What Can We Eat That Isn't Poison?!

[bambi]

3 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

I have heard the lectin theory. Not sure how much I buy into it.

I don't eat beans anyway. As for tomatos I have never felt a problem from eating them.

But who knows? If you eliminate every food that someone on the internet claims to be bad you will be left with nothing to eat.

Our conservastion here was limited to the matter of toxins and heavy metals. There are way more factors to a healthy diet.

Sadhguru is talking about very different factors which align with his Hindu culture and yogic ideology.

Eating plants is a very healthy thing, assuming your plants are not full of toxins.

The thing is the lectin theory doesn't negate most other healthy eating, it modifies it slightly. Also explains why people like J.P. and other carnivore eaters get so much beneft; free range organic meat has 0 lectins.

Im not saying lectin theory is 100% true, but it doesn't seem to be such a radical theory, nor does it take massive adjustment; you can eat most of your meats, vegtables etc just slight modification on some 

[Leo Gura]

10 minutes ago, Asayake said:

The solution to not having to eat 25 lettuce heads for lunch is to smash down a banana blueberry smoothie with added sugar for breakfast. Boom 1000 calories of high quality energy for body and mind. High in vitamins, fiber, phytonutrients, sugar, water, it's the wombo combo. Tastes amazing. And low in cancer & heart disease contributive properties.

Getting 1000 calories from a smoothie is impossible unless you pack it full of crap that is neither veggie nor fruit.

Sugar definitely is less healthy than meat and certainly causes cancer and heart disease.

Don't kid yourself with your liquid dessert smoothies. You might as well be drinking a Coke.

[Something Funny]

15 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

Getting 1000 calories from a smoothie is impossible unless you pack it full of crap that is neither veggie nor fruit.

Sugar definitely is less healthy than meat and certainly causes cancer and heart disease.

Don't kid yourself with your liquid dessert smoothies. You might as well be drinking a Coke.

You could add chickpeas and tahini there. Both are pretty healthy. I am not sure about 1000 but that will be quite a few bonus calories.

@Leo Gura btw, do you think fasting one day per week can help your body get rid of toxins that you acquire during the week? Maybe not heavy metals but other stuff?

[Asayake]

11 minutes ago, bambi said:

Lectins are not a problem -- where are you getting such a confident conclusive statement from? What is the basis?

 

 

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/anti-nutrients/lectins/ this gives a pretty fair overview on it to date

That article didn't seem all that concerning to me. It even states most lectins can be removed by soaking beans & lentils before cooking  Lectins are just one piece of a large puzzle which is why I don't think it's a problem. Yes beans & lentils contain lectins but they also contain minerals, fiber, phytonutrients and lack the most harmful nutrients such as saturated fat & cholestorol. Beyond this beans were consumed by some of the healthiest and longest living populations such as the okinawans. 

9 minutes ago, bambi said:

The thing is the lectin theory doesn't negate most other healthy eating, it modifies it slightly. Also explains why people like J.P. and other carnivore eaters get so much beneft; free range organic meat has 0 lectins.

Im not saying lectin theory is 100% true, but it doesn't seem to be such a radical theory, nor does it take massive adjustment; you can eat most of your meats, vegtables etc just slight modification on some 

I think avoiding lectins is possible to do in a healthy way if you wish, I just think it's not the best thing to focus on, it seems to me like focusing on one minor detail that is not really the main issue. But if you're experiencing some issues you're trying to resolve you might as well try it and see if it works for you.

2 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

Getting 1000 calories from a smoothie is impossible unless you pack it full of crap that is neither veggie nor fruit.

Sugar definitely is less healthy than meat and certainly causes cancer and heart disease.

Don't kid yourself with your liquid dessert smoothies. You might as well be drinking a Coke.

6-7 bananas, 250 grams of frozen blueberries, 1 decliter of white sugar and you got 1000 calories.

Fruit don't cause cancer and fruit contains sugar. Adding sugar to a fruit smoothie just jacks up the ripeness level of the fruit in the smoothie, pretty much. Chug one smoothie like that down in the morning and go for a run and you burn off the 300 calories that was in the added sugar. And adding the sugar will make you feel like you actually want to go for a run because it increases your dopamine and you get a surge of natural energy instantly. The reason sugar is considered to cause heart disease is because it's considered to contribute to obesity & diabetes which is not really true. People who eat fat & oils just can't handle high sugar well because the fat & oils they're eating is causing insuline resistance by increasing blood fat levels & blocking the insulin receptor site. You'll struggle to find fruitarians with diabetes type 2 or obesity, they're all mega thin. 

A coke contains no fiber, vitamins or phytonutrients. It also contains stimulants in the form of caffeine which increases cortisol levels. It's also very acidic which is bad for the enamel. It's not the worst food out there but it's lacking in nutrients, drinking it every morning for breakfast would not be the best choice. 

Fatigue from a lack of sugar/carbs keeps us reliant on stimulants or dopamine increasing substances to get going. Physical inactivity is going to be worse for our health than consuming some extra sugar in our food is. The extra sugar will be burned off quickly by our increased activity and the body & immune function will thank us for not jacking up its cortisol levels with caffeine or other drugs to compensate for our lack of energy.

[UnbornTao]

@Asayake you're in favor of white, added sugar?

Not all sugar is the same as far I know.

Edited January 16, 2023 by UnbornTao

[Asayake]

Just now, UnbornTao said:

@Asayake your argument is in favor of white table sugar?

Not all sugar is the same.

Yeah, pretty much. I obviously don't think it's a good idea to drink just sugar water as it would leave you deficient in nutrients. Just added to fruit or a fruit smoothie will do, it compensates for lack of ripeness/quality of fruit and provides the energy necessary to feel better and become more active physically & mentally.

But any kind of sugar works, brown sugar/maple syrup, whatever you think is the best, they're all pretty similar from my point of view, they're forms of readily available energy. The body will convert everything it gets its hands on to glucose as that is what the body's cells use for energy. Organic is probably the best but I think the difference is not that big.

[Javfly33]

9 hours ago, mmKay said:

Would you say there is much difference between organic and non organic meat besides the amount of vitamins and minerals? 

Yes, not only is the food they give to the animal, organic certifications (at least in Europe, but I suspect in USA it also works the same) usually include also that the animal are treated way better.

9 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

The animal's organs filter out much of the toxins from the meat itself. The meat is also calorie dense unlike eating buckets of lettuce.

Right, make sense.

 

[Shane Hanlon]

Just to clear things up - DR. Gundry is a grifter.

I worked at a supplement company a few years back. The Head of marketing used to work for Gundry. He would always try to get us to make these incredibly unethical VSLs (video sales letters). They were basically hour long scare tactics for old people. Tell them whatever you need to tell them to sell the product. Doesn't matter if it is true or false. "I'd rather get sued for making millions than not make anything." He always kept talking about how many lies were in the Gundry videos and how so much of it was made up.

And it just so happens Gundry sells a lectin product... https://gundrymd.com/supplements/lectin-shield/

[Soulbass]

MG about lectins:

 

[AJBrew]

Something worth mentioning is that most of the produce from central and south America is sprayed with herbicides and pesticides that have been banned in the U.S. 

Edited January 16, 2023 by AJBrew

[Leo Gura]

13 hours ago, Something Funny said:

You could add chickpeas and tahini there. Both are pretty healthy. I am not sure about 1000 but that will be quite a few bonus calories.

Sounds kinda gross, but you do you.

Quote

@Leo Gura btw, do you think fasting one day per week can help your body get rid of toxins that you acquire during the week? Maybe not heavy metals but other stuff?

No. This strikes me as wishful thinking.

Edited January 16, 2023 by Leo Gura

[Leo Gura]

10 hours ago, Javfly33 said:

Right, make sense.

Look, things I say about health are mostly speculative. It's hard to know for sure what is best, so take anything I say here with a grain of salt.

Edited January 16, 2023 by Leo Gura

[Something Funny]

1 hour ago, Leo Gura said:

Sounds kinda gross, but you do you.

Haha

Chikpeas actually have very little taste on their own so unless you add a tonn of them, you won't even notice. And tahini just gives it a slightly bitter taste.

[herghly]

Anecdotally I feel way, way better just eating meat & fruits. Not going to eat like this forever, but right now, I don't get any crashes from meals, have no brain fog and feel much better. 

 

Also I've found taking a short walk after each meal helps a lot. 

[bambi]

9 hours ago, Shane Hanlon said:

Just to clear things up - DR. Gundry is a grifter.

I worked at a supplement company a few years back. The Head of marketing used to work for Gundry. He would always try to get us to make these incredibly unethical VSLs (video sales letters). They were basically hour long scare tactics for old people. Tell them whatever you need to tell them to sell the product. Doesn't matter if it is true or false. "I'd rather get sued for making millions than not make anything." He always kept talking about how many lies were in the Gundry videos and how so much of it was made up.

And it just so happens Gundry sells a lectin product... https://gundrymd.com/supplements/lectin-shield/

JUST FYI the product he sells is anti-lectin, these posts break my brain lol

[bambi]

16 hours ago, Michael569 said:

Some people are allergic to gluten - this is called Coeliac disease and it's a genetic disease. You either have it, or you don't. Although for those genetically predisposed excessive gluten consumption can accelerate the onset of the first diagnosis, that's true. 

Where people are intolerant to gluten or anything else as a matter of fact, there is no one clear indication of what causes it. This is because at the same time, these people can be intollerant to so many foods that pointing at gluten solely, or lectins as a matter of fact is reductionistic and not addressing the root cause. 

This is a massive grey area where evidence hasn't fully caught up yet because of the enormous challenges and variability in people's microbiome profiles and also considering that this is an area that is clinically not as lethal compared to heart disease and cancer so naturally less funding goes this way. 

If you look at foods that are highest in lectins such as lentils and wholerains, they are continuously associated with favourable health outcomes. Happy to share the studies if you want anything in particular. 

You're right, it does not make for polite communication. I take that back. My apologies. 

While the label is offensive, in nutrition, it is used to label people who refuse to adhere to the core scientific principles, especially where the certainty of the evidence is extremely high (e.g. health benefits of legumes and whole grains) and instead choose to pick out mechanistic and in vitro studies claiming otherwise. These people usually ignore all forms of human outcome data or pick very few specific ones with flawed methodology. 

Because otherwise, making books about ideal human nutrition is boring, we already know the answers and they are not exciting. Telling someone to eat a guidelines diet is met with resistance because people like cool and flashy stuff. And so quackery happens out of ignorance or out of pure greed and cash grabbing. The later, in my opinion, is absolutely disgusting habit and considering I haven't seen Dr Gundry revoke his statements despites MASSIVE pushback by the medical communities, I have to assume that he is financially motivated to keep perpetuating myths. 

Thank you for the information. What do you see as the most safe bet diet these days? Besides lectins gundry's advice seems pretty solid to me, lots of healthy oils, organic meat and veg, no to little dairy etc etc

Im never to bothered or shocked when mainstream science disagrees with people, Im sure mainstream science would treat most of us includng Leo wiht more dissdent then Gundry

[Leo Gura]

Don't make it too complicated. The healthiest diet is one based on organic unprocessed whole natural products like fruit, veggies, meat, and nuts.

Eat whatever whole foods you can tolerate and stop stressing over the details.

If you have special disorders or sensitivities then make the necessary adjustments.

The #1 rule is to avoid processed food as much as possible. Anything that comes in a bag, can, box, or powder is a processed food.

Edited January 16, 2023 by Leo Gura

[retrocausal]

Wow thanks all for all the thoughtful responses! Really there is no such thing as perfection here, the best we can do is be conscious of what our body is telling us ... while avoiding the obvious poisons.

[herghly]

if you want more on health, IMO Tim Ferris is one of the best to listen to. The guy's a real nerd about optimising his health and shares it all.

[Hello from Russia]

16 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Don't make it too complicated. The healthiest diet is one based on organic unprocessed whole natural products like fruit, veggies, meat, and nuts.

Eat whatever whole foods you can tolerate and stop stressing over the details.

If you have special disorders or sensitivities then make the necessary adjustments.

The #1 rule is to avoid processed food as much as possible. Anything that comes in a bag, can, box, or powder is a processed food.

Do you consider things like salted cucumbers in a jar as processed food?