Update on the 6th Mass Extinction

 There's a couple of new documentary films on Netflix I'd like to recommend to you if you haven't watched them yet. One is "Seaspiracy", a film about the degradation of the oceans and seas. It reads like Sea Conspiracy, but I think there's a play on words here because it also reads like "Seas Piracy". The other film is David Attenborough's most recent, "A Life on Our Planet".

These two films offer us the opportunity to take a hard look at how far the 6th mass extinction has progressed in the 100 years since it started.

A corollary is a book titled "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari", where he avers we anatomically "modern" humans are the most destructive species in the history of the planet. It's interesting that anatomically modern humans were the most intelligent of the seven human species that roamed the Earth when we Sapiens arrived. What happened to the other six species of humans? "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" is a fascinating read on many levels, I will recommend that also.

And yet we don't think of ourselves as destructive. Perhaps it's time to collectively take a hard look at ourselves by absorbing Freud's message in its most accessible format, his summation work, the book "Civilization and it's Discontents". There's this idea out there that Freud has been discredited. Closer to the truth is that we don't want to see the aggression that is in every human. In every species in fact. There is no capacity for survival otherwise.

The question arises; why can't aggression be modulated from within our human species? Freud's answer is something to the effect the survival instinct springs up (for unknown reasons) from primordial biology. It is literally outside of our purview in spite of the fact it is within us and drives us. We also call it life force energy, and on this planet it's all around us...and it is us also.

The simplest illustration of this I can think of is: "breathing is not a decision". Or, "holding your breath is not a reliable form of suicide".

The life force drive is paramount, it literally overarches everything biological, and we don't control it, it controls us. But there is a point it collapses of it's own accord, Freud called that the death instinct, together forming the complete life cycle. And as Mandelbrot noticed, life cycles occur on shorter and longer time frames, but share the same structural characteristics. And here we are in the 6th mass extinction, this one caused not by a volcano or meteor, but by the activity of a single species, us.

Is there anything we can do to stop the collapse of biological life on Earth? Maybe, but the job is way bigger than it looks because we are driven by the biological imperative to grow. And we humans do not have the same structural checks and balances of egalitarian predatory forces imposed upon other species. Who was it who said "I have met the enemy and it is us"?

From a macro perspective the blame for the 6th mass extinction can be put on overpopulation. And it can also be put on industrialization. And perhaps the root cause is industrialization, it was the force that caused parabolic human population growth with the advent of "free energy" (fossil fuels), when combined with increasing human technological prowess.

Industrialization began about 200 years ago, the 6th mass extinction about 100 years ago. It's very unlikely this is a coincidence.

Conspiracy theory abounds...the industrialists feel the way to survive is to reduce population. Perhaps a better plan for all humans collectively is very significant levels of deindustrialization. Well, the industrialists do not like that idea very much, and they have all the wealth and political power. In addition they are (mostly) in deep denial. So we don't know what is going to happen. Or to be more accurate, what is already happening.

But wait! Lest we forget, Elon Musk has the answer! We'll simply transplant our species to Mars!

Humm. Even Mister Musk is intelligent enough to know that we sprang up from the fertile soil of this one planet, and we have no knowledge of another that is remotely similar. Surely there's a technological solution?

Let's see...we're going to leave a planet with biological sustainability that has been reduced by some significant degree, and go to one that has zero innate capacity to create and sustain biological life. What degradation of biological sustainability has to occur to have us trade it for zero? 25 percent degradation? 50 percent?

Humm. Let's do a rough test of Earth's biological sustainability. Let's plant seeds of local flora all over the planet and then wait breathlessly to see what happens. WOW! Who knew, it still grows.

I'm partial to the idea of radical deindustrialization. Think we can get it through congress?

The Lockdown Narrative is Troubling

The problem is it doesn't add up. Those who've been tracking credible online epidemiological sources have been seeing this from the beginning. And those relying on broadcast media sources have little to no exposure to a non-politicized counter narrative.

This presentation explains why the main stream narrative is troubling.

Part 2

What does fit and healthy at 82 look like?

This 82 year old female Youtuber seems to have figured it out. She talks about mindset as the foundation. I think you'll enjoy this.

https://youtu.be/oYIY2_UtO3E

After doing the SOS Free WFPB Diet for 10 plus years

I guess I would say after doing the SOS Free WFPB Diet and lifestyle for 10 plus years that it is a process not a destination. Once you understand it, and that is not difficult, you begin to understand how easy and sustainable it is. Not to mention how good it makes you feel, and that it also prevents and reverses all the many diseases of dietary excess.

"SOS Free" means the diet reduces consumption of salt, oil, and sugar to nil.

You may have come across this by now, the food groups to select from are fruits and veggies, whole grains, legumes, and a moderate amount of nuts and seeds. And it's important to note this is not a restriction diet (for a very good reason...they don't work). This is an ad libitum approach, which means "eat until completely satisfied". And guess what? You will still arrive at your healthiest weight, and do so at the proper pace. And you will begin feeling better almost immediately.

Another way of looking at the same thing (this is a list):

-Fruits and starches are primary calorie sources. Calories are after all the most important nutrient. The engine can be well tuned, but without gas in the tank we're not going anywhere. Fruits and starches are also loaded with vitamins and minerals.

-Starches are whole grains and tubers.

-Leafy greens are very important, as are cruciferous and rainbow vegetables.

-Generally fruits have more vitamin content and veggies have more mineral content, and both groups are important.

-There is a fruit phobia out there that is based on a misunderstanding of fuel metabolism, which is another topic. It boils down to keep the fat calories on the low side of the total calories per day, which puts the body in glucose burning mode as opposed to the paleo idea of fat burning mode.

-Lower fat as a total percent of calories lets us eat fruits without blood sugar instability. Among the benefits of fruits are they provide the highest combination of calories and micronutrients in a single food group. And they are the most delicious food group when eaten raw and unaltered. And the very low prep time (wash and eat) adds simplicity to the total diet.

-Legumes are good sources of proteins, starches, and the variety of vitamins and minerals.

-Nuts and seeds give us high quality fats.

-All of the above is full of fiber, which heals the gut and gives us a near bulletproof immune function.

I tend to eat more fruit in the first part of the day, and more veggies in the latter part of the day. My first meal is super easy, big bowl of fruit with a little oatmeal on top, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Dinner takes longer, and it's rewarding to prepare a good meal as the day winds down.

Many of my dinners during a week are big salads, most of which are raw leafy greens and other veggies, to which I usually add beans and potatoes. Dressings are fruit based made in the blender. So a majority of weekly calories are raw, which I believe adds to overall nutrient density.

I snack on fruit mostly if I need a few extra calories during the day.

I found a cookbook I think will be good for the veggie dinners:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452276969/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here's a descriptive definition of SOS free WFPB eating:

https://nutritionstudies.org/an-introduction-to-the-whole-food-plant-based-sos-free-diet/

New York Times - The Pandemic as a Wake-Up Call for Personal Health

How about that? Turns out the leading risk of death from Covid-19 was the SAD (standard American Diet). No, the article does not put it in those terms exactly, it says obesity is the second leading cause. But it also mentions other diet caused comorbidities that are also at a very high risk for mortality. Add them together and it's clear -- the highest risk of Covid-19 death is bad food. So the Times apparently felt like it had to pull back from a direct attack on the extremely politicised (and profitable) institutional narrative, while giving us all the information we need to connect the dots.

Since the article is behind a paywall, and it's a critical topic, I'm going to share it with my very small audience of friends and family. If I'm told to cease and desist I will. Meanwhile, enjoy.

By Jane E. Brody

• March 15, 2021

The pandemic has shed a blinding light on too many Americans’ failure to follow the well-established scientific principles of personal health and well-being. There are several reasons this country, one of the world’s richest and most highly developed, has suffered much higher rates of Covid-19 infections and deaths than many poorer and less well-equipped populations.

Older Americans have been particularly hard hit by this novel coronavirus. When cases surged at the end of last year, Covid-19 became the nation’s leading cause of death, deadlier than heart disease and cancer.

But while there’s nothing anyone can do to stop the march of time, several leading risk factors for Covid-19 infections and deaths stem from how many Americans conduct their lives from childhood on and their misguided reliance on medicine to patch up their self-inflicted wounds.

After old age, obesity is the second leading risk factor for death among those who become infected and critically ill with Covid-19. Seventy percent of Americans adults are now overweight, and more than a third are obese. Two other major risks for Covid, Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, are most often the result of excess weight, which in turn reflects unhealthy dietary and exercise habits. These conditions may be particularly prevalent in communities of color, who are likewise disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

Several people I know packed on quite a few pounds of health-robbing body fat this past year, and not because they lacked the ability to purchase and consume a more nutritious plant-based diet or to exercise regularly within or outside their homes. One male friend in his 50s unexpectedly qualified for the Covid vaccine by having an underlying health condition when his doctor found he’d become obese since the pandemic began.

A Harris Poll, conducted for the American Psychological Association in late February, revealed that 42 percent of respondents had gained an average of 29 “pandemic pounds,” increasing their Covid risk.

So what can we learn from these trends? Tom Vilsack, the new Secretary of Agriculture, put it bluntly a week ago in Politico Pro’s Morning Agriculture newsletter: “We cannot have the level of obesity. We cannot have the level of diabetes we have. We cannot have the level of chronic disease … It will literally cripple our country.”

Of course, in recent decades many of the policies of the department Mr. Vilsack now heads have contributed mightily to Americans’ access to inexpensive foods that flesh out their bones with unwholesome calories and undermine their health. Two telling examples: The government subsidizes the production of both soybeans and corn, most of which is used to feed livestock.

Not only does livestock production make a major contribution to global warming, much of its output ends up as inexpensive, often highly processed fast foods that can prompt people to overeat and raise their risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease. But there are no subsidies for the kinds of fruits and vegetables that can counter the disorders that render people more vulnerable to the coronavirus.

As Mr. Vilsack said, “The time has come for us to transform the food system in this country in an accelerated way.”

Early in the pandemic, when most businesses and entertainment venues were forced to close, toilet paper was not the only commodity stripped from market shelves. The country was suddenly faced with a shortage of flour and yeast as millions of Americans “stuck” at home went on a baking frenzy. While I understood their need to relieve stress, feel productive and perhaps help others less able or so inclined, bread, muffins and cookies were not the most wholesome products that might have emerged from pandemic kitchens.

When calorie-rich foods and snacks are in the home, they can be hard to resist when there’s little else to prompt the release of pleasure-enhancing brain chemicals. To no one’s great surprise, smoking rates also rose during the pandemic, introducing yet another risk to Covid susceptibility.

And there’s been a run on alcoholic beverages. National sales of alcohol during one week in March 2020 were 54 percent higher than the comparable week the year before. The Harris Poll corroborated that nearly one adult in four drank more alcohol than usual to cope with pandemic-related stress. Not only is alcohol a source of nutritionally empty calories, its wanton consumption can result in reckless behavior that further raises susceptibility to Covid.

Well before the pandemic prompted a rise in calorie consumption, Americans were eating significantly more calories each day than they realized, thanks in large part to the ready availability of ultra-processed foods, especially those that tease, “you can’t eat just one.” (Example: Corn on the cob is unprocessed, canned corn is minimally processed, but Doritos are ultra-processed).

In a brief but carefully designed diet study, Kevin D. Hall and colleagues at the National Institutes of Health surreptitiously gave 20 adults diets that were rich in either ultra-processed foods or unprocessed foods matched for calorie, sugar, fat, sodium, fiber and protein content. Told to eat as much as they wanted, the unsuspecting participants consumed 500 calories a day more on the ultra-processed diet.

If you’ve been reading my column for years, you already know that I’m not a fanatic when it comes to food. I have many containers of ice cream in my freezer; cookies, crackers and even chips in my cupboard; and I enjoy a burger now and then. But my daily diet is based primarily on vegetables, with fish, beans and nonfat milk my main sources of protein. My consumption of snacks and ice cream is portion-controlled and, along with daily exercise, has enabled me to remain weight-stable despite yearlong pandemic stress and occasional despair.

As Marion Nestle, professor emerita of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, says, “This is not rocket science.” She does not preach deprivation, only moderation (except perhaps for a total ban on soda). “We need a national policy aimed at preventing obesity,” she told me, “a national campaign to help all Americans get healthier.”

Jane Brody is the Personal Health columnist, a position she has held since 1976. She has written more than a dozen books including the best sellers “Jane Brody’s Nutrition Book” and “Jane Brody’s Good Food Book.” 

Tipping Point - World's First Vegan Hospital!

 I haven't posted a tipping point blog in awhile, but they continue piling up. This one is a long time coming, but an especially obvious and important one, a modern hospital that has discontinued serving patients animal products. This will have a positive effect on recovery stats, and it's likely other major hospitals will begin to follow suit.

Of course it did not happen in the US! So much of US total revenue comes from production and treatment of toxic substances masquerading as food. The irony of course is an unhealthy population does not make for a healthy country. I'm biased of course, but IMHO the place to start fixing so much of what ails this country begins with a dietary change led by government. I'm not optimistic we're going to get that anytime soon. Meanwhile we have to be individually responsible for our own health.

Not to drag this post too far off topic, it has also become apparent the countries who did so poorly in the pandemic are those who populations are immunocompromised from poor diet. But what a banner year for big pharma! Halleluiah.

And for those who are Paleo, adding more fruits and vegetables to an already reasonably good diet will only make it better. When I look across the population of Paleos I see the healthiest among them are basically on a plant based diet. It's so fast, easy, and satisfying to have a big bowl of fruit with a bit of oatmeal on top in the morning with a wide variety of vegetable dinner choices to keep things interesting.

This cheery news video is a mere 3 minutes long. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhP12kU7eaQ

Principles and Practices of a Whole Food Plant Based Diet

This is an an excellent introductory overview of the principles and practices of a whole food plant based diet. The presenter is Cyrus Khambatta, PhD, co-founder of Mastering Diabetes. Cyrus's speciality, along with his partner at Mastering Diabetes Robby Barbaro, is complete reversal of type 2 diabetes and minimizing the impact of type 1 diabetes in the most effective way possible.

But most of this presentation is general information on the principles and practices of a whole food plant based diet. And Cyrus in particular does what all really good teachers do, in that he has a talent for describing complex topics to a lay audience in ways that are clear and easily understood. And Cyrus is the real deal, as a PhD in nutritional biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley he has a special focus on an evidence based approach.

It's good to see greater scientific rigor coming to the fore in research on the outsized role nutrition plays in health. Now let's hope the stranglehold begins to loosen that purveyors of horrible nutrition have on our regulating bodies the FDA, USDA, NIH, and HHS, and this sort of information becomes more widely available.

So if you are (or have ever been) confused about nutrition (and who hasn't), this presentation will be of interest.