Better Dietary Options from Canadian Study
This past summer a major global study led by researchers at the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences was presented.
Research with more than 135,000 people across five continents has shown that a diet which includes a moderate intake of fat and fruits and vegetables, and avoidance of high carbohydrates, is associated with lower risk of death.
For a while, I have wondered about the source of funding vegetarian groups have had when they have been able to be mobilized to enter schools and show videos to teenage students showing abuses in the meat and dairy industries. I have suspected that much like the promotion of margarine which companies can manufacture (in comparison with butter with only a small amount of processing) people were being convinced to buy processed vegetarian products as a replacement for natural products. Another example of poor science is the promotion of Fluoride in the prevention of cavities. This study - A hypothetical role for vitamin K2 in the endocrine and exocrine aspects of dental caries indicates that Fluoride is less effective than would be thought and might actually be causing additional issues:
Now it appears that fluoride causes significant oxidative stress and antioxidants are the antidote.
In other words fluoride is negatively impacting our health and we are needing to take antioxidants to repair the damage. I have another hypothesis (I have yet to find literature to back it up though) that fluoride is an antagonist to Vitamin K. Vitamin K(1) is used for blood-clotting while Vitamin K(2) is part of the mechanism which moves calcium from soft tissues to hard tissues. Try to remember that the body tries to maintain homoeostasis (an equilibrium between interdependent elements). If fluoride disrupts Vitamin K(2) from transporting calcium from plaque to the bones (eg teeth) it is doing the opposite of what is desired. However plaques also occur in the veins and arteries. Disrupting part of the bodies' mechanism to reduce those blockages leads to high blood pressure. The solution the medical profession has arrived at is Warfarin which also disrupts Vitamin K (K1). Although I know very few readers have slept on a water bed, it is the same effect - push down in one place and everything else pops up.
Why am I rambling like this? Maybe our society needs to step back from the experts and just simplify things a little bit. Eat raw fruits, vegetable and balance your requirements with organically grown meat and dairy products (grass fed and treated with respect). If it was possible to get all your nutrients from raw fruits and vegetables I would support that. My grandparents and great grandparents had balanced and non-processed diets and they lived healthier lives than my parents and myself.
I agree totally, it is sensible to eat sustainably farmed produce (meat and veg) and I think most importantly: we should eat a little less than most of us do. I think our ancestors didn't have such easy access to unlimited food supply as we do nowadays and they probably did more physical work then we do :D
Hi Lucy
When I was young, I could eat as much as I wanted and could get over 64 kg (140 lbs). However it didn't matter how much or little exercise that I had, my weight was stable. Today I live on the computer and the only exercise I get is when I jump to conclusions but I eat comparatively little - while I am overweight.
I have thought about for a number of years about things that could be responsible for our current epidemic of being over weight in addition to exercise. One thing that could be part of the problem (aside from diet) is a biological factor. It is possible there is an epidemic of a particular gut bacteria which is stimulating our urges to eat high carbohydrate food. I recognize you might think this is nonsense but there actually a bacteria that does so. In the past stomach ulcers were considered hereditary and due to stress (particularly in the office). However those ulcers have been associated with Helicobacter pylori.
A second hypothesis that I have had was that something in our diets had changed without us being aware of it. Certainly we now know that along the line they started using high fructose corn syrup in many products but as well one of the more popular vegetable oils used today is Canola. While Erucic acid has been reduced to less than 2% in Canola its expanded use in our diets brings it back up to toxic levels. It disrupts lipid metabolism so it might also be one of the factors in this epidemic.
A final hypothesis that I have is that fat molecules are used in the body to isolate toxins which our livers are unable to clear properly. We consume on a daily basis things which are toxins in our body. If our livers are unable to metabolise and excrete these toxins the body will bind and store in fat cells. Fat-soluble toxins include pesticides, preservatives, food additives, heavy metals, pollutants, plastics and other environmental chemicals.
I concede. I used to have no worries about weight when I was young and now I think I put on weight even when I breathe. I wasn't being judgemental, I just know that when I was young my mum cooked our meals from first principles while I just take the easy route and buy either ready meals or take aways which really is something I need to change. I also eat more when I am stressed, something that wasn't around when I was younger.
Hi Lucy - I apologize but I am pretty much a robot... my personality type is an INTJ. I take my joy from exploring things with others. What I say could be totally wrong and I actually like being corrected.
I sympathize with eating while stressed. Your body tells you that it needs something but your mind can't identify what it is that you lack so sends you down the food route. Lately I have started drinking large glasses of water. I imagine when you were younger and felt distress, your mother would sit you on her lap and rub your back or hug you while reading a story. Consider the physiological aspects of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. My personal feelings are that grooming behaviour (or human touch) is one of those needs.