tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-513288677190655743.post8277019302742999275..comments2023-11-27T13:12:33.056-08:00Comments on For He is Good and Loves Mankind: Locally grown, locally raised, natural foodDavid Garnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10868519827605827991noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-513288677190655743.post-961777305996360532012-07-17T11:55:32.335-07:002012-07-17T11:55:32.335-07:00I think I would agree with most of that. As I men...I think I would agree with most of that. As I mentioned in the original post, I'm not sure grains per se are the issue. Rice isn't considered among the Primal folks to be as bad as some other grains (it is discouraged primarily for its lack of nutritional value versus its high insulin response). And you are correct that some cultures eat quite a lot of bread with a high degree of health. <br /><br />Having said that, when I ate fewer carbs (not no carbs, but fewer), and better food, and worked out a lot, I was in great shape. Having eaten more carbs and run a lot, I'm convinced the former approach works better.David Garnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10868519827605827991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-513288677190655743.post-55967189945060474062012-07-17T11:31:20.215-07:002012-07-17T11:31:20.215-07:00I don't think it's so much a nullification...<i>I don't think it's so much a nullification of the last several thousand years as a statement that we have not evolved to process grains properly.</i><br /><br />That's what I can't agree with...that we haven't evolved sufficiently to do well with grains. If that presumption was valid, mankind would have been fat for thousands of years because we have been eating grains for millenia...when the reality is that we have only been fat for recent decades. Why is that? Why all of a sudden? And so quickly? Why could the French eat bread and pasta and the like without being fat until recently? Why is it that rice is THE staple for so many other cultures and those cultures are not fat--in fact, far from the contrary. I would venture to say it is not because we haven't evolved sufficiently to process grains. <br /><br />In fact recent scientific data does support both quicker weight loss and higher metabolisms with a low carb approach. You can eat more calories, lose weight faster and slow down the rate at which the weight returns if you go lower carb. But, in evolutionary terms, grains have been the staple for the largest populations for thousands of years and people on a largely grain and high carbohydrate diet need less calories to maintain their weight...quite an evolutionary perfect adaptation to an agricultural society by my estimation.<br /><br />My guess is that in addition to processed foods we sit on our backsides too much behind computer monitors, we drive to the gym and try to get the closest parking space to the door, we travel with bags we wheel behind us instead of carry, we have machines wash our dishes and clean our cloths. In short, we are less active just in daily living (maybe enough so that even 3 visits a week to the gym can't compensate)...AND we eat crap and drink chemically laden, sugared drinks. To me that is more believable as the perfect combination to make fat people than a theory that we haven't evolved sufficiently.<br /><br />I could be wrong though...just the rambling thoughts of a fat old lady....Dixiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08511317203353075644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-513288677190655743.post-83439575756085706862012-07-17T10:06:49.019-07:002012-07-17T10:06:49.019-07:00Hey, Dixie! Good to hear from you again!
I agree...Hey, Dixie! Good to hear from you again!<br /><br />I agree -- I'm not at all trying to get around the fast, and I always eat to short of satiety when fasting. I am concerned about getting a proper nutrient load.<br /><br />One possible concession would be, as indicated above, to work in more legumes and (especially) potatoes. The former isn't "good" under this diet, but it's not really that "bad" either. The latter are perfectly fine. Same with rice. So I'm confident it's do-able.<br /><br />I am curious about your negative reaction to it. I don't think it's so much a nullification of the last several thousand years as a statement that we have not evolved to process grains properly. I do think that is problematic as well from a Christian perspective -- the Bible references us not only eating grains but making grain offerings as well, so is it really bad per se? Some of my Christian friends who are devotees say "well, that's not exactly the same bread Jesus took in His hands," meaning wheat today is genetically modified, etc. But to my mind, it's more a matter of emphasis. I think the problem is not that we eat grains, but that we eat way too much grains. There will come a time when I am happy with my progress and I will work a moderate amount of grain back into my diet. Hopefully not refined grains (though I have been Jonesing for a Martins' bacon biscuit lately). But maybe more rice and the occasional whole wheat bread side. Still, I think having a bread serving with every meal, and a starch serving with every meal, and limited vegetables and limited meat, is a fundamentally bad way to go. <br /><br />I read an article a while back in the NY Times called "Eat Food, Not Much, Mostly Plants." I think that is wise counsel. That article did not recommend eating NO grains, but it definitely recommended eating FEW grains, and no refined, processed grains. That, for me at least, is the likely endgame. The chief benefit being I will subsist on real food as the bulk of my diet.David Garnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10868519827605827991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-513288677190655743.post-59040361849967024972012-07-17T09:08:12.464-07:002012-07-17T09:08:12.464-07:00One aspect of the fast is that eating a diet so hi...One aspect of the fast is that eating a diet so high in carbohydrates (even if the carbs are more complex and sourced from fruits and legumes) in the end leaves you a bit unsatisfied...which I believe is the desired outcome, so that we quit being slaves to our bellies. And yet, one doesn't lose a lot of body weight from the fast that is so heavily dependent upon carbs. It really is rather perfect by design. The ancients were brilliant!<br /><br />There is something about primal that doesn't ring true with me...my negative reaction to it is quite viceral. I wish I understood that reaction a little more. I suspect it linked to the whole "caveman" theory and the nullification of the last several thousand years of history. I don't know. But regardless...getting food at the source, without processing, is the way to go. I am convinced that processing is at the source of our epidemic (worldwide now) obesity problem. Even GMOs don't seem as threatening to me as processing (although I have significant objections when it comes to genetic modifications for the purpose of being able to use certain pesticides). Farmers have been tinkering with genetics long before Mendel explained why their tinkering worked.<br /><br />This past Lent I was on Weight Watchers (as I am today). It was a good match. I was never satisfied...! :)Dixiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08511317203353075644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-513288677190655743.post-78250759102980067982012-07-14T08:15:24.034-07:002012-07-14T08:15:24.034-07:00I have the same concern, Tina, and I recently aske...I have the same concern, Tina, and I recently asked my priest for advice. He asked me to e-mail him the details of the diet, which I have, and I hope to speak to him this weekend about it.<br /><br />My guess is that for my wife and I, we'll work legumes back into our diet in lieu of meats during the ascetical fasts, and perhaps look into options where meats are concerned such as getting a dispensation to allow canned tuna or some other cheaper source of protein other than shellfish. If that is unworkable or unwise, we will probably make do as best we can, and if that means working grains back in a bit for 80 days out of the year, so be it. As always, the best rule is to ask your priest for a rule.<br /><br />I'll post a follow-up once I speak to my priest about it.David Garnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10868519827605827991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-513288677190655743.post-5776906281368427472012-07-14T08:11:16.236-07:002012-07-14T08:11:16.236-07:00Hi David. I am interested in primal eating and ha...Hi David. I am interested in primal eating and have done various forms of it for years (though never the Primal Blueprint). I feel so much better when I cut out grains and processed foods, especially sugars. I've started to grow my own tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs and plan to do more in the future. My question is how to do it during the fasting periods? Do you have any suggestions?Tinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03012278457882883561noreply@blogger.com