Some Great Points Countering Conventional Thinking On Food And Nutrition
I just came across Karen De Coster's review of Mark Sisson's book, The Primal Blueprint (which I have not read). But, I think in these excerpts, she -- and he -- are right on:
A Couple of Real Pyramids to Live ByThe Primal Blueprint food pyramid, unlike the government's fraudulent apparatus, is not influenced by food subsidies, profiteering politics, special interests, or payoffs from powerful players in the food industry. You won't see a primal pyramid recommending 6--11 servings daily of bread, pasta, and cereal. Low-fat diets that emphasize grains have made people fat, and not just here in America. In Sisson's view, vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, fowl, and eggs should sit at the bottom portion of the food pyramid. He includes a primer on fats and oils -- I especially note his wicked defense of healthy-yet-demonized fats and oils (coconut oil, unprocessed palm oil, lard, tallow, butter, etc.) that became politically unpopular because of the drive to promote the subsidized oils (think corn and soybean) that are heavily refined and genetically engineered. In keeping with the 80% Rule, even dark chocolate -- with 70% or more cocoa -- and alcohol make the grade when consumed moderately, in Sisson's primal world.
...Since he discovered that too much exercise is detrimental rather than beneficial, he has worked hard to convince others that chronic cardio or endurance sports lead to sickness, burnout, hormone problems, injuries, and the acceleration of aging and disease. I often note that professional endurance athletes often look like aging skeletons at a young age. Most triathletes and marathoners look aged beyond their years, and even my favorite athlete, Tour de France cycling champ Lance Armstrong, looked like an old man at the young age of thirty-four.
...My burning question has always been this: what makes a medical doctor -- even if he is a great doctor -- an automatic "expert" on food and nutrition, let alone exercise? Answer: nothing at all. People make the mistake of automatically granting expertise to their (often overweight) family medical doctor who had very little in the way of basic nutrition training way back in those medical school days. Unless an MD has a burning passion for deeper knowledge on food and nutrition science, or has actually gone into the field professionally, he's not sitting around reading the food and nutrition science journals and following the hot and debated issues of the day. So, in my mind, you need to forget your family doctor's uninformed, pharmaceutical-influenced advice and learn to control your own destiny through a process of self-education.
Tomorrow night, there's a great place to start -- my rebroadcast of my show with Dr. William Davis, author of Wheat Belly, talking about how wheat is the worst thing you can eat, and how there's no such thing as "healthy whole grains."
The show will air from 7-8pm Pacific, 10-11pm Eastern, at this link:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/amyalkon/2012/11/26/advice-goddess-radio-amy-alkon
(I'm in Paris this week and my boyfriend has insisted I have an actual vacation.)
Oh, and a bit more from De Coster -- some food rules she lives by:
- Avoid all sweeteners, most sugar (unless it is cane sugar in the occasional homemade good), and even minimize natural fructose. I've never been much of a fruit eater.- Avoid all industrial oils because of their rancidity, poor fatty acids profile, and hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated properties.
- Use lard (home rendered or bought from those who render it and sell at the market); raw butter; Kerrygold Irish butter; olive oils; sesame oil; macadamia oil; coconut oil; tallow (beef and lamb).
- Avoid grains, except for occasional rice and, yes, beer in the warm months.
- Eat quality meat: pastured or grass-fed (lamb, pork, beef, chicken, turkey) stored in my large freezer, and eat only wild caught fish. See a photo of my freezer. I deal directly with all of my farmers via email and do pickups at their farms.
- Eat a high-fat diet with moderate protein.
- Don't focus on the macronutrient content (fats, protein, carbs). I keep it simple and eat real food and don't turn eating into rocket science. I don't have time for the tracking or logistics. By way of my real-food principles, my diet is naturally low in carbs.
- Utilize farmer's markets for obtaining the majority of my food (farmers and artisanal makers). I live right by the largest and most glorious market in North America, so I am fortunate: Detroit Eastern Market. During the off-season, I buy from Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and local specialty/produce markets. The Detroit metro area has a gazillion of these wonderful markets.
UPDATE: In reply to Storm's comment that this way of eating is out-of-range pricey. See my comment below on my frugal low-carb diet.
The results: Body by bacon. (Okay, to be completely fair, I do 12 minutes of slow-burn exercise every five days or so -- when I'm not too overwhelmed by book and column deadlines.)
Photo of Amy Alkon's 48-year-old ass by Gregg Sutter:
I use the Primal Blueprint and have for a year. I have the cookbook too. It was hard doing low carb because I HATE HATE dairy and too much meat. I don't have a problem eating grass fed etc. so for me it's psychological thing but primal allows you to skip dairy and consume more veggies and it's all for more organic.
So eating a ton of veggies, berries and meat equals happiness for me.
Purple pen at November 24, 2012 1:07 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/11/24/some_great_poin.html#comment-3471927">comment from Purple penI have sort of odd tastes -- I like my vegetables heavily buttered and cooked till past dead and almost crunchy. I make green beans in the microwave -- fresh ones, that is -- by throwing them in a bowl with three big pats of Kerry Gold butter and then cooking them until they're wilted/chewy/sometimes a little crunchy. Love them.
Also, we don't appear to need fiber as we're told we are. It irritates and causes mucus.
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/fiber/a-cautionary-tale-of-mucus-fore-and-aft/
I make asparagus like I make green beans and I think this probably diminishes the level of fiber -- breaks them down a bit more than regular cooking of them. (Serving them the way people think they're supposed to be served.)
I also make kale in bacon grease every morning and I think it has really been great for my skin and for my general health. It's probably the most nutrient-rich vegetable out there, or one of them.
Amy Alkon at November 24, 2012 2:00 AM
No wheat? On what shall i put all this peanut butter? Doesn't matter right now 'cause we are out of bread and money both. Really, Mr Sisson's diet is yet another iteration of "eat only very expensive food."
He's certainly right about the government pushing us towards subsidized soy and agribusiness product. Old Soviet Russia was full of rotund, malnourished people. Meanwhile, as famine looms quietly, the EPA refuses to relax the requirement that we grow inedible corn for ethanol fuel. They mean to starve us, ruin our cars and keep us in our place. Advising people to do otherwise will have the TSA at Sisson's door.
Storm Saxon's Gall Bladder at November 24, 2012 3:59 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/11/24/some_great_poin.html#comment-3472216">comment from Storm Saxon's Gall BladderReally, Mr Sisson's diet is yet another iteration of "eat only very expensive food."
That's Karen De Coster's diet.
And frankly, although Gregg often cooks for me and shops for me, too, I can eat a very low-cost low-carb diet. Bratwurst, for example, is an inexpensive, high-fat, satiating food that I could eat at every meal, if necessary.
Flank steak is also inexpensive and delicious -- and we buy it when it's on special and cut it up and freeze it in individual bags.
We buy the off-brand bacon -- most recently Kirkland, Costco's brand.
I do eat Omega-3 eggs, which we often pick up pretty cheaply at Costco.
I get huge bunches of organic kale for $2 at the supermarket. They last me a week and a half. We get green beans at Trader Joe's and the huge Italian sausage, which I cut up, at Costco. We also get some cheese at Costco.
And we buy Kerry Gold butter at Trader Joe's, but use Kirkland (Costco brand) olive oil, which won some taste test.
I'd prefer to eat grass-fed beef and the finest ingredients, but this is a tough economy for this writer, a lot of writers, and a lot of people. I manage a low-carb diet and have never been healthier. I should post the shot Gregg took of me from behind. In fact, I think I will.
Amy Alkon at November 24, 2012 5:48 AM
Having the space to store extra food from warehouse clubs helps a lot. We save a lot of money on food now that we are able to buy in bulk. That's a luxury people in small living spaces don't have. When I was living in a tiny Brooklyn apartment, I could never justify the expense of a membership because I had no place to put the food.
I found that going to farmers markets has saved me a lot of money on fresh food, as long as I go to markets in less well-off neighborhoods. I went to a local market where the prices were good, and a week later, I went to a market in a more upscale neighborhood that had the same vendors, and everything was 25% more expensive.
MonicaP at November 24, 2012 7:12 AM
It's not too pricey. Liver is very nutrtionally dense and costs about two bucks a pound (50 cents a serving). Likewise beef heart and tongue can usually be found super cheap. (oxtail used to be cheap, but they're getting trendy so the price has gone up). A whole chicken can feed two adults for three days if you learn how to make soup. And of course eggs are very cheap and lend themselves to omelettes and frittatas (useful for cleaning up scraps and leftovers).
Honestly, the food budget for my husband and I has never been lower.
Elle at November 24, 2012 7:19 AM
To the excellent reasons given above, I'll add another from my own experience: eating less frequently. When following the food pyramid, I was constantly shoveling food into my mouth, and getting the shakes after more than a few hours without eating. After bringing my worries of hypoglycemia to an indifferent physician, and hearing, "Well, that's just how you are," I did my own research and ended up here.
On a low-carb diet, I eat smaller amounts of food and stay full and content. So since I buy less food, less often, it's balanced out the cost difference between protein and starch foods. My grocery bill has stayed about the same, maybe a little cheaper, and my shopping has become smarter, with a budget accommodating far more rich and delicious items than I was eating before. (On a personal note, it's the first time in ten years that I've felt strong and healthy as a vegetarian, instead of sickly and hungry. I'm glad I don't pay anything extra for that feeling of well-being, because it's priceless.)
Carbs may be immediately cheaper but are far more expensive in the long run; there are so many diseaes associated with them which eventually take a great toll on both the body and the wallet.
Leila at November 24, 2012 10:16 AM
"No wheat? On what shall i put all this peanut butter? Doesn't matter right now 'cause we are out of bread and money both"
When I'm eating carbs, and things like bread in particular, I find I have much less energy and struggle with productivity for my work (and as a mainly hourly paid consultant, no work = no pay). When I avoid bread/carbs, I feel I am more productive and have more energy. More productive = more income. (I still struggle with lethargy whenever I go back to carbs, which I tend to do, as my wife still likes to buy lots of sugary food). I do find I spend more when I go low-carb, but overall I think being able to work more productively makes up for it. YMMV.
"I'll add another from my own experience: eating less frequently"
It's a little anecdotal at this point, but I find I feel better and more energetic if I allow myself to get 'a little bit hungry' more regularly.
Lobster at November 24, 2012 4:29 PM
Tsk. Always with the modest clothing. I'm not looking for a vaccination scar, but there are outfits that show you off better, I'm sure!
Radwaste at November 25, 2012 2:06 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/11/24/some_great_poin.html#comment-3473563">comment from RadwasteTeehee!
Amy Alkon at November 25, 2012 2:39 AM
Nice turd-cutter. :)
whistleDick at November 25, 2012 10:26 AM
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