Health Primer

Nice info , for the average person , to at least have SOME awarness
of what's going on in your body is a good start .

and a little common sense goes a long way , " i don't feel good "
[ kids learn this as code because they can't or don't know how to say
wahy is bothering them ] but the easy answer is , how have you been
sleeping ? , what have you been eating ? has anything out of the ordinary
happened recently ?

I'm amazed how some women know exactly what day of their cycle they
are in and others have no clue . that's awarness

I second the milk thistle , it's a great liver detox , and helps if you know
you have to attend a function and consume drinks but like microphones
best to fix it at the source , stop doing what hurts you

Also don't forget the protiens from different beans like lentials and such

Cheers Butta

Coconut oil is great, internally and externally. Make sure to get the expeller-pressed and not the solvent-extracted kind.

Beta carotene is mainly implicated as carcinogenic with smokers, I believe. But carrots are a fine food, so by all means eat them.

Avoid soy unless you've come to really love it, and then eat the fermented stuff if you must. It's amazing, if not ominous, that soy has gotten a reputation as healthful.

I love oysters, but it's hard to find them free from heavy metal pollutants and the vagaries of some sick shucker in the kitchen.

+1 to some of that.

AFAIK beta carotene is a precursor for Vit A so not toxic but I am not a fan of popping vitamins unless you have identified a gap in your diet or difficulty absorbing them, a problem as we age. You can get carotene from several foods in addition to the obvious carrots. If beta carotene and smoking is unhealthy, perhaps one should quit smoking?

+1 to N3-N6 balance. Inflammation level is a stressor to several body systems.

Regarding fats I an not convinced that coconut oil is some health elixir, it should be harmless in moderation. I actively avoid all transfats. It's not nice to fool mother nature.

I would mention energy balance as a serious health risk factor. While heavy eaters may be more likely to get adequate nutrition, the excess calories clog plumbing and significant fat mass can act like a primitive organ generating hormones we don't need.

Sugar consumption is another thing to moderate, as over stimulation of insulin production leads to insulin resistance and Type II diabetes. Even modest exercise restores insulin sensitivity in muscles for better blood glucose management.

The general population is eating themselves sick with quantity and quality of food, combined with a general lack of exercise.

Of course, don't trust crap you read on the internet (like this)... It's worth learning a little about health and nutrition instead of being led like cattle by the food industry whose only intent is to sell you more food.

We couldn't say it on TV if it wasn't true.

JR

[quote author="JohnRoberts"]

Regarding fats I an not convinced that coconut oil is some health elixir, it should be harmless in moderation. I actively avoid all transfats. It's not nice to fool mother nature.

Sugar consumption is another thing to moderate, as over stimulation of insulin production leads to insulin resistance and Type II diabetes. Even modest exercise restores insulin sensitivity in muscles for better blood glucose management.
[/quote]
true IMO
[quote author="JohnRoberts"]

Of course, don't trust crap you read on the internet (like this)... It's worth learning a little about health and nutrition instead of being led like cattle by the food industry whose only intent is to sell you more food.
[/quote]
This I agree with the most - too much misinformation / propaganda out there...

Some of the statements in the above posts are rife with inaccuracies and untruths, common misconceptions etc etc.

Good diet and nutrition is not something that can be summed up in a few dos and don'ts - sure there are some basic and obvious rules to follow regarding fatty food, excessive alcohol, smoking etc, but so much of what is presented in the media, on the internet etc is presented as truth when this is not the case. It's mostly opinion, and often can't be backed up with proper medical evidence, or if it can, then alternative trials or experiments can disprove it. What can have a positive / negative effect on risk of contracting cancer is a good example of this.

IMO, a healthy lifestyle can be acheived simply by eating most things, eating them in moderation, exercising properly and not drinking / smoking too much. One rule of thumb for me: Fresh food is good, refined food is bad...

On a personal note, I've found particular success by following the principles of a low GI diet - not for weight loss but to balance blood sugar levels and ensure alertness and high energy levels.

I'm sure a few people handle it better than I do, but I'd agree about avoiding most sugars, especially in beverages. You may think you can get away with this when you're young, and you're right for a while, but I think it is really screwing up the system.

Rob is right that a few lines do not a treatise on nutrition make. I'd also appeal for the view that individuals are different.

[quote author="bcarso"] I'd also appeal for the view that individuals are different.[/quote]

Yes - on the money once again. Though if you paint broad strokes human physiology is pretty similar across the board, what works for one person diet wise does not necessarily work for another. It's a question of setting your own levels and finding your won balance - another good reason for people to read more than headlines when it comes to their diet and do a proper bit of research.

Anyway, more than enough from me for now :grin:

Thanks for the tips. I've been on 'sort of' a health kick this year as a new years resolution.

:thumb:

I laugh inwardly:

Health tips from someone with the name 'ButtaChunk'

Good stuff tho.. :grin:


I had a friend who lived next to a bagel shop. He took me there one day, and asked for 'the usual.'

They promptly sliced off a @1" slab off of one of those big blocks of butter and plopped it on a bagel and gave it to him!

Yikes!

Where does soldering fumes fit in?

Flux smoke is one of the major "phew"-d groups.

:wink:

Keef

[quote author="buttachunk"]
butter is a fine fat. again, be cautious about the amounts...
[/quote]

I'd be interested to know where you head that from. I've always been under the impression (from my mother who is a dietitian) that dairy fats are generally speaking unhealthy - especially with the number of people who suffer from high cholestorol.

Of course, everything in moderation and you will generally be ok.

I actually misread this one, going into it I thought the topic was going to be about those old Heath kits you used to see in magazines. :grin:

Flux smoke is one of the major "phew"-d groups.

Keef

Click to expand...

How long were you waiting to use that one Keith ?

it's a good thread , nice way to give back Butta

An argument for butter is whatever the ills it may offer it's still better
[ more natural ? ] than the one molecule away from plastic
oils of margerine[/quote]

I wonder if margarine is much worse in the US than it is in the UK?

[quote author="rodabod"][quote author="buttachunk"]
butter is a fine fat. again, be cautious about the amounts...
[/quote]

I'd be interested to know where you head that from. I've always been under the impression (from my mother who is a dietitian) that dairy fats are generally speaking unhealthy - especially with the number of people who suffer from high cholestorol.

Of course, everything in moderation and you will generally be ok.[/quote]

I think the distinction is between butter and margarine. Small amounts of butter (though refined in one sense aren't really the product of a modern manufacturing process) which contain saturated fat (dangerous in large quantities) are better than hydrogenated fats which are produced through chemical processes and the long term effects of which aren't really known.

I'm going to contradict my own advice and link to a website here, but this will give you an idea about the potential dangers of hydrogenated fats.

http://www.healthandgoodness.com/nutritiondiet/HydrogenatedOil.htm

Again, it boils down to a very simple distinction for me of refined vs. unrefined. Refined food has no value in a modern diet from a health perspective. It's just convenient and often tastes good.

Oops beaten to it by buttachunk on the previous page

+1... Saturated fat in butter is less scary that trans-fats from margarine.

Of course any fat is calorically dense so should be consumed in moderation, but I personally have zero tolerance for fake (hydrogenated) fats.

JR

Not to be argumentative, and to make a more general observation about diet and nutrition, people are motivated to classify foods as good or bad... The food industry alternately herds us away from fat and toward carbohydrates, or when the moon is in the house of Atkins, carbs are bad and fats are good.

This alternate demonizing and lionizing of foods is nonsense, but plays into human nature's desire to simplfy the complex, and the food industry uses it to make us feel good about our purchases, while buying their processed snack du jour.

The unfortunate reality is with a handful of exceptions (like transfats) food is neither good nor bad, just food. There are many essential nutrients that we need to get from these foods but once we cover our needs the excess food consumed is burned as fuel, or stored as glycogen (fast energy) and fat (slow energy).

What these foods are can make a difference mainly when we a) don't get adequate nutrition or B) when we take in way too much energy.

I won't rant on the epidemic of metabolic syndrome due to obesity and lack of activity or the increasing incidence of "adult onset" (lifestyle caused) diabetes in children.

By all means once you have educated yourself to what your actual nutritional needs are, and after you are confident that you are getting everything you need, then maybe micromanage your omega 3/6 ratio, or glycemic index of carbohydrates. But until you confirm that you are getting adequate nutrition, this is putting the cart before the horse.

I would prioritize diet as first, get adequate nutrition, second maintain a healthy energy balance, after that you can micromanage macronutrient ratios or whatever floats your boat.

JR

PS: I live in what is perhaps the fattest state in the US (MS) and it's a little depressing seeing them all when I'm out shopping... I don't see too many at the gym, funny how that works..

Yeah , eat less food and make it more veggie's & fruit ,

it almost seems like there is no food in the supermarket ,
at least when you start reading the labels .

But again you'd think it's common sense , what are you eating ?
when ? how much ? are you exercising and sleeping right?
do you drink enough water ?

that knowledge doesn't cost you anything , but people would rather
pay to be told than empower themsleves for free ?

Everything in moderation. :thumb: