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Ask HN: What should we eat?

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Re: Ask HN: What should we eat?

#31

Post by whatusername »

da5e wrote: post #12
briandw wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is incorrect and naive. Our teeth evolved to eat a wide verity of things, molars to chew plants, and incisors and canines to rip meat. Look at the diet of chimps, they eat whatever they can get their hands on, meat included. "Cooked foods are bad" is a crock. You can over cook foods, and maybe cooking some foods is bad, but cooking increases the nutritional value of many foods. Processing makes more nutrients av…

"specifically the no GMO part" That's a huge unscientific leap to say that. We don't know GMO is safe. And it's certainly not logical to say that concerns about them are crap.

We've been modifying and breeding plants and animals for thousands of years. All that's happening now is the process is speeding up. We know that sometimes it doesn't work (see Banana's), but in general things get better.

Better == What we optimize for. Which lately has unfortunately been appearance and shelf life, not taste and nutrients.

Re: Ask HN: What should we eat?

#32

Post by oomkiller »

cpearce wrote: post #28
shin_lao wrote: post #20

Here's my diet which works very well for me: - I prefer fish to meat - I almost never eat red meat, - I organize my meals to eat fish/meat only once a day - Lots of vegetables and fruits - No desert, no cakes, no sweetie, no ice cream, no soda, no sugar (by "no" I mean on very rare occasions) - Very little dairy products, especially no cheese at all. Milk is ok. - No butter, ever would it be directly or indirectly -…

> I prefer fish to meat As much as I like fish, and though it is in general good for you, commercial fishing is emptying our oceans at an alarming and unsustainable rate. If humans keep fishing at the current rate, we'll have emptied the oceans of fish by some time in the later half of this century. We'll be left with jellyfish, worms and krill as our only seafood. Do you want your grandchildren to eat fish? Only buy…

Where does sustainable start? I was looking into farm raised fish today and it seems they cause problems for wild populations, AND are worse for you. One example I read was about farm raised salmon having almost no Omega-3 and lots of Omega-6.

Re: Ask HN: What should we eat?

#33

Post by sabj »

Devilboy wrote: post #15

I figure if you eat things that's been around for thousands of years you'll probably be OK. It seems that everyone agrees on: - Lots of fruit and vegetables - Legumes - Fish twice a week or more - Red meat but not for every meal - Avoid highly processed foods - Avoid dairy products There doesn't seem to be any consensus on wheat products. Rice seems fine, and potatoes too if you don't deep-fry them. Of course nobody…

Bigger problem with the cannibalism: so much of the human livestock around would be poorly fed. Just as corn-fed cattle are less healthy than their grass fed brethren, so too would the many unhealthy humans around provide for poor meals, I think.

Re: Ask HN: What should we eat?

#35

Post by mbutson »

I have been in your situation on many occasions. I have gone vegetarian, vegan, omnivore, whatever you want to call it I have been there. It is a questions that can never be finitely answered. Everyone is different and the human body adapts to what it is given. (An eskimo community in Wales eats 90% fat)

The most rewarding diet(I hate the term diet because it ensures only short-term gain) that I have found is the Paleo Diet. http://paleodiet.com/ (horrible website I know)

Pretty much you just eat what you would expect to find hundreds of years ago.

Dean Karnazes(One of the best Ultra-Marathoners) swares by this diet. Here is a PDF of his daily diet plan. http://cl.ly/26c8cffdcda16a8dd212

I pretty much follow that regular plan, I do also run marathons, but it is definitely worth following in a normal phyical environment.

I would also reccomend the green smoothie. 7:3 fruit:greens ratio.

Usual Ingredients:

Strawberries Banana Water (Ice if you want it thicker) Greens

As you continue to get more accustomed to greens you can up the ratio. I LOVE it.

Best of luck to you man. Don't let my opinion deter you from others. Although I would NEVER follow Gary Taubes. He is also the guy who questions exercise. That's just insane.

On that note. It is important to exercise. Start small, and do an activity that you know you would enjoy.

Re: Ask HN: What should we eat?

#36

Post by shib71 »

modeless wrote: post #25
shib71 wrote: post #10

My tendencies, which seem to work well: - Foods with less processing - more fresh stuff, less stuff that needs preservatives - High ratio of vegatables/fruit to meat - Less high-carb stuff, and always the low-gi versions (e.g. wholemeal/rye bread, brown rice) - Eat what you enjoy. Find a balance between healthy and tasty you can live with. - Indulging in stuff not on this list is serious business - it has to be reall…

Fine, but personal diet anecdotes aren't what eavc is asking for. What trustworthy sources are these decisions based on?

Unfortunately I have the same problem with sources as the original poster. Nutrition science has become so sensationalized that it's hard to take any of it seriously.

I take my cue mostly from an instinct developed over years of paying attention to how my diet makes me feel. Stuff like CSIRO's book [http://www.csiro.au/science/TWD.html] do influence that instinct - I feel that their research is somewhat removed from the profit motive.

Re: Ask HN: What should we eat?

#37

Post by adamtj »

mbutson wrote: post #35

I have been in your situation on many occasions. I have gone vegetarian, vegan, omnivore, whatever you want to call it I have been there. It is a questions that can never be finitely answered. Everyone is different and the human body adapts to what it is given. (An eskimo community in Wales eats 90% fat) The most rewarding diet(I hate the term diet because it ensures only short-term gain) that I have found is the Pal…

Dean Karnazes is not the best ultrarunner in the world. He's just the best at personal marketing.

Re: Ask HN: What should we eat?

#38

Post by cpearce »

oomkiller wrote: post #32
cpearce wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I prefer fish to meat As much as I like fish, and though it is in general good for you, commercial fishing is emptying our oceans at an alarming and unsustainable rate. If humans keep fishing at the current rate, we'll have emptied the oceans of fish by some time in the later half of this century. We'll be left with jellyfish, worms and krill as our only seafood. Do you want your grandchildren to eat fish? Only buy…

Where does sustainable start? I was looking into farm raised fish today and it seems they cause problems for wild populations, AND are worse for you. One example I read was about farm raised salmon having almost no Omega-3 and lots of Omega-6.

Most fish eat smaller fish. So farmed fish are fed fishfood which is made from caught wild fish. It takes something like 5kg of anchovies to make 1kg of farmed salmon.

Sustainable fishing means taking less from the sea, adhering to quotas, not continuing to catch species at risk, and setting up sanctuaries where fish stocks can replenish.

Re: Ask HN: What should we eat?

#39

Post by mbutson »

adamtj wrote: post #37
mbutson wrote: post #35

I have been in your situation on many occasions. I have gone vegetarian, vegan, omnivore, whatever you want to call it I have been there. It is a questions that can never be finitely answered. Everyone is different and the human body adapts to what it is given. (An eskimo community in Wales eats 90% fat) The most rewarding diet(I hate the term diet because it ensures only short-term gain) that I have found is the Pal…

Dean Karnazes is not the best ultrarunner in the world. He's just the best at personal marketing.

Corrected. Thanks.

He is still a fucking beast.

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