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> Anyone who is saying one bell pepper type is okay... This assumes that Sasha's only concern with food consumption is nutrition alone, where other aspects of

> Anyone who is saying one bell pepper type is okay... This assumes that Sasha's only concern with food consumption is nutrition alone, where other aspects of discipline and adherence are likely to also be important. Asking for red, green and blue but specifically no brown M&Ms doesn't mean that you think brown M&Ms are fundamentally different in any way: there was another reason why Van Halen did that.

redisman 6y ago
It was Van Halen’s unit test for the gig. If there were brown M&Ms he knew not to climb on the equipment as obviously the venue didn’t read his instructions
leshow 6y ago
That's not why it's done though. It will often be accompanied by pseudoscience justification that doesn't hold up to rationality or accepted science. Even if that wasn't the case though, what do you expect to be gained by enforcing that discipline? You have a finite amount of variables you can control, and wasting time thinking about details that don't matter is a massive drain. When training for a show, you should be focussing your effort on the things that make the biggest difference: overall food intake, macros, exercise, resistance training, meal timing, micros, etc.
nkingsy 6y ago
I don’t think this was one of those cases. The Italians I know have firmly held beliefs about what foods should be eaten when and why that don’t seem at all grounded in science. If the bodybuilding subculture has developed beliefs about food, they’re likely just as firmly held. The bell peppers in particular sound like believable pseudoscience. nightshades are poisonous and if one is looking to avoid bloating, perhaps it’s a legit concern.
- throwaway2245 6y ago
  For sure, I have experienced the same thing - and yet, the Italian diet is revered globally and considered to contribute to longevity. Something about their approach appears to be working. It strikes me that creating pseudo-science rules might remind you and help you to also follow the really useful rules, through dedicated practice and having multiple fall-backs. For example, the rule "Eat green bell peppers not red bell peppers" reminds you to always be consciously aware that bell peppers and then vegetables in general are an extremely important part of your nutrition. If you don't have superstitions about bell peppers, maybe you just aren't thinking about them often enough.

redisman 6y ago

It was Van Halen’s unit test for the gig. If there were brown M&Ms he knew not to climb on the equipment as obviously the venue didn’t read his instructions

leshow 6y ago

That's not why it's done though. It will often be accompanied by pseudoscience justification that doesn't hold up to rationality or accepted science. Even if that wasn't the case though, what do you expect to be gained by enforcing that discipline? You have a finite amount of variables you can control, and wasting time thinking about details that don't matter is a massive drain. When training for a show, you should be focussing your effort on the things that make the biggest difference: overall food intake, macros, exercise, resistance training, meal timing, micros, etc.

nkingsy 6y ago

I don’t think this was one of those cases. The Italians I know have firmly held beliefs about what foods should be eaten when and why that don’t seem at all grounded in science. If the bodybuilding subculture has developed beliefs about food, they’re likely just as firmly held. The bell peppers in particular sound like believable pseudoscience. nightshades are poisonous and if one is looking to avoid bloating, perhaps it’s a legit concern.

throwaway2245 6y ago
For sure, I have experienced the same thing - and yet, the Italian diet is revered globally and considered to contribute to longevity. Something about their approach appears to be working. It strikes me that creating pseudo-science rules might remind you and help you to also follow the really useful rules, through dedicated practice and having multiple fall-backs. For example, the rule "Eat green bell peppers not red bell peppers" reminds you to always be consciously aware that bell peppers and then vegetables in general are an extremely important part of your nutrition. If you don't have superstitions about bell peppers, maybe you just aren't thinking about them often enough.