Study: vegetarians less healthy, lower quality of life

[MillCreek]

^^^ Wow, that is interesting about the walnuts.  And Ron, I love it when you post citations to the literature so I can read them.  The first thing I do when checking out health claims is to do a Medline search to see what the journals have to say.

[Ron]

I believe that the body metabolises sugar differently based on the total composition of the meal it is a part of, esp the fiber content?

I'm pretty sure that is correct.

The fructose in a piece of fruit is absorbed slower due to its fiber so it will have a lower glycimic index rating than a glass of fruit juice alone.

[Tallpine]

Foods when combined properly may be able to provide more benefits than when eaten alone. It is known that some fat in a meal helps proper absorption of certain nutrients for example.

Another is there is some evidence that walnuts mitigate some of the effects of eating a high fat meal. Walnuts have been promoted as heart healthy and it turns out that not only are they healthy alone but they may limit the bad effects of a high fat meal.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109706019127

And fat isn't necessarily bad for you.  Actually a lot better than sugar and white flour.

[Ron]

And fat isn't necessarily bad for you.  Actually a lot better than sugar and white flour.

I agree

Between the nuts, oil, small amounts of meat and cheese I consume I suspect I get a decent amount of my daily calories from fat. I'll still use butter here and there.

[gunsmith]

I agree

Between the nuts, oil, small amounts of meat and cheese I consume I suspect I get a decent amount of my daily calories from fat. I'll still use butter here and there.

I try to eat fat to stay thin.

 

really, I use butter and coconut oil for cooking and never skimp unless i aint got no money.
when I am being ketogenic i hear you burn fat instead of calories for enenergy.

Really- so far the only problem i have encountered is what Rev Disk mentioned - the price and the time - i eat beef, mostly good steak i cut into stir fry strips - i stir fry at medium temps - with veggies like green/red peppers jalapeno peppers spinach mushrooms and yellow squash - in the morning eggs - lunch is quest protein bars/cheese/apples .... what i like about this is i eat as much as i like - i often over eat - i "cheat" with dark choclate and will gain 5 to ten pounds - bringing me alllll the way up to 150 pounds - then i will go back to simple ground beef stirfrys and veggies and eggs for a week or two and be 140 or close to it....

oh yeah - i try to make two or three protein shakes a day - low carb pure egg protein powder - 40 - 60 grams of protein per serving - in coconut milk - with some frozen or fresh strawberries ...

I never eat any grains anymore, none - not for a year now ( or real close to it ) it really seems to keep me thinner/healthier - i do not miss it at all now - whenever i have a lot of money again i will get some paleo bread but its no biggie

[Ron]

Gunsmith, have you had a chance to have your cholesterol checked?

On another forum I frequent there are some guys doing some form of the paleo diet. As appealing as it sounds the motivation for my dietary changes were primarily heart health. With heart disease in my family and years of not taking care of myself behind me my main focus is lowering cholesterol and enhancing endothelial health. 

[Tallpine]

We knew a rancher in Colorado that would drink a quart of pure fresh cream everyday 

His little skinny doctor told him that he was killing himself, so Walt challenged the doc to a cholesterol test.  It turned out that Walt's cholesterol was lower than the lettuce eating doctor's 

Of course, feeding a hundred or so cows everyday in minus thirty to minus forty degree weather had something to do with it.  And after that, he went to work.   

[Ron]

Thankfully, like your friend, I seem to have a genetic disposition where my cholesterol levels never went through the roof despite a poor diet and little exercise.

Mine is easily controllable with diet/lifestyle modifications. My lipid numbers over the last 5 years track my eating habits and level of activity pretty close.

 

[gunsmith]

Gunsmith, have you had a chance to have your cholesterol checked?

On another forum I frequent there are some guys doing some form of the paleo diet. As appealing as it sounds the motivation for my dietary changes were primarily heart health. With heart disease in my family and years of not taking care of myself behind me my main focus is lowering cholesterol and enhancing endothelial health. 

not for a yr, but if your blood pressure is normal I wouldn't worry too much about it ( I am not a doctor but these guys are )
http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2013/08/my-interview-for-jimmy-moores-cholesterol-clarity/

Widely-held beliefs, many of them propagated by “official” agencies like the FDA, USDA, American Heart Association, Academy of Dietetics and Nutrition, American Diabetes Association, etc., are crumbling under the scrutiny of informed people uninfluenced by the pharmaceutical industry, agribusiness, or the excessive profiteering ways of modern “healthcare.”

In Cholesterol Clarity, Jimmy Moore, along with the help of a couple of dozen other vocal critics of the Lipid Hypothesis, systematically take apart the flawed logic often used to justify a $23 billion per year statin drug industry. He exposes the overly-simplistic thinking and the “research” used to prop up this example of how far wrong medical care can go when richly funded. Jimmy shows how the fiction that “cholesterol causes heart disease” belongs with other fairy tales like “Cut your fat and saturated fat for heart health” and “Fat makes you fat.”

We live in a time when the messages in health have been distorted by bad science and biases introduced by corporate interests that stand to gain from a campaign of half-truths. In his characteristically genuine and straightforward style, Jimmy helps the reader understand how to navigate the real arguments behind heart disease risk unemcumbered by self-serving financial interests.

[Perd Hapley]

Walnuts: another health food that tastes like garbage. 

[Viking]

Walnuts: another health food that tastes like garbage. 

Heretic. Walnuts are delicious.

[RoadKingLarry]

Walnuts are good. Black walnuts are a gift from $diety.

One of the most memorable Christmas gifts I ever recieved was a 5# bag of black walnut "meat" from my aunt and uncle. The time and effort that goes into something like that is impressive.