new research debunks trad views on nutrition

[Perris]

I just got done reading this, interesting. I do wish they had done free choice from the beginning instead of waiting until day 49. Did you catch that the meat birds used were actually Naked Necks and not broilers?

they are described as hybrids, a naked neck type. If I remember aright the gene for naked neck is dominant, so will show even if there's a lot else in the mix.

 

[glib]

One of the best books I've read is In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan. The subtitle sums up the book in 7 words: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.

His book, The Omnivore's Dilemma is also excellent. Both address this issue.

I must be in trouble. I eat mostly meat (meat, eggs, dairy). One fruit and one or two ounces of sauerkrauts a day is my whole daily plant allowance. Never felt better.

 

[Perris]

I must be in trouble. I eat mostly meat (meat, eggs, dairy). One fruit and one or two ounces of sauerkrauts a day is my whole daily plant allowance. Never felt better.

You are not alone. Spector observes that "many indigenous populations have adapted to exist on virtually no plants or carbohydrates without obvious ill-effects, such as the Inuit, Sami and the Tsimane in Bolivia, suggesting that in some environments, carbs, unlike fats or protein, are not essential." p.xvi In general, it is the type and quality of carbohydrate, fat and protein that matters, he says.

 

[Sally PB]

The quality of ingredients in food matters.

 

[saysfaa]

You are not alone. Spector observes that "many indigenous populations have adapted to exist on virtually no plants or carbohydrates without obvious ill-effects, such as the Inuit, Sami and the Tsimane in Bolivia, suggesting that in some environments, carbs, unlike fats or protein, are not essential." p.xvi In general, it is the type and quality of carbohydrate, fat and protein that matters, he says.

Is it the environment or the genetics? My sister has a slow digestive system, her husband has a fast one. If he eats much of the light foods she does best with (lots of salads and fruit), he is hungry, light headed, feels (and is) empty all the way down, and such within a couple of hours. If she eats much of the heavier foods he does best with (grains, meats, fats), she feels dumpy, lethargic, feels (and is) full all the way down, and such for more than a day. Of their two sons, one is like him and one is like her in this way.

They are on the opposite extremes of the range people are but we thought maybe this concept that people can be so different is why so many fad diets have a similar pattern - an extreme diet works so wonderfully for a few that it is touted as a miracle concept. Then many try and it doesn't work for a lot of them.

Actually, I think it is both and other things too - the system working rather than isolated parts of the system. Something like not needing much fruit if the little you have has what is needed to cover the narrow gaps in the rest of the diet. Maybe it isn't "a little bit of fruit" that makes it work; maybe it is because the little bit of fruit happens to be bilberries. Or the little bit of nut have happens to be Brazil nut. Concept, here ... not necessarily the details.

 

[Perris]

Is it the environment or the genetics? If my sister has a slow digestive system, her husband has a fast one. If he eats much of the light foods she does best with (lots of salads and fruit), he is hungry, light headed, feels (and is) empty all the way down, and such within a couple of hours. If she eats much of the heavier foods he does best with (grains, meats, fats), she feels dumpy, lethargic, feels (and is) full all the way down, and such for more than a day. Of their two sons, one is like him and one is like her in this way.

They are on the opposite extremes of the range people are but we though maybe this concept that people can be so different is why so many fad diets have a similar pattern - an extreme diet works so wonderfully for a few that it is touted as a miracle concept. Then many try and it doesn't work for a lot of them.

Actually, I think it is both and other things too - the system working rather than isolated parts of the system. Something like not needing much fruit if the little you have has what is needed to cover the narrow gaps in the rest of the diet. Maybe it isn't "a little bit of fruit" that makes it work; maybe it is because the little bit of fruit happens to be bilberries. Or the little bit of nut have happens to be Brazil nut. Concept, here ... not necessarily the details.

This is very perceptive. I think you would enjoy Spector's book a lot. Near the end of his preface he says "It would have been impossible to write a book like this when I began working in medicine a generation ago. A vast and exciting new area of food science, which sits somewhere between medicine, nutrition, biology, chemistry and food history, is opening up to us. We now have the tools and motivation to fully understand our own personal relationships with food and why we all respond differently. Food education in schools hasn't changed for the better in the last 40 years...and it has totally failed to curb the unacceptable levels of eating disorders and obesity...I hope to help you to look beyond the deliberately deceptive food labels, miracle product media claims, and misleading division of foods into calories, carbohydrates, fats and proteins...I hope that you will become an expert in your own diet and what makes you unique."

 

[BigBlueHen53]

These last three posts make good sense to me. I can't eat like my husband does - he's a meat and potatoes man. I want "fruits, grains, vegetables and nuts," (oh, and the occasional egg!) and not much of anything, ever. Slow metabolism. We are all individuals.

 

[Perris]

These last three posts make good sense to me. I can't eat like my husband does - he's a meat and potatoes man. I want "fruits, grains, vegetables and nuts," (oh, and the occasional egg!) and not much of anything, ever. Slow metabolism. We are all individuals.

Indeed. He observes that diets that support longevity vary widely in carbohydrate, fish, dairy and meat intakes, but "what they all have in common is that these people eat hardly any highly processed foods".

From his (identical) twin studies it became obvious to him that the gut microbiome is key is understanding how we each interact with food, since the twins shared the same genes (and the rest of us share about 99.7% with each other), but on average we share only about 25% of the so far identifiable microbes (of the trillions of bacteria, viruses and fungi) living in our guts (p.95).

 

[Perris]

Chickens are not grazing creatures but they eat grass. They don't just eat grass because there isn't anything else.

I've discovered one reason why Henry may do it - gives him a bit of va-voom!
'Access to pasture ... improves rooster sperm quality' Poultry Science 2018
http://dx.doi.org/10.3382/ps/pey299

 

[Folly's place]

Physical activity matters! We can't change our ancestry, but we can move more and eat better...
Mary