4 ms·

Just reading Antifragile, and stumble on this seemingly immortal shitcliché: one need to eat "At least 55 grams of protein per day", "Around 50% of food energy

by gbog 13y ago

Just reading Antifragile, and stumble on this seemingly immortal shitcliché: one need to eat "At least 55 grams of protein per day", "Around 50% of food energy from carbohydrate". I do not even want to know what a carbothing is. This is plain proved horseshit. Our stomach has been prepared by Mother Evolution to handle a wide range of variation in the feed. And the risk of stomach boredom is very real. So the real proper diet is: do not have a diet. Do know what is tasty, eat 1kg steack some days (rarely), eat stone soup other days. Don't eat things that have been invented in the last 50 years (from margarine to exctasy). Do never ever watch TV or other addicting ads carriers. Amen.

aghast 13y ago
On the one hand, you have a point, and it's really tempting to give into this sort of ethos, as an approach to diet and nutrition, but at some point it becomes important to acknowledge that a very real and practical biology reigns over your internal organic processes. These processes can be measured and understood at a chemical level. We don't understand them perfectly, and many people (maybe more than half the world?) don't actually measure out their hunger in grams and milliliters, or understand the fundamental building blocks of metabolism at the chemical level, and get buy just fine, purely trusting their guts. One size doesn't fit all, and sometimes cravings are correct, but not all the time. Addictive substances and microbes show us that "what you want" isn't always "what you need." Opiates have been around for centuries, and demonstrate that just because you might feel a hunger for something and find it satisfying doesn't mean it's good for you. You're body's understanding of the world around it can be distorted. Sometimes the things that distort it's intuition are odorless and colorless. Natural food does not come with labels (and even labels can be wrong), and if you're uncertain of the purity of the water you boil your meat in, well, maybe there could be something in it that is sapping and impurifying your precious bodily fluids. Meanwhile, it might be counter-intuitive that bread mold can ward off infection, but then again we have penicillin which has proven to be a powerful and valuable anti-biotic. So, feel free to operate on faith and emotion, but going through life with your blinders on, you might be caught off guard by things that you could have avoided if you hadn't chosen to ignore them.
- gbog 13y ago
  > many people (maybe more than half the world?) don't actually measure out their hunger in grams and milliliters You seem serious here, so I have to take it seriously. Then I'll break it to you: people who measure their hunger in grams are at most 1% of the world. Nobody does it in France and Europe, neither in China, India, Africa, etc. What seems a rational and normal behavior to you is a crazy and facepalming waste of time. Moreover, despite the down votes (thanks for explaining by the way), I still think this behavior is harmful and anti natural. The evolution gave us a stomach that, normally tuned, will react to hunger, good food, bad food, with sensations of pleasure or displeasure. Bypassing this is risky, increase your fragility. Food is not chemistry, it is more ancient, more important in our daily lives, it is has a direct influence on health and mood, it should be taken with precautions, and it must be eaten with enjoyment.

by gbog 13y ago

aghast 13y ago

On the one hand, you have a point, and it's really tempting to give into this sort of ethos, as an approach to diet and nutrition, but at some point it becomes important to acknowledge that a very real and practical biology reigns over your internal organic processes. These processes can be measured and understood at a chemical level. We don't understand them perfectly, and many people (maybe more than half the world?) don't actually measure out their hunger in grams and milliliters, or understand the fundamental building blocks of metabolism at the chemical level, and get buy just fine, purely trusting their guts. One size doesn't fit all, and sometimes cravings are correct, but not all the time. Addictive substances and microbes show us that "what you want" isn't always "what you need." Opiates have been around for centuries, and demonstrate that just because you might feel a hunger for something and find it satisfying doesn't mean it's good for you. You're body's understanding of the world around it can be distorted. Sometimes the things that distort it's intuition are odorless and colorless. Natural food does not come with labels (and even labels can be wrong), and if you're uncertain of the purity of the water you boil your meat in, well, maybe there could be something in it that is sapping and impurifying your precious bodily fluids. Meanwhile, it might be counter-intuitive that bread mold can ward off infection, but then again we have penicillin which has proven to be a powerful and valuable anti-biotic. So, feel free to operate on faith and emotion, but going through life with your blinders on, you might be caught off guard by things that you could have avoided if you hadn't chosen to ignore them.

gbog 13y ago
> many people (maybe more than half the world?) don't actually measure out their hunger in grams and milliliters You seem serious here, so I have to take it seriously. Then I'll break it to you: people who measure their hunger in grams are at most 1% of the world. Nobody does it in France and Europe, neither in China, India, Africa, etc. What seems a rational and normal behavior to you is a crazy and facepalming waste of time. Moreover, despite the down votes (thanks for explaining by the way), I still think this behavior is harmful and anti natural. The evolution gave us a stomach that, normally tuned, will react to hunger, good food, bad food, with sensations of pleasure or displeasure. Bypassing this is risky, increase your fragility. Food is not chemistry, it is more ancient, more important in our daily lives, it is has a direct influence on health and mood, it should be taken with precautions, and it must be eaten with enjoyment.