eli5 why we have such complex dietary requirements. Did our ancestors thousands of years ago have extremely well balanced diets?
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We can survive pretty well on a very wide range of diets. Our dietary requirements aren’t actually that complicated. We do need particular nutrients, which you can get from lots of different food combinations. In modern days, you see a lot of people trying to optimize their diet to achieve “ideal/perfect” health. A lot of this is still quite pseudosciencey, so watch out for gurus/instagramers/nutritionists/bloggers trying to sell you some particular diet/tonic that will help make you healthy and energized and live a long time. It’s usually BS.
**The best current science is**: Minimize processed sugars, get lots of fiber, don’t eat too much red meat. Eat what you enjoy while trying to stick mostly to whole grains and fruits and veggies and lean proteins. Have a cookie once in a while, it’s fine.
We can survive pretty well on a very wide range of diets. Our dietary requirements aren’t actually that complicated. We do need particular nutrients, which you can get from lots of different food combinations. In modern days, you see a lot of people trying to optimize their diet to achieve “ideal/perfect” health. A lot of this is still quite pseudosciencey, so watch out for gurus/instagramers/nutritionists/bloggers trying to sell you some particular diet/tonic that will help make you healthy and energized and live a long time. It’s usually BS.
**The best current science is**: Minimize processed sugars, get lots of fiber, don’t eat too much red meat. Eat what you enjoy while trying to stick mostly to whole grains and fruits and veggies and lean proteins. Have a cookie once in a while, it’s fine.
Our ancestors didn’t have twinkies and ho ohs. They are what they could when they could and got most of the nutrients they needed from that. There wasn’t really any such thing as “empty calories” which is most of what a lot of people eat.
Our ancestors didn’t have twinkies and ho ohs. They are what they could when they could and got most of the nutrients they needed from that. There wasn’t really any such thing as “empty calories” which is most of what a lot of people eat.
Our ancestors didn’t have twinkies and ho ohs. They are what they could when they could and got most of the nutrients they needed from that. There wasn’t really any such thing as “empty calories” which is most of what a lot of people eat.
I’ve commented to my son that the big advantage of early agriculture was an abundance of cereal grains. The big disadvantage was a paucity of anything else.
But when you have fifty poorly nourished farmers going up against ten well-nourished nomadic hunter/gatherers, the nomads eventually retreat. After a certain point, the farmers control all the land suitable for agriculture.
The remarkable superabundance of modern agriculture is a relatively recent phenomenon.
I’ve commented to my son that the big advantage of early agriculture was an abundance of cereal grains. The big disadvantage was a paucity of anything else.
But when you have fifty poorly nourished farmers going up against ten well-nourished nomadic hunter/gatherers, the nomads eventually retreat. After a certain point, the farmers control all the land suitable for agriculture.
The remarkable superabundance of modern agriculture is a relatively recent phenomenon.
I’ve commented to my son that the big advantage of early agriculture was an abundance of cereal grains. The big disadvantage was a paucity of anything else.
But when you have fifty poorly nourished farmers going up against ten well-nourished nomadic hunter/gatherers, the nomads eventually retreat. After a certain point, the farmers control all the land suitable for agriculture.
The remarkable superabundance of modern agriculture is a relatively recent phenomenon.
Because making you believe you need to consume a complex and perfectly balanced diet is a multi billion dollar industry.
Same answer to any question in life — follow the money.
Because making you believe you need to consume a complex and perfectly balanced diet is a multi billion dollar industry.
Same answer to any question in life — follow the money.
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