I really want to sit down and put my thoughts together after reading Good Calories, Bad Calories, but I came across a link (I found it from Conditioning Research, one of my favorite sources for links) that I couldn't wait to share.
The paleo/primal-blogger community (of which I sort of consider myself something akin to a junior member) do a great job of talking about the evils of carbohydrates and the need for dietary fat. Sometimes, however, I think there's a fear that jumping up and down about the benefits of saturated fats (butter, lard, tallow, cream, etc...) will alienate the laymen who might stumble upon the idea of going primal and want to learn more.
Well, here's a post that lays it right out there on the table, citing evidence new and old to back it up. And of course this follows perfectly with the paleolithic principle. In other words, like all good scientific theories, the idea that we're products of natural selection is predictive of the results we see in actual studies.
I'm thinking of reorganizing the concept of the big 5 anyway. Maybe replace the "fresh fruits'" spot with butter (although I was considering it a member of full-fat dairy" and specify that the vegetables should be what used to be called 5% vegetables (leafy, green kinds of things as opposed to starchy things that are delicious with balsamic glaze on the grill or in a rollatini).
Again, this is with the understanding that going 100% Big 5 is next to impossible for most civilized people. While it's been proven time and again that a basically 100% meat diet results in great health and vitality (not death!), I don't expect anybody to take the idea that far, and I don't expect anyone who would to be a reader of my little, silly blog.
That's it for now. My full endorsement of the awesome of "Good Calories, Bad Calories" hopefully to follow later today.
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So what are your thoughts on the best choices in fresh fruits & veggies... and by fresh fruits I don't mean butter.
ReplyDeleteLeafy, green sorts of things, like broccoli, spinach, kale, collard greens, and other things that used to be referred to as "5% vegetables" are always good.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to fruits, I am a fructose-phobe, so I tend to steer away from the bananas and apples and aim more towards berries, avocados, and coconut milk and oil.
The fact of the matter is that there's not much that fruits and vegetables seem to really do for you. I like to have some variety in my life, and a couple raspberries really makes a big bowl of plain white yogurt nice, but it would appear from the experience of explorers living with the Ihalmuit that humans can live vital, healthy, long lives with a diet consisting basically of nothing but animal fat and meat.