71–80 of 90 posts
The only unhealthy fat is trans fat. All other forms of fat are good (provided you count the calories). Also fats contain leptin, which helps reduce fat! However, protein does a better job of giving that "full" feeling.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/The-Big-Fat-Surprise-Healthy/dp/145162...
One other recent study that jumped out at me was one on salt: apparently new studies are showing that CDC guidelines on sodium intake are far too low(1) and should be increased for health. I wonder if much of the problem with the seemingly contradictory nature of studies like this the wide variance you see with us humans. I know good experimental design is about controlling for these variables, but it seems to be ext…
here's another great one from Alan Aragon: "Avoid food avoidance." I think the salt thing is somewhat a problem of causation vs. correlation. If you have hypertension it can be a good idea to limit salt intake; but salt intake does not cause hypertension. I'm wary of any health advice that stems solely from epidemiological study. I'm not sure why we so easily take a hypothesis as a conclusion, and epidemiological stu…
I've had hypertension since I was 17, but I never got on medication. I recently made the decision to completely give up added salt. I only ate my own salt-free cooking for about 6 months and I ate a diet high in meat, fish and vegetables. I did not pick up exercise. My BP dropped from 145/90 to 125/80 within the first month. I check my BP weekly and my average BP is 120/75.
My parents cook with a lot of salt, I notice this now when I eat at their place. I am confident that the high salt diet they "gave" me for so many years, combined with restaurant food, was the direct cause of my 5 year strugle with high blood pressure.
I could be wrong, but I am nonetheless very happy with the results of my diet based solution.
Lately I've been on a diet of vegetable fats and proteins, almost no carbs (only fiber). Lots of avocados and seeds (chia, flaxseed, sunflower, sesame) which have approximately 50% fat content 45% protein 5% fiber. I lost body fat while eating as much as I wanted of that, along with yoghurt, eggs, cheese and veggies, the only thing off the table is bread, although I eat some once in a while. People eat too many carbs…
"People eat too many carbs in their daily life and don't even notice and they carry lots of long term health risks." Stop spreading this. There are people eating +400g of carbs a day while being exceptionally healthy.
A slight tangent to the parent topic, but should HackerNews be about nutrition as much as it has been in the last few days? The comments are frequently woefully ignorant of any current nutritional science and often anecdotes of how one trend diet or broscience factoid helped them achieve their goals. As much as the discussion can be interesting its not really on topic for what this site is for no? What gets worse is…
I see what you mean. I think the reason why it may be appropriate here is that poor health and being overweight are big risks in the field of programming. If you are not actively managing your health as a full-time programmer your health will likely degrade. More solid data is needed, that is true. Unfortunately the accepted facts on this issue are turning out to be suspect.
ftfy
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For cows grass is also predominantly carbs! Grass is mostly fiber, which is converted into carbs by the intestinal flora of the cow. So why does corn fatten them better? Is it the macronutrient makeup of digested grass vs digested corn, or is it simply that corn is more calorie dense than grass?
My understanding is that it's the difference in glycemic index. Corn has a GI of 60, whereas spinach has a GI of 0 (couldn't find the GI for grass, so...). The higher the GI, the more impact on blood sugar and insulin, and insulin causes the body to use sugars over fat for fuel. So how does corn stack up against, say, table sugar? Table sugar has a GI of 68, so cows (or people, for that matter) that consume a lot of…
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The macronutrient content of your diet has nothing to do with how much you gain/lose. The only way you are losing weight is that you are in a caloric deficit. Whether that's from increased activity, decreased energy intake, or a combination of these, there is no other way (besides liposuction). The low-carb thing is just a trick to get you to eat fewer calories. Not to say it's not valuable - whatever works for you -…
Caloric deficit determines how much weight you gain or lose, but the macros determine how much fat is stored. I've gained a ton of lean muscle mass while lowering body fat, solely by eating high protein/fat diet.
If protein is the blocks for building muscle, carbs are the mortar. You are not gaining loads of muscle without carbs. You just waste a lot of money on protein the body then has to (very inefficiently) convert into carbs. Even if you're young and less than advanced strength, you can only naturally grow 1-2 pounds of muscle tissue a month doing everything perfectly, no matter how much protein you eat.
Great to hear you're getting strong, but I think you'd feel pretty silly if you knew how much more effective you would have been if you ate carbs. You would have grown faster, and not had any more risk of getting fat.
Here's a quick run down of how it really works: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/how-we-get-fat.htm...
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here's another great one from Alan Aragon: "Avoid food avoidance." I think the salt thing is somewhat a problem of causation vs. correlation. If you have hypertension it can be a good idea to limit salt intake; but salt intake does not cause hypertension. I'm wary of any health advice that stems solely from epidemiological study. I'm not sure why we so easily take a hypothesis as a conclusion, and epidemiological stu…
I have an anecdote I feel like sharing. Please take it with a grain of... you know. I've had hypertension since I was 17, but I never got on medication. I recently made the decision to completely give up added salt. I only ate my own salt-free cooking for about 6 months and I ate a diet high in meat, fish and vegetables. I did not pick up exercise. My BP dropped from 145/90 to 125/80 within the first month. I check m…
So which is more likely; you're genetically predisposed to hypertension, which your high-salt diet exposed in your teens, or that your high-salt diet caused your hypertension?
I doubt your conclusion, but it does make me happy that you've found a solution that works for you!
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Macros do not significantly affect metabolic rate. Exercise does though. Glycogen (carbs) is the preferred fuel for almost every cell in our bodies. All the fat & protein we eat that ends up used as metabolic fuel will first be converted into carbs. Now granted the thermal effect of these macros are different (it takes more energy to turn protein into fuel than it does to convert table sugar) but the idea that "you n…
Many people think that ketones are the preferred fuel for every cell in our bodies.
Not too far off topic: I have a cooking web site (http://cookingspace.com) that provides useful nutrition information on recipes: not just a breakdown of micronutrients, but information of which food ingredients contribute how much to micronutrients. Preparing and eating food is a major hobby :-)
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I have an anecdote I feel like sharing. Please take it with a grain of... you know. I've had hypertension since I was 17, but I never got on medication. I recently made the decision to completely give up added salt. I only ate my own salt-free cooking for about 6 months and I ate a diet high in meat, fish and vegetables. I did not pick up exercise. My BP dropped from 145/90 to 125/80 within the first month. I check m…
I think you'd agree that having hypertension at 17 is not typical, but being 17 and consuming a LOT of salt (junk food) is very typical. So which is more likely; you're genetically predisposed to hypertension, which your high-salt diet exposed in your teens, or that your high-salt diet caused your hypertension? I doubt your conclusion, but it does make me happy that you've found a solution that works for you!