[est_time] estimated total reading time Are we being JERFed Around? JERF, for the uninitiated, stands for Just Eat Real Food. This is a very popular concept within the nutrition world. Paleo, Vegan, Weston Price, Mediterranean Diet, Mayo Clinic, Registered dietitians, the WHO, the one thing they can all agree on is that the more unprocessed, […]
Diet Debate: #JERF vs The Appeal to Nature Fallacy Read More »
Is Gluten-Free a Fad? An article published last week in Scientific American made its position on the above very clear: Most People Shouldn’t Eat Gluten-Free. In the article it is argued that dieters attempting to avoid gluten may become nutrient deficient unless they plan their meals very carefully, and that most reported health benefits come
Diet Debate: Wheat, Gluten and Health Read More »
In the previous post I asked the question, “What is Food?” In short, the conclusion was that there is no such thing as food! Rather, the term “food” is a label we apply to living organisms that we choose to eat, and that all living organisms can be assessed as a potential food source based
What is Food? Part II: A Source of Energy Read More »
The past couple of posts have been looking at the problems with nutritional science in general, and issues with the paleo diet concept in particular. I think that it’s important when it comes to nutrition (or any aspect of life) to keep an open mind, and question your beliefs. I suppose the question is now
What is Food? Part I: There is no such thing as food Read More »
The previous post was concerned with the problems with nutritional science in general. In this instalment, I plan to look at how these issues, and others, pertain to the science used to validate the concept of the paleo diet. The basic argument for eating a paleo diet goes something like this: “Our ancestors ate a
Diet Debate: The Problems with Paleo Science, and Why it Matters… Read More »
In the previous post, I looked at how a lot of the common arguments used by advocates of the Paleo diet are actually quite flawed, and reminiscent in many ways of the typical cases given for vegetarianism and veganism. Now, before I get hunted down by an angry mob with clubs and spears, I should
Diet Debate: The Problems with Nutritional Science Read More »
WARNING: This post contains little science, but lots of speculation and sarcasm. If you are easily offended (i.e. a Vegetarian/Vegan/Fundamentalist Paleo dieter) or confused (i.e. a meat eater that has not formerly been a Vegetarian), please switch to another blog that reaffirms your world views now. Image: Rawich / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Although there are no definitive
Diet Debate: Is Paleo the New Vegetarianism? Did We Learn Anything? Read More »
When I first switched from a conventional “healthy diet” to a paleo diet, pretty much every aspect of my health improved dramatically. I very rapidly saw improvements in body composition, athletic performance, energy levels, digestion and my resistance to illness. One strange thing did happen however, in that I started to find that when it
A dietary cure for Raynauds? Can you bring your fingers back to life with Sushi? Read More »
There is a lot of talk in the “paleosphere” about which foods “want” to be eaten, and which foods “don’t want to be eaten”. Most notably, I’d recommend checking out the thoughts of Chris Masterjohn and Ned Knock on fruit if you haven’t done so already. When writing about evolution and natural selection, it is
Know Your Enemy – Selfish Genes: Is your DNA out to get you? Read More »
I’m sure that you’ve heard the expression “You are what you eat”. Well its true, quite literally. The food you eat is broken down by your digestive system into tiny particles that can be absorbed through the walls of your intestines. Some of these particles are transported to muscles and organs to be burned for
You are what you eat eats… Read More »