Apples, Paleo Shakes, and Utilitarianism
This post by Ryan caused a lot of confusion by people at Potomac Crossfit.
“Wait, so I can’t eat fruit?” was the most common question. “What kind of an asshole says eating an apple a day isn’t healthy?”
Here is what I posted to clarify what Ryan was saying:
————
I think Ryan’s post brings up a really good distinction. There are two major types of Paleo eating:
1. “I just want to avoid metabolic derangement/live a healthy life” paleo. Much lower key. Think 80/20.
2. “I’m not losing weight. Eating like this doesn’t work. I need to lose 30 lbs. I have signs of autoimmunity issues” paleo. All out assault. No compromises, no cheat meals, no paleo smoothies.
————–
I think a lot of people fall into mode #1 too soon. If you have weight to lose, don’t make any compromises.
If you need to attach the word “paleo” in front of any food, then don’t eat it, particularly if you are in category #2.
Example: You don’t need to say “Paleo Grilled Chicken”. On the other hand “Paleo Brownies” are silly. Especially if you are trying to change the way you look.
———
After that entire rant, I think it can all be summed up easily. “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit little starch no sugar”. Put the jar of sun butter down.
And remember: Eggs are just meat that hasn’t been born yet.
—–
Was Jeremy Bentham a modern caveman? How does an 18th century political philosophy called utilitarianism have anything to do with eating “meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit little starch no sugar?”
Simply put, our dietary prescription will do the “Greatest good, for the greatest number of people”. Making decisions based on the “Greatest good, for the greatest amount of people” is the cornerstone of utilitarianism. That’s the connection.
But there are exceptions and cases that break our simple rules.
Political Philosophy Scenario:
Five people need an organ transplant or they will die. Should a doctor “harvest” a random person in the waiting room to save five lives? What about to save 50 lives? 5,000? Why or why not?
Food Scenario:
If one out of five people can’t handle fruit well, does that mean we should tell everyone to avoid it? Some people can’t handle dairy at all. Does that mean nobody can introduce it?
I can hear it already. “But Jonnnnn, I know lots of athletes who don’t eat like this”. Yea, me too. There are always exceptions, get over it.
———-
What’s the solution?
1. Recognize that there isn’t a correct answer. It’s a gradual exploration of “the truth”.
2. Don’t be an idiot. Put your thinking cap on. Educate yourself and don’t believe everything you read.
4 comments
I think a great place to direct people to is the getting started page (12 rules) at PaleoNu. It gives a good overview for why to change your diet, and also provides a good sequential post for those who are scared to give up certain foods like fruit or to embrace saturated fats, which we’re all indoctrinated to believe are evil. I thought Ryan’s post was great, but it’s so radically different than what we’re taught in school and by our doctors that I could see people reject it out of hand if they haven’t had much exposure to paleo/primal/evolutionary eating before. I think your clarification was a good way to think about it.
Yes, the best thing to do is to spend the time to get educated, but there’s disagreement even within the paleo community and tons of different voices, so it can get confusing. I’m hoping that Robb Wolf’s book comes out soon and is a one-stop shop we can use to educate people. My biggest problem right now is that a lot of people don’t trust blogs, particularly when the authors are selling something (e.g., Eades and Sisson).
If you can’t trust Eades and Sisson, surely you can trust Peter over at http://high-fat-nutrition.blogspot.com/ You’ll learn more from this blog than any of the others, trust me. He also has a few posts of the importance of fruits and vegetables, or the lack thereof.
Fruit is fine in small doses and mainly berries. Other than that your just throwing a bunch of fructose in your system which will only wreak havoc on your liver and everything else you’re trying so hard to correct. I personally eat a handful of blackberries with my bacon, eggs, smoked salmon, and coconut milk for breakfast. That’s it for me!
[...] Leave a Comment Helena is now an On-Ramp graduate. Introduce yourself when you see her in class. For those of you that are curious about what is going on at the gym, but don’t always remember to check the website, we have two emails that go out daily. The first goes out after 6PM and includes the blog post with the next day’s workout. Subscribe here The second is the day’s WOD results. This goes out after 8PM. Subscribe here Skill standing vertical leap. Measure max reach against the wall and subtract that from your max standing jump. WOD Five rounds for time of: Row 500 meters 135 pound Power clean, 12 reps 95 pound Thruster, 15 reps Although it is after May 1, another goal you may want to consider is running the Reno Tahoe Odyssey on the CrossFit Initiative team. Call or email Nicole if you want to sign up. RTO team on Facebook What is paleo? / Apples, paleo shakes, and utilitarianism [...]
[...] Apples, Paleo Shakes, and Utilitarianism [...]
Leave a Comment