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What other apes are obligate carnivores? What carnivores have our dental structure? And what separates "obligate carnivores with a beneficial tolerance for a t
by SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
What other apes are obligate carnivores? What carnivores have our dental structure? And what separates "obligate carnivores with a beneficial tolerance for a tiny number of plants" from a facultative carnivore?
I think you're making a logical flaw in saying that "excess {blah} is bad, therefore any {blah} is bad" which is untrue.
- jononomo 4y agoOnce I went carnivore, my dental and gum health became perfect. The reason other carnivores don't have our dental structure is that other carnivores don't use fire, and other carnivores use their teeth to kill their prey.
- SketchySeaBeast 4y agoI am not a carnivore, my dental health is perfect - never had a cavity. What does that mean for our two anecdotes? Regarding your second point - our dental structure is roughly the same as the great apes (who are NOT obligate carnivores), but with less emphasis on canine teeth (which are used for display in the apes) - so when did we develop the carnivore teeth then develop teeth that match our fellow great apes? Our dental structure is not suited for a carnivorous lifestyle, but somehow the rest of our digestive track is? Edit: Sorry, should specify, I meant "I am not an OBLIGATE carnivore". I still eat meat.
- alwayslikethis 4y agoNeither means anything. I'm not inclined to believe that humans should be obligate carnivores, given vegans seem to live more or less fine. Though I wouldn't exclude the possibility of some essential or highly beneficial nutrients that are only abundant in meat.
- SketchySeaBeast 4y ago> Neither means anything. 100% agree. There's clearly nutrients that have better sources in meat and can be vital - if one suffers from heavy menstruation sometimes the only solution to prevent anemia is heme iron, which is found in animal flesh.
- jononomo 4y agoVegans literally need to take supplements, or else they die. Vegan women lose their menstrual cycles without supplementation.
- nonethewiser 4y agoDid your dental health improve when going from carnivore to non carnivore?
- SketchySeaBeast 4y agoSorry - I was unclear - I still eat meat. I meant "I am not an obligate carnivore".
- jononomo 4y agoI suggest you do some further reading. Here is a passage from Not By Bread Alone by Vilhjalmur Stefanson, written in 1946: > "A clean tooth never decays. Brush your teeth after every meal, and visit your dentist twice a year. These slogans carry the faith of our people. It is said and believed that we have the best dentists in the world, that we have more tooth brushes, and use them more, than any other people. Many agencies, from kindergarten to university, from town council to and through the governments of city, state, and nation, strive for the spread of dental knowledge and the enforcement of its discipline... During the same time the ether was filled and the magazine pages were crowded with advertising which told that mouth chemistry is altered by a paste, a powder, or a gargle so as to prevent decay; that a special kind of toothbrush reaches all the crevices; that a particular brand of fruit, milk, or bread is rich in elements for tooth health. There were toothbrush drills in the schools. Mothers throughout the land were scolding, coaxing, and bribing to get children to use the preparations, eat the foods, and follow the rules that were said to guarantee perfect oral hygiene. There was endless repetition of the slogan: A clean tooth never decays. Meantime there appeared a statement from Dr. Adelbert Fernald, Curator of the Museum of the Dental School, Harvard University, that he had been collecting mouth casts of living North Americans of all racial derivations from blond to black, from the most northerly Eskimos through Canada and the States south to Yucatan. The best teeth and the healthiest mouths were found among people who never drank milk since they ceased to be suckling babes and who never in their lives tasted or tested any of the other things which we usually recommend for sound teeth. These people, Eskimos not as yet influenced by white men, never used tooth paste, tooth powder, toothbrushes, mouth wash, or gargle. They never took any pains to cleanse their teeth or mouths. They did not visit their dentists twice a year or even once in a lifetime. Their food was exclusively meat. Meat, be it noted, is not mentioned as good for the teeth in the advertisement sponsored by the Commissioner of Health of the City of New York. Teeth superior on the average to those of the presidents of our largest tooth paste companies are found in the world today, and have existed during past ages, among people who violate every precept of current dentifrice advertising."
- SketchySeaBeast 4y agoYes, our increased exposure to carbohydrates increases the rate of cavities without preventative cleaning. This is like saying "yeah, but now that you have a job where you need to devote time to exercise means that hunting and gathering is a superior lifestyle" - sure, in one facet it would be better but in others it's a lot worse. And there's an easy solution - just brush your teeth. It's also falling for the same fallacy as the other user - "excess {blah} is bad, therefore any {blah} is bad". It's all or nothing, black and white, thinking. But I'm not just talking about whether we have cavities or not. I'm talking tooth structure itself. Humans have teeth and digestive tracks that are built to consume plants alongside meat. There are no other apes that are obligate carnivores and our teeth haven't (substantially) changed since before we mastered fire.
- lentil_soup 4y agoI'm curious now, did we develop our dental structure after mastering fire?
- AlexandrB 4y agoSome of the carnivore stuff approached flat eartherism in terms of its denial of reality. Anyone can look into their own mouth in the mirror and see that it's half full or flattened molars, similar to other omnivores. But no, we're "obligate carnivores".
- SketchySeaBeast 4y agoAnd not only that, we can see the same molars in our ancestors going back millions of years, long before we have evidence of using fire.