A Nutrition Philosophy: Who Needs It

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An interesting Twitter conversation about food with ‘The Gracious Pantry.’ Click on figure to see their great website.

Ayn Rand was a little extreme in her views, but when you consider her history it’s no surprise. We are all, at least in part, a product of our histories, genetic and environmental. Ayn Rand was somewhat hostile to other philosophers, as a result of which the general philosophical community appears to have rejected her as a member of their tribe, or that’s how I remember it anyway. Of her books I have two clear memories, the diatribe on the nature of money by d’Anconia in Atlas Shrugged, and her excellent but brief lecture entitled, “Philosophy: Who Needs It.” The latter article concludes that we will each have a philosophy of life, whether we like it or not, so it might as well be a conscious philosophy, one that has been thought out and carefully considered, as opposed to the regurgitated ideas and prejudices of others, such as our parents.

Having a clear and well thought out philosophy of nutrition is also a good idea, but this is a non-trivial challenge.

Harper’s Biochemistry is a great book, it need not be intimidating, just take your time as you don’t need to understand the whole thing, just the foody bits.

To do it right, you should start by reading Harper’s Biochemistry in order to understand the basics of your metabolism. This might seem a little extreme, but this wonderful book is written in a style that is fairly ‘digestible.’ You could rely on the experts, but like stockbrokers, nutritionists are subject to the latest fads and misinformation. Just look at the don’t eat eggs and low-fat diet craziness. Do it for yourself if you possibly are able.

Then focus on your body, and how it responds to different foodstuffs. You might even have some lab work done, under the guidance of a nutritionist or physician if you so desire, in order to follow the impact of your diet on your metabolic health. As a severe hyperlipidemic (really severe), I have found this to be of real value, blood chemistry having demonstrated the clear benefits of low carbohydrate (starch, potatoes, corn, bread, rice) intake, eating oily fish (salmon, sardines, herring – yum!), and most importantly the role of extreme levels of exercise in correcting my blood lipid profile (levels of different fats in my blood).

In spite of the benefits of lab work, I still consider how my body feels to be the most valuable indicator of which foods to eat, this being an important component of my program of safe exercise for better health.

-k @FitOldDog