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Potato diet community trial

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Re: Potato diet community trial

#22
post #4

> It sounds like a dumb gimmick that could never work, but there are a surprising number of people out there saying that they tried it, it worked for them, and they kept the weight off for months or even years after. Losing weight isn't causal to being healthy. In most cases it correlates because gaining weight is usually done through eating unhealthy (excess calories, refined sugars, etc.) so going on a healthy diet…

If you're obese you have increased risk of lots of health problems. No matter the diet that got you there.

So becoming less obese is in fact causing better health.

Of course there are unhealthy ways to lose weight, but that's a separate issue.

Re: Potato diet community trial

#23
post #4

> It sounds like a dumb gimmick that could never work, but there are a surprising number of people out there saying that they tried it, it worked for them, and they kept the weight off for months or even years after. Losing weight isn't causal to being healthy. In most cases it correlates because gaining weight is usually done through eating unhealthy (excess calories, refined sugars, etc.) so going on a healthy diet…

There is at least one case where your argument is clearly false: sleep apnea is often directly mechanically caused by bodyweight, causes health problems when untreated, and is strongly associated with being fat and/or muscular.

Re: Potato diet community trial

#24
Any X-only diet doesn't seem healthy to me. There is no magical ingredient and we are omnivorous. Sure you can reduce weight with many types of different diets but it doesn't mean it is good for your health.

It is better to develop good healthy habits than you can maintain for years and also while socializing and living in family.

Re: Potato diet community trial

#25
post #4

> It sounds like a dumb gimmick that could never work, but there are a surprising number of people out there saying that they tried it, it worked for them, and they kept the weight off for months or even years after. Losing weight isn't causal to being healthy. In most cases it correlates because gaining weight is usually done through eating unhealthy (excess calories, refined sugars, etc.) so going on a healthy diet…

> Losing weight isn't causal to being healthy.

Except that's not how it works. An excess of fat can directly cause problems.

Above a certain point, having too much fat causes chronic hypoxia in fatty tissue, leading to chronic inflammation, which can eventually lead to systemic problems like insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, liver disease, and cancer.

Edit: I am specifically referring to abdominal fat in excess of what a given body is able to cope with.

Re: Potato diet community trial

#26
The article overlooked one essential macro-nutrient: fiber. Definitely lacking in a regular potato, even if one eats the skins.

Also, sweet potatoes are not potatoes - different families, and different nutritional profiles. The former is considered a root, the latter a tuber.

A well researched diet should be aware of these points.

Re: Potato diet community trial

#27
This title is fairly disingenuous considering the test subjects are using vitamin supplements to make up for the obvious deficiency.

The weight loss bits are just silly. Any sustained caloric deficit will cause one to lose fat, regardless of the source. This just seems to be rediscovering the already well-known fact that complex carbohydrates (which potatoes provide) keep you better satiated than simple carbohydrates, so the subjects were consuming less calories overall.

Re: Potato diet community trial

#28
post #4

> It sounds like a dumb gimmick that could never work, but there are a surprising number of people out there saying that they tried it, it worked for them, and they kept the weight off for months or even years after. Losing weight isn't causal to being healthy. In most cases it correlates because gaining weight is usually done through eating unhealthy (excess calories, refined sugars, etc.) so going on a healthy diet…

"Losing weight isn't causal to being healthy." Strictly spoken, true, but being overweight definitely is causal to decreased health.

I think the important point in the context of this diet is: it may help you lose weight, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll become more healthy. I guess it's very dependent on individual circumstances, and "healthy" is a fairly broad term.

Re: Potato diet community trial

#29
post #18

One word of caution on these "only this diet". Your gut bacteria is a jungle with many species of microbes, trillions of them. They basically fight for territory and some subspecies will die if you stop injecting . So if you are not lactose intolerant and get off lactose for 6-9 months, don't expect that your belly will react well to a glass of milk in a year. I'm all for _reducing_ X and Y. But completely going pola…

> Your gut bacteria is a jungle with many species of microbes, trillions of them.

To clarify: modern science estimates 300–1000 species in gut microbiota, 99% by number of cells coming from 30-40 species. The total number of microbial and viral cells throughout a healthy adult body is estimated at over 100 trillion, or roughly 10x the number of one's own body cells.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_microbiota

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