Slashdot Mirror
Low-Protein Diet May Extend Lifespan
sciencehabit writes "A new theory about the foods that can extend life is taking shape, and it's sure to be a controversial one. Two studies out this week, one in mice (PDF) and another primarily in people (PDF), suggest that eating relatively little protein and lots of carbohydrates — the opposite of what's urged by many human diet plans, including the popular Atkins Diet — extends life and fortifies health."
If this gets around to my girlfriends I'll sue...
Ron, an elderly man in Florida, owned a large farm for several years. He had a large pond in the back.
It was properly shaped for swimming, so he fixed it up nice with picnic tables, horseshoe courts, and some orange and
lime trees.
One evening the old farmer decided to go down to the pond, as he hadn't been there for a while, and look it over.
He grabbed a five-gallon bucket to bring back some fruit. As he neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee.
As he came closer, he saw it was a bunch of young women skinny-dipping in his pond.
He made the women aware of his presence, and they all went to the deep end.
One of the women shouted to him, "We're not coming out until you leave!"
Ron frowned, "I didn't come down here to watch you ladies swim naked or make you get out of the pond naked."
Holding the bucket up Ron said, "I'm here to feed the alligator."
So, sort of, maybe, but not.
I'm pretty sure the Atkin's diet was ruled out by anyone with any knowledge of actual human health. The man died a fat, bloated fuck and doomed many of his blind followers to live the same.
Um, I'm not an Atkins proponent (been vegetarian since the seventies) but part of that was marketing by Atkins detractors. He slipped on ice and suffered a severe blow to the head. In the hospital, he contracted another condition (which escapes me at the moment) which caused bloating. There is an urban legend that militant vegetarians (which always struck me as an oxymoron, but never mind...) snuck in and got photos of Atkins on his deathbed as rather disingenious "proof" that his diet killed him.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Focusing on diet for human lifespan is like focusing on gasoline for car lifespan.
Studies have been done of places where people tend to live longer. Some common threads are: genetics, happiness, close community ties, everyday physical labor, low stress, diet and maybe a few other things.
Yeah sure, diet is in there; but if your Daddy died at 40, you're pissed off all the time, you don't know your neighbors and you spend 60 hours a day stressing in a cube-farm then the quinoa salad you ate probably won't help much. Go ahead though. It probably won't hurt; just don't expect miracles. Look at *all* the factors.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
"What health problems? My health is probably better than yours."
Is "Internet Healthy Guy" a new variation on "Internet Tough Guy"?
"My blood pressure could kick your blood pressure's ass!"