Protein

When it comes to nutrition, we seem to know so little. Of the three major components of our diet, we debate quite a lot in this day and age, whether to eat low carb or low fat, mainly because we are preoccupied with obesity.

What about protein?

The US guidelines recommend a daily protein dietary allowance, measured as intake per body weight, is 0.8 g/kg. However, this recommendation is based on structural requirements, but disregards use of protein for energy metabolism. Too much protein puts strains on kidney. Proteolytic fermentation in our gut, breaks down proteins in food, and can produce toxins and carcinogens. Thus, a diet lower in protein reduces exposure to toxins.

Proteins are made of amino acids, out of which 8 (or 9 if we count histidine) are essential for humans and must obtain from food sources.

I do not know how much research has been done, but the optimal levels for essential amino acids as recommended by the Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board are as follows:

Essential Amino Acid/ mg/g of Protein
Tryptophan/ 7
Threonine/ 27
Isoleucine/ 25
Leucine/ 55
Lysine/ 51
Methionine+Cystine/ 25
Phenylalanine+Tyrosine/ 47
Valine/ 32
Histidine/ 18

Unfortunately, unless you are doing research, nobody can follow the above profile.

Most animal sources have the complete complement of all the essential amino acids in adequate proportions. Apart from soybeans, vegetable sources of protein are more often lacking in one or more essential amino acids than animal sources, typically being deficient in lysine and methionine. Therefore, it is more complicated to be a vegetarian. I am a non strict vegetarian, as I eat fish, seafood and eggs. My grandmother was a strict vegetarian (vegan) since the age of 60 and lived till 91. So I do believe that one can be healthy and vegetarian. Tofu was her source of essential amino acids.

It is generally accepted that caloric restriction extend life span. Methionine restriction imparts at least some of the effects of CR without the CR.

One interesting aspect of all those long lived Chinese people (over the age of 90), is that they all eat very little in general and even less in meats. Practically people who could remember the years of great famine (1958-61), were forever affected and even if they could have a lot of foods available to them today, they still would not eat a lot. Therefore, it seems to me that they are not only doing CR, but also methionine restriction.

Gut Feeling, Brain in the Gut

Read a few articles regarding neurons in the gut and their implications:

Gut Feelings by Melissa Wachterman

The Brain in Your Gut, Biology of a Thanksgiving Meal, Promise Partner

The Enteric Nervous System: The Brain in the Gut

The Brain in Your Gut by Heribert Watzke

A typical day of mine

8:30: Get up
8:30 – 10:00: Wash myself, prepare and eat breakfast
10:00 - 14:00: Work (either renovation or leaning)
14:00 - 15:00: Have lunch
15:00 – 16:30: Walk outdoors, usually the river front park
16:30 – 18:30: Skip rope, stretch exercise and shower
18:30 – 20:30: Prepare and eat super
20:30 – 23:00: Play pool, read or watch a movie or browse internet
23:00 – 23:30: Wash
23:30: go to bed

Breakfast: slice of Tofu, slice of cheese, one apple, 7 halves of walnuts, one egg, a cup of tea
Lunch: miso soup, one slice of Pumpernickel bread, half of avocado
Super: coconut milk rice dish with pacific wild salmon, broccoli and onion, a radish salad, one glass of wine, a bowl of frozen grapes and a cup of coffee.

AH, IS THIS NOT HAPPINESS!

Idlers' asylum

On CBC, there is an interesting story about a young Asian man disguised himself in order to get into Canada (here). It’s surprising to find so many anti-immigration (and/or anti-refugee) Canadians by reading the comments of this article. But that is not the point I wish to make here.

I read somewhere that it is better to be a slacker in a market economy than in a socialist one, since one is rewarded with productivity in a market economy. However, in non-market economies low-productive members may be seen as parasites - it is hence better to be a slacker who could work hard but don't want to in a capitalist system than (say) in a socialist system.

In China in the seventies, anyone who could work but don’t want to work would for sure be sent to a labor camp. In reality, nobody was allowed to choose what type of work one wanted to do. If I had time traveled and had disguised myself and flew into Canada to seek asylum because I wanted to be an idler (or part time one until I made enough money to be a full time idler), I would have been ridiculed worse than this young man and been sent back to where I came from.

In North America, I believe that there are only two cities that are most suitable for idlers, Montreal and San Francisco. You need certain numbers of same kind in a society in order to survive. Montreal is full of people who prefer to make less money and have some time to idle. In San Francisco, idlers probably call themselves thinkers, but I could be wrong.

Rene Girard's arguments on Christianity

Listened to a very interesting conversation with Rene Girard regarding Christianity. Interesting to me since I am atheist turned agnostic and I believe in the actions of Jesus Christ. I would like to believe in God and be part of the Christian community. Rene Girard offers an explanation that is more acceptable perhaps to those with more logic minds. Here it is:



For those who prefer reading, Amazon sells his books in English:
The Girard Reader

Violence and the Sacred

The Scapegoat