https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Sun, 26 Apr 2026 20:35:16 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1255465 Mon, 19 May 2014 08:37:57 +0000 anne 1255465@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Have to admit I have a little sceptism about this too - though I'm following this thread with interest. I have changed the balance of my own diet to more protein and less carbs than I previously ate but I doubt I'd go as far as cutting grains out entirely.</p> <p>Also, on a practical level, as Ariadne pointed out, if is an expensive option. Our family of five spends 9 times more on food than we do on clothing. It is our biggest expense (food is more expensive here than in the US). We use legumes to stretch our meat, feed the kids inexpensive oatmeal porridge and sometimes fill them up with bread if they are still hungry (And these are kids that will eat multiple helpings of vegies!) Take those options away and we'd find it difficult! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1252559 Thu, 15 May 2014 19:16:27 +0000 Gaylene 1252559@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Echoing Echo and Greyscale. From my readings on nutritional science, the biggest issue seems to be that gathering accurate data on what people <i><b>actually</b></i><b> </b><i><b>consume</b></i><b> </b>over a significant period of time is extremely difficult to document. Most nutritional data is self-report data, which, as any researcher will tell you, is notoriously unreliable. Add the difficulty in controlling for other factors and extrapolation to whole populations from non-randomized sampling and lack of a control group, and you end up with lots of qualifiers when trying to come to a scientifically based conclusion. I wouldn't throw out the information that we gain from nutritional studies but I'm skeptical enough to question anyone who has the answer to what constitutes the perfect, universal human diet, especially if the theory relies on speculation, a selected study of the nutritional literature, and anecdotal evidence. </p> <p>It would be nice if we could cure human illness and increase longevity by finding the villain in our diet, but I suspect the whole issue is way more complicated than eating (or not eating) any particular food. To me, Pollan's advice to "Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants." has served the human race fairly well for the past thousand or so years--a pretty good track record in my books. The current push for a "paleo" type diet is interesting, but, like Jeanie notes, most people who followed this type of diet didn't live for more than three or four decades, ate ALL parts of the animal including the blood and organs, and endured frequent periods of starvation. I like a steak as much as the next person, but I'll be happy to forgo some of those other aspects of my ancestors' lives. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1252391 Thu, 15 May 2014 14:06:33 +0000 texstyle 1252391@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I've researched nutrition (casually) for a big part of my life. Mostly related to specific health conditions such as how to possibly cure a disease with proper nutrition. </p> <p>I think there is some sense to the hunter/gatherer concept but evolution has to be considered. And modern growing methods and sanitation, soil depletion, etc. I grow a lot of my own vegetables and hopefully fruits (within the next few years) and I feel much better knowing where that food originated. But we don't hunt for our own meat or fish. Would the average person even eat meat if they had to hunt it down and kill it themselves? I wonder.</p> <p>There is also a theory of "intuitive eating" which I suppose&nbsp;would be a combination of maybe all&nbsp;other theories but then put into perspective of each individual's needs. We *should* intuitively know what to eat and we should listen to our intuition. At least that's the concept. </p> <p>I know I personally don't feel a draw towards eating meat every day, but sometimes I do have a craving for it. I used to love cheese and honestly I might have felt better back when I ate more of it. Now, I try to limit it because I'm not sure if it's the best thing for me. But I really can't say for sure and I'm not even sure of my own intuition on this one. Not to mention, I have a hard time finding organic, raw cheeses and I don't like processed non-organic cheese.&nbsp;</p> <p>I do feel diet is partly an evolution thing. We are going to continue to evolve and that might mean we get new cravings or even require new things.&nbsp;</p> <p>Like&nbsp;the whole gut bacteria thing. Scientists are only recently talking about the importance of this. Most of us have been on antibiotics at least a couple of times throughout life and I think even raw garlic acts as an antibiotic and can interfere with the gut flora balance. And back in the hunter/gatherer times, there was a LOT more bacteria on every thing that was eaten. Not to say that it worked out in the best way for them.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1251205 Wed, 14 May 2014 04:41:41 +0000 Jeanie 1251205@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Love all this discussion. &nbsp;I have been reading so much on nutrition as my mom has developed diverticulitis and I want to help her. &nbsp;&nbsp;I watched the documentary and it prompted more questions in my mind. &nbsp;I agree that our processed foods have done bad things to us but since the people long ago only lived a short time how do we know they would not have developed some late in life diseases that we attribute to diet? &nbsp;Also, the movie mentioned that grains are not human food. &nbsp;Why then do we have so many grains and plants in the world? &nbsp;Is rice and corn truly meant for animals and not humans? &nbsp;I could go on but I will save you all.&nbsp;</p> <p>I tend to agree with the others that you have to find what works for you. &nbsp;I do best on a paleo ish diet which is heavy on vegetables. &nbsp;However, I am anemic and try really hard to eat some red meat. &nbsp;<b>Greyscale,&nbsp;</b>your work sounds fascinating. &nbsp;I think I am the opposite of absorbing too much iron. &nbsp;No matter what I do I can't absorb enough. &nbsp;It sounds like our bodies are adapting to our surroundings. &nbsp;So maybe dairy is OK for you if you have the enzymes to digest it or was this just a bad mutation? &nbsp;Have we really not adapted to eat whole grains like the movie indicated? &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1242720 Mon, 05 May 2014 20:10:52 +0000 Greyscale 1242720@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Echoing Echo, here.</p> <p>I am a scientist, one who studies human genome variation. I haven't watched this movie but in general the science behind any "one true way" diet perspective is incomplete because there's a lot we don't know about metabolism. That doesn't mean it's bad science, but what works for one of us might not work for the other.</p> <p>For instance, lactose digestion is one of our best examples of measurable&nbsp;human evolution. Everyone makes the lactase enzyme as a baby to digest mom's milk. Originally, humans stopped making lactase as they got older. That means when you drank milk it would get digested by your gut bacteria and give you gas and other ickiness. But a chance mutation in a European tens of thousands of years ago made the lactase enzyme stick around through adulthood. That variation turned out to be useful to Europeans, because milk from domesticated animals became a good food source, so it won out over the original version and now 80% of Europeans have that adult milk-digesting version.</p> <p>That doesn't mean at all that it's the only thing that determines whether milk sits well with you. Gut bacteria are still important. And there may be other reasons why milk is problematic - plus, in my opinion, the antibiotics and hormones used in large-scale farming cause problems too. But anyway, as far as science goes, this is the textbook example of differences among different human&nbsp;populations.</p> <p>Another real genetic variation: Like many many&nbsp;Irish people, I carry one copy of a gene variant that causes hemochromatosis if you have two copies. That's a disease where your body absorbs iron like crazy. So, instead of worrying about anemia from not eating enough red meat, people with hemochromatosis have to avoid iron and donate blood often to avoid organ damage from too much iron. I just have one copy of it, so it's not a disease - but I bet the large percent&nbsp;of northern Europeans who have this variation like me&nbsp;need less dietary iron than average.&nbsp;It might explain why I have never ever been drawn towards eating red meat even when I'm very athletic. Who knows. </p> <p>And these are just the slam-dunk examples of genetic variation and diet. There are thousands of tiny differences that have effects we're only starting to understand.&nbsp;Even if we never understand it, though, I'm personally happy with&nbsp;the Michael Pollan guidelines: Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1241248 Sun, 04 May 2014 02:47:33 +0000 Echo 1241248@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Manidipa makes a good point. It is fascinating to watch how children respond to their own inherent preferences with food (and I don't mean just candy and sweets). My second son is naturally a paleo eater. His preference is meats and vegetables. He like a few fruits, but won't touch potatoes (in any form, including french fries) with a 10 foot pole. Breads he can take or leave.</p> <p>But my first son is a carb-aholic and was from day one. Whereas DS2 preferred broccoli and other greens in baby food and went wild when he was offered bits of meat, DS1 was always a huge fan of pumpkin and other winter squash, sweet potatoes, carrots (one of the sweetest veggies) and went wild for crackers and cereals.&nbsp;</p> <p>So it makes me wonder how much of what is healthiest for each individual is based in genetics, and perhaps the region of the world which one's ancestors hail from. There are many populations who cannot digest milk, and some who can, depending on their history with animal domestication. Likewise with wheat. I wonder if there just isn't a perfect diet for all humans and it depends more on the individual (with the admission, of course, that processed foods and refined sugars aren't good for anyone).&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1241092 Sat, 03 May 2014 22:23:53 +0000 ManidipaM 1241092@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>While.I like that science as well as historians are trying to figure out healthy earing for us, I think in practice each person really needs to (and I hate how woo this sounds) check bacl in with their body and experiment a bit, as T did above.</p> <p>My partner supposedly feels best on the paleo/primal plan (never strictly followed but he does better with less grains and tubers with more meats), but the same diet makes me rather sick. I do better with more legumes! And moderate amounts of fish and meat (more than I once believed... have been vegetarian/vegan for 14 years too) as well as cartloads of veggies which prove too uncomfortably fibrous for the partner and a bunch of fruits (he loves them too but doesn't feel so good with as many). OTOH the infant, supposedly least adaptable, eats dairy and fruits to excess with gusto, has recently developed a taste for whole grains after shunning it in earlier months, is allergic to egg (would possibly have had an early demise in many a Paleo context), adores leafy greens and eschews squashes and tubers, and steadfastly refuses to digest legumes. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1241017 Sat, 03 May 2014 20:10:58 +0000 Ariadne 1241017@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Sounds like primal/paleo. &nbsp;I feel best when I eat that way, and I strive for it as much as I can. &nbsp;I find it difficult due to the cost,&nbsp;planning and prep work involved. &nbsp;Also, I love bread! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1240880 Sat, 03 May 2014 16:33:25 +0000 ironkurtin 1240880@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Generally speaking, I don't think there's any science that says eating highly processed "food" is good for you.&nbsp; More and more research indicates that sugar is harmful, and it's a fact that today's wheat is very different from the wheat we evolved to eat.&nbsp; I think a good indicator is probably to look at your genetic heritage -- if your ancestors ate a lot of dairy, well, I'd think you could too.&nbsp; If you love grains, eat them, but I wouldn't make them the foundatiomn of your diet.</p> <p>Personally I think eating fresh foods grown responsibly, not too much of anything, is the way to go.&nbsp; I say as I pick up some Whole Foods brownies for the kid. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1240681 Sat, 03 May 2014 05:17:44 +0000 Caro in Oz 1240681@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I could have written&nbsp;Aziraphale's first paragraph - add to that a hypo-active thyroid &amp; grains/sugars become even harder to deal with. I can't get your link here in Oz but I have seen the trailer &amp; it is really interesting.</p> <p>I like this site:</p> <p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.drperlmutter.com/">http://www.drperlmutter.com/</a></p> <p>He is a scientist too (a neurologist)&nbsp;with a real interest in nutrition &amp;&nbsp;preventative medicine. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1240679 Sat, 03 May 2014 05:14:12 +0000 T 1240679@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks for the link Angie... some of things discussed in the video are things I figured out a year &amp; 1/2 ago myself when my health went slowly&nbsp;downhill on a vegetarian low fat diet that I did for quite a few years.&nbsp;</p> <p>Living in India, I know that plenty of people that are healthy &amp; happy on vegan / vegetarian diets. For unknown reasons my body is happiest with eliminating grains, legumes &amp; seed oils from my diet and eating plenty of seafood, animal protein, dairy, fruits &amp; vegs. Eating this way has helped reach a good weight for my height as well I no longer have my medical issues.&nbsp;</p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1240567 Sat, 03 May 2014 02:52:57 +0000 Echo 1240567@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I was listening to Dr. Joel Fuhrman the other day, and while I don't necessarily agree with his diet plan, the strong indications about how fabulous things like onions and mushrooms and other veggies are are pretty convincing. I try to combine that with organic, locally raised meat. But carbs are my downfall, and there has never been a doughnut that couldn't take advantage of me.&nbsp;</p> <p>I will try to watch this video; thanks for the link! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1240450 Sat, 03 May 2014 00:40:21 +0000 jackiec 1240450@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Didn't watch the link yet but it sounds primal/paleo. I've been following this framework for over 2 years and certainly feel much, much better for it (except I'm an avid baker and live with the pickiest non-paleo family on the planet - I often give in to the cookies...). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1240435 Sat, 03 May 2014 00:24:27 +0000 Aziraphale 1240435@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks for the link, Angie. I watched the trailer. You have to pay for the actual video, and since I think I know what it's going to say, I may not watch it -- but I suspect I agree with it. My body seems to <i>ask</i> for meat -- i.e., I crave it --&nbsp;and since meat doesn't have chemicals I know to be addictive (like caffeine or alcohol), I can trust that meat is what it needs. If I eat meat, the craving goes away.&nbsp;On the other hand, eating high sugar or high starch foods (it's all sugar in the end) doesn't necessarily stop me craving those things, so I take that to mean that those things are not something my body is not equipped to handle in large quantities, and eating them messes up the sensitive machinery that influences what you crave.&nbsp;I mean, there are no doughnut trees, right? No fettucini alfredo trees?&nbsp;Lol. Not that I don't eat those things. I just try not to eat too much of them, because I can tell that my body is confused about how much is too much. The more foods you eat that would have been available to a neolithic person, the better.&nbsp;</p> <p>Having said that, I'm not on a paleo diet. I'm just not that committed to thinking about food. Having to think about food annoys me, actually. I'm very keen on food when I'm hungry, of course -- aren't we all! --&nbsp;but I feel like so much time is wasted on shopping for groceries, preparing food and cleaning up the mess that I sincerely wish we could just eat once every few days and be done with it. So I just try to eat more healthy foods and fewer unhealthy ones, but when I eat ones I know to be unhealthy, I remember to enjoy it. Life is too short to get anxious about doing <i>everything</i> right. :-)&nbsp;</p> <p>ETA some of us are fortunate in that we are able to process dairy. Sure, it's a relatively recent addition to the human diet, but we adapt. I read that many northern Europeans can manage dairy products no problem.</p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1240424 Sat, 03 May 2014 00:13:13 +0000 crutcher 1240424@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Woops...I couldn't find where I had posted ...Sorry about the duplicate... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1240422 Sat, 03 May 2014 00:12:22 +0000 crutcher 1240422@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I became a vegan three years ago and have enjoyed a plant based life-style...The Perfect Human Diet sounds really interesting...I am amazed at how much importance medical science is finally giving to our diet...Interesting stuff.... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1240392 Fri, 02 May 2014 23:52:48 +0000 crutcher 1240392@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I became a vegan in 2011 and really love the plant based diet...Will definitely watch The Perfect Human Diet...I am amazed at how important our food is beginning to be in the overall human condition...medical science is giving more than a nob to eating, natural solutions, etc. &nbsp;Thx for the suggestion... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1240332 Fri, 02 May 2014 22:59:31 +0000 lyn* 1240332@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Does it defeat the purpose if I watch it while eating highly processed popcorn and chips? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1240258 Fri, 02 May 2014 21:38:17 +0000 Isabel 1240258@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Isis...hahahahaha &nbsp;! &nbsp;How true. &nbsp;Sugar is just a killer for us.&nbsp;</p> <p>Thank you Angie, I will have to watch this. &nbsp;My interest is highly peaked !</p> <p>The whole diet debate is very interesting to me. &nbsp;The one thing that we always seem to forget is that the cave man/woman rarely lived past 30 and the average age for a woman in the US is 88 &nbsp;( I think ) now. &nbsp;So it is all a mixed bag. &nbsp;There doesn't seem to be a lot written about this. &nbsp;Plus the huge advances in medical care. &nbsp;One thing is pretty certain though, cavemen didn't have diabetes and other more "modern day" &nbsp;ailments like obesity &nbsp;and hardening of the arteries. &nbsp;I truly believe that one of our biggest problems with food is just the sheer amount of food. &nbsp;One can even see that from nation to nation and in comparison to indigenous peoples. &nbsp;I find it amazing that we have been able to live through phthalates in containers of food, lead, tons of&nbsp;sugar, silicone, and so on that we put into our bodies. &nbsp;And we are all still kicking. &nbsp;Wow. &nbsp;Our bodies are just amazing.</p> <p>Angie , you ARE a scientist ! &nbsp;Your ability to zero in on detail and strategize and change variables is completely scientific. &nbsp; &nbsp;: &nbsp;)&nbsp;</p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1240169 Fri, 02 May 2014 20:11:42 +0000 Isis 1240169@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Well, many scientists actually disagree with the underpinnings of a "paleo / primal" philosophy like this; see: &nbsp;<br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-paleo-diet-half-baked-how-hunter-gatherer-really-eat/">http://www.scientificamerican......eally-eat/</a></p> <p>But everyone seems to agree that a diet with a lot of weird foods like Big Gulp sodas can't be good! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1240158 Fri, 02 May 2014 20:03:30 +0000 viva 1240158@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks Angie. We will watch this for sure. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1240114 Fri, 02 May 2014 19:25:26 +0000 cciele 1240114@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks for the link Angie! Will have to check it out. One of the reasons I eat (or try to, it's like 80/20) primal/paleo is because it made sense from an evolutionary standpoint. Plus, my body responded well to that way of eating.</p> <p>Mochi, one of the guys mentioned, Dr. Loren Cordain, is basically one of the earliest proponents of the Paleo diet. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1240018 Fri, 02 May 2014 17:45:36 +0000 LACeleste 1240018@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thank you. &nbsp;I'll take a look. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1239998 Fri, 02 May 2014 17:34:31 +0000 rabbit 1239998@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I agree with Mochi and will check it out. &nbsp; I think with animal meat a lot probably depends on how the animal lives and what it eats. &nbsp; I generally give credence&nbsp;to the China study findings since that was such a long term and comprehensive scientific project:&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_China_Study">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_China_Study</a> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1239988 Fri, 02 May 2014 17:21:04 +0000 Anonymous 1239988@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have been messing around with my diet, wheat does not like me, as Tracina says, it's too far from its original state. </p> <p>Small bits of dairy and I do love meat but I feel the best when I eat low carb, high veg but it's very difficult. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1239987 Fri, 02 May 2014 17:18:36 +0000 Anonymous 1239987@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I will add it to my list.&nbsp; I love this kind of stuff.&nbsp; <br />I think some of the problem is how different our food is from it's natural state.&nbsp; For instance wheat is hybridized to be so ridiculously high in gluten it's no wonder so many people now have gluten allergies. &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1239973 Fri, 02 May 2014 16:56:43 +0000 Mochi 1239973@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I haven't checked out the link yet. But it sounds primal/paleo.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1239968 Fri, 02 May 2014 16:51:18 +0000 Parsley 1239968@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It sounds excellent and informative, Angie. I have it on my list to watch! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/highly-recommend-the-human-diet#post-1239956 Fri, 02 May 2014 16:28:41 +0000 Angie 1239956@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>We watched this documentary a week ago and it was brilliant. It tracks the human diet over thousands of years.<b> It's completely scientific.&nbsp;</b></p> <p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Human-Diet-C-J-Hunt/dp/B00AX4QF70">http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-.....B00AX4QF70</a></p> <p>Long story short (and what I got out of it anyway): Since we added dairy and grain to our diets 10,000 years ago - things went downhill. Vegetarian and vegan diets are not actually&nbsp;healthy options -&nbsp;but <i>of course</i> I completely understand the emotional reasons behind not eating animals (it's why I don't eat mammals). Animal meat is though, very healthy for humans.&nbsp;</p> <p>I am not at all preaching that this is how you should eat. Heck I don't. I LOVE dairy, eat wheat and&nbsp;carbs daily, and don't eat mammals. But I wanted to share the documentary&nbsp;because it's the first diet related information that <i>really</i> resonated with me. Perhaps I'm a closet scientist.&nbsp;</p> <p>Angie xo</p> </p>