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I think the notion that you can eat your way to health or longevity is wishful thinking. We all want to solve our health issues by eating, which is an activity

by rsync 7y ago

I think the notion that you can eat your way to health or longevity is wishful thinking. We all want to solve our health issues by eating, which is an activity we enjoy. In reality, the positive impact on your metabolic, bio, age, and cancer markers of not eating anything (fasting) are marked and distinct as opposed to magical formulas of "dark colored vegetables" and "antioxidants" and "polyphenols" whose effects are difficult to ascertain at best and at worst are probably non-existent.[1] If there were some combination of blueberries and red wine and pomegranates and acai juice that made us live noticeably longer, or more disease free, we would know it. We wouldn't have overlooked it accidentally. We are hardly the first people to think long and hard about the problems of aging. What we do know is that vigorous exercise and calorie restriction make people immediately healthier and less afflicted by disease - cancer and otherwise. It's quite sad, frankly, how terrible and unacceptable that simple recipe is for so many people. People are, literally, dying to not exercise. [1] For a good discussion of the inability for "antioxidants" to reach the inner portion of the cell where the "oxidation" occurs and for a discussion as to how bad that might be if it could happen (oxidation and free radicals are probably essential cell signaling methods that cause ill mannered cells to commit apoptosis, or "suicide"), I recommend the excellent book _Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life_ by Nick Lane.

Fritsdehacker 7y ago
There are actually strong links between diet and health. Eating a lot of vegetables lowers the risk of quite some diseases including cancer and heart diseases. The western diet seems to be particularly unhealthy in that regard. It's not about eating more, but about eating different things.
- rsync 7y ago
  "There are actually strong links between diet and health." Agreed. The strongest link being, restriction of over-eating. We've known about this link since before the time of Moses. "Eating a lot of vegetables lowers the risk of quite some diseases including cancer and heart diseases." Probably because one can only eat so much and the vegetables crowd out the meat and dairy in the diet. Probably not because of special, magic flavonoid chemicals.
  - Fritsdehacker 7y ago
    That's an interesting idea. I thinks it's definitely part of the benefit vegetables give. Vegetables also contain a lot of vitamins and minerals that we require and a lot of fibers that are beneficial to gut bacteria. These are also linked to good health, so I don't think you you leave out vegetables, even if you wouldn't replace them with meat and dairy.
qwsxyh 7y ago
It is remarkable how so many tech spaces seem to be positively marketing eating disorders nowadays. Like, seriously, some of the rhetoric here is very similar to stuff I've seen on pro-ana spaces. Please, it may be physically healthier to fast, but it's a very easy slippery slope into full-on EDs. Eat, but eat less if you want the benefits.
- rsync 7y ago
  " ... it may be physically healthier to fast, but ..." Physical healthiness is the metric I am optimizing for.
- Fritsdehacker 7y ago
  Instead of full on fasting there is the option of "intermittent feeding", where you only eat part of the day, without restricting calories. This has some very interesting health benefits [1]. It's still advisable not to overeat, obviously. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5064803/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5064803/ [edit] typo

by rsync 7y ago

Fritsdehacker 7y ago

There are actually strong links between diet and health. Eating a lot of vegetables lowers the risk of quite some diseases including cancer and heart diseases. The western diet seems to be particularly unhealthy in that regard. It's not about eating more, but about eating different things.

rsync 7y ago
"There are actually strong links between diet and health." Agreed. The strongest link being, restriction of over-eating. We've known about this link since before the time of Moses. "Eating a lot of vegetables lowers the risk of quite some diseases including cancer and heart diseases." Probably because one can only eat so much and the vegetables crowd out the meat and dairy in the diet. Probably not because of special, magic flavonoid chemicals.
- Fritsdehacker 7y ago
  That's an interesting idea. I thinks it's definitely part of the benefit vegetables give. Vegetables also contain a lot of vitamins and minerals that we require and a lot of fibers that are beneficial to gut bacteria. These are also linked to good health, so I don't think you you leave out vegetables, even if you wouldn't replace them with meat and dairy.

qwsxyh 7y ago

It is remarkable how so many tech spaces seem to be positively marketing eating disorders nowadays. Like, seriously, some of the rhetoric here is very similar to stuff I've seen on pro-ana spaces. Please, it may be physically healthier to fast, but it's a very easy slippery slope into full-on EDs. Eat, but eat less if you want the benefits.

rsync 7y ago
" ... it may be physically healthier to fast, but ..." Physical healthiness is the metric I am optimizing for.
Fritsdehacker 7y ago
Instead of full on fasting there is the option of "intermittent feeding", where you only eat part of the day, without restricting calories. This has some very interesting health benefits [1]. It's still advisable not to overeat, obviously. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5064803/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5064803/ [edit] typo