Nutrition
Nutritional Geometry- the new math?
Published 4.28.2017Nutritional geometry (NG)? A new “buzz word” is born? New to me at least, as I only learned of the concept in the past two weeks. The coiners of the term tout is as a radical rethinking. It sounds to be like they believe protein is satiating, and that people shouldn’t eliminate any one macronutrient. How is that radical?
Most people don’t eliminate an entire macronutrient— at least not for any length of time (most people also follow a fad diet or two in their lifetimes).
Nutrition affects health? Radical man, radical. This is over complication at its finest and most unnecessary.'Nutritional geometry' considers how mixtures of nutrients and other dietary components influence health and disease, rather than focusing on any one nutrient in isolation. It is hoped this new model will assist health professionals, dietitians and researchers to better understand and manage the complexities of obesity.
"Our framework throws down the gauntlet to the whole field of human nutrition. It shows that the prevailing focus on single nutrients is not able to help us understand complex chronic diseases, and that an approach based on nutrient balance can help solve the problem," said Professor Stephen Simpson, Academic Director of the Charles Perkins Centre.
This article suggests NG is based on animal studies, but I’m not a mouse. No one denies the importance of protein— well, except from Raw till 4 faddists or fruitarians. It’s also not new to note that elderly people seem to need more protein— and do better with animal protein, though that isn’t the message in this link. It says that animal protein is said to be bad, plant protein good.
The principles seem to be: Eat adequate protein (especially plant protein), get lots of fiber (more plants) and don’t eliminate any macronutrient. Here’s the thing about avoiding animal protein though, in doing so, you avoid a lot of fat, especially saturated fat. Go ahead and tell me that saturated fat shows no association with heart disease, the plain fact of the matter is that the longest lived populations in the world do not eat gobs or animal protein (and thus fat). They eat a lot of plants, and all of them eat legumes (plant protein!).
One thing I am wary of in NG is the suggestion that calorie restriction is the way to go for humans. I wrote about the failure of the CRON movement, and its failure. I have started reading about Valter Longo, who I first saw in the Michael Moseley’s show on fasting on the BBC. Moseley crafted his version of fasting and called it the 5:2 plan, which I’ve also written about, and which we still vaguely follow.
I’m not sold on the idea that to be healthy or to live a longer life humans have to regularly fast. Longo’s commercial plan requires adherence for a week each month— don’t these people jumping on board this bandwagon have lives? If you don’t want to eat for a few days, then don’t. But I don’t want to have to follow complicated instructions (or pay for special food)— it should not be necessary.
Most of these programs claim to be mimicking our evolutionary past— really? Not eating for a few days might do that, but come on people.