tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580987459140037495.post794347377599445707..comments2024-03-18T10:29:20.125-08:00Comments on TriloBoat Talk: Diet for a Small BoatDave Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13241033623115158564noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580987459140037495.post-27945570335348488282014-02-12T02:29:49.391-09:002014-02-12T02:29:49.391-09:00Hi Shemaya,
I've been mulling this over (the ...Hi Shemaya,<br /><br />I've been mulling this over (the thesis that cooking makes more energy/nutrients available), and find it more or less out of my league.<br /><br />We LIKE both raw and cooked foods; often as alternate preparations for the very same substance. So I find both strategies to be interesting 'food for thought'... I'll be watching to see if we can spot any trends in payoff differential.<br /><br />Fortunately, we're currently more than adequately fed! Looking more at lowering intake/efficiency than raising it, as middle-age spread creeps upon us.<br /><br />DaveDave Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13241033623115158564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580987459140037495.post-28630685535312892242014-02-11T16:23:15.311-09:002014-02-11T16:23:15.311-09:00Hi Dave and JetGraphics,
That's an interestin...<br />Hi Dave and JetGraphics,<br /><br />That's an interesting TED talk. Fascinating about the number of neurons relative to brain size, for different creatures.<br /><br />Not so sure about the conclusion, about cooked food – there are folks who say that human brains started the big increase well before cooking, though I don't have the reference for that. And her analysis about how much one has to eat/how much time one needs to spend eating has some assumptions that don't necessarily hold up. For example, eating raw as an omnivore that significantly includes meat makes it a lot easier to get a lot of calories fast, particularly eating fat, regardless of cooking. This doesn't have to mean clobbering mastodons – everything from bugs to mice can do the trick, and then there are aquatic creatures. It's an interesting question why humans veered one way, and gorillas stayed primarily vegetarian. Chimpanzees eat a few mice, but why did humans go toward meat as a significant part of our diets? Though of course, some people dispute that also.<br /><br />Perhaps there are other effects of eating cooked food that have helped, but the primary assumption that it's all about calories/hour of gathering/preparing/eating doesn't hold up so well. Here's an interesting link, for the perspective on this theory from some of the raw/paleo crowd. It requires a good bit of filtering for derogatory and insulting attitudes, but underneath that there are interesting points. And it includes a copy of an e-mail exchange between Ms. Herculano-Houzel and one of the raw/paleo folks – it's revealing, as far as Ms. Herculano-Houzel's assumptions about raw foods diets, which demonstrate that she does have room for becoming more informed on the topic. Sure wish the raw folks didn't have to be so insulting while they were at it – it's utterly unnecessary to making the case.<br />http://www.rawpaleodietforum.com/hot-topics/more-'cooking-gave-us-big-brains'-bullshit/<br /><br />Anyway, the food questions are so interesting! People disagree so much, and often with so much vehemence. And it is so rarely mentioned that after all different people have differing individual needs, so that a diet that is perfectly sustaining for one person can be unsustaining for another, especially as an ongoing thing. We are not really quite so homogenous, humans as a species! All that evolving in different regional groups and all… and then more recently mixing and matching genes from all over the planet.<br /><br />Thanks Dave, for mentioning that this video was linked here, and JetGraphics, for posting it!<br /><br />ShemayaShemayahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03630539433788687858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580987459140037495.post-52377598540053334922014-01-26T21:03:13.556-09:002014-01-26T21:03:13.556-09:00That's a fascinating presentation!
One of th...That's a fascinating presentation! <br /><br />One of the key points is that cooking is a means of pre-digesting foods, a feature shared by fermentation... hmm.<br /><br />Some of our interest in NOT cooking is to reduce fuel consumption. Our fuel (firewood) is monetarily free, but still requires considerable energy and footprint commitments. <br /><br />So it's interesting to see that we're getting some extra return!<br /><br />Dave ZDave Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13241033623115158564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580987459140037495.post-69202572805298482552014-01-26T20:54:48.978-09:002014-01-26T20:54:48.978-09:00Posted on behalf of JetGraphics:
I saw a referenc...Posted on behalf of JetGraphics:<br /><br />I saw a reference to the question "why cook food"? Recently, saw a video on TED that explained why.<br /><br />(spoiler alert)<br /><br />Apparently, it has to do with brain size, neurons and energy input. The researcher discovered that a lot of assumptions were wrong, when it came to brain complexity. Long story short - as brain size goes up, so does calorie requirements, far more than the body. <br /><br />She calculated that if a large animal had a human proportioned brain, it would have to be feeding far too much and could not survive. In short, cooking food increases nutrient intake so human brains could expand without the biological penalty.<br />Here's the link to the TED talk video:<br /><br />http://www.ted.com/talks/suzana_herculano_houzel_what_is_so_special_about_the_human_brain.html<br /><br />"We cook, therefore we think!"Dave Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13241033623115158564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580987459140037495.post-27002479731223158202014-01-21T06:19:36.142-09:002014-01-21T06:19:36.142-09:00nice blog thanksnice blog thanksAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03200456238735693307noreply@blogger.com