Overheard In Whole Foods

[Emstar1892]

Why are philosophers always old, bitter, pale bearded chubby white men..? Too much time thinking in hibernation lands!

 

[whit]

Sounds like you've known a few? Experience is the best teacher they say.
Hibernation is only good if your a bear, and even that's for survival.

 

[Emstar1892]

Funnily enough I have an undergraduate degree in philosophy. And coincidentally, spent those three years on a low carb vegan diet. I'm such a cliché

 

[tara]

Why are philosophers always old, bitter, pale bearded chubby white men..?

Are they? I imagine the known social structures are more likely to propel those one's to prominence in Western culture?
I know China and Persia and India have had long philosophical traditions. Quite likely Africa has too, though I know even less about them. :)

 

[whit]

Tell me about it. Known many of vegans not many were heathy or happy. They were all fairly philsophical Though. Quite a few now buy eggs from me. He he.
Have you ever read Real Food by Nina Plank?

 

[Emstar1892]

I was only joking :)

 

[Emstar1892]

Ah so you're in the egg dealing business? No I haven't, should I? I must say the cover of her book is a bottle of milk and I can't eat dairy so it's a challenge from the get-go

 

[whit]

Yea, milk is part of it but not all. It tells her story of transitioning from vegan to whole food diet. I believe
Part of her transformation happened in the UK too. Great read though.

 

[tara]

I was only joking :)

Oops. Lol. :)

 

[tara]

I believe a lot of questions could come to answers using this as a resource.

Lots of potential for interesting hypotheses arising from epidemiological use of this resource, but I have real doubts about coming to any firm conclusions on such a basis. Statistics like that can and have given rise to all manner of theories, often with little or no evidence about causation.

 

[whit]

Ah so you're in the egg dealing business? No I haven't, should I? I must say the cover of her book is a bottle of milk and I can't eat dairy so it's a challenge from the get-go

Yea, I went off milk for a while and when I tried it again it was not pretty. But I stuck with it and found what worked. So I totally get the milk thing.

 

[whit]

Lots of potential for interesting hypotheses arising from epidemiological use of this resource, but I have real doubts about coming to any firm conclusions on such a basis. Statistics like that can and have given rise to all manner of theories, often with little or no evidence about causation.

Yea, you're totally right there's a rabbit hole for all those willing to jump. Not all have a bottom either.

 

[Emstar1892]

Lots of potential for interesting hypotheses arising from epidemiological use of this resource, but I have real doubts about coming to any firm conclusions on such a basis. Statistics like that can and have given rise to all manner of theories, often with little or no evidence about causation.

Definitely. I think in relation to my original comment though, hopefully it puts into context the counter-intuitiveness of a "bulletproof" or "carb free" diet - literally no one in the world lives like that, especially those countries that are relatively untouched and eat according to instinct. But yes, there is of course the question of how they assembled the data - I don't recall them asking me! Nevertheless, its interesting. :)

 

[Emstar1892]

Yea, I went off milk for a while and when I tried it again it was not pretty. But I stuck with it and found what worked. So I totally get the milk thing.

Gosh, really? How did you make milk work? My body just hates it, and I don't think that'll ever change. Interestingly I come from a Trinidadian heritage as well as English (half and half, though I'm freakishly pale...) and dairy intolerance is very, very common in carribean populations. Just an idea I had about why my body hates it, could be nonsense

 

[tara]

Yea, you're totally right there's a rabbit hole for all those willing to jump. Not all have a bottom either.

That said, the first one I'd be wondering about checking out might be the most obvious one.
It looks as though higher calorie intake correlates somewhat with longer life-expectancy. Except that more equal societies also have higher life-expectancy, even on lower average calories. (I'm sure there are exceptions.)
Could it be that countries where most of the people get enough to eat most of the time do better than those who don't?

[edit to add:]Seems like one of those things that has been well known for thousands of years, that some people have forgotten about in the last few decades.

 

[michael94]

Gosh, really? How did you make milk work? My body just hates it, and I don't think that'll ever change. Interestingly I come from a Trinidadian heritage as well as English (half and half, though I'm freakishly pale...) and dairy intolerance is very, very common in carribean populations. Just an idea I had about why my body hates it, could be nonsense

Adult populations generally have been eating a mixture of raw milk and fermented dairy products throughout history. Not tolerating pasteurized, homogenized ( homogenization breaks up the milk lipids and casein ), unfermented dairy makes a lot of sense especially if you have allowed bad bacteria to overgrow. Lactose intolerance has a big genetic factor but the type of dairy we eat is just as much to blame.

The Effect of Probiotics on Lactose Intolerance - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov

 

[Emstar1892]

That said, the first one I'd be wondering about checking out might be the most obvious one.
It looks as though higher calorie intake correlates somewhat with longer life-expectancy. Except that more equal societies also have higher life-expectancy, even on lower average calories. (I'm sure there are exceptions.)
Could it be that countries where most of the people get enough to eat most of the time do better than those who don't?

I'm actually surprised that the calorie intake is that high in the developed section, especially for England - almost everyone I know "isn't hungry" in the morning, then nibbles biscuits during the day and goes to bed with a sandwich or something. It's encouraging that perhaps that's just my office and immediate family, haha!

The same goes for the ratios - EVERY woman at my work has a tiny, raw plain salad for lunch with a fish on it, then if hungry before we leave has an almond butter sandwich. There's no way that's 30% fat. In fact, I think rarely anyone in London eats fat that low, despite it being our national guideline.

 

[tara]

But yes, there is of course the question of how they assembled the data - I don't recall them asking me!

Yeah, I was wondering whether it was based on the quantities of food sold in the country, and whether they have a standard allowance for waste. I didn't get round to looking up the references.

 

[Emstar1892]

Could it be that countries where most of the people get enough to eat most of the time do better than those who don't?

P.s. I hope so! Dinner is great but seconds are awesome

 

[whit]

Gosh, really? How did you make milk work? My body just hates it, and I don't think that'll ever change. Interestingly I come from a Trinidadian heritage as well as English (half and half, though I'm freakishly pale...) and dairy intolerance is very, very common in carribean populations. Just an idea I had about why my body hates it, could be nonsense

Well the first thing was to get my gut right so I was getting the milk not some pathogens. But that's another story. If you find your eating a lot of starch that can be food for pathogens so can many types of fiber.