tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post2353641485201070321..comments2024-03-28T11:29:46.845-07:00Comments on Whole Health Source: Upcoming TalksStephan Guyenethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09218114625524777250noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-50761451096857559722014-08-27T13:01:27.955-07:002014-08-27T13:01:27.955-07:00I have some problems with McDougals identification...I have some problems with McDougals identification of ancestral diets. In his book The Starch Solution he has a chapter on what he calls a true ancestral diet, where he kind of compares poor starch-eating, and healthy people to rich, who he claims had dieseases on "richer" diets.<br /><br />The problem with such approach is that it's the rich people who were to become our ancestors. Disproportionately so. A leading researcher on the influence of diets on wealth on fertility is Gregory Clark, he wrote 2 books: "A farewell to alms", and "The Son also Rises". His conclusions are staggering; eg. 90% of English at the dawn of industrial revolution are descendants of just 10% of the richest from the middle ages.<br />Because of such uneven distribution of survability when talking about the ancestral diet it's crucial to identify:<br />1) out of the entity of any past population - what is the subset that become ancestors of most of the moderns - the safe bet is on richer than average, excluding the poorest, unlikely to be ancestors to moderns<br />2) what is the diet specific to this subgroup of "dominant ancestors"<br /><br />Just counting a typical food intake for an average member of a past population fails to include skewed distribution of survability of lines; that we already know was there. Especially would it be a good advice to emulate the traditions of those who failed to survive? <br /><br />There are a lot of free videos about it, eg:<br />https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2D739D3487D8119E<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYspzYiX_kg<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />tomRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05250648754955371165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-25515233399623314092014-07-12T12:13:22.133-07:002014-07-12T12:13:22.133-07:00How well established is the idea of beta cell &quo...How well established is the idea of beta cell "exhaustion?"<br /><br />The standard diabetes type II account is insulin resistance, followed by increased level of insulin production from the beta cells. It is then claimed that eventually they become "exhausted" (plausibly due to accumulation of oxidation damage), and can no longer produce enough insulin, leaving too high blood glucose and the usual bad effects of high glucose.<br /><br />If correct, it seems to me that the logical implication is to try from an young age to limit the need for high insulation secretion (less over eating, less high glycemic foods, less heavily sugared food, less carbohydrates, especially of the rapidly digested type). Hopefully, this could delay the time of diabetes until old age, (or even never).<br /><br />This general account could explain why rates are high in the modern world, with high added sugar diets, easy to chew highly digestible carbohydrate foods, etc., while rates seem to be low in a wide range of traditional eating societies. When the point of "exhaustion" is reached could easily depend on the number and size of the beta cells which is probably under genetic control, with people differing widely.<br /><br /> Evolution would have selected for traits that kept the beta cells functioning in those societies that had historically ate diets that stressed the beta cells. <br /><br />The beta cells are a very small fraction of total body weight and energy consumption, and one would have expected evolution to have given them enough spare capacity to keep functioning into old age under the diets typical in prehistory (and even early agriculture).<br /><br />An immediate implication might be to resist the demands of children for lots of sweet food, cokes, ice cream,high sugar breakfast cereals, etc.ProfessorEdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01288329465883863748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-62098416176720377262014-07-10T14:59:15.386-07:002014-07-10T14:59:15.386-07:00Thanks Aaron-- Likewise!Thanks Aaron-- Likewise!Stephan Guyenethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09218114625524777250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-79239622280113215802014-07-10T13:13:54.958-07:002014-07-10T13:13:54.958-07:00Looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks at AH...Looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks at AHS14!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00036614526678395373noreply@blogger.com