Book review: Eat Like The Animals

By David Raubenheimer and Stephen J. Simpson

The two entomologists describe a fascinating, 30-year research journey, that took them  from studying insect nutrition to postulating the cause of the human obesity epidemic.  Along the way, they performed experiments as well as observations in the wild, progressing from insects to primates (including humans).  The book is easy and entertaining.  I recommend it.

The authors invented a concept which they named Nutritional Geometry.  They concluded that many species, including humans, have more than one appetite.  In humans they count five:  Protein, Carbohydrates (CH), Fat, Salt, and Calcium.  Each appetite regulate the food intake to meet a natural target, and thus achieve a healthy balanced diet.

They discovered that in many species, the dominant appetite is the one for protein.  They named this effect Protein Leverage.  If balanced food is available, the animal will eat a balanced diet.  However, when the only available food sources are low in protein (and therefore high in CH or fat), the animal will eat more food, until it reaches its protein target.  This results in consuming more energy than necessary, and consequently becoming fat.  Conversely, if the food sources are too rich in protein, in order to hit the target, the animal will eat less, and loose weight.  The fiber content of fruits and vegetables is the one ingredient  that limits the amount of CH and fat that the animal can consumes.  Fiber physically fills the stomach till no more can be ingested.  Humans clearly exhibit the protein leverage phenomenon.  

Obesity Epidemic Thesis

1. The blame lies with ultra processed food (UPF), and its manufacturers 
2. The average target level for human protein consumption is 15% of total energy intake.  Since the 1970s, humans consumed a few percent less than this target. 
3. Protein leverage predicts that we eat more CH and fats to compensate.  The consumption data fits the prediction, and accounts for the increase in obesity.
4. When protein leverage causes hunger and a need for more food we turn to UPF. UPF is designed to be commercially successful, not to make us healthy.  As such it has the following characteristics:

• Engineered to be super tasty, it includes salt, fat, sugar, and many gruesome-sounding industrial ingredients.
• Low in protein.  Forces us to eat more. 
• Low in fiber.   Allows us to eat a more.
• Low cost (protein is expensive)
• Long shelf life.  (Fiber reduces shelf life).
• UPF manufacturers follow the tobacco industry in confusing the public regarding the effects of their products.

The solution?

Eat enough protein.  Your appetite will tell you when to stop.  As for the rest, the book recommendations fit a Michael Polan quote which I love:

• Eat FOOD  (not industrial products)
• Not too much
• Mainly fruits and vegetables.

Behavioral Advice

The book concludes with behavioral advice on how to loose weight, and data on the protein contents of various foods.

Since loosing weight is not my main focus, I will not expand on this, except for one detail:

Although the average target for protein is 15%, this number increases as we age.  Over the age of 65 the recommended target is 20%.

An aside.  The authors must have intercepted my emails.  They cite "The three pillars of health" as:

• Sleep
• Exercise
• Nutrition

Controversy

The authors conducted a very large mice experiment.  It took five years to conclude, provided lots of data which confirmed the protein leverage theory.  They observed a marked difference in lifespan between mice eating the high protein vs the low protein food. 

• Mice eating low protein foods became fat, but lived longer.  (Especially if the extra energy came from CH not fat)
• Mice feeding on high protein food, stayed slim, had better reproductive capabilities, but lived shorter lives.

The book extends "More protein=Shorter life" to human health.  This raised controversy in nutrition circles.  The main objections are that  a.  Humans are not mice, and b.  The data on humans is not yet clear.   The field of Nutrition has many religions, and this will add fuel to the already burning fires.  How fun.

 

 

 

 

Spring

 Procrastination delayed this blog by a couple of weeks.  Spring has come and with it Cherry blossoms.  By now, all that is left, are pink-lined sidewalks.

 

The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity

 The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity is a book by Carlo M Cipolla, who was a UC Berkeley professor of economics.

The book is short and humorous.  It explains the frustration I often felt in encountering acts of stupidity.  It describes five basic laws:

1. Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid people in circulation.
2. The probability that a certain person is stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person
3. A Stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or a group while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses.
4. Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals
5. A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.  (A stupid person is more dangerous than a bandit.)

 The author divides the universe into four personalities based on the individual's actions.  Does the action cause gain or loss to the individual and does it cause gain or loss to the other person.  It can be drawn on a page using the ubiquitous four quadrants method.

The stupid is more dangerous than the bandit because the bandit's actions are predictable, allowing us to defend ourselves.  The acts of the stupid are irrational and therefore unpredictable.  Furthermore, acts of big-time bandits lean towards the "intelligent" side and do not cause greater harm than their gain. Thus they have a net-zero impact on society. The acts of a powerful stupid person can hurt organizations and societies.    

This reminds me of a saying, not from this book, and whose source I do not remember.  Reciting it reduced my stress on many occasions:  "Never attribute to malice anything that can be explained by stupidity"  If the book won't help, I am sure this saying will.

 

  

A Bread Named Isaac

A small bakery just opened in our neighborhood.  The baker, a petit, cheerful lady, offered me a slice of whole-wheat.  It tasted great.  Hearing my compliments, like a little girl, she jumped up and down clapping her hands. I then, politely inquired whether she would make the next one a 75% whole wheat loaf.  She was happy to comply, and that bread was even tastier.  In the days that followed,  more and more customers came asking for this loaf.   It is now her signature bread.  Today, she named it after me.