Good for you, mate. Keep at it.
Social 🍎 A Weighty Issue
- Thread starter gREVUS
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Good for you, mate. Keep at it.
Evil_Mush
🛡️
I've got Zoe on my podcast follow list, don't listen to every episode, but find it quite interesting overall. Of course taking their points and applying it to myself is another story, but the info is up in the old noggin at least for when I decide to stop going for the convenient tasty/evil options 
I posted the above video because Zoe is the best channel there is on diet science and Inflammation and the gut microbiome are two very exciting new (new in relative terms) areas of Science and the human body (if you really want to blow you mind watch Zoe's videos on the gut brain connection).
Why inflammation? because our bodies are on fire thanks to the Western lifestyle and modern day stress.
Chronic inflammation is at the core of diseases like diabetes, if you really want to beat metabolic disorders like diabetes then start with targeting inflammation.
Fortunately the inflammation lowering foods also line up with weight loss and all round improved health.
The first food I adopted was milk Kefir. I bought a bottle from Countdown then used it as a starter to make more with milk powder milk (cheapest way). Then I did more research and ended up buying online my own Kefir bacteria (they come on colonies that people call grains, they are not grains, that is just what people use to describe the matrix of kefir microbes). Now I can make those grains last forever. Something really cool about Kefir grains is that Scientist cannot reproduce them in a lab, they are symbiotic with the human body and are several thousands of years old. Cultures that use Kefir include the middle east, the Masai, the people of the Caucus mountains in Europe, Ukraine, Russia etc and the Mongols. It is a new thing to the west.
Kefir is probably the king of Probiotics, before I say anything more about this wonder food, you should check with your Doctor whether it is suitable given we all have different health issues.
it will help fix your digestion, it will help target inflammation, and it will also help generate Serotonin and other mechanisms which will make you feel good, feel energized and lower your age related aches and pains.
This is not a fad food, it is a food that biblical scholars believe is mentioned in the Bible (the history of Kefir is fascinating including a Prince, a Russian female spy sent to get the kefir from the Prince so the Russian Politicians could use it for themselves....true story).
Not everyone can have Milk Kefir, some with significant Lactose intolerance may not be able to drink the fermented dairy milk (some can if you double ferment it). But you can use other forms of milk like Almond or Oat milk and ferment it with Milk Kefir (failing that there is a Kefir microbe colony called Water Kefir).
Anyway that stuff got me feeling good and from there I adopted the Zoe Inflammation diet in full, I have lost a tremendous amount of weight and gained lean muscle, I have turned around my metabolic syndrome and got into fermented foods (probiotics) big time. So these days I make yogurt, cheese, sourdough and so forth.
Gut fat causes inflammation, Inflammation causes Insulin resistance, which creates a vicious feedback loop of Inflammation causing you to gain more fat.
All the while people are stressed out (causes more inflammation especially in the brain) which affects mental health, causes heart disease, cancer etc etc.
If you want to use food in a way that you do not have to fight your own body then focus on two core aspects, forget about your fat etc, improve you gut health first and eat foods that dampen down inflammation. From there your body is able to perform better under your dietary plan.
It's the old story, start with the foundations first, then worry about what bricks and mortar you are going to employ.
You cannot get away from the fact that how well your body uses your chosen diet, begins with how well your gut can synthesize those nutrients into components that your tissue can actually use efficiently.
Why inflammation? because our bodies are on fire thanks to the Western lifestyle and modern day stress.
Chronic inflammation is at the core of diseases like diabetes, if you really want to beat metabolic disorders like diabetes then start with targeting inflammation.
Fortunately the inflammation lowering foods also line up with weight loss and all round improved health.
The first food I adopted was milk Kefir. I bought a bottle from Countdown then used it as a starter to make more with milk powder milk (cheapest way). Then I did more research and ended up buying online my own Kefir bacteria (they come on colonies that people call grains, they are not grains, that is just what people use to describe the matrix of kefir microbes). Now I can make those grains last forever. Something really cool about Kefir grains is that Scientist cannot reproduce them in a lab, they are symbiotic with the human body and are several thousands of years old. Cultures that use Kefir include the middle east, the Masai, the people of the Caucus mountains in Europe, Ukraine, Russia etc and the Mongols. It is a new thing to the west.
Kefir is probably the king of Probiotics, before I say anything more about this wonder food, you should check with your Doctor whether it is suitable given we all have different health issues.
it will help fix your digestion, it will help target inflammation, and it will also help generate Serotonin and other mechanisms which will make you feel good, feel energized and lower your age related aches and pains.
This is not a fad food, it is a food that biblical scholars believe is mentioned in the Bible (the history of Kefir is fascinating including a Prince, a Russian female spy sent to get the kefir from the Prince so the Russian Politicians could use it for themselves....true story).
Not everyone can have Milk Kefir, some with significant Lactose intolerance may not be able to drink the fermented dairy milk (some can if you double ferment it). But you can use other forms of milk like Almond or Oat milk and ferment it with Milk Kefir (failing that there is a Kefir microbe colony called Water Kefir).
Anyway that stuff got me feeling good and from there I adopted the Zoe Inflammation diet in full, I have lost a tremendous amount of weight and gained lean muscle, I have turned around my metabolic syndrome and got into fermented foods (probiotics) big time. So these days I make yogurt, cheese, sourdough and so forth.
Gut fat causes inflammation, Inflammation causes Insulin resistance, which creates a vicious feedback loop of Inflammation causing you to gain more fat.
All the while people are stressed out (causes more inflammation especially in the brain) which affects mental health, causes heart disease, cancer etc etc.
If you want to use food in a way that you do not have to fight your own body then focus on two core aspects, forget about your fat etc, improve you gut health first and eat foods that dampen down inflammation. From there your body is able to perform better under your dietary plan.
It's the old story, start with the foundations first, then worry about what bricks and mortar you are going to employ.
You cannot get away from the fact that how well your body uses your chosen diet, begins with how well your gut can synthesize those nutrients into components that your tissue can actually use efficiently.
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Dunno if much has been mentioned in this thread about Food and Psychiatry.
Roughly two decades ago Psychiatrists at work started wanking on about the gut brain connection, we nurses rolled our eyes because it was pretty clear to us that your brain is a physical organ and will be influenced massively by what you eat.
Anyway this probably the most exciting new field in all of health, the way to eat to help your mental health.
View: https://youtu.be/oPoSU8KpN-4?si=DCqn4WQHCiafhgcL
Roughly two decades ago Psychiatrists at work started wanking on about the gut brain connection, we nurses rolled our eyes because it was pretty clear to us that your brain is a physical organ and will be influenced massively by what you eat.
Anyway this probably the most exciting new field in all of health, the way to eat to help your mental health.
View: https://youtu.be/oPoSU8KpN-4?si=DCqn4WQHCiafhgcL
Emerald
🦋
I used to be strictly veggie, but got fed up with lentils, had chicken or fish sometimes, then tinned fish every day, and now I have some quality beef (grass fed, hormone free) every day, at lunchtime. I’ve not gone the whole carnivore, but I’m tempted. I’ve an elderly cousin who does it and swears by it. In her mid to late 70s, she’s currently renovating her do-er up-er house. I have a couple of health issues, and altho I don’t need to lose weight, all the other benefits listed would be handy.
Reading this thread…absolutely brilliant, guys, until it all fell to pieces with the "you’re racist!" "die tonight why don’t you" handbags at dawn crap at pages 7-8 ….. ….reading this thread has been great. Whether I go carnivore or not, it looks like I need to change my breakfast to make it higher in protein. It’s currently oats+quinoa+pineapple+spirulina/chlorella, a legacy from my veggie years, and I get hungry not long after.
So, Beastmode, how goes it for you, three and a half years down the track?
Honestly, it went to
not long after 
High blood pressure and cholesterol problems started and now I’m on bp pills pretty much for the rest of my life…
I’m back to a balanced diet which includes vegetables and a good dose of fibre!! take my multivamins. killed the sugar. Getting pass those night cravings was a total bitch. No more late night snacks or binging on ice cream and
probably saved me a heart attack. 
Emerald
🦋
Cripes! Sorry to hear that, mate. From what you’re saying, it was your eating etc habits *before* you went carnivore that led to the BP issues? Did I read that right?Honestly, it went to
High blood pressure and cholesterol problems started and now I’m on bp pills pretty much for the rest of my life…
I’m back to a balanced diet which includes vegetables and a good dose of fibre!! take my multivamins. killed the sugar. Getting pass those night cravings was a total bitch. No more late night snacks or binging on ice cream and
One of the best posts i've read on this site, thanks Sup!
Honestly, it went to
High blood pressure and cholesterol problems started and now I’m on bp pills pretty much for the rest of my life…
I’m back to a balanced diet which includes vegetables and a good dose of fibre!! take my multivamins. killed the sugar. Getting pass those night cravings was a total bitch. No more late night snacks or binging on ice cream and
It can be tough hey bro. Up down up down. Good you are on the BP meds (I take three different kinds of blood pressure lowering drugs - third one was added last year, that was a depressing moment, coz you realize you are running out of options to control it when two first line bp drugs aren't holding you - next step kidney failure or stroke etc bye bye this is our year).
A lot of men are avoidant of starting bp meds and statins when the Doc recommends it, unfortunately that is dangerous.
My advice to anyone is take the drugs then make a plan to deal with the underlying issues (whether that is obesity or hardening of the arteries or stress, sort that out while you are on pills - don't delude yourself that you can do it before trying the drugs).
On that note I do have a fantasy of being able to lower some of these drugs doses and maybe even come off one or two.
I call that a fantasy and not a plan because I do not want to set myself up to fail if it turns out it is impossible to achieve (sometimes the underlying damage is permanent and there just isn't a way to exercise and diet your way out of it). I hope I don't let myself get disheartened though if I have to stay on these drugs for life.
I have done my research on how to put yourself in the conversation with my GP about lowering some drugs, for my situation that involves:
1) Sustained life style change greater than six months after reaching my goal weight. Because it is dangerous to drop off the pills then rebound.
2) Getting a full set of blood tests to check everything then doing frequent monitoring with follow up blood tests until my GP is satisfied that the picture is stable and sustained.
3. Getting DEXA scan to look at Visceral fat (that bad fat around your organs etc that causes diabetes and all the other funky shit that kills you). It is a way of checking I haven't just become skinny fat.
4. This is the hardest step for someone like me, make time for activities that are specifically focused on improving relaxation skills and sleep enhancement.
5. Begin lowering one drug at a time if the Doc is happy and doing it gradually - waiting to see if anything goes out of whack.
Or.....just be grateful these drugs that are keeping me alive exist and try to do everything in my control to help them do their jobs.....
I’ve gone gluten free about a month ago and feel 100% better.
Every time I tried to eat healthier I started making more lunches with sandwiches which made me feel worse.
It’s a relatively easy diet - cut out the bread and pasta. Their is gluten in sauces and processed food but you just have to pick and choose which ones and once you know, go back to the on GF options.
Lots more rice!
Every time I tried to eat healthier I started making more lunches with sandwiches which made me feel worse.
It’s a relatively easy diet - cut out the bread and pasta. Their is gluten in sauces and processed food but you just have to pick and choose which ones and once you know, go back to the on GF options.
Lots more rice!
miket12
🏛️
S found that products made with spelt floor and sourdough helped her. And, although it looks a bit like plastic, substitute pasta for konjac noodles (from Zero or Spendia). Pretty bland so it needs a sauce and make sure you rinse them properly.
We found the other GF pastas weren’t that nice.
I just steer clear of pasta. Potato, rice, chips, more salads, etc.
I’ve used gluten free breads and don’t mind the flavour. You can even get gluten free bases at Pizza Hut, etc.
Mindful of blandness I’ve gone hardcore into experimenting with herbs and spices. Tasteless bread is fine with an egg and cracked pepper
Ps my wife has gone GF to support me which has made it achievable!
tyrael
🍻
If you look at traditional Asian diets there aren't a lot of carbs. Off the top all Vietnamese food, most Chinese food except wheat noodles, sushi and most Japanese family meals, Korean dishes except ramen. And I've said it before, before Western culture the obesity rates are super low but on the other hand, diabetes is higher due to consumption of sugar because these countries can be hot and sugarcane juice etc is a thing.
@sup42 you might like Chinese way of looking at the body. This AI overview is very simplistic but essentially they had the word for inflammation of the body thousands of years ago
熱氣 (jyutping: jit6 hei3), commonly pronounced as "yeet hay" in Cantonese, is best translated as "internal heat", "heaty", or "getting too much heat" in the context of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It refers to an imbalance (too much yang) caused by consuming fried, spicy, or roasted foods, resulting in symptoms like a sore throat, pimples, or constipation.
To everyone else looking to go on the journey, choose 1 thing to start with and just start it. If might be starting to consume kefir like sup did, or adding one portion of leaf greens in the diet. Maybe a 20 minute walk with a podcast. Most people try to drastically change their lifestyle and while they see immediate results it's not sustainable because other issues haven't been weaned off like sugar cravings, or weak body etc.
For me personally, I didn't start with diet. I went to the gym. No protein shakes, didn't go super hard, just went and did weights. First week was so hard, sore all over, day time was hard but then around week 2 I loved the gym. Then around 2 months in, I was ready to change diet.
miket12
🏛️
We found the Vogels range of GF breads had the most palatable taste…. but others we spoke to didn’t like them.I just steer clear of pasta. Potato, rice, chips, more salads, etc.
I’ve used gluten free breads and don’t mind the flavour. You can even get gluten free bases at Pizza Hut, etc.
Mindful of blandness I’ve gone hardcore into experimenting with herbs and spices. Tasteless bread is fine with an egg and cracked pepper
Ps my wife has gone GF to support me which has made it achievable!
I know you’re down in BOP but anyone wanting some of the nicest sourdough bread north of Auckland, drive up/down to Matakana and get a loaf or five from Goose Bakery. Surprisingly, the other store with really nice sourdough bread is New World in Browns Bay.
While their croissants are some of the nicest in Auckland, we don’t like the sourdough from Daily Bread as much as the other two.
Funny enough my step father is a trained in Chinese medicine (the funny bit in a good way is he is Raro).
Yes bro, one of the directions I like that food science has taken is researching and trying to understand indigenous food practices for the right reasons (improving health) rather than in the past where research was either purely looking to profit from ripping off indigenous health practices or in some cases just prove it is wrong.
I keep seeing research on all the old remedies, and what amazes me most is more often than not, the quantity Grandma said you should drink or eat of a certain herb or food turns out to be scientifically optimal - meaning people didn't just know that stuff worked, they also knew how much, how to prep it and how often to use it.
Instinct is an amazing thing. Formed over time, repetition and positive outcome.
Very misunderstood and undervalued.
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Emerald
🦋
It’s easy to get into generalisations about the western diet, just as it is with asian ones. Obesity is a major phenomenon in the western world, but if you go back a few decades, I don’t think it existed as an issue. But then it started to appear and in the last 10/20/30 years, exploded. What happened? MacDonald’s and all the others happened. There’s been a massive proliferation of fast food outlets. In the supermarkets, ready meals happened, "just microwave and enjoy". Canola happened. Our bodies have real problems with it, but never mind about that, because vast quantities are used in food production. It belongs in the bin, imo.
My parents were born in 1909 and 1913. No fast food then, main meals always cooked. As often as possible everyone was served up garden grown veggies.
There's an autobiography, 'The last fighting tommy', by the man who was the very last surviving British soldier of WWI. His folk had a sizeable garden, and apart from red meat, more or less everything they ate came from that garden. He lived to the grand age of 111.
For me - that’s the way to go. Somehow or other, we have to get back to that simplistic, slower paced way of life.
This is the big one. Old fellas were spot on the money with meat and two veg.
I agree with everything you say, except intelligence (IQ) has been growing with increased nutrition?
It’s finding the balance.
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