On Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:21:06 +0100, nmm1 wrote:

In article ,
David.WE.Roberts wrote:
On Wed, 05 Jun 2013 09:46:05 +0100, David Hill wrote:

Came across this interesting item
snip
Oh, and as far as I know steak isn't unhealthy apart from the links
between red meat and carbonised food with some forms of cancer.

Look harder. Small quantities are fine, but a lot of problems are
associated with high-meat diets - we aren't adapted to them, though some
people are a lot more adapted than others.

Spuds are far more likely to do you damage because overloading on
carbohydrates is the thing that piles the weight on.

Sorry, but you have just joined the bunkum wallahs.

Look at high protein/high fat low carbohydrate diets - there is a lot of
support for this as a healthy way of living.

And a lot of evidence that they are very risky. Few people do well on
the very high carbohydrate diet that suits me, but most people are best
advised to get most of their calories that they burn up in exercise
above and beyond ordinary moving around (note!) from carbohydrates.

Also, potatoes are NOT a particularly high carbohydrate food, and are a
very healthy way of getting that (if you eat the skins, of course).

I've no concerns about replacing our short term energy demands with
carbohydrates - it is generally the most efficient way to fuel ourselves -
but it is a fine line between replacing energy demands and just having a
couple more spuds, or another scoop of rice, or another helping of
pasta......

Note that I said *overloading* on carbohydrates.

I am particularly aware of this as a Type 2 diabetic.
My own testing (and that of many who discuss this online) shows a major
spike in Blood Glucose after eating a 'healthy' (by NHS guidelines) meal
with plenty of carbohydrates.

I am also aware that in my particular case carbohydrates are addictive - I
get very strong cravings for bread (especially home made wholemeal and
seeds bread) and potatoes (especially home made chips).

HFLC diets (not Atkins which forces you into ketosis, but ones with a
relatively small percentage of processed/easily converted carbs) in my
case acts to suppress hunger, aid BG control, and reduce weight.

There is also, of course, the added issue that someone with a fully
functioning pancreas can handle a lot more carbs than a T2 diabetic.

So a 'healthy' diet for a non-diabetic is not necessarily a 'healthy' diet
for a diabetic (which at times the NHS significantly fail to grasp).

On the subject of high meat diets - yes there are concerns but I think it
is possible that as cursive hunters and omnivore foragers we are more
adapted to a high meat diet than to a high proportion of processed
carbohydrates which have been made possible by modern agriculture.

I don't know of any studies to confirm this, but it could be possible that
the harder we work the pancreas to produce insulin to get excess sugars
out of our blood and into our tissues the earlier it wears out. Then again
there could be completely unrelated factors and it may just be a time bomb
thing - late onset beyond the breeding window of natural selection which
shaped our ancestors.

All interesting stuff!

Cheers

Dave R