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Why We Are Here => Water Cooler => Topic started by: ergophobe on March 19, 2017, 01:50:47 AM

Title: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: ergophobe on March 19, 2017, 01:50:47 AM
Two interesting studies came across my email today.

One studied the genome of 101 humans who lived in Europe 5,000 years ago and found that evolutionary pressures in Europe lead to selecting for grain eating, while farther north the selection pressure was for meat/fat

Quote
People from Europe, particularly its southern regions, are optimized for a high-plant diet. But people from other areas, such as the Inuit of Greenland, have a biochemistry that is better able to process lots of meat fat....
...two particular regions of DNA were under intense selection over the past several thousand years and changed rapidly in response to evolutionary pressures. These DNA regions contain two genes called "fatty acid desaturase 1 and 2," or FADS1 and 2 for short. The FADS genes regulate how the human body converts short-chain poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) into long-chain PUFAs for the health of many tissues, including muscles and the brain. In Europeans dating back to the Bronze Age, the FADS genes have undergone mutations to produce more long-chain PUFAs. This suggests a diet higher in vegetables and grains, which produce short-chain PUFAs.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/03/europeans-evolved-to-eat-more-vegetables-several-thousand-years-ago/

And in other news, a study in the Lancet found the population with the healthiest hearts in the world. The Tsimane walk 16,000 steps per day and eat a *lot* of carbs (72% vs 52% for the avg American) and about the same protein as the avg American (14% of calories)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/39292389
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: rcjordan on March 19, 2017, 02:14:56 AM
Monkey & Piranha Stew, anyone?

Quote
According to a study published Friday in the Lancet, a peer-reviewed British medical journal, the Tsimane have the lowest rates of heart disease ever measured, and in the United States and parts of Europe where heart disease is the leading cause of death, the news is expected to arouse widespread curiosity and a question: How do they do it?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/03/17/these-people-eat-monkeys-and-piranhas-they-also-have-the-lowest-rates-of-heart-disease-ever-measured/
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: nffc on March 19, 2017, 09:12:09 AM
>"The fact that they have the best indicators of cardiovascular health ever reported is the exact opposite to many recent suggestions that carbohydrates are unhealthy."

I'm surprised at that comment, when you walking 17,000 steps a day you need high "good" carbs. Sitting on your a## all day eating doritos and drinking coke isn't the same thing. Diet looks quite similar to a runners diet in many ways but they don't have the metabolic stress. I think it is fairly well accepted that a low protein(I think 14% is on the low side), high carb diet is best for longevity.

I'm surprised anybody is surprised they are healthy.

Did they attempt to measure calories consumed per day?

>added

Euros. We just been advised to ramp up from 5 portions of fruit and veg a day to 10, 10 is a lot!

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/23/five-day-10-portions-fruit-veg-cut-early-death
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: ukgimp on March 19, 2017, 10:32:46 AM
>> Euros. We just been advised to ramp up from 5 portions of fruit and veg a day to 10, 10 is a lot!

They picked 5 because at that time the recommendation was actually 9. I think they health professionals must have looked at each other and gone, "f### that, 9 wont fly, what's the max the great British public can get to?"
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: nffc on March 19, 2017, 10:47:16 AM
>what's the max the great British public can get to

Two seems to be the answer, if you count chips.
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: sugarkane on March 19, 2017, 11:51:03 AM
Chips and ketchup, job done.
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: rcjordan on March 19, 2017, 12:29:48 PM
>17,000 steps a day

Louise has an adult friend (female, 55-ish) who was slightly overweight. About 2 years ago, she was given a Fitbit or somesuch by her mom with the stipulation that she'd walk 15k steps per day.   She is damn near anorexic-looking now.  Her eating habits are light, though ...can't eat much because she's walking all the time.
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: Rupert on March 19, 2017, 04:35:30 PM
Quote
Two seems to be the answer, if you count chips.

3 if you remember the pepper.
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: littleman on March 19, 2017, 07:22:53 PM
The amount of exercise is a huge factor imo, I don't think the typical Westerner could look at the diet and lifestyle of the Tsimane and use that as evidence that they are doing it right.  Also, there is a difference in eating carbs where the energy is still locked within the cell membranes of natural foods (where the body needs to take the steps to break the food down) and the highly processed food modern Westerners eat today.  A natural fibrous starch is not the same as a piece of white bread.

The same holds true for PUFAs, in nature they are small concentrations, but in modern food they are an additive and eaten in much larger quantities.  There is a lot of evidence that the way and amounts we are consuming PUFAs today is really detrimental to health.
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: Rumbas on March 19, 2017, 08:08:09 PM
>17,000 steps a day

I do at least 10K a day on average and done so for a few years. Keeps my weight in check and makes a wee bit easier to get out of bed on the morning. 17K is A LOT of steps.

>The amount of exercise is a huge factor imo
Agreed 100%. Not doing any my weight increase fast. Doing some walking keeps it steady. Going to the gym 3-4 times a week onto decrease it quite a bit.. but also increase my appetite.
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: ergophobe on March 19, 2017, 09:31:08 PM
I do at least 10K a day on average

I was thinking you meant 10km at first and was thinking, wow, you're better than a Tsimane!
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: littleman on March 19, 2017, 11:05:05 PM
On my way down from 272lbs. I tried lots of different exercise routines, for like a year I held my diet guidelines steady and did one hour a day on an elliptical machine at a pretty good clip.  The results were not stellar for me, I only dropped a couple of pounds for the year.  I think what happens for a lot of people who do low impact, steady state cardio is that they end up adjusting their diet and eating more calories.   

There was another time in my life when I had the ability to take massively long walks, where I would go on like 5-7 hour treks. I didn't do it to lose weight, but just because I had the time and I really loved doing it.  When I did those walks I dropped fat really fast.  Probably it was because I just spent so many hours moving.  Very few people could do that regularly though.
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: Rupert on March 20, 2017, 07:24:52 AM
As a family we had a similar experience walking last year in Peru.  As we were travelling, every new city/mountain/beach needed exploring.  We would get off the bus and walk to the hotel or hostel. We tended to eat local food... or pizza when needed :)

I lost 12 lbs from what I thought was perhaps 4 lbs over my fighting weight. 8 of those have gone back on now, and I feel it.

when we got home I was told I was too thin. Personally I preferred it that way.

I am sure the altitude had an impact too.  Not sure how high that Bolivian tribe lives, but my lungs worked so much better at sea level for a while after.
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: ukgimp on March 20, 2017, 09:20:08 AM
>> when we got home I was told I was too thin. Personally I preferred it that way.

Let me guess, a slightly overweight friend / relative?
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: Rupert on March 20, 2017, 09:39:25 AM
Quote
Let me guess, a slightly overweight friend / relative?

Cynic :)


probably!
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: ergophobe on March 20, 2017, 04:39:20 PM
I think what happens for a lot of people who do low impact, steady state cardio is that they end up adjusting their diet and eating more calories.   

There is a lot of research to support that assertion.

Quote
I would go on like 5-7 hour treks

Theresa and I often talk about getting that "all day" exercise. For one, you burn a fair number of calories. The rule of thumb is about 60 cals per mile on the flats I think. I figure because our walks often have a lot of vertical gain, that number is higher. But 20 miles is still only 2000 calories. For me, what I've noticed is when I keep moving, it also suppresses my appetite. So I think the somewhat higher calorie burn plus somewhat lower intake is what has the effect.

That said, when I worked as a ranger, I didn't feel like I was really that active. But it was often a half mile or a mile to get from one duty to another and I always seemed to be late. So I would find myself running/biking at top speed for 5-10 minutes, arrive with shaking legs to give a talk and basically loll around for two hours, then bike at top speed for 5-10 minutes later in the day because I was late again. This was a small amount of intense activity, but I got really lean.

For some reason, though, I have trouble going hard for short bursts unless I'm late for something.
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: littleman on March 20, 2017, 06:19:27 PM
>relatives

They can be the worst!

Ergophobe, if I could figure out a way to fulfill my financial obligations in a way that allowed for long walks I would definitely do it.
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: ukgimp on March 20, 2017, 07:52:31 PM
Treadmill?
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: ergophobe on March 20, 2017, 08:47:32 PM
Ergophobe, if I could figure out a way to fulfill my financial obligations in a way that allowed for long walks I would definitely do it.

Yeah, that's pretty much the "governor" on our long days as well. Of course, there are those people who seem to do it all, but I have found that the ones I know who manage it seem to need a lot less sleep than I do.
Title: Re: Euros require more veggies and grains (bonus: healthiest hearts in world)
Post by: littleman on March 20, 2017, 09:55:08 PM
>Treadmill?

Nah, that wouldn't do it.  I'd have to walk too slow to get any work done.  Also, those things are too much like a hamster wheel.  The appeal of walking is to see the world pass by at a slow speed, seeing things that you would miss if you were driving.