More support on the "low fat" diet not the answer

[MMX]

I have already moved long past this but for those that would like to read more evidence on this.
IT is especially bad here in the USA. Everything at the major stores is marketed as LOW FAT.

www.news.com.au/world/breaking-news/low-fat-diets-value-questioned/story-e6frfkui-1226846785866

[curlbroscience]

Hey MMX just started a Keto diet that my wife has been on for some time. Are you on a similar lifestyle?

[MMX]

No I don't do a Keto. I do an 80/20 with sensible portions and whole foods. The weekend I splurge a little on pizza/beer/bbq but mon-fri I eat whole grains,fats,veggies,meat. No processed stuff.

[curlbroscience]

Very cool MMX. How do you like it? I've heard of the 80/20 philosophy and it makes sense.

The only thing that changed from my diet was elimination of some carbs that I consumed which was not that much anyway and adding heavy cream to my coffee and eating more cheese in my eggs. Bacon is a staple too.

I seem to workout better on a slightly higher carb intake so I consume a shake prior to longer workouts. That can probably be subbed with a natural carb.

I dropped 8 pounds in the first week which is crazy for me because my waist size is half the measurement of my height.

[MMX]

Nice!! That is really cool. 80/20 works good for me because I know that I can spurge once in a while without regret. Even then my stomach is much smaller now so my splurges are much smaller..

[Ros]

Here's a really good blog post on the science of diet:

www.dcscience.net/?p=6300

Key points are:

 1) We don't really know much about the science of diets
 2)We will continue to be bombarded with conflicting advice for various reasons
 3)The only sound advice so far is don't eat too much and don't eat all the same thing

[meguro]

Remember when they said eggs and butter were bad for you and margarine and low fat were good? The best thing to do is find some old folks, really old and healthy folks, and ask them what they ate. I'm betting steak, eggs, cigars to go with the whiskey.

[Ros]

Mar 12, 2014 16:04:57 GMT -5 meguro said:

The best thing to do is find some old folks, really old and healthy folks, and ask them what they ate. I'm betting steak, eggs, cigars to go with the whiskey.

Trouble is, there's probably several more dead who did the same thing, for each one really old and healthy! Ah well, if the global rising temperatures and antibiotic resistant bacteria don't get us, if we all get to a ripe old age, we should make something up if anyone asks us what our secret is. Just for a laugh.

[GJEC]

I read the wartime generation was the healthiest ever, despite or maybe because of rationing.

A glance round any churchyard shows graves of 90 year olds in the 1800's, but today many 50 year olds die of chronic inertia. So maybe work and activity is more life prolonging than diet alone.

Gary

[Ros]

Mar 13, 2014 5:35:46 GMT -5 GJEC said:

I read the wartime generation was the healthiest ever, despite or maybe because of rationing. A glance round any churchyard shows graves of 90 year olds in the 1800's, but today many 50 year olds die of chronic inertia.

This idea intrigued me enough to do some digging. I found out that life expectancy from birth has risen from just over 40 in 1841 to around 80 in 2001 (not surprisingly dipping sharply for men during both wars) and life expectancy from the age of 65 has risen from around 11 to around 20. Interesting report here:

www.longevitypanel.co.uk/docs/life-expectancy-by-gender.pdf

Maybe people were healthier for the shorter time they were alive?   But it certainly seems that the later you were born, the longer you will be alive.

[GJEC]

"rationing improved the health of British people; infant mortality declined and life expectancy rose, discounting deaths caused by hostilities. This was because it ensured that everyone had access to a varied diet with enough vitamins".[16][17]

That was on wiki but as we know that's not exactly the Encyclopedia Britannica

Gary

[Ros]

It probably did improve the health of british people overall - probably because up to then poorer people generally ate so badly (and infant mortality and life expectancy have risen ever since the 1840s apart from male mortality during the world wars which definitely wasn't discounted). I don't know if there's any evidence that health has declined since rationing though. I imagine health was improved by rationing and continued to improve after rationing.

[MMX]

I think recently and in the future it will decline due to all the sedentary nature of our "civlization".
People need to eat less and move more.