On Thu, 18 May 2000 13:19:47 -0800, Zoe <[log in to unmask]> wrote:


>I don't know whether this plan is best for everyone - obviously
>people have to make up their own minds about how they want to eat -
>but I fouind that when I was on a low-fat, high carb vegetarian food
>plan, even though the carbs were supposedly very healthy, such as
>brown rice and whole wheat etc - ..

I personally am not very fond of that low-fat approach.
Furthermore is seems to me, that a high fat approach is really
paleolithically founded in plant nutrition, not otherwise.
remember:
1. game animals in a moderate climate have only 4-8% of fat
   (including brains). High fat animals are eather found in the arctics
   (or ice age northern climates) and IMO evolutionary not important.
   High bad fat are "modern" "produced" animals like fed pigs or cows
   (same applies).
   That's not low-fat or fat-free but it is *not* high fat.
2. In a savanne (like parts of pleistocene africa) only seeds (most of tree)
   have significant fat. Nuts and some "oil" seeds.
   A walnut is 63% of *weight* as fat. This is over 90% of kcal as fat.
   These fats are also low saturated and with a good omega ratio
   w-3 to w-6.

Then the "common healthy" vegetarian approach with "carbs, supposedly very
healthy" of whole wheat and so on has major drawbacks which are not
commonly known and regarded. These things hardly ever get the proper
handling of many hours of soaking before cooking.
But this is necessary not to run into a mineral deficit or against long
term attacks from leftover antinutrients.
The "whole grains are always healthy" is a myth and oversimplification.
It needs additional knowledge.
Or did you hear at anytime before 100 years back from somebody eating
a 6-grain bisquit? It was leavened bread or some kind of mash.

Then fats. Whole cereals have from 2% (wheat) to 7% (oats) of fat.
Similar to or higher as wild game. But, from an omega-3 / 6 viewpoint
a bad composition. Cereals weren't a nutrition base for very long
evolutionary timeperiods. And grain agriculture begun to spread
(about 7k years before now) equipped with flax. Flax is so omega-3 high
and high in fat that it may equal out cereals.
Just some history thoughts.

> .. it would always lead me right back
>into compulsive eating, especially of sugary foods. I'm not sure if
>it was because the plan was so low protein or if it's the carbs
>themselves - I just know that sugar is my addiction and, like an
>alcoholic, I have to avoid it like the plague.
>
I don't know why you call your previous diet low-protein.
Probably now you are getting your main carbohydrate fuel
the long way round of protein degration.
However there shurely are kind of "sugar addicts" produced by
"sugar and bagels". In altering states between to high and too low
glucose levels in the blood. A high fat approach surely is promising
to come out of that. Anyway better then low-fat.

Which fats to choose.. we have some information about.

cheers

Amadeus S