're short on zinc, folate, niacin, vitamin E, and way low on vitamin A. And alas, still no molybdenum.

 

So what happens if you starve yourself of molybdenum? According to one nutritional reference book, "signs of molybdenum deficiency ... are headache, rapid breathing and heart rate, nausea and vomiting, acute asthma attacks, visual problems, disorientation, and, finally, coma." However, you don't need much of the stuff -- the RDA is only 45 micrograms -- and good sources include lentils, split peas, green beans, cauliflower, and, significantly, oatmeal. Since we have no indication that a third of the Irish population was in a coma prior to 1845, my guess is that reports of potato-only diets in the pre-famine era were exaggerated and that inhabitants of the Emerald Isle were getting sufficient oatmeal and other foods to meet their micronutrient needs.

[Majestic]

Depends on the soup.

 

So, OK. Is it possible to live on a selection of branded soups for a month without any ill effects?

Like, potato and leek for breckie, country veggie for lunch and tomato for tea for example? Maybe with a tin of beans thrown in too!

[plekhanov]

So, OK. Is it possible to live on a selection of branded soups for a month without any ill effects?

Like, potato and leek for breckie, country veggioe for lunch and tomato for tee for example?

As I understand it tinned soups (even branded ones) aren't that great nutritionally, the veg have been boiled to death and they tend to be chock full of salt.

 

In my inexpert opinion vary the soup with bread, cheese, beans, frozen veg, fresh fruit, potatoes (microwaving them takes no time) for a month and you'll be just fine.

[Majestic]

As I understand it tinned soups (even branded ones) aren't that great nutritionally, the veg have been boiled to death and they tend to be chock full of salt.

 

So the nutritional value of the veg is lost?

[Forumosaurus]

So, OK. Is it possible to live on a selection of branded soups for a month without any ill effects?

Like, potato and leek for breckie, country veggie for lunch and tomato for tea for example? Maybe with a tin of beans thrown in too!

 

As the above link says, if it's possible to live on JUST bread for half a year, I shouldn't expect soup would be any problem.

[plekhanov]

So the nutritional value of the veg is lost?

Not entirely but much of it is, as I said a little earlier in the thread as I understand it frozen veg is nutritionally better than tinned and doesn't take much prep time.

 

If this is only for a month though I expect you'll be fine. I once spent several weeks cycling across Europe eating little but bread, cheese & fruit and whilst I lost some weight & expect would have been in trouble if I kept that up for a good length of time I was fine, better than fine in fact I was flying up the hills.

[Majestic]

Not entirely but much of it is, as I said a little earlier in the thread as I understand it frozen veg is nutritionally better than tinned and doesn't take much prep time.

 

If this is only for a month though I expect you'll be fine. I once spent several weeks cycling across Europe eating little but bread, cheese & fruit and whilst I lost some weight & expect would have been in trouble if I kept that up for a good length of time I was fine, better than fine in fact I was flying up the hills.

 

It looks like adding cheese sandwhiches to my diet for the month then and some tins of fruit!

[plekhanov]

It looks like adding cheese sandwhiches to my diet for the month then and some tins of fruit!

Are you going to be stuck on a mountain top or somewhere well away from shops or something? As In my experience tinned peaches for example are more effort to eat than fresh ones.