Best Nutrition Book I've Read In A While

[Michael569]

1 hour ago, Asayake said:

what is balance really?

With regards to nutrition, the balance will be, the ability to delay the incidence of chronic disease for as long as possible. That, in fact, would be my definition of health from a high-altitude perspective. You can then go in and dissect that definition and talk about mood, energy, recovery, gut health etc etc but in the essence, the goal should be to be able to go through life and minimise the number of years reduced or compromised due to occurrence of chronic disease (cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, autoimmunity etc) - individual adjustments are ofcourse possible once you nail the baseline (many members of the public haven't - hence why public guidelines exist) 

1 hour ago, Asayake said:

f the health guidelines are where it's at then why is dietary associated diseases like heart disease and cancer as bad as ever?

Most people do not follow the guidelines diet, in fact many willingly try to discredit the model without dully taking time to investigate and assess its incredible benefits. 

The increasing global burden of disease is likely an effect of multiple variables, including (but not limited to): an increase in sedentary work, increased consumption of ultra-processed food driving weight gain, increase in obesity, reduced consumption of fibre (mainly fruits and veg), increased salt intake, reduced physical activity, increased stress levels, increased environmental toxicity and individual exposure but also increased survival of members of the population who would have previously died in early childhood (the survival of the fittest is no longer the case and so you have higher % of the population with weaker genetic makeup and weaker protection against disease who will skew your longevity statistics - this is called survivorship bias. 

1 hour ago, Asayake said:

Then some things to think about regarding sugar. Sugar free alternatives have been on the rise for many years, almost everyone I know buys them instead of the sugar containing alternative. Many of the same people are still overweight. I know you probably don't promote sugar free sodas but if sugar is as bad as it's made out to be by health guidelines then why doesn't more people avoiding sugar seem to net public health results?

You would have to assume that sugar, and sugar only is the cause of weight gain. It is not. The causes of weight gain are many. Whatever will lead to overconsumption and excess caloric intake will lead to weight gain provided that that energy is not being used up. You can get fatter on paleo, on vegan, on keto and even on a carnivore. Sugar is just one of many variables that have obesogenic potential but it does not immediately mean "sugar = weight gain".

I assume when you say "sugar", based on below you are basically referring to carbohydrates? All carbohydrates for that matter? (legumes, fruits, vegetables, grains - both whole and refined, potatoes)

 

1 hour ago, Asayake said:

Poor asian farmers practically lived off of sugar (rice, sweet potatoes) for hundreds of years and seemed fine.

Nobody ever said rice is problematic (all things being equal) 

I've spent about 3.5 months in Thailand, Phillipines, Malaysia, Singapore and about a month in Japan. From what I observed I can tell you that the average rice farmer (or cattle farmer) is underweight and borderline with malnourishment in these countries. For them eating more rice and gaining weight actually helps prevent malnutrition and so it will lead to better health. Actually, for these people even eating more beef will promote better health because it will reduce the risk of severe malnourishment. 

But rice is not bad. If you are referring to risk of type 2 diabetes with increased rice consumption than that's the incorrect way to look at it. T 2 Diabetes is an energy-status disease that develops once your body can no longer cope with the amount of body fat you carry.  If your adipose tissue tolerance is low, you could be thin and get diabetes - in fact I've worked with a lady who went in and out of being pre-diabetic from one quarter to another because her fat tissue tolerance was extremely low and her natural constitution was extremely lean and thin. Like she would literally gain 2 kilos and her HbA1C went, within 3 months, from 34 to 39 - even up to low 40s. Once she lost it, her A1C got back to mid 30s. But this is not common in people who have the ability to "get fat" - basically their body storing huge amount of fat without having their blood glucose management system compromised. These people are naturally a bit bigger and bulky. 

Lot of people look at diabetes from the perspective of insulin sensitivity and sugar but that's the incorrect way. Insulin resistance is a consequence not the cause. The cause is basically becoming "too fat for your own body to handle"

Edited December 19, 2022 by Michael569

[Michael569]

1 hour ago, LfcCharlie4 said:

From your recent readings & thoughts what do you recommend for your clients?

that's a complex question to answer on a forum  let's break it apart on our next follow up

Edited December 19, 2022 by Michael569

[flowboy]

Eating well is important, but not enough to prevent chronic disease.

You also have to shed unhealthy codependent patterns in relationships with others, feel and express suppressed anger, find unconditional self-love, and set healthy boundaries.

(Loosely paraphrasing When The Body Says No by Gabor Mate)

 

This is not to diminish the value of this discussion, just pointing out the unconscious bias that we have in this society, that physical health only comes down to physical actions like diet, exercise and sleep.

It doesn't.

Many common idiopathic diseases for example MS, ALS, some types of dementia and cancer can be observed to have their roots in personality and emotional well-being, well before physical symptoms and markers present themselves.

Edited December 19, 2022 by flowboy

[LfcCharlie4]

@flowboy Defo not diminishing that at all, but since this is a spirituality / personal dev based forum I assumed everybody does those basic things as well!! 

However, its also surprising how many 'developed' people actually don't have diet, sleep & exercise down. I mean type in Non-Duality teachers in YouTube and quite a lot are overweight and don't look very healthy, so it is defo important to get these foundational habits nailed imo 

[flowboy]

3 minutes ago, LfcCharlie4 said:

since this is a spirituality / personal dev based forum I assumed everybody does those basic things as well!! 

Hahaha, those are not so basic for most people, even here

4 minutes ago, LfcCharlie4 said:

so it is defo important to get these foundational habits nailed imo 

For sure.

Why are these things even called 'basics', or foundationals, it's misleading

 

[LfcCharlie4]

@flowboy Hmm, I call them that as to me I believe things like this should be taught to everyone as part of their education, but they aren't at all are they! 

Like, the average person has little idea of how to cook, how to eat, why sleep is important, exercise etc. Its a real shame!