Is Joel Fuhrman Taking Moderation to an Extreme?

I was thinking about Fuhrman's nutrition advice when this question popped up, "Is he taking moderation to an extreme?"

Ours is a culture of extremes - panic attacks and extreme heights of organized, scripted exultation. He does not advocate the paleo-keto-water-protein fanaticism of the typical diet gurus. Whatever he suggests, he urges a balance and even gives permission to break from the strictest eating habits.

A post on FreeRepublic.com dealt with the benefits of zinc, not only for help against viruses, but also for blood pressure moderation and the function of kidneys as well. 

I often post a list of benefits, with such vegetables as asparagus, peas, and...

The other emphasis is good and startling - the best sources for zinc, beyond making your sauerkraut in a garbage can (purely theoretical, of course).

Vegetables High in Zinc

1. Chickpeas are on top, in other categories as well.
2. Next - white, black, and kidney beans
3. Chia seeds (but will they make my hair grow?)
4. Pecans, brazil nuts, almonds

This can be done with many vegetables. Our inclination to get tired of one source is easily solved by grouping vegetables together or rotating the favorites. 

Potassium Is Important for Energy: 

High Potassium Vegetables

1. Beet tops - "Mom? No like."
2. Avocados - They can be good but they rot fast.
3. Lima beans - Delicious and satisfying.
4. Spinach - often rated a super-food for other nutrients as well. Spinach can be eaten by the bowl, replacing the formerly Fritos salt-grease-starch part of the food plan.
5. Squash is like dessert. Almost all pumpkin pie is made from squash, because squash is better at pumpkin-deliciousness than pumpkin is. We can avoid the scandal of empty pumpkin pie tins and whipped cream cannisters lying around by eating squash with a tiny bit of butter.
6. Brussel sprouts! That is one way to kill a kid's appetite, but they are super in many ways, including potassium.  Look up the nutritional benefits of brussel sprouts and ignore Ichabod. Actually, I love brussel sprouts in vegetable stew because they offer a great crunch factor, like almonds and walnuts. They are shunned but delicious

1. Nutrition

   According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s FoodData Central database, 1 cup of raw Brussels sprouts provides:

   • 37.8 calories
   • 0.264 g of fat
   • 7.88 g of carbohydrate
   • 2.97 g of protein

   1 cup of cooked Brussels sprouts containsTrusted Source:

   • 56.2 calories
   • 0.78 g of fat
   • 11.08 g of carbohydrate
   • 3.98 g of protein

   Consuming the same amount of Brussels sprouts will also provide the following nutrients, with percentages calculated from the Dietary Guidelines for AmericansTrusted Source:

   Nutrient	Percentage of daily intake in adults
   Vitamin C	83.11% for males and 99.73% for females
   Vitamin K-1	130% for males and 173.33% for females
   Vitamin B-6	14.85%
   Folate	13.43%
   Potassium	7.28%

   Brussel sprouts pack a nutritional punch. The Aggregate Nutritional Density Index (ANDI) measures how much nutrition a vegetable offers for its weight.

   Brussel sprouts are 21st on this listTrusted Source, meaning they rank highly for nutritional density alongside many other cruciferous vegetables.

Broccoli, not on the McDonalds menu, is another less popular but highly rated vegetable.

My mother loved butter on everything, especially when it was something we turned up our noses to eat. She only lived to be 90, so what  did she know?

My parents grew up on organic farms (aka "farms") in those days. They were raised on vegetables and crops fertilized with manure. Meat was expensive; vegetables were cheap and easy to raise. My father often bewailed the lack of flavor in modern, factory raised chickens. If we dared to mention the lack of appeal in vegetables beyond corn, peas, and mashed potatoes, Dad had a simple statement.

"You know what's wrong with you kids?"

"No, Dad, what?"

"You are spoiled, SPOILED ROTTEN!" 

And he was right.