6 ms·

It's interesting that the article points to a high carbohydrate diet as being one of the takeaways. I suspect some people will glom onto this data point (see,

by tcbawo 10y ago

It's interesting that the article points to a high carbohydrate diet as being one of the takeaways. I suspect some people will glom onto this data point (see, sugar isn't bad!) despite their largely unprocessed diet and constant physical activity into old age.

LoSboccacc 10y ago
And massive survivor bias
- keithpeter 10y ago
  I thought that as well when reading the article, however, the authors of the study did claim the following... "The researchers have been studying this group for a long time so it is not simply a case of the unhealthy Tsimane dying young." The key being how long is a 'long time'? Enough for one complete generation? Some information on mortality rates would be useful as well.
  - LoSboccacc 10y ago
    https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6rf56475#page-50 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6rf56475#page-50 20% of people dies before reaching adulthood and only 50% passes the 55 mark. on a side, it's incredible the amount of information one can dig out of internet
mrfusion 10y ago
What kind of carbs though? Beans actually have a lot of carbs even after subtracting fiber but I don't think anyone thinks they're unhealthy.
- pkaye 10y ago
  It says right in the article... "Most of the rest comes from family farms growing rice, maize, manioc root (like sweet potato) and plantains (similar to banana)... It is topped up with foraged fruit and nuts."
- tedd4u 10y ago
  Exactly, I didn't see it in the article but I think it's a good guess their carb intake has somewhere near zero processed/simple sugars and processed carbs. They are eating "whole foods." One thing I'm interested in is other than animal sources, what what fat sources do they have in their diet. Nuts is one thing that was mentioned. I wonder if they extract any oils for cooking from vegetable sources.
  - keithpeter 10y ago
    Total lack of dairy struck me as well (I'm quite capable of demolishing half a pound of a nice Cheshire cheese and I like butter on my toast)
  - undersuit 10y ago
    Do they need more fat in their diet? They aren't buying 15% fat ground beef and nicely trimmed steaks and they probably aren't discarding the skin of the fish they catch.
- Psyonic 10y ago
  The paleo people, in fact, do think they're unhealthy: https://paleoleap.com/beans-and-legumes/ https://paleoleap.com/beans-and-legumes/ http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beans-legumes-carbs/ http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beans-legumes-carbs/
  - undersuit 10y ago
    From the links: >"eating a handful of lentils as a snack every now and again probably wouldn’t be any more problematic than eating a handful of cashews, but that’s just not the way people eat lentils." >"Legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas, split peas, etc.) aren’t, by any means, the worst thing you can eat, but they don’t make the ideal meal either." "The paleo people" also think a diet of 100% meat is unhealthy. Your links do identify what the paleo community associates as unhealthy traits in legumes, but both of the links advocate constraint not abstinence... unlike say... Twinkies or Wonder Bread.

by tcbawo 10y ago

LoSboccacc 10y ago

And massive survivor bias

keithpeter 10y ago
I thought that as well when reading the article, however, the authors of the study did claim the following... "The researchers have been studying this group for a long time so it is not simply a case of the unhealthy Tsimane dying young." The key being how long is a 'long time'? Enough for one complete generation? Some information on mortality rates would be useful as well.
- LoSboccacc 10y ago
  https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6rf56475#page-50 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6rf56475#page-50 20% of people dies before reaching adulthood and only 50% passes the 55 mark. on a side, it's incredible the amount of information one can dig out of internet

mrfusion 10y ago

What kind of carbs though? Beans actually have a lot of carbs even after subtracting fiber but I don't think anyone thinks they're unhealthy.

pkaye 10y ago
It says right in the article... "Most of the rest comes from family farms growing rice, maize, manioc root (like sweet potato) and plantains (similar to banana)... It is topped up with foraged fruit and nuts."
tedd4u 10y ago
Exactly, I didn't see it in the article but I think it's a good guess their carb intake has somewhere near zero processed/simple sugars and processed carbs. They are eating "whole foods." One thing I'm interested in is other than animal sources, what what fat sources do they have in their diet. Nuts is one thing that was mentioned. I wonder if they extract any oils for cooking from vegetable sources.
- keithpeter 10y ago
  Total lack of dairy struck me as well (I'm quite capable of demolishing half a pound of a nice Cheshire cheese and I like butter on my toast)
- undersuit 10y ago
  Do they need more fat in their diet? They aren't buying 15% fat ground beef and nicely trimmed steaks and they probably aren't discarding the skin of the fish they catch.
Psyonic 10y ago
The paleo people, in fact, do think they're unhealthy: https://paleoleap.com/beans-and-legumes/ https://paleoleap.com/beans-and-legumes/ http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beans-legumes-carbs/ http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beans-legumes-carbs/
- undersuit 10y ago
  From the links: >"eating a handful of lentils as a snack every now and again probably wouldn’t be any more problematic than eating a handful of cashews, but that’s just not the way people eat lentils." >"Legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas, split peas, etc.) aren’t, by any means, the worst thing you can eat, but they don’t make the ideal meal either." "The paleo people" also think a diet of 100% meat is unhealthy. Your links do identify what the paleo community associates as unhealthy traits in legumes, but both of the links advocate constraint not abstinence... unlike say... Twinkies or Wonder Bread.