I just read Dave's nutrition myths blog post and I'm wondering what thoughts people have about it?
I have not tried the diet Dave mentioned but am I currently on quite a different diet than what Dave is suggesting, which is a high-carb, low fat diet. I haven't been on it long enough to see what benefits - or deficits - it might bring, although I will keep everyone posted.
I've got a feeling that diet might be really important as far as vision goes. If you're not feeling great due to a poor diet, it may be unlikely your vision will improve much. I don't really have any evidence for this; it's just a hunch.
A person mentioned a while ago that after going on a gluten free diet, their vision improved markedly. I'm guessing many people who go on a low-grain or no-grain diet may feel better because they may be sensitive to grains, in particular gluten. I don't know how this affects vision, but it seems it does in some people.
I don't think taking out gluten will be a big help unless you have celiacs disease or you're allergiic to gluten. I was taking gluten out of my diet for a while but i soon realized that there was no difference for me. Most people can eat gluten with no problems. It's just that people are always trying to find a scapegoat and currently it seems to be gluten. But people have been eaten gluten since the dawn of acriculture and this fear of gluten is just starting now.
I'd stick with your high carb low fat lifestly. Have plenty of fruits and veggies so you get all yout nutrients and keep processed foods as low as possible. I'm on a High Carb Low Fat lifestyle myself and it's workong wonderfully. It's very hard to gain fat on such a diet.
Just don't try to be a nutrition hipster, use some common sense and you will end up in a good place.
I think that controlling your blood pressure and blood sugar levels might affect the eyes, only because high blood sugar and pressure could damage blood vessels. I could imagine things like Vitamin A possibly being beneficial, but who knows? As for the gluten thing...possibly worth trying, I've heard as many as 20-30% of the population may be gluten sensitive, but that means 70%+ of the population is not...YMMV.
I don't agree with the high-carb/low fat. That seems to be an outdated diet protocol. ( It's not the 70's anymore )
That individual who improved by cutting out gluten could have changed a ton of other things in the process, not easy to just cut gluten and change nothing else. So saying it was the gluten could be attributing the improvement.
On diet = Get in all your vitamins, nothing else really matters. If you're getting all your vitamins and calories in from non-processed foods you really can't go wrong. ( I can easily see corrected nutritional deficiencies leading to improvement in vision and other aspects of well-being ) (excuse the pun )
Part of the issue with wheat is it isn't the same wheat as it was 100 years ago. It's all GMO, at least in the US, so we deal with a protein we've never had before. I've seen figures varying all over the place for the % of people with gluten sensitivity, but it might not be the gluten.
But I judge foods by how they make me feel. I will always either get energy or a drop in energy from it. When my energy drops, I figure it's my body using up too many resources to handle it, or reacting in some way, and no matter the details it means it's not an efficient thing for me to eat. I will feel the energy drop within a couple minutes, or later on as I "crash" from the bad kind of boost. The reason to eat is to gain and maintain energy.
I used to eat tons of "comfort" foods (high starch or sugar) until I would get that lazy, full feeling and want to nap. But I finally realized that this is a destructive thing to do. It helps you sleep, and it makes you feel good, but it wrecks your body, and the huge withdrawal cravings for carbs several hours later are also a sign that something isn't right. I don't get so hungry on a low-carb diet if I miss a meal.
So it comes down to how you react to things. If you can honestly look at how you react to something and say that you have no bad side effects, then certainly your direct experience is telling you it's fine.
The diet I suggested is a diet meant to avoid a foods that can cause various problems for various reasons while you recover from diseases brought on by a bad diet, so it's a healing diet, but if you consider yourself to be in great health then you can probably get away with eating a lot more stuff.
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(07-28-2014, 09:50 PM)Ricky Wrote: I don't think taking out gluten will be a big help unless you have celiacs disease or you're allergiic to gluten. I was taking gluten out of my diet for a while but i soon realized that there was no difference for me. Most people can eat gluten with no problems. It's just that people are always trying to find a scapegoat and currently it seems to be gluten. But people have been eaten gluten since the dawn of acriculture and this fear of gluten is just starting now.
I'd stick with your high carb low fat lifestly. Have plenty of fruits and veggies so you get all yout nutrients and keep processed foods as low as possible. I'm on a High Carb Low Fat lifestyle myself and it's workong wonderfully. It's very hard to gain fat on such a diet.
I suspect wheat gluten does cause me problems, specifically gas and constipation. I don't know if it the gluten itself is the problem, or it's "fructans" contained in wheat (also in rye, onion and other stuff). It'd be good to get tested out properly to see what the issue is.
In some ways I think a paleo diet would be beneficial for me because it reduces or cuts out wheat, pulses and as well as dairy, were are all implicated in gastrointestinal disorders.
"Cereal grains, legumes, and milk contain bioactive substances, such as gluten and casein, that have been implicated in the development of various health problems. Consumption of gluten, a component of certain grains, such as wheat, rye, and barley, is known to have adverse health effects in individuals suffering from a range of gluten sensitivities, including celiac disease. Since the Paleolithic diet is devoid of cereal grains, it is free of gluten. The paleo diet is also casein-free. Casein, a protein found in milk and dairy products, may impair glucose tolerance in humans." (from Wikipedia)
What stops me from adopting such a diet is that I'm skeptical it's healthy long term. The other issue is that I'm been vegetarian most of my life for ethical reasons; my personal identity is too bound up with this lifestyle that it'd be too hard for me change.
I'm sure the low-fat, high carb diet will work for me, and yes, getting enough vegetables is important I agree. I just need to tweak it a bit for my own situation.
I'm glad you've found it helpful, Ricky.
I'm following the Weston A Price guidelines for the most part. I feel that fats are too important to skimp on.
We need plenty of healthy fats. The important thing is to find the right fats. Butter from grass fed cows and unrefined coconut oil are some excellent choices. No hydrogenated oils. Soybeans are not looking as healthy as they have been cracked up to be, and they are the main ingredient in the oils that most people use.
A great source for nutritional information is "Nourishing Traditions" cookbook by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig. It turned my nutrition beliefs right on their head, and that has been a very good thing.
08-04-2014, 05:51 PM (This post was last modified: 08-04-2014, 06:05 PM by johnwayne.)
(07-30-2014, 02:08 PM)AntiNancy Wrote: I'm following the Weston A Price guidelines for the most part. I feel that fats are too important to skimp on.
We need plenty of healthy fats. The important thing is to find the right fats. Butter from grass fed cows and unrefined coconut oil are some excellent choices. No hydrogenated oils. Soybeans are not looking as healthy as they have been cracked up to be, and they are the main ingredient in the oils that most people use.
A great source for nutritional information is "Nourishing Traditions" cookbook by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig. It turned my nutrition beliefs right on their head, and that has been a very good thing.
Thank you. There's an avalanche of info on the internet along the lines of what you're talking about, and I've just started looking through it. Seems there's a bit of debate going as to whether saturated fat is healthy or not. Interesting topic.
Cheers,
JW
(07-28-2014, 09:50 PM)Ricky Wrote: I don't think taking out gluten will be a big help unless you have celiacs disease or you're allergiic to gluten. I was taking gluten out of my diet for a while but i soon realized that there was no difference for me. Most people can eat gluten with no problems. It's just that people are always trying to find a scapegoat and currently it seems to be gluten. But people have been eaten gluten since the dawn of acriculture and this fear of gluten is just starting now.
I'd stick with your high carb low fat lifestly. Have plenty of fruits and veggies so you get all yout nutrients and keep processed foods as low as possible. I'm on a High Carb Low Fat lifestyle myself and it's workong wonderfully. It's very hard to gain fat on such a diet.
Ricky, just an update.
I've been following the suggestions in the book "Starch Solution" by John McDougall, which is based on the high carb/low fat formula. Working great so far but it's very early days. I'm not after just weight loss but want to feel better than I do, and I have to say it's working. Much more energy and feeling more relaxed. I like the recipes in this book too.
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Ricky, just an update.
I've been following the suggestions in the book "Starch Solution" by John McDougall, which is based on the high carb/low fat formula. Working great so far but it's very early days. I'm not after just weight loss but want to feel better than I do, and I have to say it's working. Much more energy and feeling more relaxed. I like the recipes in this book too.
Cheers,
JW
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I also follow a very similar diet tot what Dr McDougall sugests. I haven't read Starch Solution yet but I will in the future. I saw a lot of his talks on youtube and they are really inspiring. His approach makes more sense to me than the low carb approach.
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