Extremism vs. Moderation

[Guest guest]

,

I am starting to question your judgement and/or your qualifications as

a doctor. I thought that " Do No Harm " was rule number 1. The advice

that the members of this group have provided has been based on

mainstream published scientific papers. We are not advocating

anorexia. We advocate a healthy life style with good nutriton, but

using moderate Caloric Restriction to try to achieve the benefits of

longevity which have been observed in laboratory trials in a variety

of species.

> [snip]

> With regard to the comments by the others, I disagree with Tony's

> lower limit of 14% bodyfat for women. I think it may be too high,

> too " safe " so personally I'm going lower. I'm not telling you too.

> [snip]

I did not pull the 14% out of the air. The American Council on

Exercise has these classifications for Body Fat:

http://www.annecollins.com/body-fat-calculators.htm

.. . . . . . . . . . Women . . . . Men

Essential fat . . . 10-12% . . . 2-4%

Athletes . . . .. . 14-20% . . . 6-13%

Fitness . . . . . . 21-24% . . . 14-17%

When you start depleting your essential fat, you are basically

depleting your brain which is ~60% fat (BT122YD p. 161) and your

nervous system (the myelin coating is ~70% fat).

With regard to low protein diets, you can take a look at the evidence

by looking at minimums and maximums to determine the advantages or

disadvantages of both. We know that too little protein causes

marasmus and kwashiorkor.

http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/section1/chapter2/2c.jsp

Too much protein is suspected of causing kidney problems. Somewhere

between these two extremes is the happy medium for optimum health and,

maybe, longevity.

Minimum quantities of protein cause those bloated stomachs and grayish

hair that we see in those pathetic pictures that are used by

organizations looking for donations for children in Africa. The

maximum quantities (2 to 4 grams of protein per kg of body weight) are

used by muscular bodybuilders like Schwartzenegger. The hard bodies

of bodybuilders are less grotesque than those of the children with the

sad eyes.

What is the incidence of tumors in bodybuilders? Are they at an

increased risk of cancer? Epidemiologically, it does not seem to be

true. Searching PubMed, I have not found excessive premature death,

kidney failure, or cancerous growths in bodybuilders.

Low protein diets, on the other hand, have filled the cemeteries of

Africa.

http://www.childinfo.org/eddb/malnutrition/

My own conclusion is that a high protein diet is not as harmful as a

low protein diet.

It is said that wise people learn from the experience of others, and

that fools learn from their own mistakes. We can live better by

relying on the knowledge that we gain from published scientific work

that has been independently verified.

Best wishes,

Tony