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Just to clarify - that was an example. Whatever will be wrong with Soylent, will probably be something no one considered. What do we know about completely elim

by Evgeny 14y ago

Just to clarify - that was an example. Whatever will be wrong with Soylent, will probably be something no one considered. What do we know about completely eliminating fiber from the diet for an extended period of time? Or what do we know about chewing food being beneficial for dental health? It was mentioned he hardly poops on Soylent - were there prolonged studies on this subject? Willingness to risk is something I respect, anyway.

XorNot 14y ago
The diet of the Inuit was widely believed to be impossible for some time (and probably still is) because no one thought it was possible they could subsist solely on fish meat. When put to the test by a pair of scientists who replicated the diet though, they found few ill-effects - except at one point where they were hitting a nutritional deficiency, but corrected it by putting semi-rotten fish product (which is a dish in Inuit cooking) into their diet - because it turns out that provided certain key nutrients. The human body can handle some surprising and varied diets, a lot simply evolved by trial and error over a long period. With modern technology, we should be able to "fail fast" over a much shorter time. Probably more importantly: anyone putting that much thought into what they eat, what the effects of it are etc. is already doing 10x the thinking of most people about their nutrition.
- Evgeny 14y ago
  I would like to know more ... I know a bit about Inuit and their diet - I've read "My Life with the Eskimo" by Vilhjalmur Stefansson http://www.amazon.com/Life-Eskimo-New-Vilhjalmur-Stefansson/dp/1594626510 http://www.amazon.com/Life-Eskimo-New-Vilhjalmur-Stefansson/... Stefansson and another explorer, Andersson, participated in an experiment where they did not eat anything but meat for a year - and remained in excellent health http://inhumanexperiment.blogspot.com.au/2009/09/two-brave-men-who-ate-nothing-but-meat.html http://inhumanexperiment.blogspot.com.au/2009/09/two-brave-m... But I haven't heard about the 'rotten fish' and specific nutrients that can be obtained from it ...
  - vidarh 14y ago
    I don't know about the Inuit, but "gravad" fish (fish buried and fermented near the tide mark) has been fairly common in the Nordic countries as well as in the Baltics since the middle ages or before. "Rakfisk", a Norwegian variation, could be left to ferment up to a year. Iceland has Hákarl, - fermented Greenland shark that is also left for 6-12 months: "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A1karl http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A1karl containing ammonia (the process is used because it is poisonous when fresh). My total guess is that it's more about having access to a wider range of types of food throughout the winter, when many other dietary choices disappear. Traditional food in the Nordic countries at least is very centered around processing that allows for longer term storage, and I'd guess Greenland has much the same.
  - XorNot 14y ago
    That second link should be the experiment I was referring to. I remember reading an account of it that one of them did run into some vitamin deficiencies which they realized were because they'd been excluding a particular type of partially-rotten fish dish that normally provided them.

by Evgeny 14y ago

XorNot 14y ago

The diet of the Inuit was widely believed to be impossible for some time (and probably still is) because no one thought it was possible they could subsist solely on fish meat. When put to the test by a pair of scientists who replicated the diet though, they found few ill-effects - except at one point where they were hitting a nutritional deficiency, but corrected it by putting semi-rotten fish product (which is a dish in Inuit cooking) into their diet - because it turns out that provided certain key nutrients. The human body can handle some surprising and varied diets, a lot simply evolved by trial and error over a long period. With modern technology, we should be able to "fail fast" over a much shorter time. Probably more importantly: anyone putting that much thought into what they eat, what the effects of it are etc. is already doing 10x the thinking of most people about their nutrition.

Evgeny 14y ago
I would like to know more ... I know a bit about Inuit and their diet - I've read "My Life with the Eskimo" by Vilhjalmur Stefansson http://www.amazon.com/Life-Eskimo-New-Vilhjalmur-Stefansson/dp/1594626510 http://www.amazon.com/Life-Eskimo-New-Vilhjalmur-Stefansson/... Stefansson and another explorer, Andersson, participated in an experiment where they did not eat anything but meat for a year - and remained in excellent health http://inhumanexperiment.blogspot.com.au/2009/09/two-brave-men-who-ate-nothing-but-meat.html http://inhumanexperiment.blogspot.com.au/2009/09/two-brave-m... But I haven't heard about the 'rotten fish' and specific nutrients that can be obtained from it ...
- vidarh 14y ago
  I don't know about the Inuit, but "gravad" fish (fish buried and fermented near the tide mark) has been fairly common in the Nordic countries as well as in the Baltics since the middle ages or before. "Rakfisk", a Norwegian variation, could be left to ferment up to a year. Iceland has Hákarl, - fermented Greenland shark that is also left for 6-12 months: "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A1karl http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A1karl containing ammonia (the process is used because it is poisonous when fresh). My total guess is that it's more about having access to a wider range of types of food throughout the winter, when many other dietary choices disappear. Traditional food in the Nordic countries at least is very centered around processing that allows for longer term storage, and I'd guess Greenland has much the same.
- XorNot 14y ago
  That second link should be the experiment I was referring to. I remember reading an account of it that one of them did run into some vitamin deficiencies which they realized were because they'd been excluding a particular type of partially-rotten fish dish that normally provided them.