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  • Wildly Off-Topic Adventures: 100% Complete Guide to Healthful Food


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    As a scientist it's a personal quest of mine to inform as many people as possible about something as important and basic as what we shove down our pie hole, there was an event today, so I'm posting this to work it out of my system.  Look how short my book is:

     

    Eat real plants from nature.  Eat real animals if you want to (not cured or processed). Drink some water or tea when you eat.  Try to limit anything from a can, box, or wrapper the best you are able.  Everything else is someone trying to sell you something.

     

    That's it.  Now you know why I haven't published the book yet, it's not even a pamphlet.  If I tried to stretch that out to book length claiming a full education on healthful eating, well, I'd be trying to sell you something.

    85% of the stuff in a cardboard or plastic package marked Organic or with pictures of nature or in your store's "natural foods" section is mostly charging extra to help you feel good about yourself.  Frozen organic pizza -spoiler- is frozen pizza.

     

    WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH CONFLICTING FOOD STUDIES?  Whenever you read or hear "A new study suggests..." ignore everything after that.  One study is not science.  100 studies by different institutions in different places over time all getting the same results is science, but it's hard to get paid or promoted for doing those last 99 studies so they are sadly lacking to turn that one study into established science.  Also, in the 70's the sugar lobby won an award from an advertising association for funding "studies" that indicated fat was the big problem in America's diet, leading to the low-fat and non-fat craze, where food tastes awful and needs to be perked up by... adding sugar.

     

    WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH SUGAR?  Put plainly, surprisingly small amounts of sugar is a liver toxin. Doctors dealing with complicated biochemistry and disease take this to a very granular complicated level and make it seem impossible to deal with in busy real life.  Regular people in decent health only need to understand two sources of sugar I will call free and trapped.

    Plants have natural sugars trapped the fiber and bran that give body to the plant.  It takes time for our bodies to digest through those knots so the sugars are released slowly and steadily and our livers can process it just fine.  Generally the fiber will make you feel full and stop eating long before you can eat any problematic amount of plants, even sweet fruits.

    Free sugars are what processed foods add and in natural fruit juice after industry removes the fiber.  Like it sounds free sugar isn't trapped in all that fiber so it's instantly metabolized and SLAMS into your liver all at once.  Your liver has no choice but to instantly turn that mountain of sugar into fat.  This is the process that results in weight gain, inflammation, higher bad cholesterol, heart disease, hypertension, lack of energy, depressed mood, increased risk of neural impairment cancer and diabetes.

    The World Health Organization, who does health science solid enough to be applied to any human anywhere, recommends a top limit of 10% of your daily energy from free sugar (that doesn't include trapped sugars from plants).  That's about 25-35 grams or maybe 50g if you're really active.  Typical candy bar is around 38g, 12 oz. sodas around 45g.  They put sugar in ketchup, salad dressing, bbq sauce, yogurt... good luck.

     

    WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH FAT?  It's not as bad as you've been led to believe.  Especially the kinds of fat in avocados, nuts etc. which help keep your bad cholesterol lower.  Olive oil, while in my opinion the best for cooking, is another product separated from the fiber of the plant so take it in moderation.  Animal fat is not horrible, and should be the poster child for "everything in moderation".  Every meal every day is way too much, a few times per week is the moderate consensus, and is completely optional in the first place (just eat lots more plant protein and vitamin Bs)

    Unlike sugars, fat makes you feel full and stop eating; which is better than trying to fill up with your third plate of pasta (carbs are sugars).  Energy from fats don't raise your insulin level avoiding those issues.

     

    CALORIES IN = CALORIES OUT IS A LIE  For the reasons above.  It's one of the tricks food manufacturers use to plant just enough misunderstanding in consumers to try to keep making profits from selling as many delicious problematic units as possible; especially when it comes to children.  Drink a 150 calorie Coke then run around after school, it balances out.  Except compared to say equal calories snacking on their favorite nuts the child still has gained no nutrition vs. nutty vitamins protein and fiber, as you learned above damaged their liver a little more vs. paced metabolism, oh and didn't come close to burning all 150 calories playing for an hour anyway.

     

    I can keep going about this for hours because we literally ARE what we eat.  The exact same molecules.  I can go into specifics or point to further non-bought-off sources of information for anyone interested in more.

    Edited by Proxima Sin
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    Information about what part of it all?

     

    Here is the WHO report I cited.  It gets misreported in some pop blurb articles which is why I go to the dry, dense, boring original source because to me there's enough reward for pushing through it.

     

    There is a movie called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead (2010) about a regular guy trying to get healthier.  Standard caveat of I have small quibbles with parts of it but it's as plain and relatable as there is that gives the the basic message.  Mostly they tell the guy he's crazy and they'll eat what they want and die early and happy.

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    Totally agree with Sin!  :yes2:

     

    An additional advice; 

    - Buy and eat organic grown food!

    It's good for you AND the animals, plants and bacteria we share this planet with. If you buy meat, then select those cows etc that have eaten grass or other food without chemicals additions (e.g. no growth hormones etc). Here we call that meat organic also, but added this to say that also meat can be organic.

     

    Regarding sugar, It's hard to avoid totally as almost everything bought in a tin, box or plastic has sugar added.  :hysteric:  And many people forget that if you already eat too much sugar, then fruit juice or smoothies are just as bad. The condensed glucose/dextrose and fructose in juice is not what you need. If you want fruit, eat it whole and get the fibers also (this way you will feel full quicker and stop after just one or two). I'd guess sugar soon kills more than smoking does (counted in lost years caused by premature deaths). 

     

    I've been reading up a lot on food, health and exercise and it changed my eating habits. Sometimes I don't care and eat whatever I want - but mostly I try. 

    Edited by Tea
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    Often enough, the problem tends to be affordability of non-processed foods. Those costs add up fast, especially when feeding a family. And that is without going organic, which I really don't think matters much anyways. The growth hormones in meat is one thing, but for the most part I've not seen sufficient science to claim that fruits and vegetables are noticeably different - just need to be sure to wash them properly! 

     

    I find it very strange that nutrition science is such a mess. It is such an important aspect for human health. But then, I am not surprised as like Prox alluded to, most of these "studies" are funded by marketing firms and product producers looking to sell something. As soon as they get a study that says what they want to hear, they stop funding more. And that is even before finding out that the study was probably poorly performed and didn't even use proper controls.

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    Often enough, the problem tends to be affordability of non-processed foods. Those costs add up fast, especially when feeding a family. And that is without going organic, which I really don't think matters much anyways. The growth hormones in meat is one thing, but for the most part I've not seen sufficient science to claim that fruits and vegetables are noticeably different - just need to be sure to wash them properly! 

     

    Strongly disagree. It is not just about the poisons they put on in and in the food it is also about the whole mind-set, belief system and approach to growing food and the kind of relationship you have to the planet. By all means eat what you want, but please don't dismiss a whole food movement that encompasses a lot more than simply whether they are spraying poisons on your food and into the environment or not!

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    By all means eat what you want, but please don't dismiss a whole food movement that encompasses a lot more than simply whether they are spraying poisons on your food and into the environment or not!

     

    As an environmental movement versus a nutrition aspect, there is certainly more to discuss. My points were through the nutrition aspect. My issue on the environmental aspect is a bit different, but even more complex. Sustaining the population of today is largely a feat accomplished by the so-called Green Revolution which adopted many of the practices that organic minded individuals take issue with in order to increase output. Unless recent years have proven through new techniques then organic farming requires significantly more land to produce the same amount of food the last I looked into the subject. Do feel free to point me towards updated information if this has changed? I really am sorry if I offend, but I am not too sensitive on mind-sets or belief systems. If you can provide the science, then I am very likely to be convinced! But that still doesn't help me afford to make the switch. Idealistically, I'd love to see some union in responsible GMO and more environment friendly organic practices. However the divide between organic idealists and GMO currently being focused more on pure profit and less on environmental friendliness makes that a rather unrealistic notion for some time to come.

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    I'd bet money that you did not offend Life :) but many have strong opinions in this . I think you just got a pretty direct answer from Harneloot.  

     

    More than 30 years ago I visited a SciFi-convention with some speakers. One of them impressed me hugely when he explained why overpopulation was THE most dangerous threat to our planet (and indirectly to humans). Overpopulation leads to burned down rainforest, over-pollution, wars and forcing people en masse to do stupid things to survive or have a decent life. I still agree with him and would like governments, UN, EU etc focus much more on stopping this serious scurge.

     

    If you want to do something good today, please consider supporting WWF http://wwf.panda.org/   :curtsey:

    Edited by Tea
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    Guest Zaxtonia

    The Yoga of Eating is an interesting look at what y'all are discussing.  A friend suggested it when my health took a turn for the worse.

     

    I like to eat.  My teeth are round from it....

    Edited by Zaxtonia
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    These types of discussions tend to interest me quite a bit, though I've learned to control going down the rabbit holes too far. Overpopulation tends to be fascinating topic with a lot of contention and moral quandaries. It is one of those subjects that some people can get awfully upset over. =/

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    Guest Zaxtonia

    Because people cannot remove their emotions from a scientific discussion. Over population is real and scary, but when the human race is convinced on using the infinite growth model, which is unsustainable, it is frightening

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    There is also the notion of Freedom and Control. People feel that they are being unfairly restricted if they are given Child Limits such as has happened in China. Discussions come up along the lines of social engineering and eugenics which is extra scary. In a world where we want only a limited number of humans in the next generation, how do you decide who can have them and how many they can have. It is very emotional because the logic of it has very real repercussions on individual choice and liberty.

     

    I am not claiming it is not a problem, but I do understand why people get emotional over it.

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    Guest Zaxtonia

    *Deleted*

     

    Getting on my soapbox is not good for me...

    Edited by Zaxtonia
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    Haha. Chances are I agree with you more than not. I am more than open to private conversations on any such topic if you want to go into deep conversation. But I am trying to remain off of soap boxes in public.

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    Guest Zaxtonia

    Fair enough, Life.  IRL, I have lost friends and family due to my beliefs or rather recent changes in my beliefs and do not wish to continue that trend here.

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    Completely understandable. I'm fortunate enough to have not had to experience losses such as yours, but definitely had situations where it was possible and have heard too many stories where it has happened.

    Edited by Lifedragn
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