Pro Climbers Diet - What does Alexander Megos eat for dinner ?

This is the first part of our cooking show. Many of you asked for videos about food and nutrition so here is our first video. It includes on of my daily dinners with a lot of useful nutritional information. #nutrition #food #cooking #healthyrecipe #healthy
Let us know what you think about this video and give us some feedback in the comments.
Are you interested in some more videos about nutrition ? Let us know !
Alexander Megos
edit: Chris Hanke

[@HD-ty8ng]

Love that you're showing that being athletic and vegan diet can go hand in hand

[@patchiebeaver139]

Its the best diet for being an elite athlete

[@fazzy7189]

@@patchiebeaver139 why would vegan diet be better than meat-included? Don't lie to yourself.

[@patchiebeaver139]

@@fazzy7189 dont lie to yourself. all the info is available to learn you are just biased and i don't care to educate you. plant based is the most optimal for our bodies thats just fact

[@Andrew-qb1rc]

But did he go vegan before or after climbing 5.15c?

[@Andrew-qb1rc]

@@patchiebeaver139simply not true. Not all elite athletes eat vegan. I would even venture to say without any statistical data, it’s only a minority, and a small one at that, of elite athletes that eat vegan. Of elite climbers, Ondra being one of the very best sport climbers, is not even vegan. Also, you have to consider that Alex only became a vegan in the last couple of years. That means he was already climbing 5.15c as an omnivore.

[@Noshuas]

Thanks for the consistent youtube uploads! I love at how relatable you appear to be in these videos. One could easily forget that you were engineered in a laboratory somewhere. 😅

[@touchKRas]

I am currently getting a masters in nutrition and dietetics and I appreciated Alex's points on eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, eating seasonal produce, and eating a diet that will lead to a healthy gut microbiome.

[@maxf3888]

how about the protein level in his meals?

[@Miles26545]

@@maxf3888 what about them? Protein is extremely overrated

[@Hopesfallout]

@@maxf3888 He answered that his protein intake is around 80-100 g per day which he achieves with minor supplementation. He is very likely in the safe zone with that.

[@Hopesfallout]

@@Miles26545 Overrated in which way? The amounts thrown around on the internet, the type of, or just the nutrient in general?

[@hanswurst8921]

19g Protein per 100g Tempeh, its comparable with amount in meat.

[@2guido]

I appreciate the environmental aspect of Alex's conversation. People with influence can make a difference by showimg how little effort this type of lifestyle can take. I know we all travel a lot for climbing, and this is an aspect of our lives that is hard to give up , but if we all ate this way we help reduce the impact on future climate change. The meat and dairy industry makes up around 15 percent of GHG emissions. We need a sustainable future if we want a livable planet.

[@mathewdavis2427]

Even better is the fact that he's not supporting the needless abuse and murder of nonhuman animals :)

[@markolim8938]

It's fkn irrelevant to eat strawberries on summer or winter. Its a systemic problem, not individual choices really matter.

[@CrisisDesired]

@@markolim8938 It is a systemic issue, as you say, but individuals can change the system through collective action. This action doesn't even have to agreed upon in a collective setting: if everyone happened to no longer buy strawberries in winter, they wouldn't be cultivated for the winter (because it's no longer profitable). The individual choice has impact if many individuals choose the same. The easiest way to help towards that is by making that choice. We are a part of the system; and something as mundane as buying strawberries in winter is actively supporting that system. This is, of course, a very complicated topic. A faster way to changing a system would be revolution, mass organisation, protests and such, and those are certainly necessary. I just wanted to make an argument that an individual choice does matter. Sorry that it's quite long

[@markolim8938]

@@CrisisDesired That's the common argument, which is false. We know that from evidence and economics that people will not behave like that. It doesnt matter if it's wrong, the problem will never be solved through preaching on what people should buy. It's a fairytale. Carbon tax would partly solve climate change but ask e.g india or china (who pollutes the most) to raise their energy prices, they will not do it, because their economy would suffer. Only solution is international cooperation, individual actions and preaching doesnt make any difference.

[@creektopfarms5217]

Your mom makes up about 69% of ghg

[@aluc3471]

Alex looks pretty nice with his hair just swiped to the side, almost like a badass final fantasy character haha

[@johnmorsley]

Seeing someone like you, eat plant based food, is very inspiring!

[@jamesyelton11]

if the dude had steak and chicken, he would rival ondra

[@johnmorsley]

@@jamesyelton11, you sad and pathetic little man!

[@demon5965]

​@@jamesyelton11meathead take

[@SonOFaDuck-se1my]

@@jamesyelton11 i doubt that steak and chicken will make you more skilled xDD

[@drcraby356]

Actually good fitness diet for once. Most fitness diets, whether rock climbing or not, are usually just "eat a shit ton of protein and enough calories to build muscle" which for strength, isn't inherently bad advice, but it completely neglects health. So really good video Alex

[@goloher]

The world should know that I've started growing carrots on my balcony (!) because of you. In case anyone interested: it's Parisienne, or Paris market variety, cool for containers and are a fun shape/size of a small ball like a little raddish.

[@maxstarvaggi]

How have the carrots been? Seeing this, I'd love an update

[@willdoyle5380]

How have the carrots been? Looking to grow some too!

[@p0t4t0nastick]

I ate a whole pizza while watching this video XD

[@alexandermegosAM]

Chris was filming the whole video with a burger in his hand 😂

[@winniethepoohxi1896]

⁠ Hopefully an impossible burger. Seeing people Like you go plant based gives me a lot of hope for a kinder, more responsible future. The level of cruelty that occurs in slaughterhouses to billions of sentient animals every year is truly beyond comprehension. How do people love their pets like family but continue supporting such extreme animal cruelty on this scale? I mean truly think how many lives a billion are. I assume most just have never seen a pig or cow slaughtered so they dont really know how awful the reality is. Whatever happy, painless death people assume happens to these animals. It is not the truth. Their last moments are in extreme fear and pain. Everyone please research it yourself. You should at least see for yourself the truth of what the animal whose body you’re eating experienced in their last moments. I promise you, no taste is worth the level of death and cruelty that slaughtering these animals involves. If you are against animal cruelty then stop eating their mutilated bodies! It’s that simple. Peace begins on your plate! As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields.

[@diegoamalfitano6831]

A friend told me recently to fry vegetables in the pan WITHOUT any oil and to add raw OLIVE oil afterwards to keep it's properties and taste to the full. You need a good pan, that's for sure, but makes sense. I'll give it a try. In the meantime, I fry with olive oil and, sometimes, with sunflower seed oil. Thanks a lot Alex. Also for the not use of animal products in the video.

[@miradrasnar6544]

Pretty much anything cooked over 60°C looses all the vitamins and the rest is just fibre.

[@ian4683]

But frying works so much better with oil. I mostly use neutral vegatable oil for frying (mostly sunflower oil) and olive oil for salads or when roasting vegatables on open fire or just on toasted bread with some salt.

[@kyleballing]

No oil and a good stainless pan is easy to clean up. Oil, is like Alex said, build a habit. Putting oil on everything in the long run is not healthy, so just learn to rest without it.

[@enricopaolini4091]

it depends in my opinion.i usually mix butter with olive oli because from what has been told to me it raises the boiling point. To make Cotolette i usually mix oil and butter, but for zucchine, carots, garlic and similars i use only olive oil because you want to cook em mid/low heat so they release the taste more, so you don't get to need high temperature oil.

[@joshjenkinson1929]

Diet is an extremely tough topic to get the absolute truth on, with advice ever changing over time. For this reason I go with a balanced diet using all types of fresh and unprocessed ingredients as much as possible. I’ve found that a good level of protein is especially important to train hard in climbing.

[@alexandermegosAM]

That sounds like a very good way of handling that topic! 👌🏼

[@fabiopalma4429]

Watching such diet by one of the most renowned climbers of today, really motivates me to continue my diet and keep climbing hard!! Thanks Alex!😄

[@sightreader2507]

The idea of tracking the number of different fruits and vegetables per week is a great idea to make a healthy varied diet more fun! I'm definitely going to start doing it and try to beat 40! It feels easy at the beginning of the week but I'm sure it gets tough when you've gone through all the items you typically introduce in your diet, hence giving an incentive to eat others as well Thanks for the idea!

[@rumpleforeskin7032]

For the oil, filtered extra virgin olive oil is my go to unless I'm searing something. It has a higher smoke point, more shelf life, and almost identical health benefits to unfiltered. highly processed oils (common in the US, not sure about Europe) have a higher smoke point also, but have their own issues associated with them. I like to keep an unfiltered small bottle of EVOO for finishing/raw food and a larger container of filtered EVOO for 80% of what I cook. Great details in this video :)

[@FooDawg]

The only thing with salt intake and relying on products (like soy sauce) to bring salt into the diet, is it's usually the only way people get iodine in their diet (iodized salt). You don't need to use a lot to get daily intake of iodine, just a pinch here and there, and iodine prevents goiters from occurring. As a registered nurse, I would encourage people to research that info and try to fit it in to their diet where it would work for each person individually. A good measure of iodine levels, would be a simple iodine skin test, to see if your body is low. Sodium is important for cardiac health and body/blood Ph also, so I would never suggest anyone completely cut salt out of the diet totally. Pink salt and fancy salts do not inherently have iodine in them, so my recommendation would b e to incorporate iodized salt in very small measurable amounts to ensure appropriate levels of iodine intake. Cheers, good video promoting more plant intake and less processed crap! I approve!

[@TheNickMartinez]

seaweed > iodized salt

[@FooDawg]

@@TheNickMartinez I personally agree, but the "average person" is gonna say ew yuck seaweed... so iodized salt is the go to for iodine for the masses. Plus it's easier to rat a pinch of iodized salt every day rather then seaweed every day. Most people would get tired of seaweed everyday, but salt goes with everything

[@zdenekburian1366]

soy sauce is going to depress his testosterone level, perhaps it is good, so he'll think less to women and more to climbing

[@Bloxeh]

@@zdenekburian1366 That statement is based on what? Why do you think that soysauce decreases testosterone levels?

[@zdenekburian1366]

@@Bloxeh since the recommended soy daily intake is max 25g daily, and isoflavonoid content is 0,002%, and since sauce content is 0,05%, or 25x, you should eat max 1g daily of sauce and no other soy to avoid interferences with estrogen levels; this is only my opinion, i dont claim any scientificity for this, and studies about testosterone drop also with low soy dosages were debunked, but some linkage remain, hence the recommended limits i suppose

[@tilen873]

Not only was that an interesting video with plenty of cool tidbits about vegetarian and vegan food, it's also cool to see your commitment to climate change even with small things like strawberries. Definately subscribed and I hope you publish more soon. Ps. Would love to watch you cook more

[@brokepiek]

Vegan Beast! Keep it up Alex 🔥🔥💪💪🌱🌱

[@byiShakZz]

I swear Alex, you are my favorite vlogger

[@devieilleroche]

🙌I’m impressed by how knowledgeable Alex is about his diet and the nutritional values. We’ve been eating veggies, tofu and tempeh for a decade. We also make tofu and tempeh at home when the weather is not too hot. (not because I’m Asian, we harnessed the techniques from KZbin)😅

[@kamilbaldyga8909]

Serious Eats has answers for all your cooking related questions. If frying on low temp then EVOO is fine (if you're OK with the flavour), but if I'm doing asian style stir fry then peanut oil is my choice as it has a high smoke point and a neutral flavour.

[@Gws_8612]

Great inspiration thank you for showing the world that you don't need anything dead on your plate to be fit and athletic. 💪🏻

[@vquince]

"Celsius that is, obviously" hahahaha, loved that comment, greeting from Mexico

[@nicholaswells3113]

I’ve been eating nothing but vegetables and soybean protein mix once a day since the release of this video. I have seeen crazy improvement in gym recovery and body composition. Plus, this taste good! You can never get bored either for instance I like my vegetable mix with jalapeños because I like spicy food. Go nuts!

[@FusohOG]

you're losing fat cause you're eating 300kcal a day

[@ANNA-qg4ol]

Hi, Great idea, but could you tell me how do you avoid having anemia eating only veggies ? I have tried that but after some time developed some serious indeficiencies and I'm looking for some clues how to avoid that.

[@orko3661]

@@ANNA-qg4ol Don't eat only what an athlete has shown to eat in one day. Don't eat *only* veggies, eat cereals, fruits, bread, nuts and beans

[@AmroNaddy]

Love this. Have been mostly plant based for 5.5 years. Theres not enough focus on eating range of plants, sufficient fiber, and reducing salt intake. Personally I use avocado oil for high heat cooking

[@radioleta]

Very cool you not only eat healthy, but also try to do your best to be kind to the environment :)

[@mathewdavis2427]

Even better is the fact that he's not supporting the needless abuse and murder of nonhuman animals :)

[@daytimerocker3808]

@@mathewdavis2427 u should go to 3rd world countries and tell everyone to buy tempeh and tofu instead of eating meat

[@timmy12011]

Avocado oil is the best for frying in the pan! It has a 270c smoke point and tons of healthy fats :) For heat, it goes Avocado 271c -> safflower 260c -> canola 205 -> olive 180 -> coconut 170 -> everything else.

[@CarvingMonkeysReus]

Not the most environtmentally friendly oil to cook. Olive oil is better

[@timmy12011]

@@CarvingMonkeysReus Safflower or Canola is better for sure with high heat if there is a problem environmentally with avo oil. Burning oil leads to trans fats which is a known terrible fat and olive oil is a lot easier to burn than safflower or canola

[@manisdogfish]

For frying at high temp I use mechanically processed Canola oil which has a high smoke point, isn't processed with chemicals, and has good fatty acids. There are some other high smoke point oils, but this is the one I use.

[@jazcatarina]

For frying/baking, I usually stuck with avocado/coconut oil. It has a much higher temp. I love olive/hemp/grape/sunflower seed oil for dressings, dips, or anything that isn't heated.

[@jesperdegroot5197]

I would be careful with the seed oils Mr. just stick to olive oil

[@rafeeeefar]

The thumbnail on this video is just excellent. Funny and really captures the topic, very informative content. Subbed!

[@lamprostheocharis5723]

the best oil for cooking is extra virgin olive oil, because the antioxidant substances delay the formation of radicals. a cheaper choice might be peanut or olive oil. seed oil, on the other hand, is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids which, especially at high temperatures, produce radicals. and therefore not the best choice. (I am currently studying masters degree in nutrition)

[@jojo428428able]

This actually inspired me in a weird way :D I didn't know that you can put veggies in an oven like that and have a proper meal.

[@rolandkampa2448]

No, please don't believe what you see. It is not enough to just have vegetables in the oven. As an athlete you need also protein and carbohydrates.

[@magdalenapruckner4200]

The vegetables alone don’t make up a proper meal. You also need protein and carbs. Alex added Tempeh for protein!

[@VirtualTurtleGames]

Loving the plant based meals! Makes me hungry!

[@giesskannenbauer]

I usually use rapeseed or sunflower oil for frying, sometimes peanut oil for asian dishes. Olive oil I only use for cold stuff (salads) or when cooking mediterranean dishes on lower / medium heat. It's mainly about the smoke point of different oils. Something that I tried recently (was a gift) and reaaally liked is avocado flesh oil! Tastes great and can be heated up to very high temperatures!

[@christopherowen1776]

Rapeseed oil is garbage and will destroy your gut microbiome long term.

[@fenrir_4312]

Dope video Alex! Would love to know what your pre climb/workout meals generally look like!

[@kdc71425]

Please do more videos like this. Like full day of eating and training.

[@dakiblabla]

I use sunflower oil for higher temperature, it's got a higher smoking point and vitamine E and it tastes nice.

[@UNLIMITED_WMSEEDS]

The truth is that us pro climbers get all our muscle and nutrients from drinking chalk smoothies every day and on special occasions eating Mag-dust.

[@MT-wf6ug]

Thanks for your great video with interesting insights! Prof. Dr. Andreas Michalsen explains in his book ‚Mit Ernährung heilen‘, that there are no issues to heat up olive oil. He recommends not to use very high quality olive oil for cooking though. It would be wasted. In his book ‚Das gestresste Herz‘ Prof. Dr. med. Dobos also recommends for cooking to use rapeseed oil instead of olive oil. The nutritional values are similar good and it’s a local product (for Central Europeans).

[@SweetTamale]

You are a vegan, and you said it doesn’t make any sence to eat strawberries in the winter because they’re not in season, but you didn’t explain what you eat in the winter since i think no vegetables or fruits grown in the winter. Can you please explain or make another video explaining your winter diet . Thank you .

[@gilvargas432]

Hi Alex, olive oil is the best, try to avoide seed oils. Fruit oils are better.(Avocado,olive,cocounut,palm) As long as they mecanical removed. About the thempe is best to buy it frozen because it still has the white mould(With live yeasts)

[@andrewkim9503]

Haha so hecking cute, I giggled a tonne. Honestly, from a former chef, I'm also pretty impressed by your ability to cook for yourself 👍

[@IronJohn755]

People love to argue about nutrition and I'm no exception. Clearly your results speak for themselves and your need to maintain low body fat is unique, but I'd like to throw in a few thoughts from an older (almost 50 y/o) person who has been a vegan for a long time. 1) Gut bacteria digest fiber - it doesn't matter much if you're eating sawdust (ok let's say wheat bran) or a wide variety of seasonal vegetables. 2) Leafy/fruit vegetables (ie peppers) are wonderful sources of fiber and micronutrients but not of calories. Eat them for health and enjoyment, but you will starve on vegetables alone. 3) The only viable sources of calories on a vegan diet are: a) Starches (ie rice, legumes, potatoes, wheat), b) Nuts and seeds, c) Fruits (fructose seems to be pretty hard on people as a primary source of calories - see Doug Graham and the once-popular "fruitarian" community) or d) Oils. Oils are not optimal for the body and should be limited as much as possible. Natural macronutrient needs are about 80% carb / 10% protein / 10% fat, which is not coincidentally the macro ratio in most vegetable foods like potatoes. IMHO, the best lifelong vegan diet is starch-centric. Your calories in this meal are primarily from the tempeh, which is soy (legumes = good) and oil (fat = bad). From a strictly caloric standpoint, you'd do just as well to use baked tofu, beans, potatoes, quinoa, sweet potatoes or other starchy vegetable foods that don't include oil. It would keep up with your calorie needs, but would be much better for your vascular health, kidneys, liver, etc. It's wonderful to see so many high-performance athletes eating plant-based diets. If people want to stay plant-based for the rest of their lives, it's important to find calorie bases that are enjoyable to eat, easy to cook, and satisfy your health and caloric needs.

[@chelaf]

Avocado oil has a high smoke point and is a good mild tasting oil. Very nice fire a pesto and splash of olive oil at the end

[@inviz88]

Avocado oil is great. It has a high smoke point and taste great.

[@Rockmaster867]

It is pricy AF in europe. Also not so great on the environment.

[@averageboulderer]

Recently started using avocado oil and I'm in love with it.

[@averageboulderer]

​@@Rockmaster867 got to agree. An Indian cook that I follow quite a bit asks to cycle through different types of oils. I am guessing this practice is to spread your bets when it comes to chemicals that are used in processing them and to not end up using the unhealthiest of oils all the time. I'd say some avocado oil from time to time shouldn't be a huge crime.

[@Chef8898]

And where is the fuel aka carbs ? ... seems like a diet to starve :D id also trade the high oil intake with nuts & seeds. or if oil at all take high omega 3 sources like algae oil (raw and not used for cooking). Overall not the worst approach ive seen so far, i like the rainbow approach to get all the secondary plant substances ! Also when you go low salt you should keep an eye out for iodine especially when you eat a lot of cruciferous vegetables and do high training volume.. i ve been there for years (chronically low salt intake) and really felt the difference in perfromance after adjusting it.

[@epincion]

Thanks Alex - great information, I must try out tempeh and eat a bigger variety of non-potato veg and fruit. On the oil story I just use olive oil having found such contradictory information about which oil is best for frying/roasting. I also tend to oven cook my veg (at no higher than 150 C) and rarely fry.

[@MartinSchicketanz]

to fry I take different oils, depends on the taste I'd like to add. Sesame is great, also sunflower seed for eggs, there are high temperature variants of olive oil as well. But mainly I steam my vegetables and add olive oil afterwards - non heated oil is always better (and I do like the taste of "fresh" olive oil)

[@corneliousism]

I prefer to fry in animal fat as being lower in PUFAs it means my body has lower oxidative stress from all of the oxidised seed oils.

[@potatoeggplant3535]

Pro tip for more leafy greens in Germany: Kohlrabiblätter!! Edited to say: don't forget whole grains, people! My favorite at the moment is millet. Tastes like popcorn 😊

[@googleaccount7806]

8:45 das Rapsöl darf nicht kaltgepresst sein, sonst sollte man es genauso wie Olivenöl nicht so stark erhitzen. Kaltgepresste Öle wie Olivenöl sind zwar an sich gesünder, aber wenn man sie erhitzt enstehen giftige Stoffe. Ich nehme zum Braten/Backen immer warm gepresste Öle und für Salate und so die kaltgepressten.

[@karlderdelinckx]

I like this ‘no bullshit’ approach of cooking! Just to the point what we need and how we can do this as easely as possible while being healthy.

[@sydneyarseth8941]

Avocado oil has a high smoke point (~520F/271C).. good for frying and roasting! Extra virgin olive oil works best as a finishing oil.

[@evanmaclean943]

Rapsöl mainly because it’s produced here in Switzerland. But naturally olive oil for anything Italian. These are my 2 oils. When I do olive oil it’s mainly salad or cheese and tomato. Soy sauce(hopefully low sodium) Is great for seasoning noodles and veggies. I recommend that.

[@scrubber1986]

Use sunflower, rapeseed, peanut oil or vegetable oil. They all have very high smoke points. You can fry things in Olive oil but it can not be extra virgin oil. It has Olive sediment in it that burns at the high heat needed to fry.

[@w00terZZZ]

If you want to avoid processed foods as much as possible the cherry on top would be to replace oils with their real food counterparts. Olives instead of olive oil. Walnuts instead of walnut oil etc.. But overall amazing diet plan /diet stragegy. Danke für den Einblick in Deinen Ernährungsplan!

[@Captain-Jack-Climbing]

Super interesting episode😂

[@jeromtablet]

Olive oil is great, but you have to use a good quality one since the lower the quality the lower the smoke temperature. First of all, most olive oil in supermarkets is not pure, it is often mixed with potentially rancid seed oils. The best olive oil to get would be organic, first cold pleased, extra virgin and it should be packed in a glass bottle (preferably a dark glass to prevent oxidation even more) We don't want to use plastic or cans for they leech things into the food. Personally i have no problem frying with olive oil, but you can't wok with it and obviously consuming it unheated has much more benefits

[@Pandidand]

I love that you eat plant based for 3 years now already. I am vegan and also climbing. I get comments in regards to protein all the time, but people don’t get that what you actually need is amino acids, which you may get from protein, but you can also get them directly from food. Also people tend to strongly overestimate the daily protein amount you need. Among my climbing friends, I am one of the strongest 🥦💪🏻

[@danielscheuch]

Amino acids are protein, they are the same thing.

[@Pandidand]

@@danielscheuch Amino acids are acids, as the name says. Proteins are composed out of those amino acids, but there are not the same in the same way as a T-Shirt is not the same as cotton. Actually, in the body, all proteins consumed which will be used by the body to make muscles (which consist also mainly out of proteins) are first decomposed to amino acids and then recomposed to proteins. The proteins from food are not "directly" transferred to the muscle. Therefore with amino acids, you even skip one step. There is also a difference in "essential" amino acids, which the body can not synthesize out of other stuff and "non-essential" amino acids which your body can make by itself and so on ... some argue here also, that veggies dont contain all essential amino acids, but that is also wrong. e.g. soy-beans, chia and other stuff contain all 9 essential amino acids required by humans. Further, a combination of different veggies like Alex consumes guarantees to get them all even if the single veggies dont contain all 9 essential amino acids each. In theory, one could even build muscles with zero protein intake ...

[@babsds0]

I don't think a sample size of 1 is enough to draw any conclusions. You may find that if you slightly increased your protein intake you would recover even better between sessions. I can still maintain more muscle than the majority of my friends on a crappy junk food diet but that doesn't mean I don't look and feel better when I get my nutrition more dialed in.

[@Pandidand]

​@@babsds0 Since I dont state somewhere that I am a proof of something, I am not sure at what your comment with sample size one is targeted. Also, what exactly does slightly increase protein intake mean? Do you know how much protein and amino acids I consume? However, I just wanted to highlight that - as you can read in the comments under this video in general - people are worried, that one may die tomorrow if one does not eat their weight in protein every day. Also IMO most amateur athletes overconsume proteins by far, resulting in burning protein instead of carbs (which has zero benefit) and farting all day. My statement is simply that not everything is about proteins.

[@zept42]

Isn't salt super necessary for athletes in terms of hydration? Do you really think you're at a risk of high BP?

[@alexandermegosAM]

Salt in moderation is necessary, but in most foods nowadays they add so much salt to make it taste better, that most people eat way too much salt. Not eating additional salt will benefit most people in my eyes. I don't think I'm at risk of high BP, but a big part of the population in the western world is...

[@zept42]

​@alexandermegos8129 ah yes I agree the majority of people do eat too much salt- I just thought in your scenario it could be beneficial to have some extra salt (especially for long hot days).

[@Pedigru]

I love cooking shows.

[@matonsterlolz]

Generally i would say i cook with olive oil, but any vegetable oil is fine. generally you dont need any oil when cooking vegetables, because they seep water into the pan and alternatively you can use a small amount of water to get this started. the oil contains healthy fats but you can get those from nuts and seeds. generally i avoid coconut and palm oil (although they put palm in a lot of processed foods), because they dont reduce cholesterol like most other vegetable oil which doesnt really apply if you dont consume (LDL) cholesterol. use with moderation if you like the taste.

[@dainasworldnumbers88]

Thank you, simple and great.

[@pierremilot8117]

I prefer to cook with sunflower oil. I burn it less than other oils, it tastes neutral, and the consistency is nice imo

[@denislejeune9218]

Hi Alex. Diet, probably the most controversial topic among climbers after grading, and granted you only showed us one meal, not a whole day or week of eating. Also, men my age need more calories, but from where I'm s/eating I'm surprised by the small carb intake here, and overall the low calorie value of this meal. The tempeh brings in proteins as you said, but not that much (granted, by my standards, which are a bit high), a bit of carb but not much, and some decent amount of fat. So as someone else said, I wonder what else you eat in a day, if you use supplements, what your training snacks are. Not that you don't look a bit healthy and a wee bit strong, but curious if I could learn something...

[@ornithoptermum]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aGqlm4KIadaCoJI „protein powder and chocolate“

[@qweasd9153]

the protein seems to be alright (34g only from the tempeh and a little bit more from the veggies), the amount of oil he puts prolly brings the calories up by a bit. But i'm also surprise how little calories it seems to have on this meal. I would be under 60kg if I ate lunches like these.

[@denislejeune9218]

@@qweasd9153 after training too.

[@babsds0]

@@qweasd9153 Alex is around 5'8 and 60kg so it's not surprising he doesn't eat much.

[@averageboulderer]

​@@babsds0 it finally makes sense. I was so guilty about my eating habits until I realized I weigh about 50% more than Mr. Strong here.

[@23PNS120]

The speaking is therapy👍👍👍

[@Drenmii]

I like peanut oil for cooking. High smoke point and reasonable composition.

[@Tyrese2468]

I like to use the Bratolivenöl by Alnatura. Says on the label that it has a higher temperature point but it is a mixture of refined and native olive oil.

[@jonathanrossddsmhs1271]

Roasting my vegetables has been a game changer!

[@kuwannadyer-pietras9958]

I just rewatched this video, as I recently switched back to a vegan diet. As in the past, the variety of vegetables I'm eating has increased but this video gives me a good suggestion for what to do with chard! I want to eat more leafy greens. And Team olive oil here, though I bake with corn oil and I've used sesame oil to fry in the past.

[@bertdemeester5759]

rice oil has a high smoke point so that's a good option. If you use olive oil, don't take the extra virgin oil for heating, but just 'virgin olive oil'

[@regolith8173]

Ok, now I want to try tempeh. 😂 You have a really good diet. :) I also like to cook with seasonal veggies, mainly from my families garden when available. :)

[@HomesteadingWithCotons]

Alex, please look into oxalates with all your plant foods. Spinach, chard, and beet greens are very high in them and are tough on the body. I used to be like you and ate lots of vegetables, because we think they are the perfect food. But in the plant kingdom, plants don't want you to eat their stems, leaves, or roots, they want you to eat their fruit. The plants have natural defense chemicals to make you not want to eat them, oxalates, lectins, phytic acid, etc. Now I stay away from most plant foods that don't have seeds, and I primarily eat meat, eggs, goat milk (from my goats), honey, fruit, and organ meats.

[@toonplace4781]

I waited for this, thanks for the insides. Will definitely try different tempe types

[@og_swang]

most common misconceptions about diet/health: - plants-based foods have their time and place, but meat (red meat in particular) is superior in every category (health, climate, ethics) - vegetable oils are toxic and should be avoided at all costs. they're actually not even made from vegetables, they're made from seeds - salt is not to be feared as it is a great source of essential minerals bonus: - non-stick pans are toxic due to their coating made from PFAS that can be scratched off and end up in your food. opt for cast iron, carbon steel, or stainless steel. I love you Alex! So skrong!

[@abelabel3664]

I personally never heard anyone stating that meat is better in terms of climate or ethics... that's would an insane position to defend :)

[@og_swang]

@@abelabel3664 Hunting and raising animals regeneratively is undoubtedly more natural and better for the environment than commercial grow ops and monocropping entire ecosystems which still ends up killing animals. Most people that eat plant-based also import their food from all corners of the earth which increases their carbon footprint. I noticed that you didn't deny that meat is nutritionally superior (you only called out climate and ethics). If people are getting adequate nutrition and are therefore healthier, we can reduce spending on healthcare, pharma, supplements, etc and fight back against the healthcare/big-food industrial complex that plagues the modern world. I love animals, but the truth is that you cannot have life without death. It's a circle (of life). We all must make sacrifices, some make more sense than others. Cheers!

[@abelabel3664]

@@og_swang I did not "deny" or support anything. I said I never heard people defending some talking points. There is a difference there. Read properly. But here you are spewing bs... Something people do being "more natural" makes absolutely no sense. Either you define "natural" as something not made by people, in which case any diet or human activity is unnatural. Or you include humans in nature, in which case all humans do is "natural". The comparison of regenerative farming including the killing of animals with large scale monocrops is nonsensical. You should compare that to small scale veganic farming, for example. Both are bad at being scaled up to suit the needs of billions of people, and both are not attainable to the majority. There are studies showing that eating local including animals is worse than importing plant foods ("For a lower climate footprint, vegetarian diet beats local" - ScienceDaily; "Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers" - Science). Anyhow, one is free to both avoid animal products and focus on local products. I did not say anything about meat and its alleged "nutritional superiority" because I heard people say that before. You should have read my comment more carefully. Anyhow, it all hinges on how one even defines "nutritional superiority". If it is (micro)nutrients per calorie, then meat is certainly a very bad food, for example. That does not matter, because it is still a fact that people can be at least as healthy without meat. That is a scientific consensus. Sure, "there is no life without death". However, we can and should choose the path that causes less killing and suffering, while there is a difference between killing an animal and killing a plant. Moreover, even if there wasn't, it necessarily kills *more* plants when we consume animals, since animals are fed plants. Saying "there is no life without death" is like saying "everyone will eventually die" to justify unnecessarily killing other people.

[@markjones4031]

Alex, I look forward to your thoughts on this subject when you are in your 40’s 👍

[@alexandermegosAM]

Give me 10 years and you'll hear my thoughts 😂😅

[@13boehn]

awesome, great to use the reach showcasing a vegan diet!

[@ghost_of_a_dead_poet]

I mostly use olive oil... Rapeseed oil might withstand higer temperatures and is also high in Omega, but I think olive oil is more anti-inflamatory, which is a huge deal for me, since I deal with IBD.

[@apapataco]

That produce looks soooooo good.

[@andyatari]

Awesome vid!!! Avocado oil for high temp cooking, also not sure if those were tfal pans...if they were, you should switch to carbon steel. Lv the explorer 2 😉

[@ryanfitzalan8634]

I think if your eating plant based and whole food, that using saturated fats and salt to taste is perfectly fine, especially if you are getting like 30-50 grams of fiber per day, and if your plant based its likely you are. variety is great for the biome, but another important part is fiber since its the base of the Ape gut biome, in all apes including humans. Fiber alters how nutrients are digested and absorbed, they are later digested and fermented down into other nutrients themselves, and the enriched quantity of biome organism also alter nutrients into more or better nutrients and the organisms will die and themselves break down into nutrients.

[@elimik31]

Due to lack of an oven I mostly fry veggies in stir fries in a carbon iron pan or my wok. For high-temperature stir-fries I just use rapeseed oil due to its high smoking point, otherwise olive oil for Mediterranean food. The other important oil that I have is roasted sesame oil that I mostly use for Korean food, as I cook a lot of Korean, and sometimes Chinese dishes, but that's only for seasoning. Besides stir-fries the other big way of preparing veggies is with stews, as my parents came from the Soviet Union so I sometimes crave a good Borscht or anything else, just throw some veggies into boiling water and more often than not it tastes amazing. My sin is probably salt. I usually salt to taste, except when cooking something that already contains soy sauce or any other salty sauce (e.g. Gochujang, Miso, oyster sauce...). I also use MSG in certain dishes, as it's not more unhealthy than regular salt and can reduce the overall necessity for salt. But the one thing where salt has become indispensable for me is in home fermentation, which I started during the pandemic, making my own Kimchi and Saurkraut. Those things are super healthy for the gut microbiome, but the high salt content is a downside. I guess moderation is key and I'll try to reduce the amount of salt in my cooking and get used to a lower baseline. Though long as I don't have cardiovascular issues, I will not avoid it altogether.

[@aliyaclare]

Avocado oil. High smoke point of 510 fahrenheit.

[@monkeychannel4992]

well idk about the healthh aspect but generally you use olive oil for the aroma when you fry and vegetable based oils if you want neutral taste such as in frying pancakes etc

[@Jaro121]

Fantastic video about nutrition , essential for every athlete and not only. And making it Vegan is even better 👍

[@orioldts3207]

Extra virgin olive oil is generally one of the best oils to cook with, even if it has lower smoke points it does not mean that it is not safe for cooking, it is actually the opposite. What makes olive oil safer for cooking is its incredible bioactive components, especially antioxidants, among others. To make it simple, as these oxidize or "break down" during the heating process, the oil is protected and still safe to eat, but some of those delicious notes and aromas are lost, but still safe to eat, as opposed to other oils that do not have the same antioxidant profile. The reason why people do not recommend to cook with olive oil and use sunflower/vegetable oil instead is one of two reasons; either becuase olive oil has a lot of aromas and distinct flavours that other neutral oils do not have or the other and major reason, it is more expensive, and commercially not preferred to save costs. Moral of the story, cook with extra virgin olive oil if you can afford it and you like its taste, if it is too much of a compromise, you can still add it raw to provide additional benefits, for health and taste :)

[@MultiJnkl]

Tipp for the spices and oven veggies. Mix them in a big bowl instead of the tray so they get more of all the flavours

[@onogrirwin]

9:00 Which oil for higher heat? Ghee, lard, or tallow. If you're not interested in animal products, palm or coconut. Why: The primary reason you want to avoid high heat with fats is oxidation, and saturated fats are less reactive than unsaturated fats. All of your seed oils (Like your rapeseed oil) contain a lot of polyunsaturated fats, which are quite a bit more reactive than saturated fats. Mono-unsaturated fats are somewhere in the middle, but generally fine. Olive oil is mostly mono-unsaturated, but the quality matters a huge amount specifically with olive oil. Either way, please disregard the smoke point, it's not really relevant. There are perfectly safe things that can cause oil to smoke, and oil can undergo significant oxidation without smoking, so smoke point just isn't a useful data point. Unsolicited advice: If you're vegan, you should take algae derived omega-3 supplements. Plant based sources of omega-3 (except for algae) are ALA, and ALA is a precursor to the forms that your body actually uses. The conversion rate from ALA to the forms you actually need is extremely poor, and if you rely on ALA alone, you are not getting enough omega-3. Not getting enough omega-3 is going to (Not maybe - it's a certainty) result in, among other things, much more rapid age-related cognitive decline and dramatically increased dementia risk. You need to get enough omega-3, and ALA isn't going to cut it. You need EPA or DHA, and you just don't get those in meaningful quantities from plants sources.

[@ricardovandenberg4347]

Advocado oil it has the highest burning point so best for frying

[@nelsonmaodeferro5984]

Vegan power 🤙 yeah man Cook with no salt, lots of piri piri will make the food taste as good as with salt but you need to use quite a bit. I cook with no oil and no salt. You can do quick curries with no salt and no oil, lots of piri piri and other spices and will taste amazing.

[@averageboulderer]

Sorry to say, but this sounds like torture. Salt is quite important. And needles to say so is fat. The one macro to be very careful with is carbs. I love myself some carbs and so I don't suggest that you cut out completely, but be very careful on how you get them and don't binge on them too much. Use it wisely and you'll get some fun fixes to your cravings.

[@areteclimbing]

​​​@@averageboulderer 👍 Fats are essential nutrients, as are proteins. Carbohydrate is the only non essential macronutrient. I'm not suggesting that anyone should cut it out completely, but you could and still be very healthy. For some people- far more healthy.

[@jeak]

Do you have a daily macro intake goal or just go by feel? I'd be super interested to know what you did to gain muscle mass. Did you always rely on vegetables and fruits to aquire protein or did you change the diet at some point to what we see now?

[@flam8094]

I reckon he's not trying to get any more muscle mass as he needs to be as light as he can be

[@jeak]

@@flam8094 I know, which is why I asked about his diet as a whole, more specifically, how he started.

[@alexandermegosAM]

I don't track my macro intakes. I usually go by feel. My day to day diet includes all three macro nutrients and roughly 80-100g of protein. The rest I do by feel.

[@alexandermegosAM]

I was not plant based for all my life. I just started eating plant based about 3 years ago. Before that I was also eating meat and dairy products. The protein intake said roughly the same though.

[@jeak]

@@alexandermegosAM Thank you for the insights, I might go this way once I gain enough muscle mass :)

[@tayfieldreed5391]

Coconut oil is the healthiest. Butter, ghee, tallow, and olive oil are also very good. Avocado oil is okay. The temperature limit on olive oil is a myth. Stay away from seed oils, fish oils, (most) lard etc. The omega 3:6 ratio is what's important. If you shave your carrots into long thin strips before eating, it structures the fiber in a way more conducive to clearing gastronomic aberrations (Ray Peat carrot salad)

[@snekhai]

Salt balanse is also important. It has no effect on blood pressure (lol).

[@TheHardieBoyz]

I can recommend using a non stick pan, which requires little to no oil and actually has a good heat transfer so it does not need to go that hot :) but requires good care and is quite expensive

[@septembermorgen1690]

But then you eat the non-stick coating over time...

[@benlane9970]

As a trained chef I would always use neutral vegetable oil / sunflower oil for frying at high heats as the smoke point is higher. Other oils (olive, rapeseed/sesame) are used to add flavour at lower temperatures.

[@alvaroviarenghi1673]

Suggest you to add more raw food, salad, etc, ..also fasting is super good...for cook olive oil or coconut

[@elpachanga]

You don't need to cut salt intake if you don't already have high blood pressure, salt does not cause hypertension, is is an essential nutrient and it is good for you. It is just in extreme cases of hypertension where the health risks of high blood pressure outweigh the benefits of eating enough salt. The youtube channel "what i've learned" has a great video about salt.

[@GoodLuck-rh8tb]

Sunflower oil for cooking is my take.

[@ec2402]

Nice video! Continue to listen to your body to see what feels good in terms of diet and stay flexible (also writing this for others of course). I think you don't need rapseed oil. Just cook on low-medium heat and you can see that the olive oil is not burning. You should be able to see the smoke if it were to burn. That's not good of course but doesnt happen usually at lower-medium heat. You can just observe it to see. Nice video!

[@BCzepa]

ghee )clarified butter) is the only safe thing to pan fry. you can also use lard and tallow but i havent used those much, i didnt like pig fat, i did like the taste of duck fat

[@wh33lers]

Keep in mind that salt is essential and you need a bit every day. So cutting it completely without any intake could even be dangerous in the long run.

[@alexandermegosAM]

I'm still consuming enough salt with my diet. I don't have to add extra salt though (apart from soy sauce) to hit my recommended daily intake.

[@austinlokey3946]

I’ve been using an air fryer to reduce the amount of oil I use. It’s a bit of an initial investment but soooo nice for yummy food without oil.

[@SileDevil]

air fryers release some nasty carcinogens into the food

[@austinlokey3946]

@@SileDevil fascinating! I haven’t heard that one. Thanks for noting it. Ill check out the science.

[@austinlokey3946]

@@SileDevil are your referencing the Acrylamide or something else?

[@baberainbow0025]

Think he s refering to the material being used. Teflon coating is not ideal. Since there s a lot of BS and misinformation, try to find a study. I wouldn t care so much about it honestly. I used a plastic steam cooker for years. Did my health decline? Maybe, maybe not. Got a stainless steel one, just for the peaceful mind😅

[@SileDevil]

@@austinlokey3946 kzbin.info/www/bejne/iIO3gGmMgr-Wepo