DosWheelsBtr

Any thoughts on the protein craze that is currently taking place? All over the place it seems every health "guru" has their own line of whey protein powder. I mean, talk about a quick cash grab.

bhchdh 

I am 5 months into a whole foods plant based diet. Please, someone explain to me how what I eat has any effect on you, and why you care so much.

wolfchild

Because protein is an essential nutrient, it helps with recovery, it helps with fat loss and athletes have greater needs for protein then sedentary people.


Every health guru also has their own line of cereal...I think "eating cereal for breakfast" dogma needs to die.

Majority of supplements and "exotic super foods" are a cash grab....All those "super foods" such as chia seeds, hemp seeds, aramantah seeds, quinoa, gojii berries, acai berries and few others are all a big scam...Just because some tribe in the Amazon eats something doesn't mean anything....Our health food manufacturers take these "exotic tribal foods" and promote them as having magical healing powers and a lot of westerners just fall for it and swallow hook line and sinker....You would be better off eating steel-cut oats and blueberries then some of these exotic health foods.

GeorgeBMac

Yes, it is obvious from his posts: His high-fat/high-animal-product diet is based on ideology rather than science. For him and the other most vocal proponents, "facts" are created to support their ideology and then presented as real science rather than the pseudo-science it actually is...

GeorgeBMac

Yes, I agree that the American disease-care system is not very good at promoting health.

And, yes, the poor are hit disproportionately hard with the fast food/cheap processed food wave. But the wave is not limited to them: Last year was the first year that more money was spent in restaurants than in grocery stores. And, one of the big winners (surprisingly since they were supposed to be losers in the shift towards healthy foods) was McDonald's...

One theory is:
"Where did the money from $2.00 gasoline go (savings did not increase -- although debt decreased)?
... One answer is: To McDonald's as the soccer mom's stopped there and at Dairy Queen after practice...

My personal experience is that the nation has divided on food just as it has politically: some celebrate eating junk while others are very serious about their healthy diets with fewer in the middle...
... I belong to a running group where, although all are very fitness conscious, a large segment have large bellies from the high fat/high sugar diets that they celebrate eating after practice runs... I suspect it is the old theory that running "burns off" "bad" calories -- and part of that is that many equate a healthy body and diet to weight only -- yet overweight has become the new normal so people are no longer embarrassed because even the guys look like their carrying a baby...

SHBR

Heh, you fell for the global warming scam, you might want to look into geoengineering. As for broken families, I wasn't aware that children can choose their parents? Did you have this option? I didn't. I've opted out of most mainstream culture, including mass distraction based entertainment and the typical junk food diet. Also, many health problems are the direct result of something you have no control over. The Manhattan project is a fine example. The ship can't be plugged, it needs to be replaced, modern society is designed to fail.

GeorgeBMac

I think your grandma was probably talking about the depression years and their follow-up throughout the 30's, In the U.S. that ended with our entrance into WW-II and pretty much continued with middle class prosperity up until the oil crisis of the early 70's along with the beginning demise of American steel and other industries... But she is correct that the Depression years were bad, very bad. Many people went hungry.

And, it sounds like you are confusing Baby Boomers with those born in the 60's and later... The boomers were children of those you are talking about. They are called "Boomers" because of the baby boom that happened immediately after WW-II as the returning GI's married and had kids. The parents of that generation went through both the depression and WW-II. And, in addition to the parents teaching their children about it, the American culture celebrated the end to that suffering and looked forward to a future of strong, healthy American kids living in a land of prosperity and peace -- both of which began to fall apart in the 70's... But, the Baby Boomers were raised by those you who, you suggest, they have no knowledge of, that is not correct. They were their parents. Unfortunately though: it seems that many "old white guys" have forgotten the lessons learned at their parent's knees...

GeorgeBMac

Eating a high animal protein diet may not be healthy -- but it can be good for musculature and waist line. For many Americans, health is defined by big muscles and a small waist and vegans are equated to the proverbial sickly, 98 pound weakling.

GeorgeBMac

Again, you are spouting nonsense: all pseudo-science and twisted and distorted "facts" manufactured to support an ideology...

GeorgeBMac

Healthy diets seem to be on a continuum: at one extreme is the Standard American Diet and at the other a Whole Food Plant Based diet.

So, most agencies would agree that the diet you describe is (at least) healthier than the SAD diet. But, is it the healthiest? I, who eat a Whole Food Plant Based diet would say "No". But I also realize that eating that kind of diet is not for everybody: NOT because it is not healthy -- but because it goes against the grain of American society and is therefor hard to maintain. For example: if you are on the road and hungry where do you eat? Any meal under $10-$15 will not be on the diet (unless you count ice-berg lettuce without any dressing as part of the diet).

But, if you return to the "traditional" eating habits of the 50's & 60's, where most meals are made from scratch and eaten at home, it becomes a LOT easier.

BTW, research is conflicted about organics being "healthier". But then, that may partly depend on what you mean by "healthier". Almost everybody but Monsanto would agree that you are better off not eating the pesticides and herbicides on the GMO and non-organic foods (and hormones, heavy metals & anti-biotics in non-organic meat, fish and dairy). But as far as nutrition: Both organic and non-organic contain all the major nutrients that are typically measured -- while other research suggests that anti-oxidants and other phytonutrients are stronger in fresh, organic foods than non-organic bulk groceries...

Here's a couple highly informative, two minute videos showing:
Evidence on: "Are Organic Foods More Nutritious?"
Are Organic Foods More Nutritious? | NutritionFacts.org

Evidence on: "Are Organic Foods Safer?"
Are Organic Foods Safer? | NutritionFacts.org

GeorgeBMac

Short, sweet and true! I like it!
... Well said!

SHBR

The generation I'm referring to were born soon after WW2, between the 1946 and 1964. Before WW2 the family unit was much stronger than the families raised by the G.I. and Silent generations. Drug abuse and alcoholism which often resulted in domestic violence became common household issues, traditional values were replaced with materialistic values. The baby boomer generation is currently in control over most aspects of modern society. Industry and science have become the new religion, with no regard to the consequences. Extremely narcissistic, self centered, attention seeking, instant gratification behaviour is the root of most current social problems. Food is just one of many social control mechanisms.

Harvieu25

What I should have said is "I converted to a whole foods diet 14 months ago". You can be vegan and eat junk as well with all the new 'vegan' products hitting the market.

GeorgeBMac

Of all the diseases plaguing modern society, "Protein Deficiency" is just not one of them. Yet, Americans seem fixated on protein and make a slab of protein from a dead animal the center piece of every meal. Much of that has to do with marketing from the meat & dairy industries as well as the myth that eating dead animals is manly...

Yet the BlueZones have shown that the healthiest societies not only eat far less protein but mostly plant based protein.

And, few Americans realize how much protein is in plants:
The oatmeal & soy milk I had this morning contained 25 grams of protein -- which is more than a BigMac!
The P&J on Whole Wheat that I might have for lunch will contain 22 grams of protein -- which is the same as McD's Bacon, Chedder, Chicken sandwich.

As for athletes needing "More Protein": Even Arnold says: "Eat More Plants! -- I'll Be Back!"

GeorgeBMac

You, my friend, are a threat to their ideology...

Best of luck with your new diet and Congratulations on choosing health over convenience...

GeorgeBMac

It's time you learned the science rather than throwing tantrums when your ideology is threatened and spouting twisted, distorted rhetoric and propaganda...

The trouble with debating you is that you cherry pick or even invent "facts" to support your ideology based diet. So, your "facts" come out as an endless stream of 90% bull...

wolfchild

Heart surgeon speaks out on what really causes heart disease -- Health & Wellness -- Sott.net Here you go, I have some real science for you.

GeorgeBMac

Your negativity may or may not be justified -- but your facts about financial & nutritional deprivation in the years after WW-II and the Baby Boomer generation's knowledge of what preceeded their generation are incorrect.

GeorgeBMac

Again: The trouble with debating you is that you cherry pick or even invent "facts" to support your ideology based diet. So, your "facts" come out as an endless stream of 90% bull...

I can site cardiologists who say statins have none but very rare, reversible side effects...

bhchdh 

Conclusion from the above article.

What you can do is choose whole foods your grandmother served and not those your mom turned to as grocery store aisles filled with manufactured foods. By eliminating inflammatory foods and adding essential nutrients from fresh unprocessed food, you will reverse years of damage in your arteries and throughout your body from consuming the typical American diet.

DosWheelsBtr

You seem unaware of what those on a Whole Plant Based Food lifestyle eat. There is little addition to oil and salt for that matter. Most ppl I know on this lifestyle abide by those two rather consistently. It is not new science to note that oil is bad for you.

RomansFiveEight

I'm not worried about GMO's. In fact, I think they're brilliant. And they've been going on for centuries. Good farmers have always cross-bred plants or taken care to get the biggest yields. Over centuries crops like corn were developed through cross-breeding. By the strictest definition ALL corn is a GMO. It is not naturally occurring, it exists because of human intervention, and would not exist without humans having 'created' it. Pesticides and the like, and antibiotics (the latter only being a concern, obviously, in meat) are certainly a concern. However a world in which plants yield more, are immune to disease, require less water; that's not a bad thing. We hear "genetically modified" and conjure up images of evil laboratories and spider-man, but it's really just a fancy way of doing more intelligently and more scientifically what farmers have ALWAYS done. Given natural selection and evolution a little 'nudge' to improve their 'product'. Heck, much of our meat that we eat is indeed that same process. Fat, fast growing, big and slow. Qualities bred by selecting the right candidates for breeding over many many many years. Same with most domestic animals really, from pets to farm animals.

I don't jump on the "chemicals are bad!!!" bandwagon. Chemicals are the basics of life. Our blood has formaldehyde and other scary words naturally that people try to scare other people out of eating certain foods by claiming it's in that particular food. So fear-mongering about GMO's or "chemicals in foods" is just junk science. I notice a lot of arguing about junk science on the meat eating crowd; which is warranted. But Vegans tend to share their fair share of utter B.S. as well. Nobody is immune to confirmation bias.

One of the bigger issues of 'organic' is that there's so little to really control what that label means. Everything is 'organic' anyway. There's no such thing as a plant or animal that's not "organic", i.e., "derived from living matter". So it's just a marketing buzzword. But I use it for simplicities sake. I live in a rural area and get my produce from a local family farm. They happen to themselves be "semi-vegetarian" (self described). They have chickens, and eat the eggs. And chickens don't live forever, so while the chickens aren't slaughtered for meat, they do eat the chickens when they die. Including the roosters; which is generally not eaten (much tougher and blander meat, I'm told). But, point being, it's fresh in-season kale, spinach, and other great fruits and veggies. Though in the winter months I buy the 'flown in' stuff. They can, and eat the canned stuff. It's actually pretty common out here.

I get flack once in a while around here for living in a rural area. We're all supposed to snort smog together in some urban area to reduce our travel times, I get it. But the folks out here pretty much still do live like the 50's and 60's. Far fewer are obese than in the city an hour away. There are only a couple restaurants, which happen to both be owned by farmers who serve their own grown and raised foods. (But it is country cookin', which means they fry it all. Everything. Even the vegetables.), most cook the bulk of their meals at home, many grow their own food. Even if they don't farm, they garden. Then they can what they don't eat and that lasts through the winter.

The confirmation bias is strong in this thread though. Tossing out studies that affirm our pre-conceived notions, with little, if any, willingness to open our minds to the other side. For vegans, eating meat is always a totally immoral and selfish act with no redeeming qualities. I'm enjoying listening to people tell other people WHY they eat meat, though not really asking them why, simply TELLING them why, because it must be one of their preset ideas. And, likewise, B.S. science from the meat crowd trying to affirm their pre-conceived notion (taught to them by marketing folks; like the old 'Got Milk' ads that told us that milk is essential. It really isn't. There are better sources of protein and calcium) that veganism and vegetarianism are unhealthy and require you to 'miss out' in key nutrients, which is equally true. You need amino acids (protein), and there's no amino acid you can get from meat you can't get from plants. A diet of nothing but celery and lettuce is probably unhealthy and missing out on essentials, (as would be a diet in nothing but ground hamburger), but a varied diet contains all the nutrients needed.

Also; I have to jump on this one, what's up with the B.S. "People only eat meat because it's manly" line? So this is apparently news so 'll try to break it to you gently but, women eat meat too.

DosWheelsBtr

It's even better to eliminate animals foods entirely. The Whole Foods Plant Based lifestyle has consistently been shown to be anti-inflammatory. Eat foods that high in anti-oxidants will have the greatest impact on reducing inflammation.

DosWheelsBtr

[QUOTE=wolfchild;18400723]Because protein is an essential nutrient, it helps with recovery, it helps with fat loss and athletes have greater needs for protein then sedentary people.

You can get all the protein one needs from just eating plant based. My qualm is with ppl sitting down and eating 12oz. of animal product a day. Also, ingesting more protein leaves on anabolic and catabolic. So your notion of wanting to have fat loss is mute.

SHBR

I am referring to the decade of the 1940's the time when that photo was taken. Those were not the financial and nutritional golden years you speak of. The 1950's was a totally different decade that had almost nothing to do with the previous decade. People who grew up after 1950 have almost nothing in common with the generation that preceeded them. Many events before 1950 have been washed down the memory hole. Getting accurate first hand information about the first half of the 20th century is becoming an increasingly difficult task.