cry0genicz
Member
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2018
- Messages
- 17
I don't think I have any unheard-of-ideas, but over the years of messing around with different ways of eating during my interest in bodybuilding and reading people like Ray Peat and Matt Stone, I've seen nearly every possible perspective imaginable when dealing with nutrition. Everybody argues their way is the right way and I still remain skeptical. Here are some personal thoughts and theory about the effects of dietary fat on the overall energy metabolism and biological success that I hope can be used to create a good discussion. I'm sure some of these ideas overlap with Ray Peat's as well.
I like to think of nutrition in a context of how early humans ate before civilization and mass agriculture, and even cooking with fire. Sort of like Raw/ Paleo, but I think Raw/Paleo could be optimized. I think it would be better to eat how a caveman WANTED to, not simply eat things that would be available to a caveman. What would a caveman want to eat? Things that tasted good. I doubt they had any desire to eat bitter or sour foods, they're off-putting. Kids don't even like those things, but adults do because they want to believe that it's good for their health and it becomes an acquired taste. Anyway, I think we can determine what caveman yummy foods are by taking a look at our most pleasurable taste senses. Sweet and savory/umami. Fruit and meat. Carbs and protein. (Note: I'm sure many animals were quite lean back then as well, so even fat intake from animal consumption would be low).
Fresh fruit and meat are only available to successful caveman hunter gatherers. A steady supply of fresh fruit and meat is only available in a healthy and plentiful ecosystem. The consumption of fresh fruit and meat is indicative that the organism is existing in a successful and plentiful environment. The context is: No stress, no starvation, high energy, and biological success.
What happens when there is no yummy fruits and animals to eat? Plan B. Eat these tough, undigestible, bitter vegetable stalks and leaves, nuts, and seeds. May not be pleasing to eat, but it is at least SOMETHING to survive off of. A caveman eating vegetables, nuts, and seeds is in a starvation/stress/failure context; living in an environment without plentiful GOOD foods. It appears that fat is the primary nutrient in this group.
Protein/Carbs: Biological Success Context
Fat: Starvation/Failure Context
Perhaps this is why fat is 9 calories per gram. It is energy dense, to provide calories during starvation. It's nature's way of coping with starvation. It's plan B. But its NOT optimal nor sustainable for long periods. I've done keto and I got very lean, but that's only because it consumed my entire body in the process. It did damage and slowed my metabolism to survive during the perceived "famine" of preferable foods. Keto people tend to rave the increased "mental awareness" and the ability to go longer periods without eating. Perhaps this mental awareness is from increases in adrenaline, giving you hypervigilancy to aid in helping you find preferable foods (ANXIETY anyone??). Less intense hunger pangs help you not be in agony while starving, it's a defensive mechanism. I feel like depression is implied here as well, you feel so bad because your biology deep within KNOWS you're failing. Diabetes, often associated with these issues, is probably related as well.
It comes down to convincing your biology that you exist within a certain environmental context. Fat directs you into a starvation/failure context, whereas protein/carbohydrates direct you into a successful context. When your body is in a success context, your reproductive/hormonal function goes up. You're a successful human with energy and resources and you're allowed to procreate. The starving people get stuck with low hormonal/reproductive function because the universe wants them to NOT make children; they are failures. Survival of the fittest comes down to resources.
Why are people in the most developed areas of the world being plagued by diseases and hormonal problems!? We have so many resources and power!? Because we eat good Plan A nutrients (carbs and proteins), tainted with lots of Plan B nutrients (fat). We are tipping ourselves into the direction of starvation context with the intake of fats. Restaurants using extra fats and oils, processed foods with oils, perceived "healthy fats" with high intake of nuts and nut butters. We've completely lost touch with our natural selves in modern day society and foods have become so perverted from their natural form that you really can't blame people for having problems.
This isn't to say that fat has benefits (fat soluable vitamins), but I believe a caveman living in the success context would be eating very little fat, only getting small amounts from the naturally lean animals they have access to. Could tipping our balance in favor of success heal us of our metabolic woes?
I like to think of nutrition in a context of how early humans ate before civilization and mass agriculture, and even cooking with fire. Sort of like Raw/ Paleo, but I think Raw/Paleo could be optimized. I think it would be better to eat how a caveman WANTED to, not simply eat things that would be available to a caveman. What would a caveman want to eat? Things that tasted good. I doubt they had any desire to eat bitter or sour foods, they're off-putting. Kids don't even like those things, but adults do because they want to believe that it's good for their health and it becomes an acquired taste. Anyway, I think we can determine what caveman yummy foods are by taking a look at our most pleasurable taste senses. Sweet and savory/umami. Fruit and meat. Carbs and protein. (Note: I'm sure many animals were quite lean back then as well, so even fat intake from animal consumption would be low).
Fresh fruit and meat are only available to successful caveman hunter gatherers. A steady supply of fresh fruit and meat is only available in a healthy and plentiful ecosystem. The consumption of fresh fruit and meat is indicative that the organism is existing in a successful and plentiful environment. The context is: No stress, no starvation, high energy, and biological success.
What happens when there is no yummy fruits and animals to eat? Plan B. Eat these tough, undigestible, bitter vegetable stalks and leaves, nuts, and seeds. May not be pleasing to eat, but it is at least SOMETHING to survive off of. A caveman eating vegetables, nuts, and seeds is in a starvation/stress/failure context; living in an environment without plentiful GOOD foods. It appears that fat is the primary nutrient in this group.
Protein/Carbs: Biological Success Context
Fat: Starvation/Failure Context
Perhaps this is why fat is 9 calories per gram. It is energy dense, to provide calories during starvation. It's nature's way of coping with starvation. It's plan B. But its NOT optimal nor sustainable for long periods. I've done keto and I got very lean, but that's only because it consumed my entire body in the process. It did damage and slowed my metabolism to survive during the perceived "famine" of preferable foods. Keto people tend to rave the increased "mental awareness" and the ability to go longer periods without eating. Perhaps this mental awareness is from increases in adrenaline, giving you hypervigilancy to aid in helping you find preferable foods (ANXIETY anyone??). Less intense hunger pangs help you not be in agony while starving, it's a defensive mechanism. I feel like depression is implied here as well, you feel so bad because your biology deep within KNOWS you're failing. Diabetes, often associated with these issues, is probably related as well.
It comes down to convincing your biology that you exist within a certain environmental context. Fat directs you into a starvation/failure context, whereas protein/carbohydrates direct you into a successful context. When your body is in a success context, your reproductive/hormonal function goes up. You're a successful human with energy and resources and you're allowed to procreate. The starving people get stuck with low hormonal/reproductive function because the universe wants them to NOT make children; they are failures. Survival of the fittest comes down to resources.
Why are people in the most developed areas of the world being plagued by diseases and hormonal problems!? We have so many resources and power!? Because we eat good Plan A nutrients (carbs and proteins), tainted with lots of Plan B nutrients (fat). We are tipping ourselves into the direction of starvation context with the intake of fats. Restaurants using extra fats and oils, processed foods with oils, perceived "healthy fats" with high intake of nuts and nut butters. We've completely lost touch with our natural selves in modern day society and foods have become so perverted from their natural form that you really can't blame people for having problems.
This isn't to say that fat has benefits (fat soluable vitamins), but I believe a caveman living in the success context would be eating very little fat, only getting small amounts from the naturally lean animals they have access to. Could tipping our balance in favor of success heal us of our metabolic woes?