General / Off-Topic How to eat healthy (and survive)

[WeComeInPeace]

A few years ago I was having a lecture on metabolism, and since the professor seemed pretty skilled at biology, I asked him a question I had pondered upon for a while:

What does it take, in terms of food, for a human to survive in the long run?

His answer was surprisingly simple:

Carbohydrates (also called sugars), protein and fat.

That's basically it! And then some minerals and vitamins that your body can't produce, but typically you get those through the aforementioned three.

Since then I have thought that there also had to be some sort of optimal ratio between the three, and even though the numbers differ slightly from expert to expert, there seems to be a rule of thumb:

50% carbohydrate (sugar, starch etc.)
20% protein (every living thing is largely made of proteins, and if you ever end up at a biology exam not knowing the answer, "protein" is always a good answer)
30% fat

So, basically you can survive on potatoes and milk like the Irish did before the famine. A so called "bland but healthy menu". Now, think about that...

 

[Para Handy]

You might like to look-up "potatoes and point".

 

[Shinji Ikari]

So, basically you can survive on potatoes and milk like the Irish did before the famine.

Survive != Being healthy.

 

[Para Handy]

I just tripped over this on 't net:




Source: https://imgur.com/gallery/ehQIXMz

 

[WeComeInPeace]

Marilyn could wear nothing and still look stunning

Regarding potatoes, they produce a lot of yield. Roughly 10 times that of wheat. The thing is that they hold less nutrients, so you need 6 times as much potato as wheat to get the same amount of protein, and four times as much potato to get the same amount of carbohydrates.

 

[Northpin]

Carbohydrates (also called sugars)

Technically, Carbohydrates (also called carbs) are sugars, starches and fiber

 

[WeComeInPeace]

Technically, Carbohydrates (also called carbs) are sugars, starches and fiber

Yes. Starch, like cellulose, can be broken down into glucose molecules using enzymes. Humans produce the enzyme for breaking down starch called Amylase, but not the one for breaking down cellulose (like in wood or grass) called Cellulase. You need a "cow stomach" for that. Or you can buy cellulase from Alibaba. It's dirt cheap.

Yet it's all sugar in some form, containing chemically bound energy from photosynthesis. The fuel that drives the biosphere, if you disregard some of the "alien" microorganisms that can reduce sulfur etc.

 

[Manfred Belheim]

But, but keto!

 

[starman]

I have diabetes so you have to watch the carbs which are fast and slow acting.

 

[starman]

A few years ago I was having a lecture on metabolism, and since the professor seemed pretty skilled at biology, I asked him a question I had pondered upon for a while:

What does it take, in terms of food, for a human to survive in the long run?

His answer was surprisingly simple:

Carbohydrates (also called sugars), protein and fat.

That's basically it! And then some minerals and vitamins that your body can't produce, but typically you get those through the aforementioned three.

Since then I have thought that there also had to be some sort of optimal ratio between the three, and even though the numbers differ slightly from expert to expert, there seems to be a rule of thumb:

50% carbohydrate (sugar, starch etc.)
20% protein (every living thing is largely made of proteins, and if you ever end up at a biology exam not knowing the answer, "protein" is always a good answer)
30% fat

So, basically you can survive on potatoes and milk like the Irish did before the famine. A so called "bland but healthy menu". Now, think about that...

View attachment 303286 View attachment 303288 View attachment 303287

What about the Guniness?

 

[WeComeInPeace]

But, but keto!

Exactly

 

[EUS]

But, but keto!

Not for diabetics, but it helped me lose 40 lbs in 4 months.
I'm now in the midst of changing it up to a more conventional mix of fats/carbs/proteins, and working cals out > cals in to get to my weight target.
YMMV.

 

[Bantha]

50% carbohydrate (sugar, starch etc.)
20% protein (every living thing is largely made of proteins, and if you ever end up at a biology exam not knowing the answer, "protein" is always a good answer)
30% fat

Do you mean by weight, or by calories? Because that’s a VERY different distribution of food…

 

[EUS]

Do you mean by weight, or by calories? Because that’s a VERY different distribution of food…

Most always these are expressed in terms of daily calories.