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It obviously varies ... Kids seem to love it / thrive on it -- look at a typical 2 year old with mac and cheese or Costco pizza :) I think as adults people ten

by chubot 4y ago

It obviously varies ... Kids seem to love it / thrive on it -- look at a typical 2 year old with mac and cheese or Costco pizza :) I think as adults people tend to not be able to metabolize that kind of diet. In populations, it repeatably causes a typical set of chronic diseases ("Western diet disease", obesity, diabetes, etc.). And there is more processed wheat/corn/rice in 2020 than there was in 1980, due to economic optimization. It's just harder to avoid So there was a trend away from carbs and bread in the last decade or 2, and those people could have also just avoided processed wheat / soft white bread of the type talked about in the original article. Carbs can be GOOD if they come from a good source, which the original article is talking about

EdwardDiego 4y ago
> I think as adults people tend to not be able to metabolize that kind of diet. IIRC, it's like milk - if you're descended from a population where X was a staple, you're less likely to have issues digesting it, because that got selected out over the years. > In populations, it repeatably causes a typical set of chronic diseases ("Western diet disease", obesity, diabetes, etc.). Except a diet with excessive fat also correlates strongly to obesity and type 2 diabetes. Which makes sense, because insulin resistance is about how your body interacts with glucose, and every source of energy ultimately becomes glucose in your body. (And there's increased risk with high levels of triglycerides in your blood and low levels of HDL) > Carbs can be GOOD if they come from a good source, which the original article is talking about Carbs aren't good or bad, they're just a complex sugar. Yes, it's defibitely better if your source of carbohydrates also includes vitamins and fibre, but if you're eating sufficient vegetables, white bread or traditional Jordanian durum bread, it really makes no difference. And as our conversation has demonstrated, it's not just "white flour makes you sick". And everything is bad for you in excess. Try going to a Mongolian circa Chinggis Khaan diet where 40% of your inputs are protein (near the limits of protein dominant diet the human body can take) and you'll have great fun not shitting for a week, then shitting uncontrollably for a week or two. As Joe Rogan found out... So, I fully agree that gaining most of your energy from white bread is very bad for you, but I do not agree with the statement that "processed white flour makes you sick", as that requires so many caveats you'd need a conveyancing lawyer to sort through them all.
- chubot 4y ago
  Yeah my original statement was overly strong -- I was really referring to the subset of people who already found that "carbs" make them sick, and contort their diets as a result. I believe the most salient issue, the most predictive one, for a wide range of health issues is food processing, due to economics. Comment thread from 20 days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32979216 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32979216 Especially this on why processing is the issue, and not a particular macronutrient: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32987219 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32987219 But I also do think that there is a very typical "Western diet" that causes chronic diseases, and it contains a lot of processed wheat (and corn). The comment in this thread about the receipts of going to Walmart and then McDonald's is exactly what I'm talking about. (And it's just sad that people don't have more options; they live in food deserts.) Except a diet with excessive fat also correlates strongly to obesity and type 2 diabetes. I believe it's processed fat! i.e. there is a huge difference between 1) a pure white chicken breast with all the natural fat dried out of it, frozen and unfrozen, and then smothered in mayo (every fast food franchise sells some version of this) 2) a chicken cooked in its own fat The latter has nutrients that the former doesn't. You have to eat more calories of the former to feel full

by chubot 4y ago

EdwardDiego 4y ago

> I think as adults people tend to not be able to metabolize that kind of diet. IIRC, it's like milk - if you're descended from a population where X was a staple, you're less likely to have issues digesting it, because that got selected out over the years. > In populations, it repeatably causes a typical set of chronic diseases ("Western diet disease", obesity, diabetes, etc.). Except a diet with excessive fat also correlates strongly to obesity and type 2 diabetes. Which makes sense, because insulin resistance is about how your body interacts with glucose, and every source of energy ultimately becomes glucose in your body. (And there's increased risk with high levels of triglycerides in your blood and low levels of HDL) > Carbs can be GOOD if they come from a good source, which the original article is talking about Carbs aren't good or bad, they're just a complex sugar. Yes, it's defibitely better if your source of carbohydrates also includes vitamins and fibre, but if you're eating sufficient vegetables, white bread or traditional Jordanian durum bread, it really makes no difference. And as our conversation has demonstrated, it's not just "white flour makes you sick". And everything is bad for you in excess. Try going to a Mongolian circa Chinggis Khaan diet where 40% of your inputs are protein (near the limits of protein dominant diet the human body can take) and you'll have great fun not shitting for a week, then shitting uncontrollably for a week or two. As Joe Rogan found out... So, I fully agree that gaining most of your energy from white bread is very bad for you, but I do not agree with the statement that "processed white flour makes you sick", as that requires so many caveats you'd need a conveyancing lawyer to sort through them all.

chubot 4y ago
Yeah my original statement was overly strong -- I was really referring to the subset of people who already found that "carbs" make them sick, and contort their diets as a result. I believe the most salient issue, the most predictive one, for a wide range of health issues is food processing, due to economics. Comment thread from 20 days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32979216 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32979216 Especially this on why processing is the issue, and not a particular macronutrient: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32987219 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32987219 But I also do think that there is a very typical "Western diet" that causes chronic diseases, and it contains a lot of processed wheat (and corn). The comment in this thread about the receipts of going to Walmart and then McDonald's is exactly what I'm talking about. (And it's just sad that people don't have more options; they live in food deserts.) Except a diet with excessive fat also correlates strongly to obesity and type 2 diabetes. I believe it's processed fat! i.e. there is a huge difference between 1) a pure white chicken breast with all the natural fat dried out of it, frozen and unfrozen, and then smothered in mayo (every fast food franchise sells some version of this) 2) a chicken cooked in its own fat The latter has nutrients that the former doesn't. You have to eat more calories of the former to feel full