Date:    Mon, 10 Feb 2003 15:16:20 -0500
From:    Matt Metzgar <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: NHE

>>Keith,

>>Thanks for your comments.  I am skeptical about
>>the fat-burner/sugar-burner dichotomy.  It
>>just sounds a bit too unscientific for me.
>>Sure, the body can run on different types
>>of fuel, but I doubt it's a black-and-white
>>issue.
>>
<snip>
>>I think modern people may have more of
>>a year-round need for carbohydrates (for
>>energy) due to the increased hours of
>>activity.

>matt-
>The fat burner/sugar burner distinction is fairly
>easily described.  High insulin levels preclude
>virtually any fat being utilized as fuel.  In the
>hype
rinsulinemic state fat is stored, not burned.
>A seven day adaptation period is just the beginning
>really as it takes several weeks for enzyme systems
>to shift in favor of fat for fuel.
<snip>
>Robb

Matt

Rob Faigin's book is, spite its 1700 references, not a scientific work by
any means.  Rob is a lawyer, not a scientist (execept to the extent that
he is an autodidact with all the strengths and weaknesses that can
imply).  Don't be put off by the apparent lack of scientific rigour in his
book or the terms he uses to describe his theories.  He is writing for the
knuckleheaded muscle builders (check the content of the discussion on the
NHE group at Yahoo and you'll see what I mean!) as well as the general
reader and Rob has done his best to make the work comprehensible at first
reading to non-specialists.

Robb Wolf and I know from experience that it works (and w
e mean the
exercise/diet mix, not just the eating plan).  Lots of other things work,
too.  Depends what you want and what you'll put into it at to what you'll
get out.  Robb and I are not interested in converting you; what we're
doing here is putting our evolutionary fitness take on Rob Faigin's ideas
with the best clarity for you and others to make your own assessments.

One thing Rob does advocate is shocking the body with different exercise
routines and highly varied dietary intakes.  One of his underlying
messages is that growth and improved physical well-being result from
forcing adaptation to new stresses.  Complacency, satisfaction, feeling
that your present diet/exercise routine are perfect is, for Faigin, the
first step to decline.  I guess Robb Wolf and I relish variety and aren't
looking for the best single, settled combination.

I don't know what you mean about humans needing car
bs for energy, if you
are implying that they are the only dietary source.  Sure, the
physiological processes require the fat be converted to a sugar and then
to ATP at the ignition point in the cell's mitochondia.  Also don't forget
the Inuit experience and the protein : fat : carb ratios observed to
predominate for most of the year - especially in consecutive winter
months - in many hunter-gatherer groups, including most N American tribes
before they relinquished their traditional ways.

Keith

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