The original point of this post was to do a 10 to 1, but the semi-paleo side of me couldn't not comment on the latest lame attempt by the media to link the Paleolithic diet with heart disease. Apparently ancient Egyptian mummies had hardened arteries, just like the modern junkfood generation.
How did Medscape (WebMD) deliver this to my inbox?
Like this: Paleo Diet: Did it Ever Work? This inspired some mouse pointer action, and I found myself looking at this article: 'Atherosclerosis Evident in Four Ancient Populations, Including Hunter-Gatherers', which I'd already encountered over at Whole Health Source.
There is quite a lot to say about deriving information from a group of mummies and applying it to a whole population. For a start, were those mummified representative of everyone? It seems to me that mummification might have been an expensive 'upper class' way of keeping grandma around. If that was the case, perhaps this group was less active and more well fed than Amun from the hood making a living serving up beer. There are so many unknowns. However, as for linking mummies with cardiovascular risk factors and the paleo diet, there isn't much to say, except 4000 years ago is not Paleolithic.
So, um, I'm not saying pure paleo is the only thing, but if it's working for you but you are worried about dying at 30 with calcified arteries like Medscape insinuate might happen.. well, I wouldn't get too worked up about it just yet. It was probably the tax man that gave those rich Egyptians high cholesterol, just like in modern times. ;)
10 to 1
Ten years ago, I was feeling all miserable and envious because The Programmer was travelling and sending me pics of cool things like this.. broken castle. I'm not sure where this is.
Nine years ago I was shopping in Leeds. This is when I was in England getting my PT certificate. That's me at the bottom of the pic.
Eight years ago. Visiting Charlotte the kune kune (my mum's pet). Face for radio, but a super sweet personality. I think it's ok to say that about a pig.
Seven years ago. Getting a daily lesson in love and nappies. Miss J landed and ready to change our lives.
Six years ago. House inspection on the new place. Our first purchase as a couple. Scary stuff.
Five years ago. Getting blown away by the cuteness of my nephew. He was the master of drool at that age.
Four years ago. St Patricks day in Christchurch. We bought enough Guinness to get a free t-shirt.
Three years ago. Christchurch by night. At the time we had no idea that a year later, all of this would be gone. It's quite surreal to look back on how it was.
Two years ago. Our earthquake refugee finally becomes a permanent resident after charming the man of the house. I remember quite clearly the moment he said "I think this one is a "Miranda"". Welcome, Miranda.
One year ago. Miss J proving that one of us really pays attention to modelling advice and instruction from the camera man.
and one of us has not a clue.
I'll let you figure that out.... it's not hard.
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I hope you enjoyed that, it's always interesting to look back, and it's the only time I ever delve into the archives. I never fail to be surprised by what I find.
Commenters: what is your take on the apparently unhealthy ancient peoples? Is ancestral nutrition barking up the wrong tree after all?
Studies are always interesting, but the conclusions drawn by people with vested interests and/or the media can make me go: O_O
ReplyDeleteYour mum had a pet pig? Cool.
She would have one now if she had the room for it. Charlotte was about 200kg, e.nor.mous.
DeleteThere is always going to be some 'expert' who will say this way or that way of eating is not good. I ignore the lot of them.
ReplyDeleteWe are all different, and some 'diets' suit certain people better than others. We are bombarded with information about 'good foods' Vs. 'bad food' all the time and I for one get so angry over it!
If you believed EVERYTHING you listened to or read, we should be eating grass.... because almost everything else is 'bad' for us (according to SOMEONE).
Whoop, sorry for the little rant.
In order to be able to support an aristocratic class (pharoahs) the Egyptians would have had to have had storable food e.g. wheat, spelt or whaddeva. The Pre-European Maori didn't have grains but could store roots and ferment food and the like so they were pretty much paleo in their diet. Good ol' Dr Weston Price examined the teeth of an isolated Maori seaside community and found they had the best dentition and maxilliary and mandibular development ever recorded by him on his world-wide examination of isolated communities eating trad. food. No wonder, they were scoffing raw and fermented seafood such as kina and torei.
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of our being different, I've been looking at the APO E genotypes. There are 3 alleles with 6 possible genotypes. Some folks with the APO E4 alleles have problems with cod liver oil (but not Green Pastures fermented CLO) and fish oils. I've also heard folks with the APO E2 and E4 alleles can have unfavourable changes to their LDL and triglycerides levels when taking coconut oil but I have yet to confirm this. I must be an EPO E3 because I've had no changes to my lipid profile on fermented CLO, Fish Oil, coconut oil and am now taking krill oil. It is possible to be tested but round here one would need to be referred by a lipids specialist or their proxy, I imagine. Which ever genotype you are affects your chances of getting alzheimers. The mechanism is understood (demyelination). Good for E2, bad for E4, E2, E4 genotypes and E3, E3 genotypes have a similar (average) risk.
Me scared of an earthquake?
ReplyDeleteHell no! I didn't even feel it.
We lived in Palmerston North for about 6 years, and had some really good earthquakes there! I loved them! Weird I know.
Maybe if they had been as bad and deadly as the ones in Christchurch my feelings would change... but right now I don't mind them at all.