Tynan,

Not sure if you check old posts, but I have some questions. Really good series of articles by the way, and quite inspiring.

First of all, the vitamins and minerals that we need through food go towards specific processes in the body. You either have enough, or not enough. Getting 1000mg of vitamin C won't do anything more than 100mg, because your body has all it needs (although some vitamins, like vitamin A, act as pharmaceuticals at high doses). It is important to get all the vitamins and trace minerals that we need - but it's not difficult or complicated to fulfill that, and most people in the West are simply not deficient. So with that in mind, why is there anything especially healthy about focusing on nutrient rich foods?

I agree that many Western diets are sub-optimal because too much of certain food-groups are consumed - especially sugar, meat and 'bad' fats, and a good diet would entail eating far less of those than the average American. I'm not sure optimal health requires you to go quite as far as you describe though.  For example, white flour has fewer vitamins/minerals that brown - and it certainly gets digested faster, which can spike insulin. But it does have nutritional value - it gives you energy, and you can plainly survive on it far longer than you could on nothing. And white flour is often consumed with fibre, which, as you describe, slows digestion down, preventing an insulin spike. There are easy ways to eat white flour with no negative side-effects, and, as above, it’s not really at all necessary to eat food jam-packed with vitamins all the time - we all have enough of those anyway.

The fruit in sugar, fructose, in it's extracted form is much worse for you than normal sucrose sugar. The effect on metabolism is fairly similar (sucrose being slightly more extreme), but the body has a very strong gating mechanism for sucrose and sends a signal that it has too much very quickly - people feel sticky and sickly if they eat too much. Fructose doesn't have this, which is why Coke uses it as their main sugar - you can keep drinking Coke all day. A coke has two cream-eggs worth of sugar in, but you hardly notice it. As you say, fruit has fiber in which slows down digestion - but you can also consume white sugar with fiber and that would be chemically very similar to a fruit. I say this for two reasons - I think people should be moderate with fruit also, and not feel the need to give up sugar entirely (although moving to a no sugar diet can help minimize cravings by eventually removing the sugar-pleasure connection in the brain).

I think people who want to eat healthy often idealize the natural. There really is no set way we’ve ‘evolved to eat’ (actually evolution doesn’t work like that, evolution means that we can eat as broad a diet as possible – ancestors who were fatally intolerant to certain foods would have died out. Only things that relate to individual animals – individual genes! -  survival – not optimum health - can affect evolution). Natural is no longer best – and it’s madness to try and eat as we once did (where the average life expectancy was around 20 and average height for a man was under 5 foot). Isn’t a sweetened cranberry almost chemically identical to a grape?

I agree about meat - it's healthier to eat far less meat, and I think the compassion aspect also necessitates zero meat/products.

Love this article.. mostly about your reactions to eating sugar. I also have this euphoria, "I will enjoy this!" and then realize afterwards that I feel deprived. Also, comparing sugar to cocaine, in my experience, is legitimate. Why would people keep eating it if it has terrible side effects? Because it is a drug. A lot of people will say that it's far less addicting than a drug such as cocaine. I disagree. Smaller doses of sugar that are seeped into everything is far more influential than a big dose of something you tried just one time. Scary picture, btw. He really does look like a fat, aristocratic monarch. I appreciate that you rely on yourself to make these choices. I find that I'm always searching for answers, as I haven't seen my own results yet. It's all because of the sugar. Luckily this world has fruit- yes!

I love this article. Makes it nice and simple for someone who has zero knowledge on unhealthy eating. You basically reiterated all that the book "Skinny Bitch" has to say on refined sugar/flour/"white" carbs. I can especially relate and love what you said under "Sounds like a hassle!" I go through this all time!

If you are vegan click my name

I agree with everything you say and I have experienced also, first hand the effects of sugar. I gave up sugar last year for "lent" and so had to change my whole eating program - i thought it would be a "piece of cake" and was I wrong when I realised that I had to now read every packaging label in the grocery store! Everything just about has sugar in and I am so glad that some one agrees with me, because honestly people are blind to it.... I came across your site because I am vegan and doing crossfit and I need a diet plan to maintain energy for workouts! Great Site.

If fruit is ok, is it acceptable to use apple juice concentrate as a substitute? It seems like a loophole, but many recipes need a dash of sugar.

Insteresting to find someone also concentrating on no-sugar-eating (and no white flour/rice/etc) :-). I'm from Germany and also found someone (Dr. Max Otto Bruker) here who taught me not to eat sugar. So in every country, there are some who understand. Lucky you and me :-) Best wishes! Nils

ps: moreover i dont drink too, am vegetarian, and starting pickup atm %-) so if i am a girl, i would be in your 15-25 mating partners ;-) too bad were same-gender lol ^^

This is a really great article. I recently began a no caffeine (personal challenge) for 90 days (I am on day 55). It took until about day 50 to start having energy in the morning without caffeine. Then I decided to do the same thing with sugar (I am on day 6), it is not easy but, I have new determination after reading this article. I am so excited to reach the point where I no longer need either sugar or caffeine. I wonder what that will feel like!

I think my biggest difficulty is going to be white rice.

Its not so much that its a big tasty favorite of mine, but its an edible plate for my favorite foods.

I love Indian food, particularly curries, and the meat I usually choose is not essential, but potatoes or rice to soak up the sauce are my favorite part.

And then there is sushi. I know fish is still not the best choice, but this is my all time favorite food, mostly because I feel great after eating it. Any thoughts?

Ultimately though, I guess I don't eat either food that often anymore...so its quibbling over something I could probably eat anyway (and may not even want to after x days on the diet).

Food is good, but feeling good is better, and I think my health and energy are worth the potential sacrifice.

Tynan
I agree 100% with what your saying, staying off the white shit eg white flour, rice sugar etc led me to cure my asthma (I have had it since childhood) Word of note though on trying to cut out out the white poison though - it wont be easy...

Cheers for the article

I'm also curious about boiled potatoes, and also the use of honey on, for example, oat meal for breakfast.

Thanks for the article!