Plant based diet

[ghentjr]

Atkins works for me. I was on all meat and chicken for three weeks before my annual physical and dropped my cholesterol significantly. Not losing a lot but feel better than before I started. I do stay off the bacon. But beef is king.

[Erby]

Charlie,

Nope, it's been my philosophy for many many years.

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[ejager]

Originally posted by kurt

What sort of herd do you run?

One of the finest foods on earth is unprocessed unpasteurized whole milk. I don't care what anyone says, it's good and I love it.

[/quote

Married into a ranching family and we have a cow-calf operation. If it wasn't for the long periods of freezing temperatures, the rainfall here would be considered desert-like. Dairy operations here are non-existant.

Though my wife did have a milk cow for a few years to remind her of her childhood. Used to be that lots of the neighbours had a milk cow or two, so if you had to leave the farm, someone else could look after old 'Bessy'. Now, even though we have a milker, no one knows how to run it...sure ties you to the farm!

But that one cow, a guernsey, porduced more milk, and cream than we could drink, churn, and fatten kittens with. Good though. Even after seperating, the milk was too rich for me!

[ericwlewis]

my diet consists of mostly whatever I want. Usually chicken, ham, occasional burger, ice cream etc is what I eat but I don't like steak, coffee, beer, wine or bacon!

My physically demanding "side job" of remodeling and hobbies such as mountain bike racing, cyclocross racing, triathlons, adventure racing etc keep me training for 10 months out of the year.

Like Jim I don't take any meds except for the occasional ibuprofen.

If I were to improve anything it would be my diet but;

a) the wife would have to improve too

b) my doctor hasn't complained, yet. I have a resting heart rate of about 38-42 bpm and "excellent" blood pressure.

c) I feel good about 360 days of the year.

[kurt]

Yes, dairy is a tough gig. Bessy has to be tended.

I did part time work @ a dairy farm while in high school. We'd sneak in and get ladles of ice cold fresh milk out of the daily storage tank, right before the truck would come to pick it up. Nothing like it.

[mgbinspect]

I heard an interesting rule of thumb recently: "If it can't spoil, don't eat it." I also try to stick to stuff that we would have consumed if we were out in the wild, hunting or foraging.

So, it's lots of vegetables, fruits, fish, poultry, nuts and eggs for me (some red meat, but not a lot).

I have hereditary high cholesterol (mid 200s without treatment). Yet, my grandmothers both lived into their 90s and my great grandmother lived to be 101. My folks are both eighty-seven and doing fine. Apparently, the lack of good cholesterol, is a lot more critical than elevated bad cholesterol.

Eggs used to get a bad rap, but doctors are beginning to conclude, based upon a lot of research, that eggs are a near perfect form of protein that actually raises the HDL cholesterol (the good stuff), to offset and maybe even lower LDL (the bad stuff). So, now doctors concede that a few eggs a week are probably actually a good thing. My last cholesterol test, thanks to eggs, fish and statins, had my HDL in the 80s, which is pretty good.

I just try to limit the consumption of refined sugar, animal fats, flour and pasta. As a matter of fact, I almost never have rice, pasta or breads, because carbs tend to be instant weight gain for me.

[gtblum]

Well...we all end up dead. That's not the point.

This discussion is about how we live.

Really? Aren't you the guy who eats bacon wrapped bacon at the Baconfest, every year?

[Jim Morrison]

Hey Gary,

I did take my family to (watch, not participate in) a bacon-eating contest 2 years ago and ate no small amount of bacon while I was there. If I left you or anyone else under the impression that my diet is perfect, then I apologize. It aint.

I do eat bacon and other things I probably ought not to. I just don't eat a lot of them.

I'm not preaching or holding myself up as an expert. We're just talking about our habits.

You should keep doing whatever works well for you.

Enjoy the New Year,

Jimmy

[gtblum]

Hey Gary,

I did take my family to (watch, not participate in) a bacon-eating contest 2 years ago and ate no small amount of bacon while I was there. If I left you or anyone else under the impression that my diet is perfect, then I apologize. It aint.

I do eat bacon and other things I probably ought not to. I just don't eat a lot of them.

I'm not preaching or holding myself up as an expert. We're just talking about our habits.

You should keep doing whatever works well for you.

Enjoy the New Year,

Jimmy

Just busting a little. If I make it past 12/ 21/ 12, I'm going to change my ways. I swear.

Happy New Year to you too, and everyone else here.

[kurt]

There's a burger joint here that has deep fried bacon as a specialty.

Yes, I've tried it.

[Chad Fabry]

There's a burger joint here that has deep fried bacon as a specialty.

Yes, I've tried it.

On a burger nestled between two grilled cheese sandwiches?

[kurt]

On a burger smothered in pork chops.

Actually, it's a stand-alone special. After eating, you have to be careful to not go out into direct sunlight; if you do, grease oozes from your jowls.

[Nolan Kienitz]

On a burger smothered in pork chops.

Actually, it's a stand-alone special. After eating, you have to be careful to not go out into direct sunlight; if you do, grease oozes from your jowls.

OINK !!

But, darn tasty !!!

[Marc]

Has anyone here eaten' cracklins?

I indulge in them only a couple times a year now. They're pig skins, cut in cubes and boiled. Mostly fat with a little meat. They were a good source of energy long ago when people had to labor long and hard. Now they just clog your arteries. Still tasty if they're cooked the old way.

Marc

[Bill Kibbel]

...eats bacon wrapped bacon at the Baconfest, every year...

WHERE CAN I BUY TICKETS?

Is it true you eat us?

[mgbinspect]

...After eating, you have to be careful to not go out into direct sunlight; if you do, grease oozes from your jowls.

Now, that was funny... [:-hspin]

Still laughing... [^]

There's a joint here called Carytown Burgers and Fries. The place is always slammed. I went there about a month ago, which I only do a couple times a year. As I sat eating one of their damn near orgasmic burgers - smothered in bacon and nestled between the two halves of one of their extra large and cotton candy soft buns - piled high with a picture perfect stack of: American cheese; vividly green lettuce; a slice of red onion and a slice of tomato, I wondered what the secret was to their, one of a kind good taste, burgers, but quickly concluded that was kinda like throwing on the light during great sex. I returned to eating my burger, as I held it well away from myself so i didn't end up wearing any of it... [:-graduat

[gtblum]

I'm getting hungry. Cheese is made from cow milk. Burger is made from cows.

Cows eat plants. That makes cheeseburgers a plant based food.

[ghentjr]

Great thinking and I agree with your connection of the dots. There is a place here in CT that is very well known for its Steamed Cheese Burgers and Steamed Cheese Sandwiches. Mmmm good.

http://www.roadfood.com/EatingTours/34/ ... eeseburger

[gpdewitt]

MMMMM, Bacon! I made a BBQ pork loin wrapped in apple slices wrapped in bacon slathered with maple bourbon butter sauce, fabulous! Recipe courtesy of the BBQ boys on youtube.

Seriously, we have two types of teeth, adapted to meat (tearing) and grain/vegetables (grinding). Also, it stands to reason that before animal domestication and farming, it was a lot easier to pick fruit and vegetables than hunt down meat, so we probably ate mostly vegetables and a bit of meat when we could get it.

There are numerous scientists who theorize that we have altered food much faster than we can adapt to eating it as a species, causing widespread health problems. I tend to agree. Except for rice, glycemic index of processed carbs is much higher than unprocessed carbs. High

GI foods tend to cause obesity and diabetes in the long run.

It can even be argued that genetic altering of grains and other foods make them less healthy, and this has been going on since the first farmer started hybridizing his crops for greater yield. I haven't seen studies on this yet, and don't expect to any time soon, since major food manufacturers like Monsanto have such an interest in their patented "foods". I heard recently that there is no corn still growing in the US that isn't genetically altered because of pollen spread from altered corn to "natural" corn in adjoining fields. Hazards from this remain to be seen, it hasn't been around long enough for definitive studies. Fortunately, there are still some samples of various grains around that are very old, not altered and still viable, and there are farmers in remote regions growing crops from them to bring back the real thing.

Well, now that I've completely depressed myself, I think I'll go have a burger and fries with a shake, and celebrate the new year!

[Brad Manor]

About 4.5 years ago I suffered a bit of a setback as the result of diverticulitis and spent a little time in hospital. Since that happened I've done a fair bit of research of food/digestive/nutritional issues. Diverticulitis was virtually unknown until the industrial revolution and is very rare in the non-industrialized countries - where food doesn't come from factories, we digest it better.

Unfortunately I lack the intelligence, willpower, and desire to follow the completely perfect diet. I do however make the effort. Meat is a compliment to the meal, not the bulk of it; fresh local produce is better than the stuff with miles on it; I make my own whenever I can rather than buy the processed alternatives; etc. While I don't fast/cleanse per se, I do get a lot of mileage out of my juicer.

The best advice I can give - don't be a shithead. If you love bacon, eat it once in a while, buy the good stuff or make your own (it's easy). Don't like vegetables? Grow up.

-B

ps. Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor Michigan has a mail order bacon of the month club - I highly recommend it

[kurt]

Zingerman's........what a fantastic place. [:-thumbu]

[Les]

Folks,

don't fool yourself, Brad eats really gooooooood! (not a bad cook either!)

He make a really valid point about moderation. I particularily agree with the "shithead" part. It is your body and you know better that anyone what you can or should do.

[Jim Baird]

There's a good story in the New Yorker a few weeks back about the 11000 yr old "temple" discovered on a hill in Turkey, supposedly built by hunter-gatherers at the peak of their time. Archeologists say the fossil record shows that after people took up farming thier diets, along with their physical stature, took a nose dive. They also had to work a lot longer and harder. Some say that turning the spear into plowhares was the biggest mistake man has made.

[mgbinspect]

There's a good story in the New Yorker a few weeks back about the 11000 yr old "temple" discovered on a hill in Turkey, supposedly built by hunter-gatherers at the peak of their time. Archeologists say the fossil record shows that after people took up farming thier diets, along with their physical stature, took a nose dive. They also had to work a lot longer and harder. Some say that turning the spear into plowhares was the biggest mistake man has made.

That's always made sense to me. It's pretty obvious that we started out as hunters and foragers, and it's pretty easy to eat as if we still are.

Well, off to Dunkin' Donuts! [:-tophat]

[kurt]

But, it's that farming thing that allowed civilization to develop. Can't run a civilization when you're following herds and weather cycles across a landscape or continent.

And, hunting/gathering didn't guarantee folks ate.....folks started growing food because it was necessary.